Barthelona

Fun Fact: Christmas in Strasbourg is a really big deal ... and has been for quite sometime.  In fact, Strasbourg's Christmas Market (the Christkindelsmarik) has been around since 1570.  For the past week, workers have been decorating the big Christmas tree in the main square.  I'm a little confused because there has been constant activity around the tree for several days but it still only has lights.  Perhaps it is more delicate work then I imagine.

In case you're tempted, James and I are encouraging visitors between December 9-16.  If you're on the fence, here's a link to some additional info about the Christmas festivities:

http://noel.tourisme-alsace.com/en/strasbourg-christmas/

Barcelona
Last week, James was in the United States for a week to take his oral surgery boards (which he passed!!) so Conor and I headed off to Barcelona to visit Jordan.  Getting us, and all of our stuff, onto the plane was by far the most stressful part of the whole weekend.  We flew out of Basel, Switzerland where, for some reason, the long term parking lot is a good two city blocks from the terminal AND there is no shuttle.  So, to reach the terminal, I pushed Conor in his stroller, carried a massive carry-on, pulled our luggage and draped the car seat over my head like a messanger bag ... in the rain.  Once we arrived, however, everything worked out great and we had an incredibly enjoyable weekend. 

Since our days at UCLA, when we were both students, Jordan and I have shared a love of fine dining.  Our habit began when we started meeting every Friday for lunch at my sorority (to save money) but soon ditched the free meal in favor of more interesting yet pricier meals at various LA restaurants.  This love has endured regardless of whether or not we can afford it ... which usually we cannot.  We ate out four times in the five days Conor and I were visiting.  Our best meal was, of course, the cheapest.  Jordan's friends, Karen and Alexis, had been wanting to try a restaurant around the corner from their new apartment for weeks.  The 3-course "menu del dia" was less than 20 Euros and everything was delicious.  It helped that Conor was super well behaved while we waited for a table and then conked out for a nap when the food arrived. 

Our lowest foodie moment was the first night.  Admittedly, both Jordan and I drank a bit too much wine while we caught up pre-dinner.  Then, the wine drinking continued throughout the meal.  I refuse to discuss actual quantity but let's just say that we did not appreciate the excellent (and expensive) food as much as we would have had we both been a bit more sober.  After the meal, we dropped Jordan's friend, Sam, off at a bar and we contemplated what to do next.  We did not go get another drink.  We did not go for a stroll.  However, the next thing I know, we're getting pizza.  We went directly from the restaurant, where we'd had a full meal (including apps and dessert), to the pizza place on Jordan's street.  Ugh.  I woke up with a stomach full of mediocre pizza.

I'm happy to report that Jordan and Conor really bonded.  Even though Jordan is not a "baby-person" (he will be the first to admit this), he and Conor really hit it off.  Here's some pics of them bonding:

Conor Update: After weeks of rocking back and forth on all fours, Conor finally put one hand in front of the other and started crawling. Officially, his first crawl happened in Jordan's bathtub but he's now crawling on any and all surfaces. He's not super graceful, yet, but he's definitely moving forward. 

Aix-en-Provence

Fun Fact:  The name Conor is pretty unusual in France.  According to the internet, there have only been 9 babies named Conor in France since 1900, 3 of which were in 2004.  Also, in French, the name Conor doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.  The pronunciation goes something like this: Kaaa-NOR (with a lot of emphasis on the NOR).  After hearing Conor's name, several French people have said, "oh, like Sarah Conner or John Connor dans Terminator."  Well ... yes.  So, now when I want to explain Conor's name and give French people a point of reference, I always mention the Terminator characters and everyone gets it right away. 

Aix-En-Provence
Most of you know that Amy Dickinson Carmen and I lived in Aix-en-Provence after graduating from UCLA.  I hadn't been back since we left in early September 2001, which is unforgivable since it was an amazing year and we made some really good friends with whom I should have been in better touch over the years.  But, 2000/2001 was before Facebook and the era of social networking which makes staying in contact with everyone under the sun basically effortless.  Even communicating over email was different "way back then."  Back then, we actually went to an internet cafe to "do email."  How unbelievably inconvenient that seems in retrospect.

James is still studying for his exam (wish him luck ... it is next Monday (11/15)) so I decided to take Conor to Aix to visit our friend Anne.  I hadn't seen Anne for several years but it was like nothing had changed.  She is hilarious and quite sassy, which explains why we get along so well.  Here's a picture of us going out to a birthday party on Friday night:

Anne is on the left, her husband Luc is on the right, and the other guy is their friend Matthieu. 

By the way, Luc has some very cool music (3 songs) on itunes.  The artist's name is M8AL.  Check out the song michael Knight. 



Anyway, going out is just not the same with a 6 month old even when you get a babysitter (as we did).  I behaved myself and had only a few drinks but we didn't get home until 2am.  Of course, Conor decided to get up at 6am on the dot. 

Since we had several hours until normal people woke up, I decided to take him on a walk around Aix and show him where Amy and I lived back in the good old days (pre-screaming babies at 6am).



First, we explored the Saturday market:

Then, we made our way to my and Amy's old apartment which was right in front of this church:

After our big outing in the morning, Conor was pooped the rest of the day:

I was also completely pooped but I didn't have a stroller in which I could take a nap.

Have I mentioned yet how adorable Anne and Luc's daughter is?  She is adorable:

Anyway, aside from only sleeping a few hours on Friday night, it was a great weekend and I'm very excited to go back with James! 

Conor Update:  The pinkeye is back.  Ugh.  Back to the pediatrician tomorrow. 

St. Pierre Le Jeune

Fun Fact:  Did you know that Alsace is one of the few regions in Europe that has a strong tradition of both wine and beer production.  The wine grapes in these parts are Reisling, Gewurtzraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir (the only red).  Fischer is the most famous local beer.  We've been enjoying all of the above quite a bit :)  In fact, I usually enjoy a glass while blogging.

St. Pierre Le Jeune
Before we got here, I thought our apartment was going to have a great view overlooking Strasbourg's famous Cathedral.  I thought this because one of the pictures we got of our apartment showed a great view of the famous Cathedral.  No such view actually exists from our apartment and I think the picture may have been taken from the street.  I'm not complaining.  I love our apartment for many reasons but our view is nothing special - its of a courtyard.  We do, however, have a great view from our bathroom window:

Since day one I've been intrigued about this view.  What's behind this beautiful stained glass window that has the misfortune of facing our toilet?

I think you all know I'm pretty type-A.  I usually have a long agenda of "TTDs" (Things To Do) written out, by hand, in my daily planner.  One day last week I woke up with a long list of tasks I wanted to accomplish but it was so beautiful out!  So, I decided to be a tourist and investigate what was behind the bathroom's stained glass window. Turns out, an amazing church - St. Pierre Le Jeune (Saint Pierre The Young):

The oldest part of the church, the Burial Crypt, was built in the 7th century:

The gold person is part of this art exhibit:  http://www.protestantismeetimages.com/A-ciel-ouvert-4-installations-de.html

Conor Update: Conor's pinkeye and the related ear infection that came on a day later are both better.  The orange eye medication we have to apply four times a day made for some fun photo ops:

We didn't do anything for Halloween but Grandma Deb sent Conor a monkey costume so we played dress up at home:

Finally, I'd like some feedback.  Is six months too early to surf the web?

A bientot!