Aude’s parents come to visit

Jun 08

Aude and her mother along the bank of the Seine.

Time to play tourist — we visited the city by Bateau Bus

Aude’s father gets ready to make a wish as he celebrates his birthday

It’s been a very busy month with visitors. Aude’s parents also came to spend several days with us in May, taking advantage of one of the long holiday weekends. We did all the touristy things, walking all over the city and taking a bateau bus down the Seine.

We also had a great meal at Le Train Bleu.

Pelouse Interdite!

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Jun 08

Pelouse Interdite

One of the things that I love about France is the selective adherence to the rules. As an Anglo-Saxon, I haven’t quite worked out which rules I need to follow and which I don’t, but this much is clear: not all rules are created equal.

Everyone interprets the tax regulations creatively. Red lights are merely advisory. Pedestrians crossing a crosswalk are regarded more as a challenge than a reason to stop. Entire books have been written about the way the Parisians interpret parking.

In a typically French way, the grass here is marked “Pelouse Interdite” — “Keep off the grass”. And as you can clearly see in the background, no one is taking a blind bit of notice.

Jerome’s visit to Paris

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Jun 08

Jerome came to spend a weekend with us in Paris recently. We managed to grab a few snaps. I particularly like how Daisy and Calypso managed to work their way into one of the shots.

Daisy, Jerome, Aude and Calypso

Jerome and Aude

Julia’s 30th birthday party

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Jun 08

Another set of photographs from a few weeks ago that I haven’t had time to upload yet. In this case, I think I will have to let a picture be worth a thousand words as I haven’t really got time to write much today. Suffice it to say the high-level summary is that:

– Julia isn’t so great with addresses, so we got a nice, long tour of the area before dinner
– Dinner was great

It is a small world — five days later I found myself sitting next to Julia on the Eurostar from London to Paris. What are the odds?

Celebrating Julia’s 30th birthday

It’s like the old Corey Hart song: “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night”Not the best look for an evening out, Julia. Sorry.

When asked whether he had managed to get everyone into the picture, the waiter replied emphatically “Oui!” Which, I suppose, is technically correct. There is a PART of everyone captured in the photo.

The smiling birthday girl

Happy birthday to you…Happy birthday to you…Happy birthday, dear Julia…Happy birthday to you!(Mind your eyebrows)

Celebrating Julia’s 30th birthday

Boules in the park

by Matthew in: Travels 0 Comments

Jun 07

It has taken me ages to get these photos edited and online, but here are a few snaps of our game of boules in the park in late April. Depressingly, it was warmer and sunnier then than it is now.