I just realized that we haven’t written since France so I’ll write a quick post.
Thank You s
Thank you to the following:
Thank you Grandpa Pat for the books and mini mouse.
Thank you Aunt Caroline and Uncle Gary for the Amazon gift card.
Thank you Grandpa Ron and Grandma Marlyn for the money to go to France.
And Thank you all for you support.
House Hunting
Today we saw one of three houses in a area, the one we saw was interesting, it had a patio and three bedrooms witch was good but the rest of the house was only so so, and Eli nor myself liked the wall paper in one of the bedrooms. But with that said it was under some refurbishing so it was not at it’s best state.
The other day we toured a house, 66B Belsize Road I for one quite liked it, the bedroom that would be mine I quite liked as well (the other ones were good too). It had a beautiful living room, but not much storage space. But we didn’t find a school closer than a 20+ minute walk. (Oh well you can’t be spoiled in everything)
When you travel to France you look forward to the food. So last night did not disappoint. We went out to dinner, reservations were at 8 pm.
It was festive and fancy, but welcoming and not stuffy.
The menu was all in french and unlike the crepe menus I could not figure it out with my remedial French from high school. Luckily Sandrine helped me navigate. The meals were three or four courses plus a dessert course. I choose the three course vegetarian meal. Thank goodness as I was over full by the second course. We started with a Walnut Port. It was lovely. And appropriate as Walnuts are the main crop of the area along with mushrooms.
Course One-
My Salad was amazing with lots of surprises, the grapes were pickles and packed a powerful punch. The girls has some with their dinner also and nearly fell out of their chairs but once they got the idea of pickled grapes they enjoyed them more. There was a scooped ball of a glace’ which was also very pickely.
Course Two-
Ravioli. Small tender and delicious. I would have loved to take 1/2 of it home for lunch the next day, but apparently doggy bags are frowned upon. So what is a girl to do. I ate it, all of it!
Course Three-
The cheese course. I choose the homemade white cheese. Thank goodness! It was light and tasted like a yogurt cheese. It comes with white sugar to sprinkle on top. Jeff had chosen a whole different menu, so his pictures will be very different even down to the cheese course.
Dessert Course –
They were offering a sampler plate. However, the apple tart sounded so good, I went with that and was pleased with my choice however, the doogy bag problem came into play again. I just could not eat the whole thing. I wanted to, I really really wanted to, but I could only do about 1/2. Then came coffee and tea, I just wanted warm water. This continues to baffle people. Often I will get tea just to make it easier. But last night I was too full to even have color in my water. 🙂
It is starting to smell really good down stairs, Remi is making something with Potatoes, Onions, Bacon and Cheese. I’ll wonder down to see if I can help 😉
Did you know the color Chartreuse comes from a liqueur made by monks in France? Me neither, but I do now. I have often found describing colors difficult. Jeff and I particularly have trouble with Khaki (is it tan, green, brown or grey). Our ideas are very different. Now I know why there are different ideas of Chartreuse also, as there is a Vert (green) and Jeunes (yellow). But first let be backup a little bit.
Yesterday we took the TGV train from Paris to place that starts with a V, that is escaping me. The TGV is an awesome way to travel. It is smooth and practically floats, very fast. Anyway, Remi picked us up and took us to his home. Where his wife Sandrine and two girls Natascha (10) and Johann (7) were there to greet us in their lovely warm and cozy home. They have two cats and three bunnies. Girls and animals to play with….my girls were thrilled. They quickly took to learning to communicate. Natascha has been taking English classes and Remi is fluent. Sandrine speaks quite a bit of English and little Johann is very fluent now at Rock, Paper, Scissors. 🙂
Yesterday was lovely, however today it has been raining all day and just a few degrees too warm for snow. Thus snow sledding was out and hiking the Fort in Genoble was out. Some how the topic of spirits came up, single malt whiskey and Cognac mainly. Remi suggested we go to the Chartreuse Distillery in Voiron. It was good to get out of the house for a little bit and it was only a short drive.
Jeff got to drive in France as they have two small cars, and we wouldn’t all fit in one. He did very well, at least as far as I can tell because I rode with Remi.
The kids weren’t thrilled with going to a distillery and covered their noses with their scarves because it smelled so bad (to them). I love that kind of stuff, the smells, the enormous casks, the cool temperatures in the caves and learning about something new that tastes good also. We even got to watch a 3D Movie about monks, unfortunately no subtitles.If you have a few minutes and want read a little about what we did today, check out wikipedia:
We started a bit later today, Wednesday, 28 December 2011. Cold chance of rain. To prepare for tomorrow and make Jeff comfortable with our departure, we did a practice run, from the flat to Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. We got our tickets and then with a sigh of relief headed out to see more of Paris than train stations.
Notre Dame was first. Lots of people like the front, but Jeff and I really think the back is far more interesting and impressive. At the back of Notre Dame was a playground spinny thing, Jeff is holding my umbrella for Eliana so she & Emeline could play while we admired the architecture.
Apparently there are no Goats allowed in the Notre Dame garden. At least that was Eliana’s observation.
What is all over that fence do you ask? They are locks with names, initials, and dates. My first thought was how romantic, my second was, I wonder how often they have to cut all these locks off, they must get very heavy.
Crepes in Montparnesse (sp?).
Oh they were sooooooo good. Eliana had Nutella, Emeline has Chocolate, Jeff had emmethaller (cheese) and I tried the crepe suzette (which has orange zest in the batter, lemon juice and sprinkled sugar on the surface & folded up. OOOH LAAA LAAA that was yummy. I could have eaten several more.
And Finally….The Louve to see Mona Lisa.
We navigated a 30 min queue outside to get into the building, then another 30 minute queue to buy tickets, then a queue to get into the wing with Mona Lisa, and substantial crowds along the galleries, until we found this….
A mob of people with cameras raised above their heads to take pictures of the piece of art. I said, “I think I’ll look at it from here,” as I’d had enough of lines, crowds etc. Emeline was not to be deterred and headed off into the crowd. Eliana, not to be left behind followed suit. Jeff decided that he could see just fine from the right back side of the gallery, like me. The girls were gone for about 5 minutes, when Eliana came scurrying back. “Mom, we need the camera.” I made sure the flash was off and gave it to her.
Off she went. I have no idea how she was about to find Emeline again. They were gone a long time. At least it felt like a long time to our tired feet. I tried to amuse myself by reading info. about the nearby painting. Problem….it was written in French, I was chagrined to think the description would be written in English while in a Parisian Museum, how presumptuous of me. After a while, Jeff asked, “Where do you think the girls are?” “Up there,” I replied. Shortly after they returned. Emeline said, “Mom, she really is smiling.” With the Mona Lisa mastered, they were done and ready to go back to our flat in Paris. On the walk back, Emeline asked, “Is Mona Lisa the most famous (well known) piece of art in the world?” I said, “I don’t know.” So lets take a poll, what do you think? Comment of this post is you have an idea if Mona Lisa is the most Famous, and if not, what piece is?
We ended our day with a lovely dinner party at the flat. A very nice couple joined us and our very gracious hosts and their guests all spoke English for our benefit. It was a simple, casual and very enjoyable evening. We are off to Cras, France tomorrow about 2 hours south east of Paris by train.
It is quite late so I will say , Bonne Nuit, Leanne
It is our third major world city in just over a month. For the girls, it is all becoming a bit of a muddle as to what happened where. Homeschooling is a bit of a misnomer in that it is more like walking schooling. We walk a lot!!! Today, our first day in Paris was no exception.
We arrived in Paris last night after dark. Our host Eric, was kind enough to meet us at Gard du Nord (North Station) and walked us (yeah rolly suitcases) the three or four short blocks to he and his wife Cecile’s apartment. Thankfully they are on the second floor, with an amazing stair case (no elevator/lift). The apartment is wonderful. I feel so lucky to be able to stay in a real Parisian family home.
It was a good day of seeing Paris, but a bit of a frustrating day with regards to sightseeing. We started walking down the street to find a patisserie. Mission successful, but no place to sit, so we walked and ate. Then we walked in what felt like random directions, until we arrived at the backdoor to the Louve. Jeff had it figured out.
I adore this picture of Jeff on the left.
When you travel with kids there is a fair amount of horsing around. “Please don’t fall in the fountain.” It was very cold today.
We were out earlier than usual as our hosts were getting their house cleaned and the cleaner arrived at 8:30 am. There were very few people out when we started out for the day. So when we arrived at the Louve and people were not going in, we thought perhaps we were just early. Unfortunately for us, they are closed this Tuesday. So off we go to find the Eiffel Tower.
Luckily the Eiffel Tower was open, unfortunately it was very foggy, so visibility at the top was about 50 feet. We decided to walk the stairs to the 1st level, about 330 stairs (57 meters). That worked so well, we decided to go to the second level, about the same # of steps we’d already done, thus a total of ~ 660 stairs total (115 meters). Eliana will need to confirm this as she was very focused on the number of stairs going up and down. Then began the negotiations about going to the top (324 meters).
Eliana wanted it! Emeline did not. Jeff was tired and I needed to eat. So we took a little break and had some pomme frites (potato fries), quiche lorraine, and pizza to fortify us for the assent to the “sommet”. Then we embarked on the journey only to discover that the only way to the top floor is elevator. Yippy! That was just fine with me and the others. We couldn’t see the ground at all, but it was interesting being at the top. If life should present us with the chance to go to the top on a clear day, we’d like to do it again.
My hope for the day was to go see the Rodin Museum, the line was crazy long, or the D’Orsay museum the power has gone out so that was a problem. And finally a proper Creperie, oddly enough we had a bit of trouble finding one. We did manage to get one from a small vendor outside the D’Orsay that despite the power outage, the griddle was hot enough to make 1 more crepe for exact change as they couldn’t use the cash register either. It would have to do. Tomorrow we will continue our quest for awesome crepes under the direction of our hosts. We did see a beautiful Rodin sculpture on our walk from the Louve to the Eiffel town. That is the kind of delightful surprises you don’t see unless you walk.
Eric and Cecile allowed us to take them out to dinner. We planned on a very nice place, but as the restaurant was closed we ended up in a wonderful little neighborhood place that was relaxed and warm. The music was the Mama Mia soundtrack in English. The hostes/waitress/ owner(?) was delightful. She catered to the girls with special meals, a funny disney jewelry set, glow in the dark bracelets and way too many sweets. Us grown ups had a lovely meal of swordfish and sweet/white mashed potatoes with a diced tomato topping, shark with a dark onion sauce, ravioli, poached egg in red wine, a bottle of red wine and a pear crumble for dessert. Jeff had a different dessert, but I can’t remember what it was. The meal was just what we weary travelers needed. This last picture is of Jeff, the girls, Eric and Cecile outside the restaurant.
I am looking forward to another wonderful day in Paris.
The Lauridsen’s have come and gone. Their much anticipated visit did not disappoint. Our girls have enjoyed playing with their girls at least once a month for about six years during our monthly wine club get together.
We spent three fabulous days together. The girls were delighted to have friends to play with, as was I.
We went to Kensington Palace, walked through the park and played and the Princess Diana Memorial Children’s Playground.
We enjoyed A Thai food lunch of pad thai and veggie spring rolls.
In fact we ate all kinds of international food, none of which was British until the last night when Lynn and I went out to get Fish & Chips at the pub as Take Away. Not as easy as it sounds, as they didn’t serve Take Away food, but it all worked out.
I think my favorite day was the ice skating, Tower of London and Wagamama’s (noodle house).
We after a busy day of sight seeing the kids were content to hang out for a little bit while we went around the corner for our first pint at the pub. I am not sure it it is “our” pub yet. We will need to try a couple more, but the company was great.
Day three was Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait Gallery, the Croc shoe Store, Covent Garden Market, free Coca-Cola samples, and finished with fish and chips.
We had such a good time, we hated to see them leave, but wish them a happy holiday and all the best for 2012. Cheers, Leanne
On the 20th of December we went to the tower of London and Ice skated for a hour after that we had some hot chocolate, that one was nothing special, I mean it was delicious, but just the same as the pour the dust into hot milk kind. Then we went to the tower of london we got a one hour tour then walked around some more, we saw all kinds of stuff! By this time it was around 4:00, and we never ate lunch so the hungry 7 person pack moved to Wagamama’s were mom had earlier texted dad saying we where going to eat. After dinner we can back to our flat and the adults drank some wine and talk (or so I suppose) while the kids watched tv shows, then the Lauridsens picked up their stuff and headed home to get some sleep before the early rise tomorrow would bring.
From the 19th to the 21 I wrote not a word, now mom is making me write, that’s fine though. She wants me to write about what we did. so I will, in small paragraphs.
19th of December
On the 19th I saw some friends of mine, my mom’s, and my dad’s. my friends were Anna and Camilla. There was so much to do, SO little time (3 days) we wanted to go to Winter Wonder Land, Marble Arch, London Zoo, Tower of London, Ice Skating, Eat Fish and Chips, Taste Hot Chocolate I could go on and on and on, but I won’t because this is a short paragraph. Like often the Parents chose, that didn’t mean they were mean, we got to got to a playground first. Princess Diana’s Playground, a playground you can get lost in. There was a pirate ship, a normal play ground, a swing, a teeter toter, I could go into detail, but I won’t. After the playground we went to Kensington Palace, which was under construction, SOO (if you are reading this aloud draw out the so) they didn’t have the normal expeditions, so they had a different one you won’t hear about now. After the palace we ate, Thai. I don’t remember what everyone else ate but, I ate a lot, 6 spring rolls and a whole dish of Pad Thai! Then everyone was tired so we went back to the Lauridsen’s hotel where they got pack… for a SLEEP OVER!!!!
It seems Anne Boleyn’s life was not easy, she had at least two unsuccessful engagements before King Henry VIII. She had one baby girl in 1533, followed by three miscarriages, by 1536 King Henry was courting another. Anne was charged for high treason, and later witchcraft, four days after her trial at which she was found guilty she was beheaded. After the coronation of her daughter Elizabeth, Anne was recognized as a martyr and heroine.
This is a summery of the Anne Boleyn, first/summary paragraph on wiki.
Hi, I need to say sorry to my councilor, Ayla yesterday I was supposed to meet with her on Skype, but even though mom told me to email her so we didn’t waste her time, I did write her a email, but forgot to send it! So, I’m sorry Ayla.
The kids weren’t thrilled with going to a distillery and covered their noses with their scarves because it smelled so bad (to them). I love that kind of stuff, the smells, the enormous casks, the cool temperatures in the caves and learning about something new that tastes good also. We even got to watch a 3D Movie about monks, unfortunately no subtitles.If you have a few minutes and want read a little about what we did today, check out wikipedia:
Oh they were sooooooo good. Eliana had Nutella, Emeline has Chocolate, Jeff had emmethaller (cheese) and I tried the crepe suzette (which has orange zest in the batter, lemon juice and sprinkled sugar on the surface & folded up. OOOH LAAA LAAA that was yummy. I could have eaten several more.
Eliana wanted it! Emeline did not. Jeff was tired and I needed to eat. So we took a little break and had some pomme frites (potato fries), quiche lorraine, and pizza to fortify us for the assent to the “sommet”. Then we embarked on the journey only to discover that the only way to the top floor is elevator. Yippy! That was just fine with me and the others. We couldn’t see the ground at all, but it was interesting being at the top. If life should present us with the chance to go to the top on a clear day, we’d like to do it again.
