Just going through the photos we hadn't posted yet ...
31 August 2008
29 August 2008
Carter Day
Carter reports on recent events ... first in his "do I have to" mode and then with a bit more excitement.
1. Wednesday was Carter Day. I got to choose everything we did. First we went to the Parcours des Arbres - it's a rope course. We started with a sort of hard one, all three of us together, and then Dad and I did the easier one just us two while Calvin sat and had a snack, and then I went back and did the hard one again at the end. After that, we returned the harnesses and then played minigolf. It was a very hard course. After minigolf we took the RER back to Paris and went to see the new Star Wars movie. After the Star Wars movie we came back home and went directly to bed.
2. Two days ago I got to choose what we did. I chose to go to a rope course. For breakfast, we went to the bakery and got pastries. After that we chose to take the RER C out to the place with the rope course. When we got off, we walked over to the park that it's in, and then we had to walk all the way across the park because we realized it was at the other end. When we got there we had to put on harnesses to keep us from falling if we accidentally slipped. Then the guide showed us how to safely hook ourselves on to a cord that would keep us from falling with two metal hooks (called mousqueton in French). After he showed us how to do it we chose to skip the line for the easy one (which is the yellow course) and go directly to the green (which is slightly harder). The green was pretty fun until we got near the end when we had to walk across swinging trapeezes which were quite hard. Calvin did not like them much. After that there was this zigzag set of boards which was very wobbily, especially the end one. At the end there was a zip line but I forgot to put my zipper on so I got stuck. Luckily someone was there and helped me get back onto the platform where the zip line started. At the end of the zip line, Dad turned around by accident and got his pants filled up with sand. After that course Calvin was a little bit tired out so he sat on a bench and had a snack while Dad and I went on the easier one, the yellow. It was very fun though pretty easy, mostly long stretches of a bunch of different things. There was one part where there was a net that we had to walk through and then a set of wooden barrels that we had to crawl over the top of - Dad pinched his thumb pretty badly. At the end of that we came down and I decided to go on the green one once more. There was a zip line in the middle and this time instead of taking the zip line I decided to swing on a rope into a gigantic net which we then had to climb across to get to where the zip line ended. After I finished that we returned the harnesses and got some drinks and then played minigolf. The minigolf course was good but pretty hard. After the minigolf course we got back on the RER and rode back home - well, rode it back to Paris. We decided to not go all the way home but stop at the movie theater for a 7:55 showing of the new Star Wars movie. We all liked it though we all agreed that episodes 4 and 6 were better. Then we went home and went to bed because we were all very tired after that long day.
1. Wednesday was Carter Day. I got to choose everything we did. First we went to the Parcours des Arbres - it's a rope course. We started with a sort of hard one, all three of us together, and then Dad and I did the easier one just us two while Calvin sat and had a snack, and then I went back and did the hard one again at the end. After that, we returned the harnesses and then played minigolf. It was a very hard course. After minigolf we took the RER back to Paris and went to see the new Star Wars movie. After the Star Wars movie we came back home and went directly to bed.
2. Two days ago I got to choose what we did. I chose to go to a rope course. For breakfast, we went to the bakery and got pastries. After that we chose to take the RER C out to the place with the rope course. When we got off, we walked over to the park that it's in, and then we had to walk all the way across the park because we realized it was at the other end. When we got there we had to put on harnesses to keep us from falling if we accidentally slipped. Then the guide showed us how to safely hook ourselves on to a cord that would keep us from falling with two metal hooks (called mousqueton in French). After he showed us how to do it we chose to skip the line for the easy one (which is the yellow course) and go directly to the green (which is slightly harder). The green was pretty fun until we got near the end when we had to walk across swinging trapeezes which were quite hard. Calvin did not like them much. After that there was this zigzag set of boards which was very wobbily, especially the end one. At the end there was a zip line but I forgot to put my zipper on so I got stuck. Luckily someone was there and helped me get back onto the platform where the zip line started. At the end of the zip line, Dad turned around by accident and got his pants filled up with sand. After that course Calvin was a little bit tired out so he sat on a bench and had a snack while Dad and I went on the easier one, the yellow. It was very fun though pretty easy, mostly long stretches of a bunch of different things. There was one part where there was a net that we had to walk through and then a set of wooden barrels that we had to crawl over the top of - Dad pinched his thumb pretty badly. At the end of that we came down and I decided to go on the green one once more. There was a zip line in the middle and this time instead of taking the zip line I decided to swing on a rope into a gigantic net which we then had to climb across to get to where the zip line ended. After I finished that we returned the harnesses and got some drinks and then played minigolf. The minigolf course was good but pretty hard. After the minigolf course we got back on the RER and rode back home - well, rode it back to Paris. We decided to not go all the way home but stop at the movie theater for a 7:55 showing of the new Star Wars movie. We all liked it though we all agreed that episodes 4 and 6 were better. Then we went home and went to bed because we were all very tired after that long day.
26 August 2008
Lakeside pictures (updated link)
Here's some nice ones courtesy of Jess' dad Maurice. Cath & Michelle, there's a bunch of you with your boys too.
Brooklyn bridge & waterfalls
Here are Jonathan's pictures from our trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago.
24 August 2008
Today's events
Sunday we finally caught up with our friends David, Melissa, and Nathalie, I think for the first time since Nathalie's birthday party back in January. We met them at the Ferris wheel and amusement fair at the Jardin des Tuileries, next to the Louvre.
After riding the Ferris wheel, lunch, and various other amusements, we headed to St Denis to see the Basilica, the earliest Gothic cathedral. As luck would have it, the Basilica was hosting an African Catholic service, with fun singing and dancing and incense. The famous crypt hosts the tombs all but three of the French kings (no Carter, we don't know which three). Yes, from the entire history of France and them some starting around 496 (yes, the year 0496, that would be Clovis I or Dagobert, not sure) to 1789 (Louis XVI). As worse luck would have it, the crypt was closed for a special service, so we could only peak in. But, we do have evidence of our visit, as I'm sure you were hoping.
After riding the Ferris wheel, lunch, and various other amusements, we headed to St Denis to see the Basilica, the earliest Gothic cathedral. As luck would have it, the Basilica was hosting an African Catholic service, with fun singing and dancing and incense. The famous crypt hosts the tombs all but three of the French kings (no Carter, we don't know which three). Yes, from the entire history of France and them some starting around 496 (yes, the year 0496, that would be Clovis I or Dagobert, not sure) to 1789 (Louis XVI). As worse luck would have it, the crypt was closed for a special service, so we could only peak in. But, we do have evidence of our visit, as I'm sure you were hoping.
23 August 2008
Boom!
20 August 2008
Hello Guedo
While we were in Arlington we saw our friend Jane Phelan 4 times - probably the most in the non-family, non-host category. First we spent the afternoon with her at the SEEC reunion along with the kids' other preschool friends. Then we ran into her at the Apple Store, so she came to dinner with our mutual friends the Collinsons. Finally, near the end of our trip, we went over to her house and spent some time playing with her and Guedo, her 30-year-old parrot, and making some additions to the robot cards that Carter's kindergarten class made waaaaaaay back in 2004-2005. Here's proof!
18 August 2008
Weekend wrapup
This past weekend was a long one for Betsy, augmented by Friday's Assumption Day holiday. That's a great thing about France - a random holiday in the middle of the month when the entire country is away on vacation!
We took advantage of it and the lovely weather by going on a scavenger hunt to find the Medallions d'Arago. They are 135ish small medallions embedded in the pavement of Paris, on a line tracing the proposed "Paris Meridian" that ended up losing out to the Greenwich one. We started south of the Observatory and ended at the Seine (from E100 to A049 on the list above and map below, working upward).
View Larger Map
It was less than 2 miles as the crow flies, but we probably walked 4-5 total, fortified by an early dinner / happy hour at the delightful Academy de la Biere. Oh, and gelato at Amorino, but we sighted Grom with a week to go before it's opening - it was our favorite in Florence last December and I confirmed its magnificence by visiting it's Greenwich Village location a couple of weeks ago.
We have all been hankering for a family bike ride, so Saturday we headed out to the northwest side of town to explore the Canal d'Ourcq. The boys were disappointed it didn't feature orcs, nor a visit to the Cité des Sciences, but we biked about 15km from the rental place in the city well out into the post-industrial suburbs. While we took the camera, we didn't take it out of the bag, so here's a google map to give you some flavor.
View Larger Map
Afterward we strolled along the Bassin de la Villette, which this year is hosting part of Paris Plage, the month-long beach-in-town festival. We did take some pics, so I'll end with them.
Oh, we also went to the movies - the adults to see Batman Saturday nights while our friend David watched the boys, and all four of us Sunday to see Kung Fu Panda. Quite a busy weekend!
We took advantage of it and the lovely weather by going on a scavenger hunt to find the Medallions d'Arago. They are 135ish small medallions embedded in the pavement of Paris, on a line tracing the proposed "Paris Meridian" that ended up losing out to the Greenwich one. We started south of the Observatory and ended at the Seine (from E100 to A049 on the list above and map below, working upward).
View Larger Map
It was less than 2 miles as the crow flies, but we probably walked 4-5 total, fortified by an early dinner / happy hour at the delightful Academy de la Biere. Oh, and gelato at Amorino, but we sighted Grom with a week to go before it's opening - it was our favorite in Florence last December and I confirmed its magnificence by visiting it's Greenwich Village location a couple of weeks ago.
We have all been hankering for a family bike ride, so Saturday we headed out to the northwest side of town to explore the Canal d'Ourcq. The boys were disappointed it didn't feature orcs, nor a visit to the Cité des Sciences, but we biked about 15km from the rental place in the city well out into the post-industrial suburbs. While we took the camera, we didn't take it out of the bag, so here's a google map to give you some flavor.
View Larger Map
Afterward we strolled along the Bassin de la Villette, which this year is hosting part of Paris Plage, the month-long beach-in-town festival. We did take some pics, so I'll end with them.
Oh, we also went to the movies - the adults to see Batman Saturday nights while our friend David watched the boys, and all four of us Sunday to see Kung Fu Panda. Quite a busy weekend!
12 August 2008
Home again
The boys and I arrived back at our apartment around noon Paris time today, after our overnight flight from Dulles and connection in Zurich. We spent Sunday night with Michelle's family in Columbia, then Marilyn picked us up and took us to the airport. Calvin crashed hard about 9pm, and Carter just went to bed. We were all very happy to see Betsy when she got home fromworktoday, and look forward to getting to catch up over the next few days. Thanks very much to all of you for hosting us, loaning us your cars, and generally including us in your lives. I'll post pics and other memories over the next few days, but for now, a few minutes of the Olympics and off to bed ...
02 August 2008
01 August 2008
Kemah!
Today the boys and I went with Derek & Peter and Michelle & Michael to the Kemah Boardwalk, per wikipedia the home of the only roller coaster in Houston since the demise of Astroworld (incidentally home of my first real favorite, the Texas Cyclone). Turns out the Bullet was "closed for adjustment" (i.e., 30 Mexicans were beating on it with hammers) so we just let the kids ride the smaller things for a few hours. It was gawdawful hot, about 97 in the afternoon, so we headed home after lunch at "The Aquarium" and a couple more rides. Here's the proof:
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