Happy Sam

Anniversary in Paris

Friday was John and Ann's tenth wedding anniversary.  As we mentioned earlier, we'd been planning a long-weekend trip to Pairs for a while.  Luckily, we had a great weekend, and really enjoyed ourselves.  We brought the kids along, so it was a full-fledged family vacation.John took Friday off from work, and we picked Thomas up a little early from School.  We took the Easy-Jet (a European no-frills airline) route to Paris, and arrived in time to have a late dinner.  The food was fantastic, and we stayed at a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, which was awash in a beautiful blue color.On Saturday we visited the Tower, took a tour of the city, went to Notre Dame, and lunched at a wonderful outdoor cafe in the Latin Quarter.  We really enjoyed the feel of Paris, and the weather was sunny and cool.  It really felt like mid-autumn, which contrasted with what feels of late summer in Italy.  

On Saturday afternoon we visited walked around the islands and visited some churches and memorials before having a fantastic rustic Parisian dinner.  

Sunday was our day for Champs Elysees, the Tuileries Gardens, and the Louvre.  

We really enjoyed 'getting our Louvre on' in that mammoth museum.  Also, we have to comment on how short the lines were.  After visiting so many museums on our trips, the Louvre was the easiest to enter.  Of course, we saw lots of famous paintings and statues, including the Mona Lisa.  The best part, though, is just wandering around, awestruck at the size, diversity, and beauty.  We had lunch on one of the outdoor terraces too, which was really worth it.

So, all in all, the Anniversary trip was fantastic.  We did a lot more than we can comment on here, from strolling along the Seine and visiting the Pantheon, to snacking at cafes and practicing French by flirting with the wait-staff (which is another story in itself).  It was a great way to spend our tenth anniversary.  It's been a good ten years, and we're looking forward to countless more.  

 

Morning Moonset

Sunday Picnic

Today was John's company picnic.  We visited the 'campo sportivo' near John's workplace for a small and informal picnic with his co-workers.  Luckily, the weather held off for long enough that the event wasn't cancelled.  We did have intermittent showers, but the children were able to run around outside playing calcio and enjoying the playground.  The picnic was relaxed, and we just ate a variety of grilled foods.  The ribs were fantastic.  Unfortunately, the weather kept the turn out a little lower than we hoped, but it was still a very good time.

More Messy Weather

Although we had a fairly nice week here, Friday and Saturday have been a bust.  Once again, we've been plagued with downpours and rolling thunderstorms.  Of course, it's nothing like the awful series of hurricanes that are hitting the US.   So, we cancelled our Saturday trip once again, and are having a nice time playing games at home.  

We hope that the weather improves a little, since tomorrow is John's company picnic.  

The past week was pretty uneventful.  Ann went into Milan to visit her doctor.  We also had the first parent's meeting with Thomas' new teacher.  She seems nice, and is a serious no-nonsense kind of instructor.  His classroom has more students this year than last year.  He's still the only American.  Most of his classmates are British (so is his teacher), but a number of other nationalities are also represented.  He also has French instruction a few times per week.  They've started working through a French book, which may come in handy next week.

Why?  Next week is John and Ann's tenth wedding anniversary.  We're taking a long-planned trip to Paris to celebrate.  We're really looking forward to it...only a few days to go!

Master of Stairs

This was a wet, gray weekend.  We just stayed home, having a couple of nice 'family days'.  

We wanted to share these photos of Sammy, who is now really good at climbing up stairs.  He dashes all around the house on all-fours.  If we don't keep an eye on him, he's half way up our stairs in no time.  

Other than that, we had busy week.  John had a business trip to Wroclaw, Poland.  Thomas enjoyed his first week of school (no homework yet!).  Lastly, Ann was pretty busy with running between doctors appointments and school meetings.  

Also, you may be interested to know that September is thunderstorm season here.  We had a few large storms blow through, mostly in the evenings.  A few times they've even knocked out the electrical power.  Luckily, though, they don't last long and really don't do much damage.  

More Critters

Earlier this year we posted a photo of our slugs. We had many of them in the spring, and frequently still see them in our yard. Recently, though, we've also noticed snails. Of course, slugs and snails are largely similar critters, but we figured the shells warranted a separate post. Actually, we didn't know mutch about snails, but they're pretty fascinating creatures. (And no...we haven't tried to eat them....aparently, though, they're not completely uncommon in Italian cusine.)

Another School Year Begins

It's official - Summer is over! Today was Thomas' first day of school. He has all of his books (we had to pre-order them) and all of his pencils are sharpened. As you can see, however, he wasn't keen on getting up so early. By the time he got into his classroom, though, he was glad to be back. He enjoyed seeing his friends, and is looking forward to going back tomorrow.