Things that make me smile

The caption says " This is clue is part of our Poo and Paws trail"

Time with Eli

Alexis had to go to Chicago for work so Nico and I "co-parented." It was nice to spend so much time with Eli.

On the summer solstice, I left Nico after Eli was down for the night and headed towards Notre Dame. Every year on the 21st, Paris has a large music festival. It is fun because there are bands everywhere and LOTS of people. I rode a bike to Notre Dame, bought a large ice cream, and walked around.

I learned a fun fact on my way home through a very crowded metro system: drinking in public and public drunkenness is allowed in France.

Eli and I continued to hang out together and checked out the sights of Paris together.

On Friday, Alexis returned and we went shopping. We stopped at a nice cafe and since we couldn't decide on what desserts to get, we ordered 3. It was a solid decision.

Fontainebleau

I went to Fontainebleau on Sunday to climb. Fontainebleau is known for its the huge amount of great bouldering routes or as they say it in french: escalade de bloc.

I went with Alexis and Nico's friend Xavier and his friends from the local climbing gym.
Because we were not able to rent a crash pad (or as they say it in french "le crash pad"), we chose to climb in the area that is very sandy. It is the sight of a former inland sea. It was fun to get on the rock and hang out with french climbers.


Does anyone recognize this picture (without the people in it?). Hint: Christmas card. Okay that was more of an answer than a hint.

When we got back from climbing we went to dinner at a local bistro near Xavier's house. It was free couscous night, which is definitely not vegetarian. In the end, Xavier asked a stranger for his extra dish of yogurt and honey so that I could eat something. It was key move to make sure I could navigate my 45 minute ride through the metro system after my glass of wine.

My climbing partners for the day (above picture) : Xavier (on left), Christina, Anne, and Freddy.

Baby Eli takes Paris

First day on the job

Today was the first day I was left to babysit Eli unsupervised while Nico and Alexis went to work. We had a great time together. In the afternoon we walked to Luxembourg gardens. I have been fortunate to see Luxembourg in 3 out of 4 seasons in the last 15 months. It was really fun to see it in the summer.

The stroller effect:

Alexis and I have both noted how I always get random people coming up to me asking for directions: NYC, London, and Paris. It has become kind of a joke here how many French people come up to me to ask for directions. In the states, I am often stopped in stores and asked questions like I work at the place.

Alexis and I wondered if the phenomenon would be heightened when I have a baby in a stroller. Answer: yes. I didn't get further than the first major intersection before an elderly lady with a cane came up to me pointing down a street clearly asking a question. I was gone for 2 hours and had 3 people stop me. Alexis has had that many in the 4 months of pushing Eli around in the stroller.

I bought a crepe and Eli had a bottle. I had the better of the 2 options. This is his "post- meal" look.

Tuesday in London, Wednesday in Paris

I went to the British Mueseum on Tuesday. I thought I would enjoy it, but I REALLY enjoyed. I think it was key that I kept it short, and used a Rick Steves' podcast tour of the place.

I saw all kinds of amazing things including the Rosette Stone, amazing Egyptian statues, relief carvings from Assyria, and Greek works including parts of the Parthenon.
I think one reason the Rosette Stone was so amazing to me was that it was: a) so massive b) how I pictured it. When I saw the exhibit and the dead sea scrolls in Seattle a few years ago I was disappointed that they were not as I had imagined them: large, imposing scrolls, but rather small pieces of paper that had to viewed in very dim rooms.

There was also a really interesting special exhibit of art from Afghanistan. My favorite piece was a folding gold crown for nomads.

And then on Wednesday I was able to spend the day with Alexis and Eli. It was so great to finally hold him.
I love this picture, because besides the fact that Eli looks like Mother Theresa (she had a thing for dinosaur pajamas), I was also enjoying 3 different creme brulees, so I was I was really happy.

London by bike

I went on a guided bicycle tour of London. It turned out be a beautiful, sunny day, making a nice tour even better! The tour took us mainly through all of the beautiful gardens and parks of London as we made our way to various sites.

We were allowed to pick out our bikes. We had some super hard choices to make: red or blue and a clown horn or a bumble been horn. I was happy with my choice. You know what they say, clowns indicate power.

Kensington Palace with our guide Graham.

Buckingham Palace. For all of you who follow such things... the queen was in..... and there is a large cement block in this picture.... interesting picture choice on my part...

Westminister Abbey in all of its historic beauty.

It was such a beautiful day that it seemed only appropriate to enjoy it more by consuming ice cream while sitting in the sun in Kensington gardens/ Hyde park.

To make the day even more perfect I then went and saw Billy Eliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

A weekend of Shakespeare and the Cotswolds

Page and I had a leisurely morning (read: went to bed late= work up late) and finally decided on heading to the Cotswolds and Stratford upon Avon.

We ended up renting a car and I was the chosen driver, mainly because I know how to drive a manual. I was initially a bit nervous about driving in England but I had a lot of fun. The trickiest thing was doing 3 point turns on small country roads, in the rain.

Our car was a "smurf" blue

We decided to see if we could see a play at the famous Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon. Tickets typically sell out months ahead of time, but we tried our luck at the "returned tickets line." We waited 2 hours but got 2 great tickets for the Merchant of Venice.

The next day we drove around the Cotswolds checking out the quaint towns but stayed in the car most of the time due to the rain.

These are the Rollright stones, they date back to the Bronze Age. The guide book said that it might be crowded but apparently no one else wanted to brave the monsoon like weather.

We had a nice "cream tea" in Bourton-on-the-Water. But here is a tip: a "lunch" of simple sugars, fat, and caffeine doesn't really hold one till super time.

Cambridge

I spent a night with Page in Cambridge. I explored the town in the morning.
I had breakfast (and went back for lunch) at Michaelhouse,. I found the recommendation from my good friend Rick Steves. It is a former church turned into an organic cafe. It made me think of Alice's Restaurant......

I then went Ponting on the Cam. Which, apparently, I love! Above is a picture of my .... ponter? I didn't find out the nomenclature....

Below is Trinity College. One of the many colleges in Cambridge. The sign says "closed to visitors." But with some help from the locals and some persistence, I found the Wren Library (it is on the campus but not closed to visitors, they just don't like crowds therefore it is difficult to find). In the library I was able to view hand written works by Newton, a bible from the 8th century, and my personal favorite, the original Winnie the Pooh.

London

A view from the river boat from Waterloo to Tower Bridge.

The view from atop of St. Paul's (83 meters, or 528 stairs to be exact).