Paris Times Two



Conor sends everyone a big hello!!

Fun Fact: Did you know that Alsace (the region in which Strasbourg is located) is famous for enormous birds.  It's true.  Storks.  In French they're called Les Cigognes.  Apparently, they almost disappeared from this region in the 1980s due to high tension wires and pesticide use but thanks to some local bird lovers, they're back.  They construct enormous (Smart car sized) nests on roofs and fly around the quaint little Alsacian villages.  They're not fierce and certainly less objectionable than pigeons.  If you visit Strasbourg, you'll witness that every souvenir shop sells a wide variety of made-in-China storks of every type - stuffed, magnetic, ceramic, wood-carved, chocolate, etc.
As usual, it has been a very busy couple of weeks with lots of visitors, a spectacular weekend trip to Lausanne, Switzerland and TWO trips to Paris!  We've also battled and won a domestic war against a mouse.

Jordan's Visit to Strasbourg:
Jordan came for a very fun visit at the end of January.  He flew into Basel on Saturday morning and Conor, James and I picked him up at the airport.  Conveniently, the way back to Strasbourg from Basel takes you down the "Route du Vin" (the wine road) so we stopped off at our favorite winery on the way home. 

We had a great couple of days in Strasbourg but the highlight was that Jordan and I were able to escape to Paris for a night (thanks James for watching Conor for the night!!!).  We dropped Conor off at daycare in the morning and were in Paris only a couple of hours later.  Here are some pics of us cruising around:




View from our hotel in Montmartre




Sacre Coeur



Moulin Rouge

Jordan's friend and former "Hi, This is Barcelona" tour guide, Dolores (aka Dols), totally hooked us up and basically planned our whole trip for us (thanks Dols!). 

Shameless Plug:  If you or anyone you know is going to Barcelona, you should really consider booking an atypical tour through Jordan's tour company:  http://www.hithisisbarcelona.com/

Dols found us our hotel, made us reservations at a delicious restaurant, and showed us around the Marais neighborhood on Sunday.  Here's Jordan, Dols and I admiring some pretty amazing looking French pastries:

We also visited Dols' apartment which has a stunning view of Sacre Coeur.  See for yourself:

Back in Strasbourg, we had some quality downtown at home.  We made some good dinners, watched (and loved) "The King's Speach" and played with Conor.  Much to my delight, Jordan loves Conor (who wouldn't you might be asking yourself ... he's so darn loveable ... but Jordan is not a baby person by nature). 

The Mouse:
Just before Jordan's visit, James and I saw a mouse dash through our kitchen.  Neither of us had seen any evidence of mice before the little guy decided to run in front of us.  But, from that point on, we started hearing it (them) in the wall behind our bed and I found a few droppings. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Needless to say, I started a full fledged anti-mouse assault which has included laying traps, closing any and all openings into the apartment and blasting the inside of the walls with poison.  We've been mouse-free for almost two weeks now. 

Lausanne, Switzerland:
Since I was busy hanging out with Jordan before we went to Lausanne, I didn't have time to do any research or learn anything about the city.  All I knew was that it was on Lake Geneva.  How lucky because it was great to be so pleasanty surprised.  Lausanne is beautiful! 

We stayed at our Italian friends' Michele and Francesca Diana's new house.  Meet the Diana's (they're expecting a little girl in May):

They have a beautiful apartment in a converted farmhouse with a great view of Lake Geneva.  This is the view from their house at sunset:

On Saturday, the Diana's took us on a drive all the way around Lake Geneva.  Did you know Lake Geneva is also called Lake Leman (Lac de Leman) in French?  The French don't call it Lake Geneva because that would be admitting that the lake is more Swiss than French.

Regardless of what you call it, the lake and all the villages around it are spectacular.  Here are some pics:



Can you see the French Alps in the background?

Us with Michele in the village of Yvoire

We had a delicious lunch in Yvoire, a medieval village on the French side.  The village speciality is freshly caught, fried perch in a citrus butter sauce.  So delicious!  Conor also enjoyed his lunch:

After lunch, we drove back into Switzerland and made it to the Lavaux wine growing region ... just in time for sunset! (Warning: lots of pictures to follow)

The terraced vineyards grow on the hills above the lake making for some pretty spectacular views.  The main wine grape variety grown in this are is called Chasselas - it's sweet and perfect for sipping lakeside while the sun sets.

The next day, back in Lausanne, it was warm enough to stroll along the lake and eat lunch outside.  After seeing all the sailboats in the harbor, James decided he may want us to relocate to Lausanne permanently.

Anji and Jim's Visit:

Anji and Jim (James' sister and dad) came to visit Conor this past week.  Conor was incredibly excited to hang out with the both of them:

A nice benefit of visiting Conor is that they also got to spend some time with James and I.  The second-to-best highlight was that we went to a performance by Strasbourg's Philharmonic Orchestra.  My violin teacher got us a couple free tickets so we decided to make a night out of it.  The orchestra performed three pieces but the last one, a Beethoven piece, was incredible because of the violin soloist who ... for lack of a more cultured way of saying it ... kicked ass!

The highlight of their visit was ... another trip to Paris!  We got up early and TGV'ed it to Paris and were in the Louvre by about 2pm.  Conor wasn't super impressed by the Venus de Milo:

Nor was he all that impressed by the actual palace of the Louvre:

But he did like playing with the Guv (aka Grandpa Jim) in the French painting's section:

The next day we walked around Paris and enjoyed delicious croque-madame sandwiches at a cafe near the Eiffel Tower. 
Conor Update:
Two more teeth!  After sleeping like a crazy baby for about a week, James and I had several theories about what was going on.  Maybe he had gas, maybe he wasn't eating enough dinner, maybe there was a full moon.  But, while we were wrestling around on the floor one night, I noticed that his front, top two teeth had come through.  Since then (knock on wood) he's been sleeping through the night!

Conor has also become very mom-attached. He follows my every move.  It's quite cute most of the time, except when I really need a moment to myself, like to use the bathroom.  He's also started biting me.  And only me. He'll start by giving me a kiss on the cheek and then, all of a sudden, clamp down with his four little razor teeth.

That's How I Roll :)

Iron & Wine Fun Fact

Updated Fun Fact: My last Fun Fact was a little boring.  Ausfahrt does mean exit in German, which is a fact.  And, it is a funny sounding word which makes it fun.  But, tonight James and I came across an even better Fun Fact.  So, this post is an adendum to last night's post.

The Fun Fact is that Iron & Wine recently released a new album.  I'm a relatively big Iron & Wine fan.  I saw them play in a tiny little bar in Oxford, Mississippi before they hit it big with Such Great Heights (via Postal Service).  Then, James and I saw them open for Flight of the Conchords at Red Rocks outside Denver.  That was an odd mix of acts.  James' favorite song by them is Trapeze Swinger.

The following review of their new album quite possibly could be the best album review ever:

Thanks Michael Core for the good laugh.

Ausfahrt and Baby farts

Conor in his Bruce Springsteen onesie from Uncle Jordan

Fun Fact: Ausfahrt means "exit" in German. 

La Vie Quotidienne: Life has been refreshingly routine since Christmas.  We haven't travelled anywhere (until this weekend) and have enjoyed a few lazy weeks at home.  Conor is finally back on something resembling a schedule and is starting to sleep a bit better (i.e. longer and less wake-ups in the middle of the night ... except that as I am writing this blog he just inexplicably woke up for close to an hour).  Most mornings he is wide awake by 6:30 am and wants to play.  The French are not morning people and the six o'clock hour is a tough time to be awake in this country.  It stays dark until about 8 am and the morning news doesn't start until pretty late - and most of you know I'm addicted to the morning news.  My point is that between 6 am and 9 am French time is a pretty good time to get ahold of me - especially through Skype (hint hint).

We've started a few regular activities - first, weekly French lessons! Every Tuesday night an instructor comes to our house for a two hour lesson.  James' co-fellow at IRCAD, Vivian, is in our "petit cours" and we are having a great time.  After our lesson we make dinner, drink wine and hang out a bit - a nice little Tuesday night. 

Second, Conor and I have been regularly attending two playgroups.  On Wednesday mornings, Strasbourg's English Speaking Community (ESC) hosts a playgroup and on Friday mornings, the Americans in Alsace Association (AIA) has their own (some would say competing) playgroup.  At the AIA playgroup last week I met another mom who teaches violin so I'm going to re-start taking lessons.  (Some of you may remember that I have big plans to learn the violin so I can someday play in an Irish pub.  I took one lesson in San Francisco and learned Row Row Row Your Boat).

Third, I've been going to yoga twice a week.  I really look forward to these classes.  The studio is beautiful and is less than five minutes from our house.  I'm happy to report that I can now, for the first time ever, sit in the full lotus position.  It is quite painful to sit this way. 

Fourth, having the flu seems to be a regular activity.  We celebrated James' birthday a few Saturdays ago and, since it was his birthday, I took the morning shift with Conor the following Sunday morning.  At first I thought I just had a bit of a hangover but by mid-morning I had the chills, bodyaches, sore throat - basically the full blown flu for the second time this winter!  This one was a doozy and I was pretty much in bed for three days feeling terrible.  James thought he escaped the worst of it because he had a night with flu-like symptoms about a week before.  But - no such luck - he came down with the same flu this past week. 

Here's a picture we took on our walk home the other night:

Baden Baden:
After a few quiet weekends at home, we decided to head to Baden Baden yesterday for one night.  Baden Baden is in Germany but less than an hour from Strasbourg.  Bill Clinton somewhat famously said that "Baden Baden is so nice they named it twice."  It is a nice town but VERY sleepy and full of retired Germans and Russians.  Baden means "baths" in German and, as its name suggets, the town's claim to faim is its thermal springs. 

James and I spent a very relaxing morning at Friedrichsbad (http://www.carasana.de/home/en/roemisch.html) - the 130 year old Roman baths with Irish hot baths in the center of Baden Baden.  Sundays are "mixed" so male and female, young-ish and old cruise around naked from bath to bath.  It was great but I was thankful to be relatively sure I wouldn't happen to run into anyone I knew.  I can't think of anything much awkwarder than unexpectedly having to steam naked next to a co-worker or, worse yet, a boss. 

Conor Update: Conor is starting to turn his nose up at the delicious pureed vegetables I make him but will gobble up the sweet fruit puree I feed him each afternoon.  I think he's developping quite a sweet tooth.  In an effort to make his vegetables more appetizing, I tried adding a bit of fromage blanc (like sour cream but not sour) to make it creamier.  Then, because I had a huge tub of fromage blanc, I added it to his fruit puree and evening porridge.  I think I OD'd him on fromage blanc because for the next few days he had the worst gas!

When I picked him up from daycare the following afternoon, one of the ladies told me that Conor was standing up at one of the playpens and tooted really loud.  Then, he got all surprised and started looking around to see where the noise had come from :)


Here's Conor devouring an orange and some fromage blanc




Come visit me!



2G or not 2G

Fun Fact: "2G" or not to "2G" ... that was the problem faced by both my mom and James' mom when they got to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.  And, the answer was a resounding "non" (said in the most dismissive French accent possible and accompanied by a shoulder shrug). 

Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle is divided into SEVEN!!!!! parts (i.e. Terminals 2A through 2G).  Terminals 2A through 2F are connected via ground level or below ground passageways.  Terminal 2G, however, is located 1.6 miles away from terminals 2A-2F and is only accessible by bus.  However, there are no signs, advertisements, English-speaking airport employees, helpful French people, guide-dogs, or any other conceivable means of alerting travelers to the fact that if they want to catch their plane from Terminal 2G, they need to, in fact, exit the airport, wait on the street for a bus and ride almost 2 miles to a separate terminal that for no good reason is grouped together with Terminals 2A-2F.

Rather, if you ask a CGD employee directions to Terminal 2G (as BOTH of our mothers did on their way to Strasbourg for the holidays) you will, first, be looked at with a blank, uncomprehending stare.  Second, after repeating your question, you will be told in perfect English to "go upstairs."  Once you go upstairs, you will wind up on the street.  After going up and down the stairs several times with your heavy suitcase, you will FINALLY encounter another American who, having just experienced the same thing, will explain that you need to take the "navette" (the French word for bus) to Terminal 2G. 

But ... why bother?  You've already missed your flight.

Winter Wonderland

Even though it takes me fifteen minutes to get Conor wrapped up in all his winter gear ...

Even though Conor hates wearing his winter gear and immediately pulls off his hat ...

Even though Conor has gotten a few colds because he pulls off his hat ...

Even though my new Ugg boots are getting worn out at an alarming rate by sloshing through the snow ...

Even though I have to scrape a layer of snow and ice off the car every time I want to go anywhere ...

Even though I don't have a proper snow/ice scraper and have to use a spatula ...

It's all worth it because it is beautiful here in winter!

Grandma Time

My mom and James' mom both came to Strasbourg a few days before Christmas to see Conor.  Sure they were excited to see their own children but their number one priority, by far, was to hang out with the Man. 

The only downside to the Grandmas visit was that the day after they arrived, both came down with the stomach flu.  It was going around Conor's daycare and I got it the day before.  It was a nasty bug and anyone who came into contact with it got it.  Luckily, it only lasted 24 hours so we were still able to tour Strasbourg. 

After a few days in Strasbourg, we all headed to Clonakilty, Ireland for the week to meet up with James' sister Anji, her husband John, Jim (James' dad) and all of the Wall's extensive extended family in Ireland.

There were a lot of highlights during the trip, among which were:  we had a fabulous traditional Irish Christmas at James' cousin Sinead's house; Conor got to know his two wild cousins Jack and Paddy:

We re-celebrated Anji and John's wedding with all of the relatives who weren't able to make it to the actual wedding in June; We got to hang out in some of our favorite pubs:

Anne's sister Mary made us a delicious Italian meal followed by singing and dancing:

And, finally, we had a great time staying and hanging out with James' Uncle Ken and Aunt Joan and their daughters.  The best was that Conor and little Isabelle got to hang out and Conor got to play with all of her cool toys:

Conor Update: It's not weird (yet) but Conor loves to give me big, huge open mouth kisses:

But, the real Conor update is that he's an eating, crawling, almost walking machine these days.  He spent about one day content with being on all fours and now he's intent on standing up and trying to make his way around the living room by going from couch to table to chair.  He ignores all his toys and is only happy if I let him charge toward the sharpest object in the room.  Good times.

Phewwwww ... it's been a busy month!

Fun Fact: The Great Christmas Tree is finally illuminated in Place Kleber, which is just around the corner from our apartment.  The following description of the Great Christmas Tree appears in the English version of Strasbourg's Christmas brochure: 

"Throughout December, the place Kleber and the facade of the Aubette offer a magnificent backdrop for the illumination of the Great Christmas Tree ... Its twinkling lights and deep blue balls illuminate the night and give it a fairy like glitter, as in a dream."

Ok. I can only assume that the person who did this English translation is having a huge chuckle to him/herself.

Later in the same brochure, the following weekly event for kids is announced: "The Christmas Tree looses its balls."

Ok.  If you don't believe me, the brochure is attached at the end of this posting.


Phewwwww ... it's been a busy month! 
We have literally been on the go non-stop for the last month.  Despite all the fun we've had in the last few weeks, I've really been looking forward to being at home and having a nice relaxing night to sip a glass of wine and update STRASblog. 

Jess and Garrett's Visit
Jess and Garrett came for almost a week and, as always, we had a blast hanging out together.  A couple days before they arrived we found out James passed his the surgery boards.  So now, officially, he is a fully qualified general surgeon.  Hurray!  To celebrate, we organized a bowling party with James' work colleagues and Jess and Garrett:

I'm not sure why they're celebrating because I'm pretty sure my team kicked their butts.

Despite my domination, James looks like a very serious bowler :)

After getting home very late from a good night of bowling, we rallied the next day and went for a drive down the Route de Vin (the "wine road").  We got kind of a late start so we only had time to visit one wine maker.  The wine was delicious and we were able to show J&G the beautiful countryside around Strasbourg so it was a successful day.  Jess and I also got to pose for a picture with the famous (and handsome), French Rally car driver, Sebastien Loeb:

Jess and Garrett also got to spend some good quality time with Conor.  They especially had fun giving him a bath and teaching him new ways to play with his bath toys:

The highlight of their visit, though, was the excellent Thanksgiving dinner we prepared.  While upsetting to our local boucher, I was able to procure us a fresh turkey (not that easy because in France turkey is strictly eaten for Christmas ... eating it in November is kind of like wearing white shoes in winter).  Jess and Garrett made a delicious stuffing and James made his speciality, brussels sprouts a la creme.  My apple tart was a disaster but we'd had enough wine by that point not to care too much. It was a blow to my ego since I do fancy myself to be quite a good dessert baker. 

Here's us being thankful:

After dinner we started watching YouTube videos.  Has anyone else out there heard of literal videos?  HILARIOUS!!  Please watch the literal video for Total Eclipse of the Heart.  I've watched it a few times now and it cracks me up each time.  My favorite line (and it was quite hard to pick a favorite) is right at the end ... mullet with headlights!  The link is below.

London
The same morning that Jess and Garrett left to go back to San Francisco, we left to go to London for the weekend to hang out with some of James' cousins.  Surprisingly, it was actually kind of a relaxing weekend.  We let ourselves sleep in each day and didn't try to do too too much. 

One evening we went to the after-Christening party of one of James' cousin's new baby.  James' cousin David Toft took some nice pictures of us at the pub:

One of the main reasons why we decided to go to London was to see James' aunt Brenda, his cousin Sinead and Sinead's two boys, Jack (4) and Paddy (3).  Sinead and Brenda brought the boys to London for some Christmas shopping and to go to "Winter Wonderland" (a.k.a. Freeze You Ass Off And Spend A Lot Of Money Land).  Basically, its a cheesy fair with rides that kids between the ages of 2 and 8 LOVE!  We supremely lucked out because Conor is too young to beg us to let him go down insanely expensive carnival rides.  Even though the fair was pretty miserable, we did get a cute picture of the new generation of cousins:

You may not recognize him but Conor is the one in the fur-lined stroller sleeping bag.  Doesn't that look comfy?

Skiing in Tignes
Moments after getting home from London (ok ... a few days), we left for Tignes.  Tignes is a ski village in the French Alps that is pretty close to the Italian border.  I know this because the next big city, according to the freeway signs, was Milan. 

James' wonderful co-worker, Vivian from the Netherlands, organized a fabulous long weekend for everyone in Tignes.  James and I took turns watching Conor and skied half days.  This worked out pretty well but I'm looking forward to a couple ski seasons from now when Conor is old enough to be dropped off at ski school :)

Here's some pics of the trip:


Conor with Parag

Conor just being cute

Me with Vivian and Luc

And that's it.  We're finally back home and have some time to relax!

Conor Update: I think he might be starting to wave hello and goodbye.  At the very least he sort of makes a waving motion if you wave to him. 

Attachments:

http://www.noel.strasbourg.eu/PDF/2010/ProgramEN_WEB.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0d3I4T6R9E