Bourgogne Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday!

What did you do for your 1st birthday?  Do you know?  I don't.  Perhaps I rolled down to the heart of Visalia, CA to hit up the Thrifty drug for an ice cream cone.  Probably tried to go to Farrell's first for a sundae but the line was too long.  I have no idea.  What I do know is that I did not visit one of the finest wine regions in the world, particularly one in France.  But I know someone who did…

That's right!  After a fun filled, full of firsts, new adventures (sometimes frustrating!) and all around amazing 12 months, petite Joséphine has turned 1 whole year old.  So what better reason to celebrate, pack up the car and head out on a 3 hour road trip to the town of Beaune France in the heart of Bourgogne which you more likely know as "Burgundy."  And if we're being honest, while calling it a trip to celebrate her first birthday in reality we felt a huge sense of accomplishment ourselves having survived this first year.  So an all around great reason to get out of the city.  

Beaune is actually a place we have been to before very shortly after moving to Paris.  We spent an afternoon there in September of 2011 riding bikes around the vineyards with our friend Louis.  Having only made a day trip out of it and not really seeing much of the village itself, this was the perfect spot to revisit and see it full stock.

Just crawling around the wine shop

Joining us for this weekend in Beaune would be one of Cleaver's co-workers and friend Cynthia and her husband KeeKim (also a Googler) and their 14 month old son Caden.  The perfect couple to travel with as we both understand each other's schedule and inability to go out at night.  Both being tied to this schedule, we once again rented an apartment for all of us to stay in which turned out to be great accommodation for all.

Playing with my friend Caden

Arriving in Beaune at about 4:00 on Friday meant we would really only have one full day.  Upon arrival on Friday knowing we would spend that evening at the apartment (you know, cause 1 year olds go to bed at 7) meant the first order of business was find the wine shop and fromagerie.  Fortunately this never takes long in France.  With the needed provisions in tow, we enjoyed the evening in with good company and a nice glass of wine.

Of course before putting Joséphine to bed we properly celebrated her birthday by singing "Happy Birthday" and lighting a candle.  She was not impressed and surprisingly didn't care much for the frosting, but none the less a special memory digitally saved for eternity.  (and likely a calendar at some point in the future)

Saturday was the big day for outings.  Given our interest in wine we headed out to the heart of the wine country while Cynthia and KeeKim walked around the town.  In one of the main villages of Nuit-Saint-George I had found a wine shop that also did tastings from the various areas of Bourgogne.  We got to the shop around 11 am which was perfect as we were the only ones there and got personal attention from the very nice woman working there.  This also allowed Joséphine to crawl around the whole place without bother to anyone else.  Turned out to be a great stop as we learned all the specifics of Bourgogne and the local classification system, wine nerd stuff I know but we enjoyed it.

At the Marché aux Vins

After making our way back slowly to Beaune where we ate at a wonderful traditional bistro lunch right next to our apartment, we then tried to catch a quick nap before visiting the Marché aux Vins which is one of the attractions within the town.  This wine market and tasting experience is in an old 15th century church with an old cellar you walk through trying different wines.  Turned out to be a fun old building and again good way to learn more about the area.  

After a busy day and not enough naps, Joséphine had a rough night of sleep which wasn't ideal but well worth it since it was our only full day and we certainly made the most of it.

Sunday was an uneventful drive back to Paris and the end of a long but successful birthday celebration.  

Bonne Anniversaire Joséphine!!!

Josephine’s First Halloween

When I had thought about the upcoming Halloween holiday I was initially thinking that we just wouldn’t celebrate it and Josephine wouldn’t have her first Halloween. In Paris it’s not really celebrated so there aren’t a ton of activities to take Josephine to, let alone trick or treating (eventhough at almost 1 year old she wouldn’t really get much out of that anyways). In any case, I was thinking that we would have to just skip Halloween this year.

Then it so happened that we had scheduled to host a play date with two of our friends on November 1. And Nate kept asking about if we should get Josephine a Halloween costume. So I had the idea of making the play date a Halloween play date. The other couples were on board and so with a search through amazon.co.uk we found a little ladybug costume for Josephine.

It actually turned out to be a great way to celebrate Halloween. The other couples are American (or mostly with one of the girls being from the UK) and so they of course appreciated the holiday like us. Anyways, it was a good time and I’m so glad we didn’t skip it. It was fun dressing Josephine up and she was actually quite cooperative with her costume. She didn’t even protest when we put the little hat part of her costume on her.  I think she was just trying to figure out what was going on. It’s hard to say for sure but I think she had a good time as well. A ladybug, a dragon and a Miami dolphin.  What a cute bunch!