A Winter of Visitors

As we settled into the new year and our new routine we were able to look forward to a number of visitors coming our way in January and February.  It started with my friend April who was in London for work and decided to take the Eurostar over for a quick 24 hour visit before heading back to SF.  Her only request was for some cheese, bread, wine and croissants and we delivered on all of those (while getting out for a few walks in the neighborhood).

A week or so after April’s visit we had a visit from our friend Matt.  For as much as he’s traveled, and that’s quite a bit, he had never been to Paris.  So he spent a week with us and got out to discover Paris and get a good feel for the city and what it has to offer.  During that time, Louis was here again for work so we got in a couple of good dinners with him as well.  We tried this Moroccan place called 404 that’s just a block away from our apartment and it was delicious!  Josephine was a perfect angel and slept the entire time.  And the boys even made it out to a bar to watch the Super Bowl live (starting at 12:30am here).  It was the same place we all watched the Niners last year.  Josephine and I had our own girls night back at home.  it was a great visit and we're so glad Matt finally got to see a city we love so much!

Lastly, my cousin Nicole came to visit right after Matt left.  She wanted to of course see the new baby and get a chance to explore Paris a bit more.  Nate, Nicole and I had come here a few years back when she visited us in Zurich but that was just a quick weekend trip.  She now had a whole week to hang out with us and see more of Paris.  Josephine and I tagged along on a few of the things she did like going on the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde for a great view of Paris, walking through the Tuilieres Garden and along the river near our house.  The Saturday that she was here, all of us took a day trip to Champagne.  This was the first time Josephine had been outside of Paris which means it was the first time we had taken her on a train for an all day trip.  We were kind of testing the waters on how it would be to travel with her.  And in the meantime, Nicole got to see a different part of France, taste some amazing champagne and we got to meet up with our friend Rachel and her boyfriend Alexis.  Josephine was again a perfect angel on the trip.  She slept on the train, when she was awake she happily sat in our laps and smiled at the French women that just adored her and then slept some more.  All in all a great day!  Nicole then had a few more days left before she too had to head back home.

Our winter has been quite fun with all of the friendly faces we got to see.  And now the weather is turning spring-like with temperatures in the 60s and we are crossing our fingers that it’s going to stick and winter is done.  Bring on spring and summer in Paris!!

View from ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde

Christmas in Paris

So let me first preface this post by saying that it is extremely overdue. I have been meaning to write and post this for at least a month now and am finally getting around to it. I guess I'm still adjusting to having a little one and trying to get things done. So with that being said, here we go...

With Josephine being born at the end of November, we decided that this year we would spend Christmas in Paris.  My parents joined us here as well to both meet their newest (and 7th!) granddaughter and spend the holiday with us.  It was wonderful having them here for the extra help but they also made our Christmas even more special to be able to share it with them.  Christmas day brought beautiful weather with blue skies so after our morning of exchanging gifts we took a walk down and around Notre Dame.  It’s funny how two years ago when we spent Christmas in Zurich, we also took a walk on Christmas day and saw maybe just one person the entire time we were out.  Not so here in Paris.  I couldn’t believe how many people were out walking around and how crowded it was.  I suppose the beautiful day and the plain fact that it’s Paris will do that.  That evening Nate cooked up a fabulous turkey meal complete with a fresh turkey from the boucherie as well as our imported Stovetop stuffing (so delicious!).  It was a wonderful Christmas and one we’ll never forget as it was Josephine’s first.  So special!!

My parents were here for another week which was filled with continuing to adjust to having a newborn and getting sleep where we could.  New Year’s Eve was a much different one than we’ve had in many years.  We did make it to midnight and then Josephine woke up and we proceeded to stay up until 2am.  Not quite like the New Year’s Eve’s we have celebrated in the past but at least we woke up with no hangover this year.  

My parents then left on January 1 and it was back to reality for both of us starting on the 6th with Nate having to go back to work after 2 weeks off and me being home alone with Josephine.  I definitely got the better end of that deal.

And now look who is almost 3 months old! The blanket was a gift from my team at work. I can't believe how quickly she's growing. She's getting so big!

Bienvenue Joséphine

In the hospital

Well I’m a little late on welcoming our little Joséphine as she is now almost 6 weeks old but I figure better late than never. Josephine Nancy was born on November 28 2013 at 10:16pm. After a long wait all day in the delivery room (we arrived at the hospital at 8:15am) we were delighted to finally meet our little girl. She was born at Hopital Saint-Joseph in the 14th arrondissement of Paris and after spending 3 nights in the hospital we brought her home. It was so nice to get out of the hospital and into the comforts of our home.

My parents came a week after we got home and just left on the 1st. More to come later on our visit with them and Josephine’s first Christmas.

We are now a family of three and while it's taken some adjustment, we are loving every minute of it.

5 Weeks Old

The Waiting Game

I am now in my second week of maternity leave and it feels like a waiting game.  Just waiting for this little girl to decide to make her arrival into the world.  Last week I planned all the things I really wanted to get done and was just hoping she would give me at least one week of maternity leave to accomplish these things.  I got a haircut, went to the dentist and even had lunch with some new friends….all that stuff I had been putting off until I had more free time.  And luckily I got through that week and was quite productive.  Besides catching up on appointments I’m trying to get as much as I can prepared for Christmas as well.  My parents arrive on December 10 and will be here for the holidays to celebrate with us, which we are so looking forward to.  And since I have no idea how our life will be after Baby Ross comes, I’m trying to get as much done and purchased as possible. I’ve slowly marked things off my to-do list and now I feel like I’m just waiting.  This little girl could really come any day now so I hate to plan anything else.  

The tree is up at Galeries Lafayette

I’m feeling great, or as good as can be expected.  I’m getting up every 2-3 hours at night and I definitely get tired more easily after a few hours walking around.  And this bump seems to get in the way….bending over to put on my shoes or even just dry off after the shower is all sorts of work now.  But really overall, I can’t complain.  I go to the hospital now once a week so they can monitor the baby’s heartrate and check on me.  And everything looks good with the baby (although she is still on the small end of the normal range).  I’ll be 40 weeks on Sunday, which I have determined to be my US due date (November 24).  My French due date is December 3.  I think I’ve finally figured out the system here as the due date confused me for some time.  The French go off of a 41 week system while the US uses a 40 week system.  So if I make it to December 3 with still no baby, it’s highly likely I will be induced that day.  Let’s hope this little one makes her appearance though before that happens!

Maternity leave has been great so far.  I’ve definitely enjoyed the free time and the chance to be out in Paris in the middle of the day in the middle of the week.  It feels like a whole new world!  But it’s also a strange feeling.  Because I’m not on vacation and I’m not working of course so really my only purpose is to wait for this baby to come.  And I of course get tired after walking around for 2-3 hours so I try to remind myself that I can’t do all the things I would normally love to do if I had all this time in the city.  

It’s crazy to think that pregnancy will be coming to an end soon.  It’s been quite the adventure doing this here in Paris and we’ll follow up with another post after the baby comes to sum up this experience.  Overall I feel that I’ve been really lucky with my pregnancy and how easy it has been and can only hope that extends into labor and delivery and then to an easy baby.  Am I asking too much?  :)  

One last tidbit to leave you with before I finish.  All of the wine bottles here in France have a picture of a pregnant lady with a line through her basically saying that you shouldn’t drink while pregnant.  Well ever since I got pregnant Nate has been wanting me to re-create this picture.  And now that I’m probably the biggest that I’m going to get, here goes.

Until next time….when we will be a family of 3!!!  Eek!  

One Last European Rendezvous with Stacey & Alex

As you may recall, Stacey and Alex are our friends from Basel.  They moved to Basel from SF about the same time that Nate and I moved to Zurich and over the past 2+ years we’ve traveled with them to numerous European destinations.  Some highlights have been Oktoberfest in Munich, Dublin, Istanbul, Zermatt, Normandy and so many more!  Anyways, the time has come for Stacey and Alex to move back to SF in just a few weeks and before leaving they were able to fit in one last weekend with us, this time here in Paris.  We were thrilled to see them one more time!  And on top of it, Stacey is also pregnant and due in early January.  So we could compare notes as well.

They arrived last Saturday in time for us to take them to our favorite little noodle shop, Happy Nouilles, for lunch.  We spent the afternoon walking around Paris...had to visit a few Parisian baby shops over in the 17th so they could take something home for their little girl.  We then ended up at Place de la Concorde, walked through the Jardin de Tuileries and over to Rue Montorgueil for a brief rest and a drink.  They had been to Paris once before for a long weekend so they saw most of the iconic sights at that time.  We had a lovely dinner near our neighborhood that evening and on Sunday, brunch with their friends DA and Kelly.  After that we were off to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur to show them an area they had never seen before.  We got lucky with the weather as it was just beautiful with sun and blue skies.  And before we knew it, it was time for us to head back to our apartment and for them to head back home.

Stacey and Alex will forever be our European travel partners and will hold a huge part in our European adventure memories.  See you back in SF someday!!

Melissa & Greg Do Paris

After a few months with no visitors it was time for our friends Melissa & Greg to pay us a visit.  Neither of them had been to Paris before and they planned a week long vacation to see what they had been missing.  They arrived on a Friday and while fighting jet lag that weekend we eased into their exploration of Paris with them.  From our house you can easily walk down to the Seine, see a bit of Notre Dame and Hotel de Ville and then walk along the Seine to get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, see the Louvre and walk into the Tuileries Gardens.  It was a perfect little walk to get their feet wet followed by a great dinner that night and a visit to this little beer bar we found over in the 11th.  Sunday we strolled over to one of our favorite market streets, Rue Montorgueil, and bought some veggies and wine to go with dinner for that night and enjoyed a lovely brunch nearby.  Melissa and Greg then headed off to visit Notre Dame.

The week began and Nate and I were off to work while Melissa and Greg continued to discover all the wonderful sites of Paris.  They even fit in a day of tasting champagne in Reims and I of course set them up with my friend Rachel.  She has become my go-to person for Champagne and all visitors looking for a tour. Love her!

It worked out that Thursday night of that week Trombone Shorty was playing at L’Olympia theater in the center of Paris.  Melissa and Greg had never seen him before so it was a perfect opportunity to see one of our favorites while also introducing Melissa and Greg to them.  The theater was older and quite charming and Trombone Shorty as always put on a great show.  

That left Friday night, the last night with Melissa and Greg in town.  We decided to take them over to the canal since they hadn’t been in that area yet and we ate at La Patache, a place we love near there.  Afterwards we wandered over to a little Belgian beer bar nearby which we have frequented a number of times and then headed home for a nightcap that had us all going to bed way too late….just a few hours before Melissa and Greg had to be up the next morning to catch their flight back to SFO.  

It was yet another great visit with friends.  So happy we got to share with them the city we’ve come to love.

Greece!

Having traveled many places over the past two years in Europe, one place in particular was still on our list.  A place that had been on our list for several years prior to moving to Europe and one that we finally were able to see on our recent two week vacation.  That place of course is Greece!

Welcome to Naxos!

Early this year when planning our summer we knew for sure that we wanted to do a low key beach vacation as opposed to a more high adventure on-the-go type of holiday.  The Greek isles seemed to be the perfect place for just that and only a 3 hour flight away from Paris.  So 10 days in total were planned, 4 on the island of Naxos, 4 on the island of Santorini, and the last 2 nights in Athens to check the box of a few of the sights there.  Also as a bonus, my old friend Ron and his wife Lindsay were able to make the trip with us as well.  Ron and Lindsay as you recall were last seen in the Rhone Valley getting purple mouthed and on a quest for cheese and cats.  But that's another story.

The beach....

Starting off in Naxos, we stayed at a great little hotel with the two nicest guys running the place.  This was our first introduction to the Greek hospitality, somewhat similar to Southern hospitality but with a lot more feta cheese.  Eddie and Alex helped us understand where things were on the island, set up a rental car for us, gave us a great itinerary for a drive and suggestions on restaurants.  All of which were helpful and fun.  The hotel was right near the beach too which meant our first two days consisted of sitting on a lounge chair, which was exactly what we wanted.

The other side of the Island

By the third day and looking for some adventure we rented a car and drove around the island to a few different villages including one "unexpected" stop where we were laughed at by locals, yelled at by an old guy, and almost hit a parked car.  Ron's military training as an RIO (just like Goose) was of no help but after this slight detour we were back on track.  Really enjoyed seeing the island, had a great lunch with a bunch of bees, and ended up at a great little beach / cove toward the southern end of the island.  4 days in Naxos quickly went by and off we were via ferry boat to Santorini.  I would definitely go back to Naxos.  It felt smaller, was low key, and was a more local European vacation spot as evidenced by the number of septuagenarians wearing speedos.

Dinner with the Tycer's

2 hours on the boat and we arrived in Santorini.  Upon arrival in Santorini one of the transportation options to get to your hotel is to take a donkey.  Seriously.  But figuring that four of us with luggage would probably be more comfortable in a bus or taxi we opted for a more modern mode of transportation.  Traveling by bus up what seemed like 46 switchbacks to get up to the top of a cliff, we arrived at our hotel in about 15 minutes or so.  I have stayed in numerous hotels both good and bad over the years and this one sticks out for all the right reasons.

View we enjoyed for 4 days steps from our hotel room

Starting with the view.  Step outside our room and you get an unobstructed view of the ocean and caldera (which I learnt is a dormant volcano) below.  This was also the pool area with deck chairs and our breakfast table area as well.  Worth noting that a champagne breakfast was served each morning which makes for a lovely way to start the day.  From our perch overlooking the water we were also able to see the daily arrivals and departures of the many cruise ships.  Whereas Naxos is a more local vacation spot feel, Santorini was definitely a more popular tourist destination, though that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Our hotel was a bit away from the main area of Fira which was nice, but close enough to all the various restaurants in the main area of town.  One of our favorites where we went to multiple times was called Lucky Souvlaki which served fantastic pita gyros.  For about EUR 2, you get a great meal. One of many highlights of the trip.  Santorini ended up being 4 days by the pool taking in the view and good meals at night.  We did have a boat trip planned one afternoon which Ron and Lindsay went on while I stayed back at the hotel as Cleaver had a touch of the queasy stomach.  I hear the boat tour was awesome but I didn't go and this isn't Ron's blog, so I can't really elaborate more than that.  Guess it gives us a good reason to go back just to check it out!

Pita Gyros!

Almost Sunset in Santorini

Finally after 8 great days in the islands it was time to move on back to the city for our final 2 days in Greece which we spent in Athens.  The plan for Athens was to see the main sights and explore the town a bit since our flight home to Paris went through Athens anyway and it made sense to stay a few nights and see what there was to offer.  The primary attraction of course is the Acropolis sitting atop a hill in the center of town.  Arriving in Athens early in the afternoon we actually decided to wait until the following morning to go to the Acropolis so that we could get there early to avoid the crowds.  The mid day sun in Athens can make things quite warm as well, so another reason we figured better off to do that the following morning.  So instead we went for lunch (McDonalds, seriously delicious!) and just wandered the streets.  Impressions of Athens: Very touristy, a bit dirty and seedy in spots, very aggressive "restaurant greeters" for lack of a better term always telling you their restaurant is best, and mixed in were some very interesting ancient ruins.  There were also a number of very cool modern restaurants too including a number of wine bar type places, one of which was close to our hotel that we visited twice. 

Santorini looking down to the water

The Acropolis and the Acropolis museum across the street were certainly the highlights of the sightseeing.  It was very interesting to see what is left and the views of Athens are quite nice up there as well.  The museum across the street which I believe is fairly new also had some neat artifacts and some of the original statues from the Acropolis on display. A really good sight to be sure.  All in all Athens was (like Dennis Green thought the Bears were http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWmQbk5h86w) what we thought it would be. 1 main sight and not a whole lot beyond that.  It is worth going once, but don’t think I’ll need to stop next time on our way to the islands.

At the Acropolis

And there it is, 10 days in Greece.  A wonderful time was had by all, amazing views, weather, and food made for a great trip and I would without question love to spend more time exploring more of the Greek islands.  Perhaps next time minus the old guy yelling at me. But we'll see….