Carving Pumpkins

Ryan is finally home from France and Tessa is excited to carve pumpkins.  They made a cute traditional Jack-O-Lantern and put it on the front porch.  We joke that my belly is round like a pumpkin and before I know it, we are painting my belly to match Tessa's pumpkin.  This picture makes me laugh. 

Boo in the Zoo

 

We had a beautiful night for Boo in the Zoo with my parents.  Tessa went as Sofia the First and was absolutely adorable.   

We arrived right as the gates opened and, even though there was a long line, we didn't have to wait long to get into the zoo.  Unlike other years, the animals were still out.  My parents finally got to see the new giraffe and the new elephant. 

 We stopped for pictures on the bear.  What a pretty princess sitting all by herself!

 This is such a cute and fun Halloween activity.  I'm so glad we were able to go this year. 

28 Weeks

Baby and I are growing!  Mostly I continue to feel great.  It's hard to tell if I am tired because I am starting my third trimester or if I am still getting over jet lag.  My indigestion is getting worse and I am still trying to adjust my diet to figure out what works.  I also have a nagging cough/cold that just won't go away.  But really these are just little things.  I'm not having any new cravings but I am having crazy dreams, the details of which I can't remember right now.  Things are moving along nicely.  When Ryan gets home from France we will get a 4d ultrasound to get another peek at this baby.         

Back to Paris

We took the train back to Paris to meet up with an old friend, Minoo.  We checked in to our hotel and then headed out for lunch and shopping.  We went to the top floor of the beautiful and crowded Galleries Lafayette.  Located just behind the opulent Opera Garnier, the view was great.  But the crowds were not.  Not only was it a weekend but it there was a huge sale going on too.  We abandoned the idea of shopping and just ate lunch and took the chance to get to know Minoo's girlfriend Karina.  Minoo was one of our groomsmen but we don't get to see him much since he has been living in London for years now.  

We took the hop on bus tour again and hopped off for more pictures at the Eiffel Tower. 

Tessa took this picture of the four of us.  The perspective makes me laugh. 

Ryan, looking very European with his sweater tied around his shoulders. 

While walking around the touristy parts of Paris, we couldn't resist buying colorful berets.  We found a nearby café for dinner and settled in for a long French meal.  After a few bottles of wine the berets came out and we had a fashion show.  I love how happy these two look together! 

 Our little French famille!

The next day it was time for Tessa and me to travel home.  We were sad to be leaving without Daddy.  Just to keep things interesting, there was an unattended baggage scare at Charles de Gaulle airport.  This seems to happen a lot and the way security deals with it is to blow up the abandoned bag.  I'm not making this up, Ryan has seen it happen twice now.  They cover the bag with a steel cage thing and then BOOM!  Much like how they blow up human stuff in Monsters Inc.  So our taxi driver dropped us off one terminal early to avoid the subsequent traffic.  We checked in, repacked one suitcase that was - surprise - over the weight limit and headed for security.  I had a surprise burst of tears as we said good-bye to Ryan and then we were off to the gate.  A little last minute shopping helped my end of vacation blues and before I knew it we were boarding for the long flight home.  Thankfully, we both slept a couple of hours and entertained ourselves with movies for the rest of the trip home.  Once we landed in Atlanta I had to smile at the friendly airport workers "Welcome home Baby!" and "Honey let me get that for you!" comments.  I truly love France and the French but there is nothing like a warm Southern welcome.  We caught our connecting flight to Greenville and happily crashed in our own beds that night.  It truly was a Bon Voyage!  



Puy de Dome

One of the girls I used to work with moved to Clermont-Ferrand a couple of years ago because her husband also works for Michelin.  Tessa and I took the chance to meet up with Leigh and she proved to be a great tour guide.  One day she took us up the nearby volcano, Puy de Dome.  We drove to the base and took the train up to the top.  We had gorgeous weather and were able to see for miles around from the top of the mountain.  Leigh is a fantastic photographer and she captured some great shots of Tessa. 

Isn't Leigh cute in her French red scarf?  While exploring, Tessa picked wildflowers and then insisted we all wear them in our hair. 

I absolutely love this shot.  This is how we look most of the time, Tessa posing and me taking a picture. 

Behind us you can see how the chain of volcanoes extends, with us standing on the tallest one.  Leigh has hiked much of this area and pointed out interesting landmarks.  This is one of the few fences on the top of the mountain.  It's pretty much a free for all which is a little nerve wracking with a very mobile child and a mom who has a healthy fear of heights.  But at some moments, it felt like that scene from "The Sound of Music" where Julie Andrews is twirling and singing and just enjoying the mountains.   

We watched people parachute right off the side of the mountain which was pretty incredible.  They laid out their chutes and arranged all the strings just so before strapping in.  Then they would just run and leap into thin air.  Sometimes the wind currents carried them up and away and other times they would float down to the valley below.  It was great to watch but this is not on my bucket list to do. 

That evening, we met up with Leigh and Bruce for dinner at the only Mexican restaurant in town.  Just in case you are wondering, French-Mexican food is really good.  Ryan and Bruce talked about work and Leigh and I laughed over Tessa's antics.  We were able to spend another afternoon with Leigh at her apartment.  We talked about people back at the hospital and how it really was to live in France.  It's great to have an insider's view of how life is as an ex-pat just in case I ever find myself in that position. 

Clermont-Ferrand

The next day, we were set to leave Paris.  Tessa posed in front of one of our windows where she had spent so much time watching the street scene below.  I just love these tall, old fashioned windows, especially since we didn't have air conditioning. 

We headed to the train station without realizing that we had left our stroller at the hotel.  Oh well, we meant for it to be a disposable stroller anyways.  The only problem was that Lil' Pink, one of Tessa's favorite stuffed animals was in the stroller basket.  Other than that trauma, the train trip to Clermont-Ferrand was pleasant.  Ryan loves traveling by train and I agree with him.  The seats are large and recline and there is plenty of leg room.  Plus the gentle swaying of the train is perfect for taking a nap.  Our hotel in Clermont-Ferrand was more like a condo with a small kitchen and table area.  The extra space was nice, as was the air conditioning.  Ryan started work on Monday and so Tessa and I entertained ourselves around town.  Our first adventure was finding and mastering the Laundromat.  Once that task was accomplished, we were able to do fun things like shop.  I love this beret and scarf set and would have bought it for Tessa but she didn't want it.     

Tessa and I took it easy while Ryan worked.  We would sleep late and then have breakfast before setting out to see the town.  One day, while shopping, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch.  This was inevitable at some point.  I think it's funny that McDonald's serves sparkling water, but otherwise, it's pretty much the same. 

Most French people walk everywhere, and we did too for the most part.  But we also used the public tram.  It was cheap and easy, with a stop right in front of our hotel.  Tessa thought it was great.  She also loved that we went to bakeries and ice cream shops each day.  The food is so good!  One place we discovered had huge chocolate beignets, absolutely delicious.   

There are many public gardens in Clermont-Ferrand.  We wandered around and Tessa played on the playgrounds.

The largest cathedral in town is made from volcanic rock so it is black.  It's quite striking and unlike any other cathedral we had seen.  It was being renovated and Tessa was not at all disappointed to be unable to tour it. 

Ryan had a grueling schedule of work and social events but most nights he was able to join us for dinner.  We managed the hours without him just fine even though my French is terrible.  I seem to have forgotten everything I once knew!  We were fussed at in a couple of stores for actually touching and playing with the merchandise.  Heaven forbid we play with a toy in a toy store, what was I thinking?!  French culture is very different but everyone was actually quite nice about it, especially since I at least remembered how to say I was sorry.  A few other oddities, there are no grocery bags, you need to bring your own.  Thankfully I knew this one and had bags from the Michelin care packages that were in our room when we arrived.  You also are responsible for weighing fruits and veggies yourself and telling the cashier the weight.  That was a new one for me.  And I know our servers thought I was odd ordering a litre of sparkling water for just the two of us.  The French don't drink nearly as much water as we do.  If I could have the wine, maybe I wouldn't be drinking so much water either!  The other thing we noticed is that the French have a very different temperature tolerance than we do.  Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and prone to being hot, or maybe it's because I grew up in Texas where we ran the air conditioner 24/7, 365 but I definitely prefer it cooler than the French.  Each day the maid would reset our a/c, I'm sure assuming we didn't mean to have it set on the coldest temperature.  People walked about in multiple layers even though it was beautiful with temps in the 70s.  And poor Ryan, at work they turned off the a/c for the year.  Some things are just different but we laugh about it because what else can you do?