Friday, June 8, 2012

Hachan 2012

A DELICIOUS lunch during our trip
In mid-May just after finishing our exams, we spent 5 days in Hachan with Claire's parents. It's a small village in Southwestern France in a particularly rural region with beautiful things to see. It is really close to the mountains and two hours or so from the Spanish border. We took the night train from Paris to get there and spent our time eating (foie gras is a specialty of the region), relaxing in the sun, going on walks and exploring new sites of the Pyrenees (where the Tour de France passes through).


Little village of Aurignac

Claire made a friend (shhh, don't tell Zoe)

Fortress overlooking the village

Looking through the window of an abandoned house
We spent a day exploring and driving
 around the Pyrenees.This was our view
during our picnic!


The above picture shows the "city-limits" of Hachan, which counts around 60 inhabitants (many of which only live there during the summer). The road you see is the only road in the village, which isn't large enough for two lanes; luckily, the road isn't busy at all! In Hachan, you can see houses, a church, a cemetery, and a festival hall which is used for the annual Village Festival each summer.

The Milan's house
Relaxing after a very hard day's work!

The patio

Claire's mom's long awaited wysteria

The Pyrenees



Many roads in the region are lined with trees.

Typical little village.
This one is Betpouy

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter!

As Claire's dad is retiring at the end of April, her parents have started moving into their apartment in Paris, and are now almost all moved in.There are a few boxes left to unpack (mostly books!) and lots of pictures to still hang on the walls, but it is very close to being done. Today was the second big lunch we had there (the first one being Gabriel's 26th birthday on April 2nd).

Happy Easter everyone! We hope it is full of joy wherever you are.

Claire's dad taking his Champagne
duty seriously, as always.

Aperitif before the meal. Lucas sure enjoys it!
 On the Menu:

Starter:
Herb cheese-filled tomatoes & radishes
Italian Ratatouille with bread

Main Dish:
Lamb Shank with side of beans cooked with onions
Marinated and grilled eggplant, zucchini, yellow peppers and tomatoes
Steamed green beans

Cheese & Salad:
Assortment of sheep, goat and cow milk cheeses
(8 different kinds!)

Coffee & Dessert:
Assortment of pastries
(eclairs, spice cake, tartelettes, and more)

Le Plateau de Fromage
Our apologies for the lack of pictures of the meal... We were more concerned about enjoying the food and not so much about photographing it!
Thank you, Mary, for your card
& Easter gift! Jordan already
used all the letters, as you can tell :)
Hugs to you and the whole family.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Choir Concert: Round One

Claire and Gabriel had their first choir concert of the year on Friday, March 23rd. Tom and Francoise came into Paris to attend the concert, and Patrick (a family friend) and his two nephews came as well. On the program: Brahms (first video), Poulenc, Prokofiev (second video), and Connesson. It was excellent! 

"Geistliches Lied" by Brahms

"Alexandre Nevski" by Prokofiev



After the concert, we all went to have dinner
at a typical Parisian Brasserie.

First Day Of Spring

Happy Spring everyone! As it is our first spring in Paris, we decided to have a picnic after class. We had been looking forward to doing this for a long time after the several weeks of Siberian Winter (literally, a Siberian wind blew over the continent in February. We froze.).

But now the sun is shining, the birds are singing (no parakeets in Paris yet, just give them time), and we are pulling out the dresses, shorts and sunglasses. We took advantage of the heat, and spent the whole afternoon in the Jardin du Luxembourg which is right by our school. We had a nice lunch and although it was our most sincere intention to study, we did not. Claire is now expecting a 0/20 on her German conjugation test...

Ich Habe Nicht Studiert

Thanks, Mama Lois, for sending the sunglasses!

Bon Appetit!


Buds on the Trees - Spring has Sprung

Jordan found the best technique yet to
crack hard boiled eggs: his watch!
Genius.





Pigeons and Parakeets


 
While on our trip to Brussels, we were walking to go have lunch with Claire’s mom at a Vietnamese restaurant called "The Sunflower" (super delicious). On the way we spotted dozens of bright green parakeets mingling among a flock of pigeons. Claire and her mom passed by as if it was no big deal seeing the bizarre mix of birds (they have been a common sight throughout Brussels for years now), but Jordan had to stop and take a picture of the scene.


Claire and Francoise say that there are two myths that surround the existence of these birds in the Belgian capital. 
  • First legend: during the Universal Exhibition of 1958, there was a greenhouse in which the birds were living. After the exhibition was finished and while the greenhouse was being dismantled, the parakeets accidentally escaped and have been procreating all over the city ever since.
  • Second legend: the parakeets were the subject of a scientific experiment and one day, a scientist had closed the cage but mistakenly left it unlatched. It didn't take the birds long to make their escape, flying out an open window. After the laboratory finally managed to recapture the birds, the population of Brussels had become accustomed to seeing parakeets out and about and mobilized to prevent further experiments on the birds, allowing them to live freely in the city.
Regardless of which story is true, one thing is certain: it's pretty dang weird seeing these birds flying around the city, chirping super loudly, and bossing the pigeons around like nobody's business.
 

One of their HUGE nests




Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Belgian Getaway

We have been back in school for over two weeks, after a wonderful break in Brussels. We did not do much (which is exactly what we had in mind!) aside from lounging at Claire's parents' house, sleeping, eating, and walking around the streets of the city. Zoe made the trip with us, she is now a pretty international kitty as this was her third time in Brussels.


Thalys (red train) Was Our Means of Travel
Gare du Nord (Paris)

Cafe Belga
Cafe Belga - We had drinks here with our friend Maite


Les Etangs d'Ixelles


Best Place for Eating Authentic Belgian Fries!
(20+ different sauces!)
 
Jordan insisted on having one of these waffles...
 Now Claire wishes she had too


La Grand Place - A Must



We had dinner at a typical Belgian restaurant
with friends, Jeanne & Simon

While we were out taking advantage of the city,
Queen Zoe had no trouble making herself at home.

Monday, February 27, 2012

A Little Less City in the Heart of Paris

Today we decided to take advantage of our official first day of vacation. We started with  the movie theatre to see The Iron Lady (really good!). We then went on a big walk to the Buttes Chaumont park. It was a beautiful day, 13 degrees Celsius/55 degrees Fahrenheit. Jordan has been wanting to see this park for a long time now, so it was great to finally do it! We wandered around, ate cotton candy and crepes, took lots of pictures, and then headed back to the apartment to enjoy a glass of white wine for Happy Hour (the French call it "Happy Hours", usually because it involves more than one drink during more than one hour!). We made a good dinner, and packed to leave for Brussels!

A perfect day in Paris.









Many kids followed Claire with longing eyes!