Happy New Years!

From the French Alps, to all of our friends and family, may 2011 be your best year yet!

And for the girls....

Chocolate chaud!!!

Ski break

Belgian beer and vin chaud - yum, yum!

Cozy cabin

In the Alps celebrating the holidays with Cindy and Lynn.

Rick at French cooling school

"What do you mean we can't drink wine while we cook?!?!?!"

High waters

With all the recent snow, the Seine is running so high (3 meters above normal, about 10 feet!) that the tour boat docks are under water and boat operations are suspended until further notice.

Another angle...

If you look closely in the water to right of the chained posts, you will see the very top of two bollards to which the BatoBus normally ties up.

That's the Louvre over to the right. If the waters go any higher Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo will have to lift their skirts!

Flood notice

Telethon Swim

Leila and Rick swam in the "24 Hours of Swimming" event to raise money for medical research. Leila swam over 1 km (42 laps short course), and Rick won first place in the 50 meter sprint. While we were swimming, the first major snow hit Paris and here are some photos.

Christmas tree shopping in Paris.....

.....While it is 30 degrees out!

Thanksgiving in Paris

The restaurant on the corner is celebrating Thanksgiving, the all-American holiday, today by offering a salad, burger, milkshake and cookie, the All-American meal, for 35 Euros (about $50).

Here are some more shots of our Thanksgiving dinner with some other American families.

Hampton Court Palace

Where Henry the eighth lived with his wives ;-)

London West End

Meetings finished early so I'm going to take in a show!

Back in Paris

We arrived safely back in Paris yesterday after a great fall break in SF. To stay awake during the day today we went to the Louvre and fought the crowds. Here are the photos.

Since I was updating the photos, I also published the albums from the other recent posts:

Paris Catacombs

Cemetery of Montparnasse

Mumm Champagne Cave Tour

Halloween in SF

SF Giants world series champions victory parade

SF Giants World Series Victory Parade!

More photos here

Back in SF

Boys liquid lunch.......

....while Mel was shopping...

Beautiful fall colors in CT

The trees are exploding with red, orange, and yellow colors, but they are not as beautiful as my girls! Next stop San Francisco.

Champagne tasting in Reims

Enjoying a petit dessert after touring the caves of Mumm.

Celebrating our return from the catacombs

We successfully traversed the Paris Catacombs. Have a look at the photos - you will not believe your eyes! Next stop Montparnasse Cemetery.

Anniversary dinner

I told the waiter that it was our "anniversary" in French, but apparently "anniversary" means "birthday".

Famous St. John's Cathedral, in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

More details and pictures here

Diamond capital of the world

I have arrived in Antwerp. Next stop is to find Tom Shane and all those diamonds!

Et Voila!

Getting better.....

Leila haircut

Leila gets her first official Parisian "coiffure"!

Belgium for lunch

One of the great things about Paris is that it is close to everything. Today, for example, I went to Brussels for lunch. Since Belgium is reputed to have the best chocolate in the world, and Pierre Marcolini is reputed to be the best chocolatier in Belgium, I am bringing home a box of his chocolate for Melané and Leila. Stay tuned for their review.

First day of school

Leila is entering the third grade today, or as they call it in France, "CE2".

Gateway to India

Back in Bombay after 25 years. Oops, make that "Mumbai".

Vacation Photo Albums

I have posted the photo albums of the trip to the Scalawag album site:

House in Spain

Midi Canal Cruise

Visit to Carcassonne

Enjoy!

Marielle

We have loaded and provisioned Marielle and are now casting off for our cruise along the Midi Canal

Spanish Luxury Villa

We are loving our vacation in Spain. We are staying in a brand new luxury villa in Costa Blanca. The weather is in the mid-eighties, so we are using the pool often. Behind Leila floating on the raft is Rick Hess' room and private cabana. He hasn't arrived yet, but we just made a fresh batch of Sangria in anticipation of seeing him!

Old Orleans

Leila in front of the statue of Jean d'Arc at the city center.

Ahh, Paris

Good friends, good drinks, good times.

Omaha Beach - Normandy

66 years ago this was a very different place. Notice all the beachgoers in the background on the right (you have to click on the photo and zoom in).

UPDATE:

1) I have posted a photo album with more detailed shots here.

2) I visited both Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery overlooking the beach.

3) You will notice in the album that I took a picture of the headstone for one "John J. Miller" from Pennsylvania. I was looking for "John H. Miller" from Pennsylvania who was featured in the movie "Saving Private Ryan". However, there was not a "John H. Miller" to be found at the site. A little research later revealed that John H. Miller never existed, and the headstone featured in the film was "movie magic".

Finally....

After seven months of waiting, we finally have a car!

Be careful what you ask for.....

Shortly after the last post the skies opened up with a terrific summer downpour. People went scurrying for the shops, and what did I see but the promised parade. I ended up with a front row view, with the ticket price being a drenching from the rain!

Bastille Day

I am told that there is a grand military parade somewhere on the other side of the crowds. Perhaps I should have stayed home so I could see it on the TV!

Eiffel Tower video

Hello all,

I have just posted a video of Leila leading a tour to the top of the Eiffel Tower here:

http://www.scalawag.com/Scalawag/Our_Movies/Pages/EiffelTower.html

I'm looking forward to the day when it is as easy to post videos as it is to post photo albums and blogs, but at least it is out there now. Enjoy!

Summer Vacation

Melané and Leila departing Paris for the beginning of their summer vacation!

Cousins abroad!

I have not seen David in many years in the US, but we managed to meet in Paris for lunch.

Fashion Museum of Paris

Paris has lots of museums and lots of fashion, so of course there is a fashion museum!

Arc de Triomphe

It's been six months since I first arrived and the Arc still looks great!

French National Maritime Museum

I had the chance yesterday to explore the French National Maritime Museum. It is one of the oldest maritime museums in the world, dating back to 1752. I saw lots of great ideas for figureheads for the Trollop, though the gold ones would certainly throw off the balance of our little boat! The museum also houses the Jules Verne trophy for yachts that sail around the world in less than 80 days. The trophy floats in air above a mirror base, which has inscriptions of previous winners including people we have met sailing. I posted the photos here.

World cup fever in Paris

Giant screens are set up around the city for people to watch the games over the next month.

Leila Birthday Dinner

Leila chose to have her birthday dinner with her friend Hermoine.

Notre Dame et notres amis

Laurie and Bruno are visiting for the weekend. The weather is perfect and the sun is still shining at 8:30.

Athens!

The Acropolis is the same as during our last visit. The only difference is there was a guy in front claiming to be the prime minister who was offering to sell this place for American dollars.

Dinner on the Seine

UPDATE: new photos and a movie posted here.

Melané's birthday picnic

Wine, baguettes, cheese, and friends in the park. A perfect day.

Oops!

Apparently the last shot was the pre-show and this is the band. Oh well, it was an honest mistake! Go Duran, Duran!

Partying with Duran Duran in Frankfurt

Summit!

Today we ascended the Tour Eiffel. This has been at the top of Leila's list since we arrived. It is *really* high and everyone was thrilled. We'll post a photo album toward the end of the week

A small water feature

The grove of Apollo and the Nymphs.

The lawn that Dad mowed

This is the back lawn at Versailles, and it seems to be about as large as the lawn that Dad had to mow growing up in San Francisco.