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!!