I spy with my little eye something that starts with "S"

Some think that a quiche is egg with some cream/veggis/meat, etc. I am here to let you know, that the egg surves only as a means to keep the cream together and in the crust...the flour is there soley to hold the butter in. Such a wonderful thing.

This week and next the grandparents are staying with us. AM is in Prague for work and didn't want to leave me alone with all three kids for two solid weeks. It's great because the grandma is a great cook and they love to take care of the kids. This means I eat well, and finally after being here since February, I am able to go do things with friends in the evenings. Yeah, I could a bit before too, but I couldn't plan anything because I didn't know if I would be needed to get them ready for bed, take showers, etc.

Last weekend and this week were pretty non eventful. I went for runs and hung out with the little ones. Tuesday evening I went to a conversation exchange and hope to keep doing that every week because I really like the people and it's close to my house.

Today I went to the forest with some people that I met through the meet up group. We had a picnic and climbed boulders and played frisbee all afternoon. It was so wonderful to get out of the city again. It took about an hour to get there and it rained a bit, but I didn't care. I wish we would have stayed the night, but alas, there are things to do and places to be. Tomorrow (Sunday) I don't have too much planned. My back is feeling better after tweeking it last week, so I might go for a little run. Cleaning the house and meeting my friend from Germany for a crepe is also on the list. Not too eventful. I went out for drinks the last two nights, so I think a night/day to chill is a good idea.

Next weekend I'm going to Italy again. I'll be staying with the neighbors that used to be here in Paris. Now they are living in a converted barn on an organic farm outside of Bologna. They've written me about it and it sounds wonderful! They are not the reason I'm going, but I'll write more about that after I get back. Soon the kids will be finished with school and I have yet to make solid plans about August. I would like to stay and work and practice my French. I still have a place to stay at the new apartment, I just have to work out the details. I'm sure something will turn up, it always does....

de temps en temps

Alright, I'm going to write this really quickly because I have to finish my homework for tomorrow and then go to bed.

So, AM and Chloe went to the doctor this afternoon, which meant that I had the two boys all to myself. It wasn't so bad and I enjoyed hanging out with them, though sometimes when the two of them are together they love to hit and fight and jump on each other until either one of them cries or I have had enough and give them timeouts and/or both. I don't mind if they roughhouse, but they always start doing it when I want them to clean their room or get dressed. Well, today it was the timeout. In the past, I put Elliot in his mom's room and Pablo downstairs on the bed. Today was going to be the same thing, but it turned out better than I could have hoped. Elliot did what I asked before it got to the timeout because he said he didn't want one and Pablo sat quietly for 5 minutes and also did what I asked after the timeout instead of crying and being angry like he had been in the past. I couldn't believe it. It was only a little victory, but it felt really good. Later on in the afternoon I could tell they needed to run around outside for a bit, so I sent them out with waterguns. A bit of a bold move I know, but I figured it was warm out, they didn't have anything else going on this afternoon, and hell, they needed to take a shower tonight anyway. The guns kept them occupied for a while until they needed to refill. Long story short, the hose was discovered. I was being attacked. Since they were mostly drenched anyway, I decided to finish the job. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever until Anne-Marie came home. She wasn't happy because appearanly we're not supposed to use the hose. I was dry (mostly), but the kids were drenched. As soon as they saw that she wasn't happy, they both started crying trying to make it look like I made them cry. I couldn't believe it! Such little punks! They can blame me for it, I'm not sorry, I thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, I had a good time and I know they did too.

I finally feel more confident in my role here. It only took 4 months! I am feeling more relaxed these days partly because I am more confident in what I can and can't do and partly because I don't invest myself in the outcomes as much. What I mean is, I realize that yes, I am living with the family which means I have to dicipline more than the average babysitter, but I also don't put all my energy and emotions into having things go my way. I am also feeling a bit better about picking up more babysitting hours. I started babysitting for an Australian family a couple times a week. She has 4 kids: 18months, 4, 5, and 7 years old. I only sit for her for a couple hours and usually only have the two youngest to look after. It's a nice change of pace and it's nice to get a few extra euros too! We'll see how long this somewhat more relaxed feeling lasts though!

Yesterday I taught the kids how to make duct tape wallets. Tonight we did friendship bracelates. Pretty soon I'm going to run out of arts and crafts. Nah, probably not, I love doing that kind of stuff and I'm sure we'll find some new stuff to play with. Next project is making communicating devices with tin cans and string. I rescued the olive can from the trash today and now I just have to find another one.

Oh, I forgot to write about the school fete and Mother's day. The fete (party) was last Saturday and Mother's Day was Sunday. The fete was great because I got to see the kids sing and dance. Oh, they were so cute. I have to say that getting to do family things like these and things like getting to be the tooth fairy just make this gig totally worth it. I really enjoyed hanging out with them for Mother's day too and going to the science museum. Despite Elliot's behavior issues and Chloe's constant need to have everything perfect, I think things are progressing well. Pablo specifically I think is acting older than when I first met him and they can all be really sweet sometimes. It warms my little heart. Alright, enough rambling. On to the next adventure...

In the Merde

It's been a while since I last posted. The longer I wait, the more I don't want to post because I have too much to write. So, finally my procrastinating self is getting back on top of things.

Since I last wrote, I have changed language courses again. I am now taking private lessons for 4 hours a week for the same price that I was taking a grammar class that I wasn't getting much out of. Katia, my teacher for the grammar class was good except we would bounce around topics all the time instead of practicing the same thing until we got good at it. This means that we knew a frustratingly little bit about a lot of things. She also would repeat her question over or explain things in the exact same way thinking that maybe if we keep hearing the same thing we will eventually get it. Well, it doesn't work that way. My new teacher is great because he understands why I am making mistakes, I feel accountable for doing my homework and I get a private conversation/grammar class all in one. It's great! Now I just need more people to practice speaking/listening with and I'll be set.

As far as friends and dating goes...I have several friends who come and go. A German friend who moved back to Germany is now coming back to Paris for a couple months. My Islandic friend was supposed to leave, but may stay now for the summer to improver her French, though really to hang with her "boyfriend" (whom she says she's not together with). My American neighbors, who I would hang out with at least once or twice a week in the evenings drinking wine and shooting the shit with are leaving today to go to Italy then back to the states. I may go visit them in Italy next month, but for reasons that I'm not ready to divulge yet. I met another woman from BC, but she will also be leaving soon to go travel the world with her French boyfriend then move back to Canada. Arg, as soon as I make friends they all leave. Yes, they are friends, but actually I'm not that sad about it, I kind of look at it as part of the Paris experience I guess. It seems to me that if you're French, you're in Paris because you can't find a job anywhere else and if you're not, you're only here for a short time. If you're lucky enough to have a visa, you are either teaching English, working as a nanny, or being a student. The other catergory is working for an international large company with offices in France.

As to dating: I met a guy named Leo who I was dating for a bit. He is French, but speaks English very well. I really enjoyed going on pique niques, going out to dinner, etc. but I just don't think we have that much in common and I can't really see it going anywhere. It's really nice to date a French guy with the respect that they don't play any initial games. If he likes you, he'll tell you so and he'll call the next day. They are also very affectionate and actually somewhat feminine. Not in a metrosexual way, but more apt to share their feelings. That part is really nice. So far though, I haven't really enjoyed the French sense of humor, but I'm still on the lookout. For me a sense of humor is extremely important for my mental happiness. On the contrary, the British sense of humor I think is terrific. I've often said that sarcasm and irony are my favorite modes of operation and hopefully I'll be able to go visit some friends in England to get a good dose of both soon. Plus, Leo doesn't like wine or cheese, and you just can't trust a person like that.

Lastly, a bit about my recent travels...

Last weekend I went to Arbois in the Jura region to visit Lisbeth, my former prof. at OSU. She has been on a year sabatical working with a school and learning more about cheese production. I am so glad I went to visit! For one thing, it was wonderful to get out of the city again. Being in a big city is really waring on me and it was so nice to go for a hike in the hills with no real time limit, and no cars! I saw a fox on the trail and large nests of some kind of spiders that sounded like running water when you walked by. Dangereaux? je ne sais pas. Not only did I get to see the facilities where she's been working (which are amazingly up to date and functional), but I got to meet her family and stay with them for a couple days. She has a 10, 12, and 14 year old and they all lived in a really big house in the middle of a town that with about 200 inhabitants. So, hike on Friday, then out to dinner accross the street. Oh, but first went to the cheese museum in Pupillon and learned all about comte. Saturday I went to the wine museum in town then to her 14 yo's basket ball game. He was playing in the regional semi-finals and their team won! This means that instead of leaving for Denmark with the rest of the family, he and his dad (who is French by the way) are staying behind so he can play in the finals next Saturday. Saturday night Lisbeth had a going away party for the family. Her year sabatical is over and they are packing up and moving out. The party was great because I got to practice my French with her guests (though my conversation is still extremely limited) and once again got to eat fantastic food, which was catered again by the restaurant accross the street. Sunday, instead of taking the TGV back to Paris, I drove 5 hours with the 5 of them. The first half hour was filled with a lot of bickering, but then I made up an enormous dot game (where you try to make boxes) and played that with the girls for the majority of the ride. I think Lisbeth was greatful for the silence and I had a really good time getting to know them as well.

C'est tue (that's all). Some picts of of my little ones are above. Why they like to dress up all the time, I don't know, but it seems like more people should really. The others are of the day we made castles (chateauxs). It's amazing how far a little cardboard box can go...

Oh, also I read a really great book called "A year in the Merde." Holy crap it's funny (no pun intended)! It's a partly true story of an English guy living and working in Paris. He makes some great observations about the French. Even if you're not living it, it's funny, but if you are, it makes the book that much better!

Manifestation

France has a new President. It was such a contested race that over 80% of the population voted. Unbelievable. Nicholas Sarkozy won by 53% of the vote over Segolene Royal. I talked to many people about who they were going to vote for and what they thought of the candidates. The majority answered that they really didn't like either of them and that they were voting for the lesser of two evils. Sound familiar?? Royal was too soft and wishy washy and Sarkozy was too conservative. Well, it looks like the conservatives won again, now maybe Bush will find a friend in France. People vote with their hearts, not with their heads. It seems like if a candidate is strong and clear, then people will follow, even if he is firmly guiding them in the wrong direction.

The next night I went to Bastille (the monument that used to be a prison and is the symbol of French Independance) to see what was going on. There were a lot of people protesting (manifestations in French). I couldn't believe how many cops were in riot gear as well. They kept forming lines and breaking the crowd up. Those who didn't move got put in the paddy wagon. I actually felt like I was back in the states for a bit. Below are some pictures I took of it. They were with my cell phone though, so they're not very clear...

Energetique

Holy crap the kids have a lot of energy! Tuesday was a bank holiday and AM had to work, so that means all day babysitting (about 8am til 9pm) then all day again on Wednesday and this evening too because AM came home late. I know I've said this already, but thank the lord the weather is nice! At least I can let them run free at the park for a few hours, though that actually seemed to give them more energy. We played at the park for over 4 hours on Tuesday and I swear they came home with more energy than they started with. Yesterday, we were going to go to the Natural History Museum, but got sidetracked by the zoo that is there and ended up spending the afternoon with real animals instead of prehistoric ones. Tonight was not so different than any other night, other than the kids seemed especially rambunctious. They definitely behave better when their mom is around, but jeesh! every other phrase out of my mouth was telling them to sit back down or lower their voices, etc. Elliot especially jumps up every few minutes. I swear he has springs in his bum or something! Oh, and get this, last night Chloe was kidding around and lightly punched me on the arm. Without thinking, I said something to the effect of, "ah, that's nice, you don't hit as hard as Elliot." So what does she do?? she pulls back her arm and punches me really hard in my shoulder! I couldn't believe she did that! I wasn't really angry, but I was definitely not happy, and I told her so! She just giggled and went back to her dinner. Anyway, the point is I am worn out! I spent half my energy playing with them, and the other half trying to make them settle down. Perhaps I shouldn't egg them on, but why should they get to have all the fun? plus they're going to be rambunctious anyway because that's what they do.

There are few things that I regret. One of them, however, is teaching them a little poem after burping. It was cute the first couple times; now that they burp on purpose just to say the poem, it's not as cute. And, I suppose I can't write this without writing the poem, so read on mon amis, it's at the bottom, below the pictures. I can't believe what I remember from childhood. There are songs, poems, games, and arts and crafts that I haven't even thought of since I was 6! I guess my memory isn't as bad as I thought it was. Well long term memory anyway, my short term one is well occupied with French vocabulary at the moment and we will see in a couple months how well that is working...

Here's some picts from this week:






Poem:
Excuse me that was very rude, it was not me, it was my food. It got so lonely down below, it just came up to say "Hello".

See Blog Title

Je suis retournee a paris semaine dernier pour travaille. Je voudrais continue mon vacance, mais je ne peux pas.

Last week was a bit rough. My feelings of relaxation from the holiday disappeared very quickly. I was stressed out about which language classes I was going to continue with, I was stressed out about my money situation and I was getting a bit homesick also. In addition to that, I had to take care of the kids and I felt like something was off between Anne-Marie and I. I know that she is very busy and sometimes I think I take things too personally/seriously. I just had an overall feeling of, I guess the best way to put it is discontentment. It's not exactly it, but I just can't put my finger on it. I kept asking myself why I am here and can I really keep doing this...blah blah blah. Then Saturday came and the kids were with their dad. My foot was feeling better, so I went for a run in the park. Then Saturday night I helped AM clean the house then we had a nice dinner of pasta with pesto (what I brought back from Italy) and wine. Running is always good for clearing the head and it was nice to spend time with just Anne-Marie without the kids around. I also went out with some friends from class Saturday night. All in all, it was a good mental health weekend. Today is Monday again, and I've gotten my class situation handled and have decided not to worry about money and just go with the experience (though we'll see how long that lasts). I've worked it out with Anne-Marie to stay on for the next school year also. So, I will be working until the end of June then have July and August off and start work again (in the new house) next September. This means I will be coming back to the states in August for Kyle's (my stepbrother) wedding, but probably won't be back in Portland until Christmas time to visit (maybe). That also means that gives you all more time to come visit me, so get on it! Despite all this, the kids and I do have some pretty fun times. Below are some more pictures of the kids that I took the day we all came back from vacation...

Adventures in Italy

This is going to be difficult to write everything that went on for the last two weeks, so I’m going to write about the tournament and then about the rest of the trip. Warning, it is really, really long…

Below are my favorite picts from the trip and the links to albums below:

Paga Picts: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/lauren.gross
/album/576460762398699500

Italy Picts: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/lauren.gross
/album/576460762398716830

Rimini:

The actual traveling part of my trip turned out to be very frustrating on all accounts. Some advice: make sure you do a cost/benefit analysis on buying the cheapest possible airline flights before purchasing. Yes, I got a flight for 18 euros to Milan, but I had to wake up at 4am, then missed the bus to take me to the other bus, which would then take me to the coach that takes an hour to get to the airport. Luckily, I left myself plenty of time to get to the airport (as my flight didn’t really leave til 8:30) and caught the plane to Milan (Bergamo actually). I met a couple Frisbee players on the way; one guy, Seth, who plays for Sockeye in Seattle and some other German players once I got to Bergamo. After the tourney, I took a train to Florence, which wasn’t too bad, but as you can see from my last post, the trains were on strike one day and I couldn’t go anywhere that day. From Florence I went to La Spetzia then to Genova then I spent my last night in Milan (and took several little train trips in between). Coming home to Paris, I missed my flight and ended up paying another 100 euros to catch a train from Milan to Paris (and by the way the statzione centrale is about an hour and 10 euros from the airport). So, instead of getting home at 1pm, I got in around 11:15pm. Ah, the joys of travel…

Apart from the minor frustrations, the trip itself was absolutely wonderful. I got into Rimini in the late afternoon, checked in at the registration/hostel and hung out until the welcoming party. The party was at the beach of course and they served loads of spaghetti with freshly barbequed anchovies and were constantly bringing out vats of red wine from some unseen location. This isn’t any tiny feat either. Paganello is one of the largest tournaments in the world and there were probably around 500 people the first night. Something like 50 teams play and each team has at least 10-20 people. This is the 17^th year of Paga though and they have it down pretty well. So, I spent the night drinking wine and throwing the L.E.D. Frisbee. Also, I ran into my friend Jimmy Lee that I used to play with at OSU! Oh, such a small frickin world, then when you add ultimate on top, it gets even smaller. Later that night, I was walking around the party and saw someone wearing a cool hat. When I passed by him, I told him that I liked it and introduced myself. He asked what team I was playing for. When I told him he got all excited and said “no way, I’m captaining that team!” So, that’s how I met my first teammate.

Play: it’s always difficult to pick up with a team. There are so many different personalities and levels of play. It is hard to get everyone of the same page and even harder to strike a balance between just having fun, but being competitive enough to win some games. Still, I think our team did a pretty good job of hanging together. For me, I hadn’t really been playing and it was difficult to find a rhythm. I mostly played handler and didn’t really find my game until the second day. Still, even though it was a bit hard to get going (and exhausting running in sand) it was amazing playing in 80 degree weather on the beach next to the sea for 5 days. Our team was called Chili, Soy and MSG and though we were the “Greater China Ultimate Team,” only one person was actually a native from China. The others all just lived there or were just picking up like me. Countries represented: New Zealand, Brazil, Venezuela, America, Italy, France and of course China. The New Zealand girl was hilarious. She was about 4’11” and every other phrase was “you know what I mean?” but in a Kiwi accent. For example: “So, I was walking down the street, you know what I mean, and there was another gelato place, you know what I mean”…etc. After the first day we all were staying, “NO, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!” by the end of the tourney, though we all got used to it and it became a running joke.

Oh the parties! There were two big parties one Saturday night and one Sunday and they were both dress up/theme parties. The one was a Hollywood theme and my team went as Austin Powers characters. I went as Frau Farbissina (founded the militant wing of the Salvation Army). There were some really great costumes! And everyone danced in a tent on the beach to a live band until the wee hours of the morning. I had a little wand with me for my costume and my friend and I started a limbo competition with it. Pretty soon there were more and more people lined up to go, then someone grabbed a broom handle and it became a even bigger limbo competition. Everywhere you looked there was something or someone doing something funny. The next night was the 20’s party and my team all wore red feather boas and sequin headbands. It was at some local dance club though and the feeling wasn’t as fun as the previous party, though still went into the wee hours. Thank goodness our games didn’t start until 11 am because I don’t think anyone would have been functioning properly if they started earlier. The games were nice too because there were a couple hour breaks in between each one so we could watch some other games being played. The breaks weren’t so good because your muscles got a bit cold, but whatever it was warm out and I wanted to watch freestyle and some ulti games.

Oh the Italian food! I ate so much great pizza, pasta, and gelato, I can’t even go into it. Just having a plain ol’ margharita pizza (mozzarella and sauce) was amazing. My favorite pasta was the tortellini with cream sauce and I tried to taste as many different kinds of tiramisu gelato as possible. In Italy, there is a gelateria on just about every corner and with the weather being so warm, a nice cool gelati in your tummy is a wonderful thing.

After playing hard, eating well, drinking a lot of chianti and sangeovese, and getting my fill of ultimate, I eventually took the train from Rimini to Florence to start the rest of my trip.

Florence (Firenze):
I left for Florence at 2pm from Rimini and stayed at a hostel the first two nights (actually two different hostels). My foot was a bit sore from playing in the sand and what else do you do when you are a tourist but walk everywhere? So, I tried to take it a bit easy, meaning I spent quite a lot of time sitting, drinking cappuccinos and reading. Florence is such a great city full of art and culture (and a ton of American tourists). The first day I went to the Leonardo de Vinci museum and to the Galleria Acedamia to see the original David. I had to wait in line to get into the museum for about 2 hours, but no worries, I just read my book and listened to/laughed at the American and Canadian tourist conversations around me. My first night, I stayed in a really nice hostel room that had three beds and a private bath, but no one else was staying there, so I had it all to my self. The next night I stayed in a cheaper one with more people, but it was good because I got to meet a lot of other women who were traveling (again, mostly Americans). At night, I went to see the sunset in a local park that overlooks the city with a girl I met at the hostel who is from California. It is so interesting meeting other travelers and to see what they are up to. Several of the girls who were staying there were actually living in France also, but they were doing their own thing and were friendly, but seemed to only want conversation. Ah, screw em, they were boring anyway J.

The next day was Thursday and during the day I hiked to the top of the Duomo and got a great view of the city and just kind of bumbled about the city to see what I could see. Of course I went to Ponte Vecchio several times, but didn’t buy anything because it is way too expensive there. At night I ended up staying with a guy named Massimo who lived about a half hour north of Firenze in a town called Pistoia. He lives in a huge house overlooking several vineyards with his animals. First he met me in Florence though and we went out for a really nice dinner with appetizers and a second course and expensive wine and dessert and grappe (Italian liquor) oh, it was good. He knows a lot about art and is a semollier, so we chatted a lot about food and wine, etc.

Speaking of wine, I went into a local wine store with Salina and the guy working came over to us and started telling us about the different wines. (all the people I met in Italy were so friendly!) Anyway, he told us the story of the Chianti Classico region and why there is a black rooster on the label. Chianti Classico is made in this specific area between Florence and Sienna and there is a black rooster because the people needed to determine the boarder between Florence and Sienna. So, the story goes that one rooster was let loose from Sienna and one from Florence and where they met is where they drew the boarder. And, I guess the Sienna area is larger because that rooster apparently didn’t have any thing to eat and was more motivated to look for food. Kind of a silly story, but none the less, I bought a bottle of Chianti Classico, which turned out to be very tasty!

Like I said earlier, on Friday I wanted to visit Pisa, but the trains were on strike. My foot was still sore and I didn’t want to spend much money, so I just kind of walked around and looked in shops, ate some tiramisu, etc. For lunch I ordered spaghetti and all I wanted was a class of wine, but they sell it by the liter/centi liter. I didn’t know how much to get so I got what the waiter asked if I wanted. Next thing I know, he’s bringing out a half liter of red wine. Yeah, so the afternoon was pretty fun, though I don’t remember a whole lot of what I did J. Massimo met me in Firenze at night and we went to a couchsurfing meeting at a local bar. The meeting was a “Mad Hatter Party” where everyone had to where a crazy hat. I had so much fun meeting everyone! There were Germans, Italians, Americans, a guy from Israel…and they serve free food at the bars in Italy. Not just chips and popcorn though, like gourmet pizza, couscous, salad, and whatever else. Good times.

Florence is a great city, but three days was enough for me and the need to move was strong, so I headed to Cinque Terre which is on the Ligurian Sea. A guy from my team (the only Chinese one) told me about the town and how he couldn’t spend enough time there. Then after that, I kept hearing about it and how it was so great, so I decided to go check it out. The day before I left, I found a guy on Couchsurfing who lives in La Spetzia, which is on the sea as well, but not as touristy and only 10 mins by train away. He works three jobs, so I was pretty much left to my own devices to explore. I spent a lot of time lounging on the beach or rocks or going for hikes on the many trails around the area. Cinque Terre is made up of 5 little towns (hence the name). Each one is very charming, but there is not a whole lot to do. No worries though, I was very happy just soaking up the sun and whatnot.

I ended up staying in Cinque Terre for a couple nights. The first night we met up with some of Sergio’s friends, who happened to also be hosting couch surfers. All in all, there were about 15 of us who stuffed ourselves with pasta and ham and potatoes and an amazing desert made of ricotta cheese and chocolate. Of course we had coffee after dinner and some homemade ice cream. Ugh, I couldn’t eat again until dinner the next day I was so full! The second day I spent hiking from Manarola to Corniglia and then bought a bit of cheese and wine and bread and hiked up just past Riomaggori on the bluff to watch the Sunset.

The next day it was time to hit the road again, so I hopped on the back of Sergio’s scooter again (which is absolutely the best way to get around, especially on beautiful, sunny coastal roads) and he took me to the train station. The plan was to go to Genova then catch a train to Milan. I wish I could have spent more time in Genova. I guess there is the biggest aquarium in Italy there. It is also where pesto is originally from (yes, of course I bought some there from a local store). I also saw a specialty beers store that was selling American beer. You know what the microbrew was?? Rogue! They had maybe 4 or 5 different kinds too! I was so excited that I went into the store and tried to explain that the beer was from where I was from. The sales woman was not as thrilled as I was and just kind of looked at me with a distant expression, but I didn’t care.

So, next it was off to Milan to stay for one night, then back to Paris. I met another couchsurfer, Elena, who let me stay with her. Elena is an Italian teacher and also works for a computer company. I really enjoyed staying with her and it made me want to stay in Milan a bit longer and check out the city. I didn’t get into Milan til about 7pm, so we went right to meet her friend for a pizza. I’m so glad she made me order one because it was the best pizza I had had in Italy. After dinner, we just went back to her place and chatted until late into the night. It was so great meeting her and I hope that she comes to visit me in Paris or possibly the US because she said she might plan a trip there.

As I said above, I missed my flight back to Paris and had to take the train, but if I hadn’t taken the train, I wouldn’t have seen the sunset in the Alps, which really made it all worth it. Now I’m back in Paris and the little ones are as rambunctious as ever. Chloe gave me a big hug when I saw her and the other two are constantly making me laugh. If only I could get Pablo to get dressed in the morning without a struggle, life would be wonderful. On to the next adventure…