One Year

Wow - it's in many ways so hard to believe we have been here a year! I feel like the first six months crawled - getting settled, figuring out the lay of the land, learning to communicate with the natives, and of course trying to keep from going stir-crazy in the cold. And the second six? A flash. With Thanksgiving looming tomorrow, we have so much to be thankful for. Fascinating travels, wonderful visits from family and friends, generally good health and, of course, la vie Francaise.

It's been another busy month, beginning with a meaningful and fun visit to Israel! It was my first time, but Jeff lived in Tel Aviv for a semester in college and was eager to get back and see it. We stayed in Jerusalem for three days - right near the Old City - and then in Tel Aviv for two days.

The Old City in Jerusalem is so amazing - people of nearly every faith walking centuries-old streets and passageways. Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Armenians, and of course tourists both faithful and adventurous. We saw a cool model of the Old City and the Second Temple up at the Israel Museum, wandered the markets of the Old City, went to the powerful Western Wall. We went to several cool neighborhoods, including the German Colony, where we had wonderful meals, Ben-Yehuda, where we contributed to the economy in many wonderful shops. Josie and I went into the Old City and visited St. Anne's, a church where pilgrims from every faith come to sing in its amazing acoustics.

In Tel Aviv we ate lots of falafel, played on the beach, saw some friends from Paris, and investigated the winding market stalls in Old Jaffa. Jeff found Tel Aviv to be built up and improved since his travels there - the beaches were lovely, with a strip of impressive hotels, and Old Jaffa restored to house numerous artisans and traders. It was just really a great trip - lots of photos in the new gallery.

What else is new? Josie continues to enjoy her music and art preschool. She can not only count to 20 in English and French, she knows the days of the week in both languages and her colors in English, a few in French. Her teachers report that she loves drawing, singing and dancing. We're very happy with the school.

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving will be very different from last year - we had no friends yet, and spent it together eating a chicken and some side dishes. This year we have two families coming, along with my friends Katherine and Sujata who are visiting from Washington and New York. We've divvied up the dishes, and we're all really looking forward to it. Thanks to Slingbox the kids will even be able to watch the parade!

Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. A bientot!

Octobrefete!

Wow, yet another season flashing before our eyes. My excuse for lack of blogging is that the Paris autumn has been so gorgeous there hasn't been time. Of course that's only part of the story -- we've had loads of visitors: Nam and Bee-pa, Hannah and Papa and friends, Melissa, David and Nathalie, and the Chicago Goldbergs.

Josie started a new preschool in September: The Preschool for Music and Art at Ecole Koenig in the 15eme. It's technically bilingual, but she's the only American/English speaker in the class right now, so classes are primarily in French and the teachers are gradually introducing more English. It's a lovely school, with a Montessori approach to music, art, and play. Josie loves it and they love her. It's far away, so I stick around the neighborhood and spend the 3 hours wandering, running to the gym, sitting in cafes and reading... it's nice. Nam and Bee-Pa arrived at the end of September and Bee-Pa's 10 days with us were CRAZY touristy (in a good way): Versailles, the Pantheon, the Musee de l'Armee and Napoleon's Tomb, the Louvre, D'Orsay, the Orangerie, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Medieval History Musuem, Notre Dame, the Marais, crepes, lots of coffee and kirs.

We celebrated Josie's birthday with a musical fete in her favorite park, the Jardin Catherine Laboure (or as she now calls it, "Birthday Park"). We had a wonderful American singer perform for the kids, and I successfully constructed and decorated the famous Elmo cake (see photos in Sept. gallery!). Hannah and Papa and their friends Madeline and Ed came...and afterward the grownups celebrated with a yummy dinner at a nearby bistro, La Petite Chaise. It was a whirlwind weekend - and Bee-Pa left on the 7th Oct but Nam stayed for the month! We made multiple return trips to the D'Orsay (including for an amazing exhibit on Art Nouveau), did lots of shopping and sitting in chic cafes all across the Left Bank (and Montmartre, as you'll see). A teething and cranky Josie got us booted from nearly every major museum in Paris, but oh well.

We also took Nam for a lovely weekend in the Loire - we stayed again at La Couture, where we stayed last spring, and toured some fab chateaux: Chenonceau, Villandry, and Chambord. We also went to a fabulous zoo, where Josie did actually tell the tiger: "Pooh-pooh!" It was a lovely and memorable trip! We love the Loire...

We're now in the midst of Halloween season - Josie has already been to 3 parties and a bit confused about why I make her dress up as a clownfish every couple of days and beg for candy. We have a last pumpkin-carving party on Saturday! Well that's it for now - I know you're here for the pix, so I'll sign off. More again very soon, promise...

Le Jours du Chien d'Aout

Can't believe August is almost over, that summer is almost over! It was a FUN one, and when you look at the pictures and how busy we've been you'll hopefully excuse how overdue this post is.

August came and went in a flash, starting with a week-long Rothmanfest. Anne, Lew, Roger, Jaxi, Hilary, Todd, and all the kids came to celebrate Lew's 70th birthday. We had a blast - between the 13 of us we saw the Eiffel Tower, the D'Orsay, the Pompidou (extra fun with ProfArt Roger leading the way), the Conciergerie, Notre Dame, the Jardin Luxembourg (the playground quite a few times!), Disneyland Paris, and every boulangerie in between. We had a fun picnic and show to celebrate this Lew Rothman milestone at the Parc Floral, as well as a lovely lunch at Laduree to celebrate Hilary's 40th. Josie was in hog heaven, being able to hang out with all her cousins, and we had a lovely time too.

Then it was off to Tuscany! We spent the second half of our summer vacation (and the only really relaxing time for Jeff) at Le Boscarecce, a really nice, child-friendly villa smack in the middle of all of Tuscany's best cities. Every day we visited a city in the morning, and lounged by the pool in the afternoon - perfect. And since we could see our suite from the villa's restaurant, we were able to feed Josie early and enjoy a peaceful and delicious dinner together every night. You'll see from the pics we hit Volterra, a cute little medieval village, Vinci, Medici, Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Siena, and Certaldo. I think I loved Pisa the best - walking through the medieval gates and seeing the "Field of Miracles" (the church, baptistery, and of course the Tower) is really something. Rick Steves helped us with good grub and sightseeing tips. We also loved the Botticellis in the Ufizzi Gallery and of course, the David, which we finally got to see but couldn't photograph! Lots of gelato, pizza (which Josie loved) and of course Chianti! It was a great and relaxing vacation and we recommend Le Boscarecce to anyone traveling with children.

We had some sad goodbyes this month as well - Melissa, Nathalie and David departed for Miami, so Josie lost her Paris BFF, as well as her beloved "Nonny," our babysitter Josefin who returned to Stockholm to finish her masters' degree. But we are rebounding, with lots of new fun activities - already started garderie in the "grandes" section, and preschool (a music and art school called Ecole Koenig) starts in 2 weeks. So watch for lots of action-packed September and October posts!!

Bastille Day!

SORRY for the long gap between posts, we have had a very busy couple of months!! Josie has been doing great in nursery, better every week... and I've been in school too, taking a class at the American University in Paris on the History of Paris! It's so interesting, and if you visit I should be able to do a better job showing you around.

We've taken lots of cool class trips - to the Cathedral at St.-Denis, where all the kings and queens of France are buried, to the Palais Royal, which the Duc d'Orleans built in the 18th century to entertain the public, and a sobering visit to Drancy, the Paris suburb from which all the deported Jews and political prisoners were taken to Auschwitz.

Anyway, the class is over this week and I'm sad... I even had to write a term paper (I got an A) which was extremely stressful as I had no memory of how to write one! I had all those stress dreams and everything! But we have a busy August ahead of us so it's just as well...

June was also busy both with visitors and travel - Rosemary and Doug, our dear friends in Nyack, were with us for a week which was terrific. We saw lots of fun sights with them, including the Rodin museum, a boat trip down the Seine, and a walk through the Marais ending with falafels in the Place des Voges (built as a royal residence/compound by Henri III to keep all the nobles and bankers close!)

We took a nice trip to Giverny with Melissa and Nathalie to see Monet's house (and gardens of course!) Lots of great photos in the gallery. It was our last getaway with those girls as Melissa and David are moving to Miami in a couple of weeks... we're very sad and will miss them so much. We also made it back to the U.S. for about 10 days... first for my 20-year (gasp) page reunion in Washington, D.C. which was great. We got to go down on the floor of the House (though a very noisy Josie was banished to the Speaker's lobby, as you'll see from the photos) to see where we used to work... we also saw the Page school where we went, and House pages still go, and the new House page dorm. We also got to spend some quality time with Wally and Jean and their children Caleb and Tess... and caught up with a few friends in the City.

Otherwise we've managed to stay busy and enjoy our first summer in Paris... Josie and I started a morning musical playgroup once a week, and we've spent every Wednesday playing with our friends Catherine and Millie in the lovely Rodin gardens. This past weekend has been a long one, for Bastille Day... we packed it with activities, including a trip to the Sculpture garden and Berthillon ice cream on Ile St. Louis, a jaunt to the very cool Parc Andre Citroen, reclaimed from the old Citroen factory on the Seine, to hear a concert, the new Woody Allen movie followed by Italian dinner, shopping at les Soldes and a boat trip down the Seine. Today we're going to people watch in the morning (les enfants de la Patrie) and head to the Parc Montsouris with Melissa and Nathalie for a picnic in the afternoon. Aux armes, citoyens!!!

Life is an autoroute

It's been a fun and fabulous May here in Paris! The Rothmans finally hit the road! First, a glorious 2 days in Champagne country with Melissa and Nathalie. We drove right to Reims, France, and toured the Veuve Clicquot caves (which Josie decidedly did NOT enjoy), stopped at a couple smaller Domaines (as they are called in Champagne), finally descending on a charming B and B in Marne. Owned by 2 Americans, the inn was comforable and quaint, with gardens ascending into the side of a hill. Our host recommended a wonderful restaurant famous for serving "trout 7 ways..." I had trout champignoise, with an exquisite cream sauce, and... head (you can see a photo in the new galleries). It was delish, and the girls could run around and goad the ducks and swans frequenting the pond out back.

The next day after breakfast we just sort of drove randomly and hit a bunch of smaller champagne makers. It's quite fun -- in stark contrast to the formal guided tours and (expensive) tastings at the larger Reims houses, you're sitting in someone's garage tasting their family's life work - and the result in most cases was quite delicious! We brought home much too much -- we may have to throw a summer fete to drink some of it up! We also realized after the first stop that the girls would be happier watching Dora and Elmo in the car while we took turns tasting -- which was better for everyone, especially the vintners! It was really a great litle trip.

In between voyages we had a visit from Michelle and Rich, who stayed for a few days and, guided by Rick Steves, really showed us some of Paris' great sights! We went to Versailles, spending most of our time in the "Domaine de Marie Antoinette" - so fascinating, from the Petit Trianon where she lived, to the pretend "hamlet" she built to play shepherdess in. The hamlet was a fully working little town, by the way, with a mill, dairy, etc. Wonder how the monarchy went broke??!! We also visited the Conciergerie, where many of the prisoners of the French Revolution were tried - saw Marie's cell (which is now a chapel) as well as a model of what her cell probably looked like. We saw the crypts of Paris, including an old Roman wall, bath house, etc. Fascinating! It was a great week - lots of pics in the gallery as well.

Then for another long weekend (of which the French have many!) we headed to the Loire Valley - that's chateau country, and while with a toddler we weren't able to see too many, we did see the quite impressive Blois castle, whose architecture spanned four decades, from Gothic to Renaissance (Mary, Queen of Scots lived in exile and died there), the crumbling but impressive fortress at Chinon, and the exquisite "Sleeping Beauty" castle in Usse. We stayed again at a B and B, owned this time by Brits with a grandson just Josie's age. We had a fabulous wine dinner, tasting 6-7 wines (I lost count!) with 4 delicious courses of locally grown food. We also toured 2 different vignerons, tasting really the gamut of Loire wines, from very sweet whites to deep and peppery reds. We learned a lot about Loire wines and had so much fun touring the countryside. The B and B (La Couture, if you are interested in checking it out!) had gorgeous gardens and 2 dachsunds, whom Josie loved chasing around. We really had a terrific time!

Now we're gearing up for a very busy summer. I started a weekly musical playgroup in our quartier, so that Josie could stay musically engaged after the finale of "Music Together" class. We have about 6 children and it's a fun group! I'm starting a class on the History of Paris at the American University in Paris next week, which should be interesting. Josie is doing great at nursery (no more tears, and in fact she starts talking while we're getting dressed to leave about how she's going to say "au revoir, Mommy.") We have lots of visitors coming, a couple of Parisian parties (oh la la), orchestra tix tomorrow, and I'm going to see Rigoletto "in Plein Air" (outside) in the Jardins de Luxembourg in a couple of weeks! We're trying to soak up lots of culture while taking advantage of the great weather.

Lots of pics in the gallery, and more updates soon. A bientot!

May Flowers

It's a BEAUTIFUL spring here in Paris... most days! We're getting back into our routine after a 2-week trip back to NY (all 3 of us) and MI (just Beth and Josie). The NY leg was, for me, mostly running around to various doctor's appointments... the terrific news is that my thyroid scan was CLEAN. We're all really psyched. Hannah and Papa Rothman graciously hosted us, and we had lots of fun seeing family (Jaxi, Roger, Manny and Jake who came from Lewisburg, "Emine," Hilary and Todd, Delila and Scarlett, Aunt Louise who came up all the way from Virginia and of course Grandma Rothman) and friends and celebrating Passover, lovingly and deliciously prepared as always by Anne. Another highlight was SHOPPING at wonderful boutiques like... Target and Designer Shoe Warehouse for American sundries and clothing! We also spent a morning wandering up and down a Tenafly grocery store missing all our favorite U.S. foods! It was weird.

In Michigan we had fun meeting up with friends Annie, Amy, and Anna, and all their children, as well as our neighbors Jayne, Delphine and friends like Carol and Eugenie. More shopping, chicken in Frankenmuth, brisk walks outside with "Nam," as Josie calls her. "Bee-Pa" Mark seems to like his new nickname too! The flight back alone with Josie was a bit stressful but we survived -- and hilariously, saw my rabbi friend Carol Levithan, who was leaving her Parisian vacation, on the air-train from our remote terminal at CDG airport! Crazy!

Now we're back, and Josie is adapting to nursery... still crying a bit when I drop her off but now she's happily playing when I return, and cheerfully bids all her little friends "au revoir" with lots of bisous (kisses). She can "count" most numbers up to 10, and still loves to sing and dance. She actually sang us her first song in the car ride from NJ-MI (after hearing her softly saying "bing... back!" we realized she was crooning "My bonny lies over the ocean!") and is slowly adding tunes to her repertoire. She can also - as you'll see from the video - climb up and slide down the 3-year-old slide!

I'm finishing up French lessons for the summer and looking forward to starting a class at the American University in Paris on the History of Paris. I'm just auditing, but it will be fun to be a student again! We're taking advantage of some long May weekends to hit Champagne country and the Loire Valley, hopefully seeing lots of Chateaux and vineyards! More sooner, I promise! Now that Josie's in nursery I'll have more time for blogging!

March Madness

Spring is springing slowly but beautifully here in Paris. Last weekend we spent playing both on the Champs de Mars and walking through the Luxembourg Gardens. I've actually finally made a "walking buddy," and am getting out for a fast-walk through the Lux Gardens 2-3 times a week! On the way home I get to stroll through the wonderful farmer's market on our street, buying whatever looks delicious - fresh pasta, luscious pears, a special dessert from Brittany called Kouign-amann, which is essentially flaky pastry bursting with almond-flavored frangipane. Delicious! And Josie, who beams away and points at everything, always emerges with a few free treats - a shiny strawberry, a buttery Madeleine, etc.

My French is coming, slowly but surely -- a good thing considering my private lessons will wrap up in May. After that I'll either sign up for a group class or continue on the internet. We'll see! I'm just excited for great weather and a chance to explore some of Paris' gardens and parks with Josie. Jeff, meanwhile, has embarked on a number of interesting travels - this week he's off to South Africa. He's finding in this economic downturn that developing low-cost, nutritious products for needy populations is more important than ever. We're so proud of him!

And Josie continues to grow and change every day! She's making little "copines" (friends), really coming into her own at music class, and chattering constantly. The big news this week (see pic and video) is that she started "School" - actually a part daycare-part nursery school right across the street. I went with her yesterday for "adaptation" (I stayed) and Thursday will go just for 20 min. or so. It's completely in French, though they will speak English to her if she is anxious or confused. She made a little friend who led her around by the hand, and had fun singing songs and playing with all the toys. Now I'm trying to figure out some fun activities to do while she's there! Looking forward to even wandering around with my camera and loafing in cafes as the French do SO well. On that note, off to drink another cup of coffee and figure out how Josie and I are going to have fun inside and out of the rain today!! Au revoir!

Vive le Printemps!

We're getting pretty excited about spring over here - and a lovely afternoon spent playing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars (see Josie trying to catch a new pet) gave us a glimpse of how lovely it will be to spend more time outside!

We've had a busy winter - Music Together class for Josie every Saturday morning, which she loves, music playgroup every week, story hour at the American Library, lots of playdates with Millie and Constance, two of her little pals, and jaunts to the Louvre (for mommy!) every other week or so. We've been to a couple of nice Sunday lunches at friends' houses in the neighborhood -- our weekends are becoming quite social! We had a terrific Valentine's Day at Itineraires, a cute little restaurant in the Latin Quarter... and look forward to our gift to each other - a subscription to New York Magazine!

Josie went to her first birthday party here in Paris, Nathalie's second birthday party at Gymboree. It was a lovely party and so terrific to spend so much time with Melissa's parents, Gloria and Alter, that week. Lots of cute pictures in the new slideshow!

The highlight of the month, obviously, was a visit from Papa Lew! He came and stayed for a week and we had a wonderful time traipsing around Paris, eating great food and seeing the sights. We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and strolled along the Champs Elysees, did a fascinating walking tour of the Old Marais (topped off with a falafel at L'as), explored Montmartre, hit the Luxembourg Gardens and the D'Orsay. Jeff and Lew also took a day trip up to Normandy where they had a guided tour of Utah Beach and the surrounding areas. They were presented with a medal in honor of Jeff's Grandpa Herman's service. But we were happy to have them back afterwards for truly delectable meals at a new Asian Fusion place called Ze Kitchen Galerie as well as a storied brasserie called Balzar (it's described in detail in Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik!). We even met the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten!) sitting outside Cafe Flore when we stopped in for coffee and tartes tatins!

And what can we say about Josie... she's taught herself how to Ring Around the Rosy, loves to walk up and down steps proclaiming "good girl!" after each one, and can say about 50 words! She survived her first gastro bug (no fun for anyone) and has cut almost all her teeth at this point. In fact, I have to sign off to wake her up from her nap so we can go to music playgroup soon. Au revoir for now!

Groundhog Day

Well, we hope Paris isn't listening to Puxatawney Phil, 'cause we sure don't want six more weeks of winter here! True, Paris is always lovely, and seeing the top of the Eiffel Tower disappearing into the mist looks just as romantic as when it sparkles at night. But Josie and I have a bit of cabin fever (along with all our other recurring illnesses!) and we're dying to get out into the park to run around in the sunshine.

Even in the chill of winter, our social life is warm and buzzing with activity -- still meeting lots of friends through Message, the ex-pat mom's group here in Paris, and have something to do almost every day... between French classes, play groups, Music Together etc. there's a danger of feeling overscheduled -- sometimes I just bag the scheduled activity, as I am today. Waiting for Josie to wake up from a long nap so we can saunter over to the Louvre for an hour or so. We got a family membership, which is terrific. Josie can take it for about an hour (while tourists take her photo!) and I can see a wing or two of French or Italian paintings. I figure at this rate I should be able to see most of the museum in a year!

Jeff has been very busy with his job, traveling to Jakarta, Indonesia, Mexico City, Barcelona, even Brussels later this week. He's finding it really interesting, traveling to places in the world that clearly need affordable, nutritious food... and he's racking up the Frequent Flyer miles as he goes! We're keeping our date night almost every Saturday, seeing movies or checking out local restaurants... we've even been to our first Parisian party! Well, it was mostly Brits, but fun anyway. We're looking forward to Lew arriving this weekend, and have lots of activities -- both educational and fun -- planned for him. As well as lots of delicious meals!

And what's new with Josie? Something every day. Almost every day she has a new word... cracker, baby, "love you" etc. She's running around full steam, climbing on the couches, and still singing and dancing up a storm. Not a bit shy -- she greets everyone in our local Starbucks, waves to other museum-goers, barks at our neighboring pooches. She's so much fun -- we're having a blast together.

I've been delinquent in posting photos and video, so there's an update "film" of our activities here, as well as lots of new pics in the Jan-Feb gallery. xoxo

Freezing and Frozen Paris

Well, the Davidson-Rothmans rang in a very Merry 2009 (just the two of us, no Dick Clark, just lots of Picard goodies, which I shall explain below) and are now shivering through a very chilly January!

We had a lovely holiday seas0n - I celebrated my first Parisian birthday with a delicious lunch of "tartines," wonderful open-faced sandwiches, and a bit of shopping with my dear friend Melissa. Jeff and I were then able to continue our tradition of taking in all the holiday windows, capped off with a sumptuous feast at a restaurant Jeff had found called Drouant. We went to a fun Chanukah party, also with Melissa and her family, at the bilingual synagogue here, and also a great Tot Shabbat at Melissa's (are you getting a feel for whom we gladly spend the most time with?) with a Chanukah theme.

On Christmas we of course missed dreadfully the annual Davidson fete... but still managed to have a quite fun day -- walked to Le Marais (the Jewish Quarter) which in contrast to the rest of Paris was absolutely buzzing with activity. We had falafels, walked around a bit, and walked back home by way of Notre Dame to see the tree (and hundreds of tourists) there. We capped off the evening with turkey and all the trimmings courtesy of Picard.

So.... Picard. I've decided I'll expound on at least one Paris novelty in each post, and today it will be Picard. It's this absolutely amazing French food chain, completely composed of... frozen foods. I'm not talking chicken nuggets (though they have them!) or frozen waffles (have those too!) it's the most amazing assortment of gourmet treats you could find. Foie gras. Scallops. Salmon in puff pastry. Cheesecake. Croissants. Sushi. Tom Yum soup. Turkeys stuffed with chestnuts and mushrooms (that's what we had!). Pots Au Creme (which we also had). All amazing, all prepared so you just pop in oven or skillet. I would say we have Picard at least twice a week. How else would we enjoy tandoori chicken on a Tuesday or crunchy Vietnamese spring rolls on a Thursday? The place is amazing. Google it. Jeff wants to open one in the states and I think we would be zillionnaires.

The day after Xmas we were off on our first cross-country road trip. We went to Strasbourg, a charming town near the German border famous for its Christmas Markets. It was basically four days of eating and drinking wine (the Alsace region is famous for its Rieslings, Gewurtztraminers, etc) and drinking in the cuteness of "half-timber" houses and 400-year old Cathedrals. All lovely -- as were our traveling partners, Melissa David and Nathalie! Lots of pics of our trip in the gallery.

Home for New Year's, which as I said Jeff and I spent at home and it was quite fun and relaxing. Especially with a nice bottle of champagne and Picard doing all the work!! Now, it's back to daily life (this was Jeff's longest contiguous break in 4 years of working for Dannon) and Jeff is off for many travels this month. But Josie and I are keeping busy with play groups, Music Together (which Josie LOVED in Nyack and we've been lucky enough to find here!) and of course, shopping at Les-Soldes, the semi-annual orgy of reduced-price shopping. I've already procured a dreamy coat, some quite kicky boots, and an assortment of sweaters and gifts. And we're not even a week in! More sooner, I promise, but for now... a bientot!