Family & Friends

Wow!! I can't believe a whole month has flown by. We have had the great fortune this last month to entertain both family and friends. Visitors!! Lovely treasures from home boarding planes, flying 5652 miles from California to France, all to see us.....well, and I guess to see France too. ;-) Thankfully we're in a pretty amazing place, which helps to convince folks to come all this way (& spend all that money) to visit.

It's been 8 months since we packed up all our things, boarded that plane, and flew here ourselves. Although life admittedly has fallen into its new groove little nuggets of home continually remind us how far away we are; memorabilia and pictures we've brought with us, Skype chats, and of course the ever-present blow-by-blow of others lives unfolding on Social Media. To have some of those yummy pieces of home come to see us was absolutely magical.

First up was a visit from my dear friend and neighbor, Rosalie, along with her daughter, Sadie. Not only was this a true treat for me but it was the first friend to come and visit the girls. They were beside themselves. I believe the official countdown to their arrival started after the New Year.

A tearful reunion at the airport. True love, so sweet!

Of course they couldn't escape a French party! My brother and sister-in-law happened to be celebrating their birthdays during Rosalie and Sadie's visit, so the more the merrier. Oysters, cheese, sausage, bread, lentils, salad, tart, champagne, wine....

And a traditional digestif to round out the night made from Genepi, an herb native to the Alps. 

Strong but super yummy.

An afternoon in Yvoire.

And a day in Annecy.

Me and my favorite Sadie Wren.

It was fun to get to be tourists ourselves.

Had to take a pic of these beautiful redwoods; another reminder from home. Redwood trees are not native to France and the few that you do find were all brought here from the US.

Dropping them off at the train station. Saying good-bye is never easy.

We had so much fun showing them around our little neck of the woods in France and the girls even got to bring Sadie to school with them one morning, a bit of a show and tell. The teachers, along with Marc, brilliantly decided to use the opportunity to have Marc come and talk to the kids about life in California. They loved it. They got to see pictures of where we live, the girls school, and the kids actually had a bunch of questions. Typical things, like all the ways you can die in California (earthquakes, tsunamis, grizzly bears, rattlesnakes, spiders....) you get the idea  :-) Kids are hilarious!

We also had lots of time just to hang out, drink wine, eat yummy food, and catch up. It was like a 7-day sleepover for me and the girls. Super fun!!

The day Rosalie and Sadie caught the train to head to Paris for the weekend, our next set of visitors flew in.....my parents!! Not only was this my parents first time to France but my Dad's first time to Europe. A big trip for them. And for me! I've never gone longer than a couple month without seeing my parents. We were definitely overdue for some quality time together.

They were here for 2 1/2 weeks, the length of the girls Spring Vacation. We made the most of it. Had some amazing meals with Marc's family, took a beautiful 5-hour train trip through the Swiss Alps, and flew to Paris for an extraordinary 3-days in the City of Lights. We were also able to sprinkle in a few day trips to show them some of the highlights of our area and plenty of days where we just stayed home and relaxed.

Their first weekend happened to fall on Easter (Paques). In France, there is no Easter Bunny rather les cloches de Paques (flying Easter bells). According to the catholic tradition in France the church bells don't ring between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The bells fly to Rome to be blessed by the Pope and then come back from this trip loaded with presents, dropping them randomly in the backyards of French children. Well, I guess the bells flew over our house because the girls found lots of chocolate eggs hiding in the yard!

The chocolate fruit of their labor. 

Then we headed over to Marc's brother's house to have an amazing Easter meal with the entire family; my parents first taste of a French meal. I imagine it won't be soon forgotten.

And of course the kids were all given more treats then they could possibly eat!! Oh the French and their sweets.

Next up, our train trip through the Swiss Alps.

The last leg of the train ride we got to sit in the Dining Car and have a yummy lunch.

We spent the night in Lucerne, Switzerland about 45 minutes from Zurich. It was so lovely and completely charming. And it just so happened to snow on us while we were there. Springtime in the Alps. We go from lovely 60 degree weather to snowing in the mountains.

After a day of rest following our return from Lucerne we did a fun day trip to Annecy. This cute French town is about an hour from us and is always on the list for visiting guests.

Had lunch at a traditional Brittany Creperie. Just can't get enough of these.

Another Sunday spent with Marc's family.

Which of course means lots of delicious food, drinks, and dessert. Mamie outdid herself with 2 desserts; fresh strawberry tart and flan. My mom "forcing" in the flan. :)

It was a perfect sunny day so after lunch we headed to the park and then for a visit with Marc's 83 year old Aunt who couldn't help telling my parents over and over how young they looked.  :)

They do look pretty good, don't they!

Although no longer a restaurant, this was Marc's Aunt's Bar/Restaurant. Her grandparents first opened it and it remained open for 100 years!! The only bar in town. Needless to say everyone knew their family and they knew everyone in the town. 

Many relaxing moments spent sipping coffee with my mama.

Then, we were off to Paris for 3 unforgettable days!! In all the times I've come to France with Marc over the years we had never been to Paris. Quite silly really when you realize that it's literally only a 45 minute plane ride. 

Found an adorable apartment to rent in the Saint Michel district, 2 minutes from the Notre Dame, in a very old typical French building. Don't you just love this crooked staircase? We were on the 4th floor though!! I think I almost killed my parents.

The Notre Dame was truly a sight to be seen. One of our most favorite parts of the trip.

Teah feeding the birds!!

The architecture was truly breathtaking.

A stop at a corner bistro for drinks.....the quintessential Parisian cafe experience! Love.

Mom and Dad on the metro on our way to an evening boat cruise on the Seine.

Our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from where we met the boat. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Practicing our selfie pose for the upcoming attraction.

And the big moment.....don't you just love how cooperative everyone was. Ugh.

After dinner and putting the girls to bed, Marc and I decided to walk around for a bit in the City of Lights. Magical!

Day 2 started with the breakfast of Parisian champions....hot chocolate (coffee for the grown-ups) and croissants of course!

Followed by a tour of the Notre Dame.

Then off to Luxembourg Gardens

And a walking break at Angelina's Tea Room for macarons and the most amazingly thick, decadent authentic hot chocolate I've ever had. Honestly! It was incredible. Each was served in their own little pitcher with a bowl of freshly made whip cream. Dreamy!

High on sugar and deliciousness we caught some cabs to cross the city over to the Montmartre District and a walk through the Sacre Coeur.

We rounded out the day at the Eiffel Tower of course. It is truly a structure to be seen in person. So much bigger than I imagined. 

Not so easy to get the requisite photo though.

  

Before we left the clouds began to separate right as the sun was setting and literally turned the tower gold. It was breathtaking,

Just to continue the magic a bit longer the girls hopped on a carousel in view of the Eiffel Tower with Edith Piaf's La Vie en Rose playing. Couldn't have planned it any better.

Capturing the love in the City of Love.

Our last day in Paris we stopped by the Pont des Arts, also known as the Love Lock Bridge,

on our way to the Louvre.

Final stop, the Louvre!

I loved the Louvre. Definitely a must-do again. Since none of us had been before and the Louvre would probably take a week to fully take in we decided to do the "Welcome Tour" and in an hour and a half were able to get a nice overview of the history of the Louvre and some of their most famous pieces. Well worth the extra euros.

We took a million pics but I wanted to share a few that would give you a sense of all the people. Apparently this wasn't even a busy day. I can't imagine what that would look like.

A bit anti-climactic to see the Mona Lisa behind a billion people all fighting to get a better view.

  

After a day to recover from Paris, mostly our legs from all the walking. We rounded out my parents visit by heading to Yvoire; another must-see in our region. A totally charming medieval village right on Lake Geneva.

We toured the Gardens of 5 Senses. Another first that we will definitely do again. Beautiful!

The day before my parents returned to California we hosted Marc's parents at our house for a traditional Savoyard Fondue (Marc's specialty at this point). 

Let's just say my Dad got his fill. Happily succumbing to an apres-fondue coma.

The girls got used to waking up and heading into Grandma and Grandpa's bed for morning cuddles and I got used to having my own personal dishwashers at the ready.  ;-)  It was hard to see them go. But it eased the blow that in less than 7 weeks we will be boarding our own plane heading back to California! Our French Remedy is coming to an end, which of course is forcing reflection and the conversation of what's next. I'll save that juicy topic for a future post.