Canal Saint Martin

Leesa introduced me to a new part of Paris today. I had been in this general area, but not to the canal. That's what I love about Paris - there are so many different things to see and do here. There are tour boats that go up and down the canal and I'm looking forward to taking one when the weather gets warmer.

Wall art...

Like father...like son

Below is Tom's work area (aka our dining room table). The shiny yellow thing in the back left is the vest that Tom wears when he bikes. Every morning, I push Tom's stuff so that it only covers half of the table but it quickly just starts to spread out again.



Now, this is Bob's bed. Can you see the resemblence yet? In the second photo, you can see my closet which is behind the bed. Some days, I think I'm going to break my neck trying to get to my clothes.

Bob's friends refer to his bed as the "Bed of Doom". Once things are placed on the bed, you can never find them again!

Now, Tom and Bob are alike in so many other ways (other than their need for neatness).


Bob definitely resembles Tom. When we go to back to school night, the teacher always comes up to Tom and says that he must be Bob's Dad. Okay... their hair is a little different. Bob's hair is blonde, long and he has a lot of it. As Tom keeps telling him, enjoy your hair while you have it.


Tom and Bob also have the must contagious belly laugh. Our landlord came over one day - she lives in the building next door. She had been bumping into the other people from our building. They all told her that it was so wonderful to hear laughter coming from our flat all the time. Did I mention that their laugh was also loud??

Also, they are both extremely smart and quick on their feet. I never can win an arguement and I end up being more confused than when I started the arguement.

I could go on and on...but you get the idea.

La Grève = The Strike

Today there was a huge strike thoughout France over the economic crisis. Today was called "Black Thursday". Some of the groups that were striking were transportation (metro, bus, RER etc.), teachers, plumbers, post office employees, Air France staff, hospital employees, chemical factory workers etc.



I think many people stayed home today but Tom decided to brave it and go to work. On average, it takes 45 minutes each way. Today it took Tom 1 hour to get to work and 1 hour 20 minutes to get home. Not too bad for black Thursday.








Thanks Leesa for sharing the above picture (which she got off the internet). I still haven't mastered that skill yet

Le Réservoir

Thanks to Jasmin for planning a wonderful Sunday brunch! We enjoyed a great buffet while listening to live jazz - trés bonne!

Tom and the girls...

Lunch and a Movie

Once again, thanks to Leesa's planning, we had a wonderful Saturday afternoon. Tom and I met up with Leesa, Animesh and Sam for a relaxing lunch at Exki. Then, Justin joined us to see Slumdog Millionaire and afterwards we headed back to Exki for a drink.

Thanks Leesa!

Oatmeal Scotchies - thanks to Leesa for the Butterscotch morsels!!




View out of my kitchen window while I was baking...


Finished cookies...

If it's Friday night..

One day, I will get Bob by surprise. He had a sleepover again and he and his friends enjoyed a bacon and egg breakfast à la Tom.

Tom's back!!!

Tom got a stomach virus and a lot of bacon in Germany. Lucky for us, Tom left his stomach virus in Germany!! Bob and his friends are pysched about the bacon!

Too much fun and too much sugar!

I started the rainy, windy day by meeting Leesa, Sam and Sarah at the metro and then we headed over to a cupcake boutique. Cupcakes are not a common here in France and I've never seen them at boulangeries (bakeries). They are denser and not as moist as the ones that I'm used to back in the US. I had the lemon cupcake and the icing was sooooo good!



Leesa and I then headed over to the Marais. The rain had stopped so we had a wonderful time window shopping...well, we did a little more than window shopping...

Leesa knew a great place for coffee - Le Loir dans la Théière (the dormouse in the teapot).

So, we stopped for coffee and I just couldn't resist the meringue. I was definitely craving lemon today! Leesa had the Swiss chard soup which was a much healthier choice and just as good.

Sushi again!!

It's always tough for me when Bob comes back from Tennessee. My cooking which is mediocre at best, tastes even worse (if that's even possible) to Bob.

He had a late night at school (jazz band and career night) and desperately wanted sushi again (and to avoid my cooking). So, we met near the Seine for sushi. Bob ordered the sushi boat and enjoyed every piece of raw fish!

OBAMA !!!!

Standing room only in a Paris bar

L'Oisive Thé

We had an absolutely wonderful lunch at L'Oisive Thé (1, rue Jean-Marie Jego, Paris, 75013). Once again, thanks to Leesa the Party Planner!!

I had le feuilleté saumon à la oseille avec une salade frâiche et du fromage. It was incredible!!



Barbara, Leesa, me and Aimee

Thanks Leesa and Barbara for teaching me how to copy pictures!

Welcome back Animesh!!

Thanks again to Leesa for planning a wonderful lunch to welcome back Animesh. Animesh had just returned from spending 28 days in India where he visitied 13 cities!

It was a great opportunity to meet friends who were from so many different countries (Finland, Tunisia, India, and of course France).




Blue skies after leaving the restaurant...

Walking from the sushi restaurant to Starbucks...

Tom leaving me after Starbucks to spend a week in Germany :o(

Also, thanks again Leesa for your technical support and the use of 2 of your pictures!!

Move over Julia Child!

Wow...my memory is really getting worse!! I was talking to Leesa on the phone and I went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. There was black smoke coming out of the oven. I had no idea what was happening. I can't believe that I don't even remember putting the cookies in the oven...oops!


I wonder why "Bob" and his friends when out for sushi for dinner tonite!!



Sleepover group for the second night (after they returned from sushi)..."Bob" once again covering his face...

A day in my life

I know...not an extremely exciting post but friends back in the US ask me what I do here in Paris.

We don't have a car (and definitely don't need one in Paris), so I use the metro, buses and I walk a lot. The public transportation is great here.

My first stop today is the ATM...




Next the glass recycling green thingy...yes, that is my lovely grey cart in front of it....

Then, onto Franprix for groceries and then back to the flat to drop them off...

Next, onto my chiropractor on the Champs Elysées...I feel so much better...

Then, to my phamacy to pick up my prescription. My eye doctor gave me a prescription for moisturizing eye drops because my eyes get so dry during the winter because I spend a lot of time outside where it's cold and windy...the temperature under the green cross on the left side of the picture is in celsius 8°C (about 46°F)...

And then onto the orphanage. This is where I donate all of our clothes - a lot of them are clothes that "Bob's" outgrown....

Next, onto my second food store. I guess we are a family of picky eaters. Since the food stores are small I have to go to many different stores to get everything that we need...

After a quick bite, I'm off to get my haircut and highlighted (oops...not a natural blond). Sondra, the owner, does my hair. She's French but spent time in LA and NY cutting hair.

Finally, onto Monoprix (yes, the third food store) for onions, organic apples and kidney beans.

As I'm walking the 1/2 mile home with my groceries, I'm thinking about enjoying a nice glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine and having a nice quiet night.

I walk in the door and surprise!! Bob and his friends are there, and they're sleeping over and they're hungry!!! Actually, I love having his friends come over and spend the night. They have so much fun together

Bob and his friends.


This is what happened when I told them that I was going to put the pictures on my blog. I'm so not cool!!


"Bob"....