South of France and my parents!

Sorry for the late blog....last week I spent 3 days on the Mediterranean in the South of France! It was amazing and I am determined to return during the summer season, hopefully within the next couple years. I spent the nights in a great hostel in Nice and fortunately made some good friends, both girls that were also travelling alone, so we did site-seeing together. My favorite was the beach in Nice! Wow the view was spectacular and the water was so beautiful....aqua blue and green, like Hawaii. I sat on the beach for a couple hours and had a bright cocktail to drink! Then I called my parents and sister to rub it in! Haha.
I also went to Monaco and saw the Monte Carlo casino, a village called Eze with a gorgeous view of the sea, Cannes, and Antibes (filled with massive, beautiful, expensive yachts)!!

I took lots of pics!

Tomorrow night my Dad and Carolyn arrive! Their hotel is near Notre Dame, in the St. Michel area, a great neighborhood. We'll have fun each day, and then the 3 of us fly to Ireland next Thursday! We will start in Dublin and then go to the countryside of Kilarny. I am soooo excited!
All is well, and the family here is starting to pack and prepare for their move to St. Germain en Laye. My work is officially done on April 18th, but I will be in the house until the 24th, and then have fun and play lots before I fly out on May 7th!
It is a bittersweet feeling, but I am excited to see everyone again back home in Idaho and California!

I will try to write more in a couple days before Ireland! bisous

Boyz II Men in Paris!

Last night was such a great night! I saw Boyz II Men at le Zenith arena in Paris with my friend Ashley. We had pretty good seats (and it was a very small, intimate place). They were SOOO GREAT! They seriously sounded so amazing. I'm sure they are close to 40 years old...and even after not having new music out in almost 10 years they sounded in top form. They looked so cute too in these nice suits and white button up shirts. My favorite is Shawn of course! They came out starting with "Motown Philly...Boyz II Men"...I was so excited! Then they did "On Bended Knee", and then they broke out into Motown oldies! They have a new c.d. out right now called "Hitsville U.S.A" which covers old Motown songs.....so last night they sang "Tracks of My Tears", "Just My Imagination" and "Money...That's What I Want"...they even danced behind the mics like the Temptations used to do. It was so much fun to watch and sing along. Then they did more of their own hits..."End of the Road, I'll Make Love to You, Four Seasons, Mama, Water Runs Dry"............OMG.......it was so great. I did not sit down one time, I was up on my feet dancing and singing........along with the rest of the crowd.

Anyways.......it was pretty awesome and Ashley and I had a fun time......including drinks afterward. She took some pics and video, so I'll try to get those soon.

Meanwhile I'm busy planning my return to the States, mentally organizing and packing, planning some little trips before I leave Europe, and chasing around munchkins............ok gotta go!

A Weekend of Training (TGV and Eurostar)!

This is my 100th post! cool!

It's Monday and I don't work until 4pm...yippee! I got home late last night from a weekend in London. It was really great.
But first...
Friday I went to Bordeaux on the TGV...about 4 hours...1st CLASS! My bosses sent me so all expense paid! It was really relaxing and nice to read, sleep, etc. THEN I waited in the train station for 2 hours...had myself a nice lunch and wine...then the kids' grandma came and dropped off the 2 little munchkins...so Tiphaine, Matt, and I got BACK on the train...to return to Paris! So I spent all day in the train...and thankfully there were 2 little girls sitting right in front of us, so they all played together, making it less 'work' for me to entertain the kids...it was a little challenging to keep the kids calm, quiet, etc...but we got up a couple times to use the restroom and buy drinks at the 'bar'...so that was okay. Don't worry, just fruit juice!

Saturday morning Ashley and I met at the station at 6 a.m. and made our way to Gare du Nord...where we caught the train to London! It was a bit chilly, and cloudy...and drizzled off and on. But we had fun taking the "orginal red bus tour" around the city. We saw Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, The London Tower, London Bridge, and Buckingham Palace. I had fun taking pictures!
Later that night I met up with my two Delta Gamma sisters, Ashley and Breanne. We got ready for the night and then went to a great little Mexican restaurant in Leicester square. After great food and 2 pitchers of margaritas, we were ready for the club! We were on the guest list into a cool place called "ChinaWhite" in Picadilly square. The club was all decorated and styled in an Asian theme, and there were two separate areas with techno-type music and then hip-hop. It was SO MUCH FUN to be in a place that had good music and dancing (my type) and to be with some of my friends and dance.

Sunday I ventured back to Buckingham Palace to get a better view and be right there in the front by the black and gold gates. It was really pretty! It was kind of surreal to be standing there....with the guards in front of the palace. There was a pretty rainbow in the sky...so I got some neat photos. I met a nice girl from New Zealand that was also by herself, so we started chatting.
Then I went to Notting Hill, and I OFFICIALLY LOVE IT AND WANT TO LIVE THERE WHEN I'M WEALTHY! It was soooo adorable. I loved the neighborhood. There were adorable little colorful houses...cute little cars...and then bigger, cream colored houses that were so English looking. Some of it reminded me of San Francisco too. There was a great market street on Portobello Road. GREAT little shops and markets...antiques, funky clothes, shoes, jewelry, coffee and tea houses. People were all around walking and shopping. I tried to find the "Travelbook Shop" from the movie, Notting Hill, but no luck. (I know it was there somewhere, but I must have overlooked it). Walking around the area I could definitely see the movie in my head...so now I want to watch it again!
If I ever go back to London (which I know I will one day) I will want to go back to Notting Hill.

By the end of Notting Hill my feet were tired so I headed to the train station to relax for about 90 minutes before my train back to Paris.

So now I'm here....looking at the calendar and realizing how few work weeks I have left. I have quite a bit of free time as well so I'll be planning something else (whether in Paris, or elsewhere). I can't wait to see my Dad and Carolyn!
Knowing that I'm coming home in 2 months makes work a little bit easier....no need for frustration or feeling tired...it's all about staying positive with everyone and making the most of my remaining time here!

Back to Basics (blonde)

Today was great.
I had a hair appointment in Paris. I'm starting the process of going back to blonde. So today was a "ballyage" day...a.k.a. highlights. I am pleased with it considering there's not many ways to get around that awkwad in-between period....it'll take a few times before I'm back to blonde completely, but so far so good.

I had a lunch date with Nico :) He was only in town for the afternoon before seeing his family in Corsica...so we had lunch and a movie. He makes me laugh and is pretty dang cute...so it was nice. We talked a lot and updated each other on life (since it's only every couple months we see each other). FYI, he's an 'interest' and that is all.........he travels too much and is rarely in Paris, but we will stay in touch and spend time together when possible...even in the States because he travels there every month!

I booked my free train ticket back to London for this Saturday! It's Ashley's birthday, and so we're going for one night, and are staying with my DG friend Ashley who is studying there. Our other DG sister is coming for spring break, so we're all hanging out this weekend in London! Free train ride, free lodging.........plus a dance club Sat. night + sight seeing!!! Yay!!


P.S. a new development: I am returning home to the States on May 14th !!

Les Miserables

Was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!!!!!

I can't describe it in words, and I hope most of you already know the actual play/story.........SO I'm not going to actually write about it. But seeing it in London was amazing. The actors and their voices were incredible. It was clearly the best of the best out of all the times I've seen Les Mis.

My seat was PERFECT (theater wasn't very big anyway).

I had a great time and am so thrilled I made the wise decision to spend the pounds and go!

Quiet After the Family Leaves

Hi everyone. Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but my family was here for about 12 days! Aaron arrived on my birthday, the morning of the 16th, and we took the train an hour away to Tours, where we did some white wine tasting in Vouvray, and ended up 'hitch hikin' in the wine country along a road with old stone walls and little chateaus. We had some great sauerkraut for dinner, and the next morning did a mini tour of old Tours...which was really cool! Aaron and I spent a couple days site-seeing in Paris, and once he knew how to use the metro and get around on his own, he ventured off into the city when I had to work. He also came with me into St. Germain to pick the kids up for school, so that was neat to have someone see where I work and what I do.

The rest of the family (Mom, Harry, Megan and Andy) arrived on the 21st. I had Tiphaine and Matt with me and we met them at the hotel. It was really cute to have them with us at the cafe (they ordered apple juice) and then we walked all the way up the Champs Elysees. Matt was mainly interested in skipping the cracks on the pavement and trying to pick up loose pavement from the Champs Elysees. Tiphaine and Megan got along great, and it was actually quite nice to have all those extra hands to help me with the kids! The day before Aaron and I had taken all 3 into the city to ice skate. It was fun, but a real challenge...although I think it's good for the kids to see what big city is like in Paris and to experience more culture than Bougival and their school can offer.

I then had about 5 days free from work, so we did a LOT of site-seeing, and I got to see in the inside of Versailles for the first time! It was gorgeous, but almost too"gawdy", all decked out in gold...but it was great to see the Hall of Mirrors. Friday night we had a big French dinner and red wine at Willi's Wine Bar (my favorite hang out spot). A few of us even purchased some of their art posters, so I'm excited to have that in my home in the future.

Saturday night we went to the Paris St. Germain vs. Monaco soccer match at the Park des Princes in Paris! It was REALLY COOL to see that, even though it ended in a tie. It was a great experience to be in that environment of crazy fans in a big stadium.

Monday night we had a dinner with the family at the house in Bougival. It was really nice to all sit around and visit and for my family to meet the parents. We ate "raclette" which is like cheese fondue, on top of a baked potatoe with ham.

Well, there are more fun details and if I think of them and have time to write more, I will! I have to go for now......but soon I'll write about my Les Miserables day in LONDON!!! IT WAS FANTASTIC!