June - A blur

The last few weeks have been a blur of too little sleep and so much activity. The day care opened last week and the days both before and immediately after brought a flurry of insurance details, financial work, advertising, and last minute activity which usually lasted late into the night here. The mornings here (before the start of business in the US) have been full with trying to wrap up life in France and getting ready to restart life in Ohio (for Abe) and full of trying to finish up work projects here (for me).

Our wedding anniversary fell on a Wednesday, and so that we could go out for lunch to celebrate, Ella went for (probably) one last time to the centre loisir. She was fortunate to show up on a day of a field trip to Herouval - a nature park/man made beach outside of Paris. They spent the day playing in the sprinklers, picknicking, and generally taking advantage of the gorgeous weather that has finally arrived in Paris. Abe and I went to lunch at La Bouquinniste - a spin-off restaurant of Guy Savoy. It was a terrific lunch. We both started with the tomato and mozzerella salad (with coeur de boeuf tomatoes that are in season right now and are SO good). Then I had the lamb with tiny potatoes and roasted garlic, and Abe had the fish which he said was the best he had ever eaten. For dessert, we both chose the chocolate fondant (cake with a gooey inside) that came with a small but delicious scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream sprinkled with candied rose petals. A glass of wine and coffee and tea rounded out the perfect experience. They even brought out a little lemony cake with a candle in it (I think Abe had accidentally told them it was my birthday instead of our wedding anniversary).

At school, Ella's class had an Africa Day. They arranged the desks in rows, did all their work on chalk tablets instead of paper, ate an African breakfast, and got African names. In the afternoon, some of the moms and nannies who are of African origin came in and did braids for the girls' hair, while the boys painted masks. The day made a big impression on Ella.

We finally had a long awaited get together with Marlise (from Abe's French class), her husband Marine, and her son Boaz. Marlise is the friend who makes us feel especially good about our apartment here, because in their apartment, they don't have a bathroom. They have a shower in the kitchen. We met them at the Parc Floral, where there happened to be an outdoor jazz concert. They are heading back to the Netherlands soon, so are in the same mindset as us of trying to squeeze as much pleasure as possible out of their remaining time in Paris.

We've also had several fun visits recently with the Texas branch of the family. Last weekend, Uncle Daniel was in town for a conference. He came over for Shabbat dinner and the next morning we all went together to the Louvre, out for sandwiches, and for a dessert picnic in the Rodin museum garden. This past weekend, Paula, Steve, and Leah (Abe's second [?] cousin) were in Paris on vacation. Paula and Steve had taken similar sabbatical trips to France when their kids were young and it was fun comparing notes from the 60's and 70's to today on the expat in France experience. We had a Wednesday outing with them to the Petit Palais, an excellent lunch in the Marais, and a fun time shopping for souveniers for Leah's friends. They came over for Shabbat dinner too and despite the fact that every one was tired from a busy week, Ella and Leah ended up out on the balcony, blowing bubbles, and bonding.

In between everything else, we're starting to pack. It's amazing how much we've accumulated (especially books) over the course of the year. We're definitely going to be pushing the 70 pound per bag limit on the flight home!