And there were 3...

While we are glad to report Jenny arrived home safely it was not in such a nice manner.  She was delayed with an unexpected overnight in New Jersey and lost luggage. :*(  Not a good way to end a great trip!

Wednesday and Thursday were very rainy so we all stayed home and vegged out.  Friday the girls did some last day shopping in Grenoble and then a very early night to bed for a very early wakeup on Saturday....We were heading to Paris!

The girls had fun stretching their wings with metropasses and a French phone they were off on their own to enjoy the sights.  Jon could only stay Saturday so we hit Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, Eiffel Tower (due to rain it was not open so we didn't go up), a boat ride on the Seine which made for some great sight seeing while staying dry, and the Opera House.

Sunday we had breakfast with Jon before parting ways on the train as he headed home and Madison and I headed out to climb the Eiffel Tower.  It was the most important part of the France trip for Madi so it was exciting to take her.  We stood in line and were headed up in less then an hour (which was very short compared to the line of people who wanted to take the elevator.)  Then the climb up over 600 steps to reach the 2nd floor where we could then only take the elevator up.  It was something else for sure and yet another thing to check off the bucket list.  We then visited Notre Dame and walked through the shops.  By this time Madi was exhausted and I must admit...so was I.  So back to the hotel for a very long nap. 

Monday morning we made the very early taxi trek to the airport to load the girls on and send them back to the States.  Then Madi and I made our way over to the TGV for the train ride home.  3 1/2 hours on the train was so much better then 7 hours drive although the price was astronomical.  Still thankful to Jon that he conceded and let me win that one.

So....what did we think?  The TGV ride first class was great.  The hotel, while not in the greatest looking area, was very nice, the local trains very convenient and fairly easy to navigate once you figure them out, the city overall was a city with very nice monument attractions.  I'm glad we did it and climbing the tower of course was a bucket list item but when I leave France, it will be my final 'au revoir'.  I'll admit I miss home so much.  I miss my bed, my laundry machines, my couch, my tv, American food but most of all....I miss my kids and I miss my friends & family.  I feel so much for Jon that he spends more then half of his life away from all of those good things.  Now would be a good time for everyone to put out there a good wish for Jon to find a job in the Valley very very soon!

Adrenaline Junkie

Saturday night after a long day spent taking hundreds of photos to document our trip in Monaco we headed Northwest to Avignon to spend the night with family.  Jon took the train down to meet us and we spent a fantastic night with Sev and Nicolas, Anaelle & Theo.  What a beautiful home and the most gracious hosts.  We sat around the table all evening talking and laughing and eating and eating and eating and eating!  I tried duck and it was good, not as good as the sausage but it was good.  Then a French breakfast in the morning and an outing to Isle sur la sorgue for some market shopping and wandering around.  Then a short trip to Fontaine de Vaucluse for a hike in the heat to  a fantastic cave of water and a great lunch.  Such an amazing weekend!

Monday we decided on a shopping day in downtown Grenoble and found some good deals and worked up a good sweat.

Today being Jenny's last day in France we decided GO BIG OR GO HOME!  We made the morning trip up the mountain where Lindsay, Hayley and I took our chances running off the cliff for an AMAZING time paragliding.  What a stunning ride!!!  With that one checked off the bucket list we headed off to a day in Annecy where Jenny and I did some shopping and the girls took a boat out on the lake for some swimming and boating fun.

Tomorrow I am sad to take Jenny to Geneva for her flight home.  It has been so much fun having her!

Mediterranean Adventure

The girls safely arrived and we started the trip out with a day trip to Aix les Bains.  What a beautiful little town and we finally had a great meal!  Shockingly I ate a half of a plate of tomatoes and mozzarella.  It was covered in some wonderful herbs and olive oil and black olives.  Then we took a ride up the chartreuse mountains to this great fort in the sky that Madison and I had found the week before.  We got some great pictures and were all exhausted by the time we were done.

Last night we took the girls to Jon's favorite tapas restaurant and bought them their first legal drinks.  Yummy mojitos all around!  Then a shot as a special gift from the owner.  It was a great meal and great company and all the girls tried escargot!

Today we took the very long haul down through the Alpes to the Mediterranean.  We drove through some beautiful little towns along the way and stopped to pet a wild goat and check out her little kids.  We drove through Cannes & Nice and I was sadly disappointed as it did not look like what I expected.  However, thanks to Gretchen for booking us a fabulous apartment in Monaco because here it is absolutely exquisite!!  Although, we are clearly not fancy enough for this town, we are having fun anyhow!  Tomorrow we will be very touristy and take lots of photos of the yachts and lamborghini's and bently's and ferrari's for all my car loving friends!  After the long drive we parked the car for the night and took the 20 minute walk to the beach while the girls enjoyed some downtime and Madison enjoyed some swimming, Jen and I enjoyed drinks on the beach.  Very ready for a good night sleep before tomorrows adventure continues!

Switzerland weekend

Last weekend we ventured out to Switzerland.  The first stop was to the toll booth to purchase our 40 euro highway pass to drive in Switzerland.  Traveling back would help make that worthwhile but the tolls in France to get there are very expensive.  Just the hour and half on the highway runs us around 20 euros (which is even more in dollars...ouch). 
Our second stop was at the United Nations office, 2nd largest in the world next to NY.  Striking and we got some fun photos.
Last stop was to Lac Lemon for some swimming, sunbathing and a picnic.  It was beautiful and fun and a fabulous day for an outing.

On our way home we drove through a little town called Aix les Bains.  I'm excited to go back and walk through town and get some good pictures.

More to come...

Catching up

The heat has been a bit overwhelming making me not want to sit at the computer and type.  So here is  a bit of labored catching up from the weekend.  Saturday was a wash as Jon spent the whole day trying to equip us with wifi...still no wifi unfortunately.  But Sunday completely made up for it as we made our way a little over an hour North to a town called Annecy.  Known for it's crystal clear lake made up of glacier run off and a little over 8 miles long.  We walked all along the lake on one side before taking an hour long boat ride out onto the lake to view the city from the water.  Amazing amazing views.  I can't believe people live along this lake and enjoy that blue view all year long.  Just stunning.  Of course another favorite part for me was the hundreds of jumpers we saw with their colorful parachutes.  There was also a beautiful castle built right in the middle of the lake that was stunning.

We then wandered into town for some lunch and my birthday crepe.  It was yet another beautiful set of cobbled walkways through restaurants and shops galore.  I would say it ranks as my favorite birthday to date. 

Monday Madi and I were so tired we slept most of the day and the heat rising up over 100 was torture.  Today we took Jon to work and went straight to la plage.  A beach on Lake Terrasse just a few minutes from Jon's work.  4 hours of skipping rocks and swimming we were well tanned and a bit burnt.  We hear there are a couple days left of this high heat so Jon and Madi have run to get a fan to try to ease it a bit.

The rest of the week will likely be quiet and close to home and this weekend we are heading for Switzerland!  Pics should be wonderful...stay tuned

xoxo
-K

Friday Night Drive

Last night we took an amazing drive up Dent de Crolles.  I took lots of photos but they just can show the immensity of how high we were.  The mountain is something around 18,000 feet up and people paraglide off the mountain.  There are 3 quaint little towns once you arrive up there.  People were in the parks with friends and families.  Everyone gathers outside, beautiful weather and daylight well past 10 I'm sure helps.  It is so breathtaking here and so much left to discover. 
After checking out tripadvisor.com I had found a little restaurant in Grenoble called Pumpkins.  I was intrigued to try it as one of the owners is American.  So far I can't say we have eaten anything worth writing home about which is odd.  Jon says I have to be adventurous and try real French food.  I guess that is on the agenda for the weekend.
The thing that amazes me the most is everything is so expensive!  Of course for us it is more expensive because of the terrible dollar conversion but people here must make very good money for how much everything costs.  A simple dinner for the 3 of us was 56 Euros - equalling about $80. 
Today we are hoping to get a shower attachment so that we can take a real shower and not have to hold the handheld.  Wifi set up is also on Jon's agenda.  And most of all I'm hoping to go cave exploring on Dent de Crolles!!

First Week

Well I must admit that I have officially lost track of the day and time.  I have never been so reliant on a clock as I am now.  Fortunately, there isn't often that I need one so I am not relying on it much.  Yesterday Madison and I took the day off from sightseeing, well except for a little hour trip around a church in Bernin where we got some lovely photos. 

Today was very rainy so again no sightseeing but it made for a good day for laundry and some itunes downloading of some american shows.  We did take a nice walk around our immediate neighborhood and found some parks and beautiful walking trails as well as a pond and some ducks.  When Jon got off work we ate in Bernin (which is where he works) at a place he loves for the pizza.  The waitress was so nice and was the first person who smiled and wanted to speak english to us.  I enjoyed her attempt very much! 

This weekend we will venture a little further away from home with Jon's help.  I will attempt to go up and video the jumpers off of Dent de Crolles.  Hopefully Jon and Madison will be up for a little cave exploring as well.

It is taking a bit of getting used to that I can't speak to anyone here and the amenities or rather lack of amenities of course for all of you that know me...the lack of american tv; but all in all I am so ecstatic to be here and be experiencing this opportunity.

lots of hugs and kisses to those of you at home!