Leave of Absence.

So I am leaving my computer at a friends house. The past few nights I have gone out with friends, today we are going to go see the Tour de France and then go out for drinks. I leave Thursday for Denmark and then I will be there for a week. From there I fly to Budapest and from Budapest back to Paris.

Ciao for now!

Bastille Day.

I started Bastille Day, July 14th, in Lacanau and drove with the boys and Corinne into Bordeaux and said goodbye to them for the weekend. I was free then to spend the day in Bordeaux just checking out the buildings and having more caneles. I took a train around four into Paris and went straight to Siobhans house where I met up with the girls and then headed out to watch the fireworks with the masses. 

Lacanau

This last Monday I met up with Corinne and the boys at the train station to head down to Lacanau for the week. Lacanau is a beach city on the Atlantic Coast of France about an hour west of Bordeaux. When we arrived about three hours later Corinne rented a car and took us into Bordeaux to have some ice cream and Canele, the traditional dessert of Bordeaux. I oddly enough don't have any pictures of them but am here for a few days more so I am sure that won't be a problem. The days have all started running together because we have been so busy every day keeping the boys and their two friends entertained that I have been too tired to even blog, even there has been so much happening. 

 The beach is only a block away from the house we are renting, the first day we came down to the beach for a bit of surfing and bodyboarding. Corinne was very nice and tried to warn me about the temperature of the water, but I think the Californian beaches have the stereotype that the water is nice and warm, because for me this cold water felt just like home.

Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Monday, I can't remember, we went out for lunch and we all ordered mussels, another traditional dish from the south west of France. This has been one of the nicest things about this trip, I get treated to dishes that are very traditional that I wouldn't be able to have on my own. That along with full five course french meals at every dinner and different types of Bordeaux wine, I feel like I'm being absolutely pampered when I am not chasing children around.

Meeting the Boys!

The past few days have been so hectic that I feel I hadn't had a decent chance to write about it, or if I had time I was just too tired to do anything at all.  Starting Monday I was finally able to see the boys that I used to work with and see how they had changed. It was so cool to fall right back into place with almost everybody, and to see how their lives had changed. Since Monday I feel like Corinne has made it so that I got to see and do so much with the boys in just a few days. Tuesday Oscar and I had a special day getting sushi then going to see L'Age de Glace 4 (Ice Age 4) and then the next day I took Anatole and his friend to see Madgascar 3 in French which we followed up with a trip up Montparnasse, that large building you see in every skyline picture of Paris. The view from the top was spectacular. Below I have attached a few photos from the week.

Ann's delicious lentils and rice concoction.

Oscar and I on our first day back together.

I gave the boys my camera to play with.

Tour de Montparnasse

Birthday in Paris

Being away from home for my birthday I never really expected much except to hang out with good friends and have a few drinks, so this July 1st did not disappoint.  Ann woke me up with tea and starting playing the number on song from the week I was born: Baby Got Back. I kid you not, Sir Mixalot was on top of the charts on July 1st, 1992. So this that great start to the day Ann and I went to meet up with my English friend Amber (to the right) for croissants and coffee. We then walked over to her new pad that she wanted to show off and for great reasons. Amber will be living in the hub of Paris in a human sized apartment with views of both the Eiffel Tower and of Notre Dame. We had such apartment envy that of course I took a million photos.

Her living room looked like a pinterest tack. 

 After meeting her roommates we walked to the Mosque where I forgot to take pictures but met up with Sam and Siobhan for a green tea and baklava. We all left around five to go home and take care of some interneting and then Ann and I left again to go to the regular Sunday Night Pub quiz, but we found out it was unfortunately cancelled due to the Italy vs Spain match. So instead we met up with some of Ann's friends was Ann was again much too sweet and bought me a birthday cocktail. That night also included being given champagne by the servers after everyone but Ann and I left, another round of beer from Ann back at the pub and finally meeting up with two more Brits who I had not seen in a long time. So all in all I got to see everyone in Paris who I had been longing to see and I got to practice my french!

Paris, Pride and Proud.

 Last Thursday I took a coach from London to Paris which took only seven hours and cost only 40 pounds. If I had planned ahead I could have taken the eurostar for the same price but c'est la vie. Anyways, to briefly recap: The coach drove to the chunnel where it entered into this train cabin. It was one of the oddest travel experiences I have ever had. The picture to the left is from the inside of the large train car in which buses, coaches and cars entered and were shuttled under the English Channel. I arrived in Paris around ten that night and had to feel my way back to the Orange Cave (where I am staying with my friend Ann, so named because of it's slanted roof and orange paint). I had not planned before and did not have an address or a metro stop so I was very happy to discover I found my way back to it even after a year had passed. Friday passed without any photos but it was a very pleasant day to walk around Paris and reacquaint myself with the area. Saturday we (for the remainder of this post 'we' consists of Ann and I) joined old friends for the Pride Parade of Paris. The following photos are some of my favorites that I took with my point and shoot! Enjoy!