574.8

We had hoped to go on the city bike ride today, but the rain canceled it. By mid-afternoon, we were ready to get outside no matter the weather, so we walked down to the quai by the Eiffel Tower to see the world's fastest train. On a barge. See?



In April this French TGV set a record of 574.8 km/h, or nearly 360 miles per hour. The French are very proud of their trains in general and of this record, so they brought the train to Paris on a barge to show it off. We got some train schwag - hats that say "SNCF Record du Monde 2007" - and the kids got their picture taken with the actual engineer (the guy seen on this video).



Carter and I went to Annecy for a couple days during his random 5-day weekend that's just ending. I'll try to get those pictures up in the next day or two. Tomorrow it's back to the daily routines! Hope all are well.

From Calvin

(Dictated to editor, in case you can't guess. Here is the unedited transcript.)

Dear everyone,

Carter and Dad aren't here because they took a trip to the mountains, you know why? Because Carter was begging to go to the mountains. It is very true . And then they went to the mountains because you know why Carter was begging. Some of the things that we've done is that me and Mom, they left yesterday morning and then we went to the Bois de Boulogne and and and we made some cookies, we had breakfast, and and and we went and so they're gonna come back tomorrow. And tomorrow also at the bike shop there is gonna be some red kid sized shirts. So and tomorrow actually that's the end. Actually right now we are typing an e-mail. And we're eating gum and having fun blowing bubbles.


ilevu

CALVIN

Get to work, Calvin!

All I really need to know (about the French) I learned in Grande Section, French News, France, Expatica: "Here is the logic: Colouring outside the lines indicates a lack of precise control of the crayon that will later lead to poor handwriting which equates to poor linguistic expression which leads to poor grades which leads to failure to obtain the correct bac which leads to chômage and, probably, chronic delinquency, which leads to high unemployment and crime rates which leads to the failure of the French social model which makes France look bad to the rest of the world. So, for the sake of the République, make your children colour inside the lines!"

School pictures

School pictures

Boys (link fixed)

Enjoy.

Boys about town

"Hillary equals France"

"Hillary equals France" | Salon

Don't worry, it's really not about Hillary, it's a delicious rant from Bill Maher, about the pathetic excuse for political discourse that dominates in the U.S. It's different here ... and not just because I couldn't read or understand most of it. Here's Maher's conclusion:

France has 20,000 miles of railroads that work. We have the trolley at the mall that takes you from Pottery Barn to the Gap. It has bullet trains. We have bullets. France has public intellectuals. We have Dr. Phil. And France invented sex during the day, the ménage à trois, lingerie and the tongue.

And the French are not fat. Can't we just admit we could learn something from them?

Cool but hotter than normal

German officials said that April was the eighth consecutive month of higher- than-normal temperatures, while the French national weather service observed that April marked the thirteenth straight month of unusually warm conditions.

- IHT

I can't imagine how last August's cold and rainy conditions were higher than normal, but there you have it. We moved here 14 months ago. Coincidence?

Got the travel bug?

United seems to have some nice fares to Europe, though not to Paris. For example, DC-Amsterdam $591 and DC-London $457. If you come to one of those places, we'll try to meet you!

Hey hey holiday

Happy May Day*, Labor Day and Loyalty Day to all our friends and family! The boys and Betsy had today off. To celebrate our lack of work, we slept late, went out for lunch (the non-traditional Lebanese), bought some lily-of-the-valley and other lovely plants, took naps, sorted the winter and summer clothes, had breakfast for dinner, watched the Champions League (go Liverpool!), and generally ignored the perfect spring weather. Now Betsy's doing work and I'm off to do the dishes. Here's your reward for having to work today: pictures of our vacation a couple of weeks ago.

Life at the Beach

*- The ocean distress call mayday is from the french, m'aidez, or, help me! This has nothing to do with the holiday, although the number of french holidays in May is distressing.