Somewhere in the Middle

A Day in Paris

Last Thursday Inma & I spent the day in Paris shopping. We had such a great time. Inma is from Madrid, Spain so even though her English is really good she prefers to speak Spanish with me. I was happy to practice but after speaking Spanish for over 15 hrs. my Spanish started to sound more Spanglish. lol!! Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to taking more day trips with her.

Inma & I both enjoy crafts & needlepoint work so our intention was to spend the day going to craft, paper, and kitchen stores. Neither of our husbands are too excited about spending hours shopping for fabric, thread, and paper so it worked out perfectly for everyone.

Our first stop was a visit to the Mariage Frères tea shop. I'm crazy about their tea. It's such a beautiful little shop too. It reminds me of an apothecary with all the big black tin cans of fragrant tea. Plus I love how all the men (and it's always men behind the tea counter or maybe I've just been lucky. lol!) wear suits... it makes purchasing tea so much more of a serious transaction. I choose two boxes of tea - their Imperial Wedding tea with hints of chocolate & caramel for myself and Jasmine Mandarin for Blonde K who asked me to bring her a box back with me. I've tasted both and they're absolutely delicious but the Wedding Imperial is really lovely. The chocolate is really subtle but you can really taste the caramel. It's perfect.

I also bought two bags of Casablanca & Chandernagor loose tea which are my favorites flavors. The experience of buying loose tea was quite fun. I gave the salesman an idea of the flavors I usually enjoy in tea and he made a few suggestions. The MF Frenchman pulled the can from the wall, opened it, and let me smell the leaves. These cans were huge! Every time I smelled the leaves I felt like I could put my whole face inside. lol!

Inma & I then made our way to Le Bonheur des Dames, a gorgeous little shop dedicated to needlepoint, embroidery, and patchwork near Opera Basille.

The samples in the store were stunning. I especially enjoyed the pieces that had items attached to them like little wooden skis, a kitchen pot, or a miniature wedding dress.

There was one particular design that looked like a Turkish rug cross stitched on linen. I joked with Inma that the person who made this piece gave up her eyesight to make it. lol! The details were incredible.

Most of the items were a bit pricey. Some of the cross stitching kits were over 80 Euros. The most expensive one I saw was about 130 Euros. They also had a wonderful selection of books. Looking back I wish I would have bought a book or even a small cross stitch kit. Next time. After spending about 2 hours at the shop we left with a variety of linen fabrics, glass beads and thread. Even though I can purchase these items online for much less there is nothing like being able to feel the fabric or see the actual color with your own eyes.

As we took the metro to our next stop we saw a group of people playing classical music in the metro. For me hearing musicians play in the streets, metro, and on the train is just one of the things that makes Paris so special. I love it. Paris wouldn't be Paris without these street entertainers. There's nothing like walking in the metro and hearing lovely music echo through the station. If you'd like to hear what I heard in the metro that day, click below.



Afterward we went to a small knitting and jewelry shop. They had a gorgeous selection of ribbons too. Many of them with vintage patterns. I wanted to buy some beads but the salesgirl wasn't especially helpful and told us we had to wait in this extremely long line even though we saw her help other customers measure their beads. I don't know if there was something lost in translation but we were a little put off so we left.

We had plans to go to E. Dehillerin, a cooking shop that has been selling high quality kitchen and pastry utensils to professional chefs since 1820, but there just wasn't enough time. But after finding this article on the shop I'm actually glad we didn't go. Next time I'll be prepared and put my New York face on and walk in with an "in your face" attitude. lol!

Paris' Oldest Kitchen Equipment Shop ~ FXcuisine.com

"The Dehillerin shop is famous for its range of copper casseroles, sold in every shape and size with either the traditional tin coating or the more durable stainless steel interior. But that's only about a fifth of their inventory. You'll find there every possible contraption used to cut, mash, wash, filter, boil, steam, mold or serve food. These are not the designer tools found in high-end kitchenware shops but rather super resistant, streamlined, giant sized tools used by actual French chefs. No surprise the place is such a magnet for amateur foodies!

I assume Dehillerin must have been featured in wealthy housewives magazines in Japan and North America because they flock here on sunny Paris afternoons, a bit ill-at-ease in the manly bazaar ambiance. The shop has been selling kitchenware and cookware to professional cooks for two centuries, so tourists are clearly not a priority. If you are a foreign chef you'll be treated decent, but amateurs and tourists are put on the back burner.

 See for yourself. A scene is repeated every other minute in the shop. One of the tourist clients would ask the price of some saucepan. One of the attendant, clad in blue overalls, gives him a nasty grin and says "You can read, can't you? Well then, it will be easy since you're so smart. You take the saucepan's reference number, here #5439795844 and go at the end of the aisle to see the price sheet. Understood? Attaboy" or words to that effect. You can see the price list in the middle of Mr Brodeck's pictures above. A really easy and user friendly system. Hard to understand why a hundred clients a day ask the question. They could put a large sign in English and French but they would miss the fun.

And if you need help, then God helps you. On an earlier visit, I saw this gigantic dented knife on a shelf and asked the attendant if he could get if for me. "What do you want to use it for?" he asked sharply. "To cut roasts, I guess" I answered. He put the knife back before I could even touch it. "This is not the knife for you. This one is used to cut slices off whole salmons. Here is a roast knife" he said, handing me the right knife, an ugly asparagus of a knife. I was quite disappointed but it became clear that they would not sell me the 'wrong' knife even if I insisted. End of story. I had bought about all I could carry, and the shop employee gave me his business card, explaining that he worked on commissions. This shows some economic rationale for the better treatment awarded to chefs who probably buy large quantities.

Parisians are not bad people. Not worse than New-Yorkers at least. But they just have more respect for the man who is almost rudely aggressive than for the one who is apologetically looking at his shoes. That's their culture. After about 2 decades of visiting Paris I've come to almost enjoy dealing with the Parisian in-your-face attitude and now manage not to be treated like a schmuck.I still wanted my knife and devised a little plan to get a better treatment next time I visited the shop and buy my knife.

About a year later, I arrived and my guy was busy mouth-trashing one of the tourist clients. I came right behind him and said loudly "Alors Monsieur [man's last name], tu me fais un enfant dans le dos?" ("So Mister, are you making me a child behind my back?", a highly colorful expression implying that the man did not recognize one of his old and trusted clients and was serving the tourists instead of dropping everything to come to me). It worked like a charm. The informal 'tu' used by professional cooks between themselves was the finishing note. The guy turned round, red in the face, like if I was some famous cook he could just not remember. He escorted me to every corner of the shop, kindly offering to look prices up, making jokes, carrying my stuff for me. I decided to try my chance with the knife again ans asked "You wouldn't have a salmon steak knife by any chance?". He stopped to think for a moment, raced to the knifes aisle and came back proudly with the knife in hand "You are lucky, we are the only one to stock it in Paris."

Fascinating Evening in Paris

On the drive back to Belgium, Secret Agent B requested we stop in Paris for dinner. How could we refuse? It was his birthday. No need to twist my arm. I'll go to Paris any day!

S & I have never driven in Paris and NOW I know why! Driving in Paris makes driving the Bronx Expressway a walk in the park. I literally thought we were going to die or return to Belgium with a car that looked like it was involved in a demolition derby.

People were constantly honking (even S, who NEVER honks) and cutting in front of us. Signal lights? Who uses signal lights! That's for wimps that will never, never make it out of a traffic circle in Paris! lol! We were stuck in this huge traffic circle like the one near the Arch de Triomphe with streets branching out in every direction possible. It was a little like the scene in "European Vacation" where Chevy Chase gets stuck in the roundabout. But at least that roundabout had lanes! Oh, it was a nightmare! The entire time I was in the back seat grabbing Secret Agent B for dear life. I didn't think we'd ever make it to the restaurant.

When we finally did park the car we all needed a stiff drink to calm us down. B's friend who lives in Paris made the restaurant reservations for 7 pm. We had some time to kill so we walked around the Arch de Triomphe and the Champs des Elysées. It looked beautiful with all the lights.

When we arrived at the restaurant there was not a soul there. Europeans eat much later than Americans. Luckily, the staff let us sit down until B's friend arrived.

Let me tell you a little bit about Secret Agent B. This man has contacts all over the world... England, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Tokyo, Denmark, Brazil, Israel, Australia and on & on.  B has the best personality & sense of humor. Everyone wants to hang out with him...  his presence is requested at these special conferences he attends which is how he gets to meet such interesting people. This man travels like no one's business but because he takes vacation days everywhere he visits he actually gets to enjoy the country instead of just spending time at the hotel.

Anyway... Secret Agent B met Sylvie at a conference a few years ago and they've been friends ever since. The second I met her I loved her. She was beautiful, friendly, funny, and spoke English with a lovely french accent. Sylvie is a foodie so she chose an amazing, traditional French restaurant for dinner. It was classic French. I loved it! The evening was filled with fascinating stories. My favorite was about how Sylvie was kidnapped by South American rebels and only escaped by displaying an intense curiosity in "The daily Life of a Rebel" as well as expressing her ultimate joy in being kidnapped. She lied and explained to the rebels how she had no family or friends until NOW! haha The rebels eventually became so annoyed with her clingy, inquisitive personality that they released her. It was a great story.

Sylvie also told us stories of her parents involvement in World War II. In fact, her mother, Yvette Farnou, recently received the Grand Cross of Legion of Honor award for her involvement in the Resistance; it's the highest honor you can receive in France. She is the eighth French woman in history to receive this prestigious award. Sylvie spoke of her father's involvement in World War II and told us stories about how he used a US soldiers uniform to help the Americans and received an honorary position in the US military.

Later in the evening Sylvie's husband joined us and he was just as wonderful. He plays in a Salsa band and we all know I LOVE Salsa. So for the rest of the evening we spoke about music & our favorite Salseros. It was really cute too because he told me, "You know sometimes I meet someone and we're talking and things are going great. And I really like them but once we start talking about music and I found out who they like... if it's not who I like, I start to think less of them." We laughed and he said, "I'm so glad we like the same people." haha I told him how he must tell me when his band plays in Paris so I can come and listen.

After we ordered desserts our waiter came to our table and startled me by yelling at the top of his lungs, "Un, deux, trois" (One, two, three) and everyone started singing "Bon Anniversaire" (Happy Birthday) to our friend. B was really surprised. It was really cool.

We left the restaurant around 11pm which by this hour not one vacant table could be found. Sylvie was so gracious. She invited us to stay at her home in Brittany and told us we always had a place to stay if we were in Paris. What a sweetheart!

In case you're interested in reading the original article, click here. Or see below for the English translation.

Yvette Farnoux, surviving of Auschwitz and grand' cross of Legion of honor

By Pierre-Marie GIRAUD

Le Point.fr

Eighth Frenchwoman of the history grand' cross of the Legion of honor, Yvette Farnoux, high with the highest dignity of the order during the promotion of January 1, is a discrete woman who speaks little about Resistance and her deportation with Auschwitz and Ravensbrück.

Eighth Frenchwoman of the history grand' cross of the Legion of honor, Yvette Farnoux, high with the highest dignity of the order during the promotion of January 1, is a discrete woman who speaks little about Resistance and her deportation with Auschwitz and Ravensbrück.

In her apartment of the outskirts of the city in the south of Paris, Yvette Farnoux, 89 years, the luminous blue gray eye under a helmet of grey hair, however agree to show her number of off-set (80583) tattooed on her arm.

It had told its Resistance and its deportation in “Heroins French” (editions Of the Rock), appeared with at the beginning of 2008, where the author Monique Saigal had devoted a chapter to Yvette Baumann who married Abel Farnoux, also resistant, deceased on July 30, 2008.

Yvette Baumann joined Resistance in 1941, at the 22 years age, under the orders of famous Berty Albrecht, while flying of the supply for the resistant ones imprisoned.

While working with the Police station with unemployment (organization depend on the national Help, creates by Vichy), the young woman deals with the assistance of the families of prisoners before replacing in 1943 Berty Albrecht, after her arrest, like person in charge of the social service of the plain Movements of Resistance (WALL, Combat, Franc-Tireur and Release-South).

This station, Yvette Baumann also prepares escapes from resistant. She is stopped “Sunday from January” 1944 in Paris, in her residence with its first husband. She never revives it. Jean-Guy Bernard, also Jewish, general secretary of Combat, were off-set in one of the last convoys and died between Drancy and Auschwitz.

Enclosure of 8 months and half, it tries to commit suicide by opening the veins of the left wrist with a razor blade hidden in the lining of its coat and is confined of a dead baby. Transported to the hospital of Blois, she escapes some. Recovery, it passes to the prison of Fresnes, then in Drancy from where it is off-set towards Auschwitz-Birkenau in April 1944, then in Ravensbrück, the only concentration camp reserved to the women.

With the release of the camp by the Red Army on April 30, 1945, Yvette Baumann meets Abel Farnoux, escaped prisoner of Buchenwald after 22 month of captivity. Carrying a uniform of American officer, it is in charge of the repatriation of the deportees of the zone. The two former deportees will marry the following year. They will have three children.

Abel Farnoux, at the origin of the process of Videocolor television, will be also to advise of Edith Cresson, Prime Minister in 1991. He was large Officer of the Legion of Honour.

Seven other women were high with the dignity of grand' cross of the Legion of honor, including three resistant: Genevieve of Gaulle-Anthonioz (deceased in 2002), German Tillion (deceased in 2008) and Gilberte Champion. The four others are Jacqueline de Romilly, Simone Rozès, the general Valerie André and Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt.

Good Times

Spending a week in Chamonix, France with some of our best friends was incredibly fun. I don't think any of us wanted to leave the next morning. At least we have some great memories of our trip.

A few days after we left France, Healthy E called me and said she walked up to the house the night we left. (Because they missed out on two days of skiing they decided to spend another 2 nights in a hotel in Les Houches.) E said when she saw the people renting the chalet sitting at the table playing cards & eating she wanted to go into the house and say, "You can't be here. This is our house!" ;) haha I suppose that's what happens after spending a week in a vacation home. You start to feel like it really is your house.

Here are a few more photos that I just couldn't help posting.

This Kandahar poster I saw while waiting to ride the gondola at Les Houches will always remind me of that snowy blizzard day we went skiing & gave S the wrong directions to get to the bottom of the mountain. Now that I think about it that may have even been S's expression when he realized he was in the wrong area. hahah I'm so bad.

Every time I look at this photo I have to laugh.

S thinks I am completely careless with knives. But I suppose it runs in my family. Consider my grandmother for instance... She will use the same 10 inch knife to butter bread, give you a sample of food, wave the knife in the air to make a point AND cut vegetables, fruits, and meat. So when S saw Lil' C's godfather, R & I cutting slices of cheese he told us "Be careful. You guys are being completely unsafe. You're going to cut your fingers off". R & I just laughed and said, "Noooo...This is how you use a knife to cut your fingers!" hhaah

So here's to great times! Let's just hope there will be a Chamonix 2009. Who's in? ;)

Little Wooden Family in the French Alps

One of my fondest memories of our week in Chamonix was coming home to the chalet and seeing the wonderful selection of artisan sausage, cheeses, and bread R set on the table with a bottle of wine for us to enjoy before dinner. We ate dinner at the chalet every night; Healthy E, R, and I took turns cooking while the rest of the guys cleaned up. It worked beautifully. The cooking was actually fun. It's such a joy seeing people truly enjoy the food you cook. I can now understand why my Mom & Grandmother would get excited to see their family enjoy their meals.

Along with enjoying good food & wine, most evenings were spent talking, playing games and enjoying a nice relaxing bath in the jacuzzi (at least those nights we had enough hot water! haha). On our last night at the chalet I decided we needed to do something a little special to remember our week together.

When we were in the planning stages of our ski trip I was searching Etsy and I found an artist who sells unfinished wooden dolls. Gemmielou's custom painted families are absolutely adorable! So I started thinking... hmm... Painting these little wooden dolls would be so fun especially since NONE of our friends are serious painters. I could already picture how funny & unique our little family in the Alps would look. 

So Friday night I told everyone we were going to do a fun art project.

Healthy E said, "Please tell me you're not going to make us paint!" haha! She knows me so well. ;)

I brought out the little wooden figures, paint brushes, toothpicks, tape and several bottles of paint. I wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper, folded it and put it in a cup. I told everyone that the name they chose would be the person they painted. 

Lil' C couldn't sleep that night so I told him he could stay up and paint with us. He was all too happy to join in on the fun!

Since I picked Healthy E I knew the other person who had a female was going to paint me. So when R said he had picked a girl I knew who he'd chosen. I gave him the curvy wooden figure but when I wasn't looking he switched it to one of the male figures but I made him switch back to the curvy doll. He wasn't too happy with me considering he already started painting his own version of an inspired "Gucci" gown.

R said, "That one is too hard to paint."

I said, "Look, I know I'm not super curvy but I've got a few curves going on." haha

I didn't want to look like one of the guys. R wasn't too thrilled about starting over but I think he got me back by giving me a pair of crazy, mean eyebrows. hahah It reminded me of that episode in "Seinfeld" when Elaine paints these awful eyebrows on Jerry's uncle. That's what my figure looked like! 

Anyway, it was great fun seeing everyone paint their little people. I think Healthy E did the best job. She really captured Special Agent B perfectly!

I'm not sure what happened with S though! Off Piste skier, J, gave him some kind of ski mask which made his doll look so funny!

The next day R & I went outside and took photos of our little family in the snow.

After our photo session, I gave everyone their little doll to take home as a reminder of our awesome ski week in France.

A French Winter Wonderland

Lil' C woke up Thursday morning asking if he could have a "Relaxing Day" which meant a day hanging out at the chalet playing. I think the previous days ski adventure was a bit much for him. haha! And Steve was all too happy to go along with Lil' C's request.

Secret Agent B & the Baltimore Jet-Setters went skiing in Italy which was just a 20 minute drive (without traffic) from Chamonix.

R & I decided to ski at Les Houches again. The day was absolutely beautiful. Compared to the day before it was like night & day. R and I couldn't stop taking photos.

Around lunch time we made our way to a restaurant which had the most spectacular view of Mount Blanc. It was one of the most gorgeous sceneries I've ever seen. It was so crazy to see the clouds roll through.

We had a great time skiing. The runs were groomed so I had to work a lot harder to control my speed. But once the fog rolled in, I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. The visibility was awful! And just when I thought I knew my way around I ended up in an area I was unfamiliar with. At the time I was by myself so I took off my skis & back tracked up the mountain so I could meet up with R.

Even though I was exhausted I'm glad I skied one more day. The photos we took were completely worth it.

S & Lil' C picked us up at the same restaurant we went to the previous day. It was beginning to feel like our local hang out! haha Here's Lil' C enjoying his new favorite dessert... Lemon crepes.

The following day we caught a train to Le Mer de Glace, the longest glacier in France. It was a gorgeous ride.

R was quite nervous though. hahah ! I love that photo! As you can see R has this tiny fear of heights. haha  Secret Agent B & I also wanted to ride the gondola up to Mont Blanc. R was giving it some thought but the visibility was pretty poor. So even if we could convince R to go with us we wouldn't have seen much. Maybe next time.

Le Mer de Glace was interesting but the trip really would have been so much better if we would have gone during high season. You can arrange tours to ski Mer de Glace which for me would be a death wish. haha Now what I would like to do is go snow shoeing on the Mer de Glace or Vallée Blanche. I'm not sure if S would want to do it but I can definitely count on R, Lil' C's godfather. R is super adventurous as long as it doesn't involve gondola's swinging thousands of feet in the air. haha! I'd love to go back to Chamonix so I could experience some of these adventures.

Later in the day we drove to Megève which is considered by some one of the most beautiful resorts in the world.

We arrived in the early evening so the village looked like a picture postcard with horse drawn carriages, antique carousel in the centre square, cobbled stone streets, and a beautiful 13th century church.

With all the elegant boutiques & fabulous looking restaurants you could tell Megève was no ordinary village. It was tres chic! I read it's the St Moritz of France. Oh la la! ;) The boutique shops carried the most beautiful fur coats & hats. It was quite obvious these people had never heard of PETA and if they had they could care less. Here, fur is considered very fashionable plus it's so incredible warm. And I'll admit I was coveting many of these fashionable fur pieces. They were absolutely gorgeous! 

Secret Agent B, R, and I explored the town for a while but because S was waiting in the car with Lil' C we couldn't stay in Megève for long. Lil' C had napped in the car and woke up in a wicked cranky mood when we arrived so S stayed in the car with him. I think all three of us really would have loved to have dinner or even drinks at one of several outdoor bars. And I know S would have loved it too. Next time I definitely want to spend a whole day in Megève. Maybe a little skiing and afterward make our way to one of the many restaurants we saw that day. Yes... I really do hope there is a next time. ;)

The Joy of Skiing

Monday night I tortured myself trying to decide if I should continue with my ski class. I couldn't sleep because of it. In some ways I felt like I was giving up and that really bothered me. It wasn't that I was afraid of pushing myself because I'm not. I've always felt that I must confront my fears. Giving in makes me feel like I no longer have control over my life... it's more like my fears are controlling what I do & don't do. And I'm just not ready to let them happen. But this class was different... it was just going much too fast for me. I needed some practice runs before moving forward to a higher level. It didn't make sense why I would move up to a more difficult run when I was still having trouble on the easier ones. I know my limits and I really didn't want to hurt myself. So ultimately, I decided not to continue and instead decided to ski on my own for the rest of the week. But I'll tell you when Special Agent B came home on Tuesday night saying they were going to ski in Italy I was jealous I wasn't going.

On Tuesday, I went with S to Lil' C's ski classes. He was doing great in his classes and having a lot of fun in the process. I definitely think he's ready to move onto the next level though. We may try to put him in a different class the next time we go skiing or perhaps arrange some private lessons.

It snowed over 2ft. on Tuesday night and it was still snowing when we woke up Wednesday morning. It was beautiful! That morning we all went skiing together at Les Houches. It was perfect too since Wednesdays were family day & there were no ski lessons. Before we hit the slopes we stopped by a ski shop to pick up goggles for everyone. Most of us forgot to bring them. At first I didn't really think I would need them. But let me tell you I'm so glad I bought them! The difference was amazing! I don't know how I lived without them now! hahah

The entire week we were in France the slopes were absolutely empty. No waiting on the gondola or the chair lifts. The place was absolutely empty. ahhh... the benefits of going skiing off season. It was great although the visibility on Wednesday was awful. The slopes weren't groomed so it was a little challenging to ski with so much powder. But I loved it. I felt like it helped me ski better. With so much snow you tend to go a little slower which I liked. Now some of our friends felt completely different. It was definitely much harder to get up after falling when the snow reached my knees.

S skied with Lil' C since he's a much better skier than I am having spent many winters skiing in the Northeast. We skied a green run with Lil' C so he could get comfortable but it was too easy. It wasn't even a hill really so we decided to head towards the blue run but just like my first day of ski lessons those blue runs turn to red runs in the blink of an eye. Not actually a good thing when you're skiing with a 6 yr. old and have no poles. For some reason S thought it would be easier to teach Lil' C without poles and maybe it would have but on a different slope.

I have to say Lil' C did awesome! He had no fear! Lil' C didn't know the difference between the various runs so it was all fun & games for him. Poor S was dying! His knees were killing him and every time Lil' C would fall he'd have to help him up. And these were really long runs too.  These conditions were just too much for S & Lil' C. Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do to help. I'd see them from the chair lift stuck in snow so deep it reached Lil' C's waist. As I was watching them from the lift, I actually got a bit nervous about how much snow was falling. Snow can be beautiful but it can also be quite dangerous too.

When we met up with S & Lil' C at the Kandahar chair lift S decided the conditions were making it impossible to ski with Lil' C. So he decided to go back down the mountain with Lil' C. He was absolutely miserable. Everyone looked at the map and determined the best route to get them down to the bottom of the mountain. I gave S my GSM just in case he needed to contact us.

The rest of us decided to continue skiing. After a few more runs, R & Secret Agent B were done and headed back down the mountain. R switched ski passes with E so she could catch one more run with J & I.

Off Piste skier J & Healthy Grrrl E are both great skiers and they were giving me some really useful ski tips. I was doing pretty good too. But again, when I get tired it's all downhill. The runs were so long I didn't think I was ever going to make it to the bottom of the mountain. As we skied downhill & I saw how long & difficult the run was I couldn't help but to think of S & Lil' C. The more I thought about it the more I started to worry. I knew S wouldn't have a problem skiing the run alone but with Lil' C I knew it would be challenging. I was quite anxious to get back to the restaurant to make sure they were ok.

It took us about 40 minutes to get to the bottom of the mountain. When we finally made it to the restaurant I was so happy to see everyone was safe. The guys were enjoying their beers while Lil' C was drinking hot chocolate and a lemon crepe. I asked S how he made it down the mountain with Lil' C and he told me it took them forever! Apparently, we all thought we were at Kandahar when we looked at the map but S soon discovered the run he was taking was all wrong and linked not with an easy run but with a red & black diamond course. So they had to walk back up the mountain, catch the chair lift, ski a bit, and catch the gondola back to the bottom. As S was telling me his story I about wanted to leap out of my seat and smother them with hugs & kisses knowing they were okay after all they went through. Thank god they were fine. Our friends R & Secret Agent also had an interesting time getting down. They took a wrong turn and ended up in a completely different location. So they had to walk about 20-25 minutes on the road with their snow boots to the restaurant.

That night E made everyone a delicious German meal. Lil' C had a blast watching Disney shows & playing with his new race car seat, a gift from the Baltimore Jet-Setters and Secret Agent B.

After Lil' C went to bed we played a game called Boxers & Briefs. If you've never played the game before I recommend it. It's especially fun to play with people you don't know all that well. You definitely learn a lot about them. It was a great ending to one adventurous day!

Not so fast Miguel.

Mornings to me at the chalet were always a bit chaotic. Everyone waking up around the same time, putting on layers of  clothes, eating breakfast, and then at the last minute rushing around putting on their jackets & winter boots, grabbing hats and ski boots, and then rushing back in from the car to find forgotten gloves or cameras. All of us trying to hit the slopes early. I tell you there is NO sleeping in on a ski trip! hahah

One of the reasons I think everyone on our trip had such a fantastic time was because everyone did their own thing. We've all been friends for so long none of us felt like we had to stay together 24/7. When you're traveling with a big group staying together all the time is too stressful. So Monday morning, S dropped Special Agent B & I off at the tourist office where Miguel, our ski instructor was picking us up. S & R took Lil' C to ski school and the Baltimore jet setters were back at the chalet waiting for their missing luggage.

There is always so much confusion on the first day of ski school. And our first day in Chamonix was no different. When S dropped B & I off at the tourist office we saw a man with an Evolution I jacket so we immediately thought he was our instructor. He was there at the right place at the right time waiting for his students. So I gave him our names and we climbed into his car dragging all of our ski equipment with us.

On the drive to the ski slope my GSM rings and it's the woman from Evolution I who I had spoken with the previous evening to register for our classes.

She says, "Where are you? Your instructor is waiting for you at the tourist office."

Ummm...  "But... we're driving with our instructor right now."

Apparently, it was the wrong instructor! So I gave the man in our car my phone and they start speaking French. When he got off the phone he told us he would drop us off at another ski slope where Miguel would pick us up. As we're getting out of the car we run into S, R, and Lil' C who are walking to the Panda Club, Ski Ecole for children.

About 10 minutes later Miguel shows up. He's reminds me of a guy that lives for fun. Skier during the winter months and an avid mountain climber/guide during the summer months. What a life. Miguel has been skiing since he could walk and is in his late 40's with a salt & pepper mullet. R says it wasn't a mullet but that's what it looked like to me. haha Nice guy but I think he was a little peeved with us and all the confusion that morning. So B & I squeeze into his tiny car. There were 3 other Brits taking the class with us. Two guys and one girl. Thank goodness I'm petite because if not I would have had to sit on someone's lap. And forget seat belts. God knows where they were! I think one of the British guys was sitting on mine. Secret Agent B was stuck in the back with all the ski boots and got nauseous with the exhaust fumes. When we arrived at the ski slope we found that the lifts weren't open since it was so windy. We drove back to Les Houches where we initially got picked up at the tourist office and skied there instead.

Once we arrived at Les Houches we ran into the Baltimore jet-setters. Before we could even say hello to them our instructor told us to leave our shoes in his car and said, "Tomorrow come with your ski boots on" and he quickly made his way to the entrance with the other students. We exchanged a hurried hi & bye with J & E as we struggled with our ski equipment and caught up with our class. I have to tell you B & I felt like total MISFITS. haha! First, we got into the car with the wrong instructor, we didn't have our ski boots on like everyone else, and then we had no idea if our instructor was buying our lift tickets and if he wasn't buying our tickets what kind of tickets should we buy? Should we buy a day or half a day pass at Les Houches or buy a ticket for the whole week that would cover all the ski areas? Then B discovered he forgot his wallet. Thank god I remembered my credit card. As we're fumbling at the register, our instructor and classmates are just staring at us from across the way. I couldn't help but start laughing. I kept telling Secret Agent B, "We are causing so many problems...Our instructor is going to kill us!"

Once up the mountain, we skied a trial run so Miguel could see where we needed assistance. I cursed myself by skiing half way decent so he thought we were all on the same level and informed us we'd be skiing a black diamond by the end of the week. Black diamond? Is the man INSANE?! I've only just become a little and I mean just a little comfortable with the basic ski skills... there is no way I can ski a black diamond unless he means tumbling down the black run. That I can do. No problem. No ski lessons necessary. haha!

While we're on the chair lift Miguel explains to us how in Europe the slopes are labeled differently than in the US. He tells us the slopes here in Europe are much more difficult. For instance, a blue run (semi-easy) in Europe is a red run in the US, a red run is like a US black run and a black run in Europe is a double black diamond in the US.

We spent half of the day skiing blue/red runs which I was not too happy about. I started the day fine but as the day progressed I got worse & worse. And when I get nervous or tired I ski horribly! And it also didn't help when the entire class was waiting and watching me come down the hill. At one point Miguel took us through an area where there was a little cement path. I was so irritated! I asked him, "Where are you taking us!?" "Don't worry" he says. Argh!! The end of the run was an absolute nightmare, a difficult red run. I was cursing Miguel left & right! I didn't want to make the "Snowboarder Dude" at the ski rental shop see that yes his premonition was going to come true. I put my skis in a parallel position and slid down the most difficult areas. When I got to the bottom of the hill I about wanted to strangle Miguel!

I knew it was only going to get worst as the week progressed. My other classmates were better than me and I didn't want to hold anyone back nor did I want to continue skiing runs that were really above my level. I'm not afraid of pushing myself so I can get better but I know my boundaries and this class wasn't for me. Before killing myself going  to the next level I wanted to practice some of the skills I learned.

After our lesson ended, our classmates invited us for drinks. B was quick to say yes but I told him we needed to contact S so he could pick us up. So we compromised & we decided to have drinks while we waited. Well... S had no idea where we were so when B texted him to pick us up there was a lot of confusion about where we were. It was a little crazy. B had drinks & lunch with everyone as I sat drinking water waiting for S. I knew S was going to be upset and he was. He originally thought we'd  all finish our lessons around the same time (which was not the case) and we were skiing the same area where the first instructor dropped us off.  To make things worst when S, R, and Lil' C returned to the chalet the Baltimore jet-setters had left & locked the door taking the only key to the house. When S finally arrived he was so cranky thinking we were drinking, eating and having the best time with our ski buddies. But he couldn't stay mad for long when he realized I really was trying to get in touch with him and in fact I did skip lunch thinking he would be coming to pick us up shortly after we contacted him.

That night we basically decided to hide the house key so no one would get locked out again and regardless of where we went skiing it was our responsibility to get ourselves home. Which sounds a little crazy if you don't have a car but in a small ski area like Chamonix it's not hard. Everyone is so sweet and having your ski instructor or classmate give you a ride back to your chalet was never a problem. So now you understand when I say the first day of skiing is always a bit crazy.

Not without my snow chains.

Around 3ish we arrived into Les Houches, our new home for the next 7 days. Les Houches is about 8 minutes from Chamonix. We were all so happy to finally arrive. Little did we know things were just about to get interesting. 

The road to our chalet was quite steep & extremely narrow so much so that only one car could go through at a time. As we started to drove up the hill the car tires started to spin and we quickly realized there was NO way we were making it up this hill. There was too much ice/snow on the road that our car had no traction. But I was in a car full of men so they refused to believe the car couldn't make it up the hill and continued to try again & again. Backwards... forwards... going slow... going fast. After many failed attempts they finally accepted the fact that our car was NOT going up this hill. We also had no idea how far up the chalet was located. I kept laughing & thinking, "This is not happening. What are we going to do now?" 

• Option #1... Get out of the car and walk up the hill with everything packed in the trunk.

• Option #2... Find a gas station/car shop and buy snow chains. 

Option #1 was completely out of the question. So we decided to try and find a place to buy snow chains. Now this is Europe, not all stores are open at 4 on a Saturday afternoon. And everything is closed on Sundays. So we were a bit stressed about finding these snow chains. The Chamonix tourist office was super helpful and gave us some store suggestions along with directions. We quickly texted our friends who at that moment were on a flight to Geneva so they could be sure to ask the car rental for snow chains.

We found the auto supply shop without much fuss and S went in to find the chains. Now I know pretty much nothing about snow chains. I've never had to use them even during our winter trips to Austria & Germany. And I learned how to drive in Southern Ca. so snow chains is definitely not my area of expertise. I didn't realize chains come in different sizes &  designs and of course I had no idea how to put them on.  About 15 mins later, S comes out of the store with a big yellow box. Yeah, they had our size! We're set. S later told us they only had one set of chains available in our size so our choices were completely limited. S also said that he saw a sign that indicated the chains were 20Euros... well when he got to the register he discovered it wasn't 20 Euros but 200 Euros. For chains?! I have no idea how much chains normally cost but I find it hard to believe they're close to $300 dollars. But oh well. What were our alternatives. Here are the guys putting the chains on. Thank goodness R knew how to put them on!

Once we had the chains on, the car went up the hill without any fuss. When we arrived at the house I wasn't sure if the owner or property manager was going to meet us. I had sent them a text earlier in the day giving them our estimated time of arrival but because they didn't speak any English I wasn't sure how we were going to obtain the keys to the chalet.

Did I mention the contract was all in French too. We had a friend translate the document so we knew what we were signing & when I never received the signed contract we again had to have a friend call them and find out what was going on. I couldn't help thinking, "Are we being scammed? Is the chalet going to be the same one we viewed on the internet? What am I going to do if it's a total shack and I have 4 friends flying in from the US for this trip." Talk about being a little stressed out.

Anyway... when we pulled into the chalet's driveway a neighbor walked up to us and gave us the house keys. He spoke no English so all I said was my last name and he gave me the key. Once we walked into the house we were like little kids exploring every inch of the chalet trying to decide who would take which room and commenting on how nice the place looked.

All the rooms were very charming and the kitchen was great. I was so happy to see that everything was exactly as shown online. Typical chalet... everything was made out of wood. Super cozy and you really felt like it was a home. Two of the rooms had secret rooms at the top that were only accessible with a ladder. Once inside the rooms you could completely lock yourself in. It was really cool! One even had little heart peep holes. It was such a great surprise to find these rooms. Lil' C was in heaven. Each of us went into the secret room to play games with him. He loved it.

While we were unloading the car, the owner's property manager's daughter's boyfriend (did you get all that) came over to explain how everything in the house worked. I almost didn't let him into the house because when I opened the door he couldn't really explain to me in English who he was or why he was there. It's funny now that I look back on it. Even though the owners stated that English is spoken on their website it was a complete lie. lol! They basically just grabbed anyone they knew who spoke a little English and had them call us or come over when we had questions. Crazy. 

We spent the rest of the day going grocery shopping and relaxing. None of us were in the mood to cook or go out so we order pizza from a little place in town.

The following day, we walked around Chamonix, ate a great lunch, and played in the snow. I also contacted Evolution I to enroll Lil' C & I in ski Ecole for the week.

In the evening, we went to the local ski shop in town & rented our equipment so we'd be all set for Monday morning. The guy that measured us for our ski equipment was this total snowboard 50ish year old dude with this crazy goatee. He had a real quirky sense of humor too. When I asked him if it was possible to return my ski equipment early if I decided not to ski the whole week he said, "Sure. So if you break your legs tomorrow you bring your skis back tomorrow. No problem." Gee, thanks for the load of confidence! lol!  You know the superstitious side of me was wondering if he knew something I didn't.

Our Baltimore friends arrived in the late afternoon. It was great seeing them. Unfortunately, the airline lost two of their bags. And of course those were the two bags that had all their ski equipment. We all felt for them. The airline strung them along for almost two days saying they had found their bags and someone was on their way. When the bags didn't show up the airlines acted like they had no idea where the bags were located. One day they'd said, "Your bags here" and then someone else would say "I think your luggage is in Paris". We were beginning to think these bags were history either that or for sure we'd spot someone skiing with J's ski gear. After two days they gave up and bought some ski wear and rented the rest. The bags showed up a day after they bought everything. 

Sunday night we celebrated Steve's birthday and R made a wonderful dinner followed by a delicious pastry cake we bought at the local boulangerie. It was a great first day!

Awww.... Chamonix

A message from R, Lil' C's godfather...

"I can't stop thinking about Chamonix......."

Weeks after we came back from Chamonix, France R & I would e-mail/call each other & talk about how much we loved Chamonix. And I'd always begin my sentences with a slow "Aww... Chamonix".

Every time I think back to our ski trip I can't help but smile. I love browsing through my photos and remembering the little moments that made our trip so incredibly memorable. This is one of my favorite photos. It's moments like this when you're relaxing with the people you love, watching the clouds go by and taking in this spectacular vision of  natural beauty. You just can't help but be grateful for your life.

Lots of good times. It made all the planning & arranging so worth while.

Our friends Special Agent B and Lil' C's godfather, R, arrived the day we were set to drive to France. We decided to leave a little early so we could split the drive. We wanted to arrive in Chamonix in the early afternoon since we'd never been there before & arriving at night would make it so much more difficult to find our chalet. Plus we needed to go to the grocery store and pick up some cold items.

The day we left was crazy! I was incredibly forgetful that day. I'd put something down one second and a few minutes later I couldn't remember where I'd put it or what I was supposed to do next. You know things are really crazy busy when that starts to happen. Our two friends arrived into Brussels at different times so I was going back & forth to the train station while trying to put aside last minute items that needed to go with us. I also wanted to bring R to the store with me so he could help me chose a good variety of wines to take with us. I know that sounds a bit crazy. I mean we'll be in France for goodness sake we can buy the wine there. lol! When I told Special Agent B we still needed to stock up on wine he laughed and said, "Why are you bringing sand to the desert?" lol! In my defense, our local store has some fabulous wines for incredible prices so we couldn't pass on the opportunity to stock up on our favorite vinos. I mean we could always buy more once we arrived in Chamonix.

Now packing all this wine, food, ski wear, games, toys, and suitcases was quite a challenge. And we had to fit five passengers into the car too. lol! And our car isn't that big. Oh, and did I mention we were bringing a juicer too! lol. About two weeks before our trip I e-mailed everyone and asked them if there were any special American food items they wanted me to buy. My friend, J, the off piste skier e-mailed me and said, "One word... juicer".  If you knew his wife you'd completely understand. She eats incredibly healthy and she can not live without her freshly squeezed morning juice. Good grrrl E makes a killer carrot and apple juice and we all knew we'd be able to enjoy this delicious concoction as well. So a week after I received his message a juicer arrived on my front door from Amazon, Germany. Arranging everything into the car was like putting a puzzle together. I joked with Special Agent B & R that if they didn't pack light enough we'd all be wearing our ski outfits in the car. lol! Of course it wasn't that bad but it was tight! You couldn't see through the back window.

It took so long to get everything settled into the car that we left later than we planned. Three hours later! So that amazing French dinner we were hoping for in Dijon got cancelled and instead we ate Panini's along the motorway. They weren't all that bad. We arrived in Dijon close to midnight.

The following morning we walked around Dijon but with the temperatures dipping below zero we decided it was best to settle into a cafe to warm up. Dijon wasn't particularly charming. It was a bit industrial at least from what we saw so we made our way back to the car for another four hour drive. But before leaving we made a mad dash into a boulangerie to purchase some baguettes & quiches for take away.

S did most of the driving. I don't blame him it was the most comfortable seat in the car. lol! I slept most of the way but when we got close to Chamonix I woke up to the most spectacular view. We had finally arrived. It was more beautiful than I imagined. A perfect winter wonderland.

Stay tuned for more posts about the beginning of our adventures in Chamonix.

Fall Break

This year Lil' C's October break really snuck up on me. I knew I wanted to go somewhere but I just didn't know where. Plus S wants to save his leave. So that meant we could only go away for 4 days which was fine. Now that Lil' C goes to school full time & continues his extra-curricular activities I feel like we don't have enough free time. So going away for a long weekend would give us a few days to do some "Mommy & Me" activities.

So at the last minute I planned a trip to Normandie, France. It's such a beautiful area, rich with history. The idea of spending family time walking & playing at the beach sounded perfect. And it was. The weather was definitely much nicer last year but despite the occasional rain we had a great time.

Our accommodations were a bit different. The B&B I was hoping to stay in was full but the owner mentioned we could stay in their new Gypsy style caravan. hmm? Sounded a bit different and it looked nice so I booked it. I have to tell you it was really cute and it had an incredible shower. Lil' C loved sleeping in a room of his own with bunk beds. What was really interesting was that while we stayed at the caravan I had the most vivid and bizarre dreams. I loved it though. I wasn't quite sure what was waiting for me when I fell asleep. And every night I had at least two dreams. It was really unusual.

Lil' C absolutely loves animals and really wants a pet. So I was happy to hear that our B&B had a dog. Immediately, Lil' C fell in love with the Mylene's dog. As soon as Lil' C finished his breakfast he'd quickly run out the breakfast room to play with the dog. I think Lil' C would have been completely happy if we never left the hotel. One day he even asked me, "Mommy, can we just stay at the hotel today so I can play with the dog?"

The highlight of our trip was a visit to Etretat. The cliffs were amazing and the beach was full of beautiful rocks.

Lil' C & I had fun picking out our favorite rocks. It was quite sunny as we walked along the beach but once we got to the top of the hill to get a better view of the cliffs it started to drizzle. As we made our way back down to the beach it was pouring. So we slipped into a local cafe & drank some hot chocolate until the rain calmed down. Once it did Lil' C and I went back out to the beach. While looking for a green rock, I found several little fishes that had washed ashore. When I showed them to Lil' C he told me he was going to pick them up and put them back into the ocean so they could come back to life. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

Earlier in the day we watched some boys boogie boarding by the cliff. Once the tide was low we were able to walk around that same area where these boys were. It was really cool but super slimy. Thank goodness for our rain boots. My shoes would have been ruined had I not brought these babies.

We also got to walk through a cave that let out onto the other side of the cliff. At first Lil' C wasn't too keen on going into the dark cave but eventually he warmed to the idea. We kept reminding him how we were being real "Explorers".

We also visited the American Cemetery and walked along the beach area. It's such a gorgeous and peaceful place.

Along the way we made a few stops to buy some locally made Calvados and some new sugars & spices. There is a shop in Port de Bessin that sells an amazing collection of gourmet foods. Last year I stocked up on a variety of sugars...lavender, violette, rose, and oriental spice.

This year they had a delicious caramel sugar that I just couldn't pass on. In the centre of Bayeux there is a French bakery that has the most beautiful, golden, buttery Brioche. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Needless to say we brought home Brioche, French bread, apple tarts and quiches to eat on the way home.

The following morning I couldn't resist and I made Lil' C and I Brioche french toast with caramel sugar and toasted pecan maple syrup. Yumm..

Lil' C & I spent the rest of the week playing games, cooking, and doing art projects. I love to play Monopoly so I bought Lil' C the children's version. It was a lot of fun playing with him. He's quite good too. During the first game he managed to monopolize most of the rides and make me lose all my money! lol!

We also did a little baking. Lil' C used his new silicone cookware set to make some spiced pumpkin bread. I love how you can actually cook in these cute little pans.