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!