Traveling the Via Francigena

Papa had been away for too long, and then when he got back it was all work, work, work. Then mama abandoned us for a little fiesta in Mexico City. We were all knocked out. Not learning anything at school and eating home-cooked food in day care had taken its toll. We were ready for a re-birth.

 

And what better place for a little renaissance than the cradle of the Rinascimento itself? Papa took off a whole week. We packed the old Koléos and headed to Geneva Airport to pick up mama. Then we headed for the Mont Blanc Tunnel and, after stopping in Aosta for the night, arrived in the land of those crazy ci folks like Polci, da Vinci, Medici.

La mama was worried that we wouldn't eat enough so she called Giuseppina and asked her to give us a little cooking class. Energized by home-made pasta,  fresh garlic, ripe tomatoes, and Chianti, we were ready to climb towers, sketch Duomos, admire Botticelis, buy leather gloves, giggle at David’s scant attire, sword fight, treat allergies to spider bites, try on heavy armor, eat pizza, watch people hold up leaning towers, visit Pinocchio,  and of course, sample the finest Gelato in the land.

All in all it was very civilized, just like us.

Hankering for a little Giotto-country? Check out some snaps of our adventures south of the border here: Miraculously, the David is still standing.

Gongo turned 7 while papa was in Hawaii. Want to see what a guilt-filled birthday party looks like? Check out the belated birthday party here: A gift made in China? How exotic!

Or maybe a few scary pictures of Halloween here: Black is back

Boat to Yvoire

"Papa, c'est quoi le plan aujourd'hui?"

"I don't know Inès"

"On va où?"

"I don't know Inès, nowhere"

"Papa, can we go to France, can we take the boat to France?"

"No Inès, I don't think so"

"Why papa?"

"It's Sunday Inès, we have school and work tomorrow."

"But today papa, why can't we go to France now papa?"

"We just can't."

"But why?"

"Umm, I don't know, umm, I...because..."

"Allez papa, let's take the boat to France!"

"We but we have to...it's...umm...I don't know why we can't go to France.|

"Then let's go!"

"Yeah, let's go! You're right, there's not reason not to go! Let's go get mama and the boys and take the boat to Yvoire!"

"Wow, Inès! What a great day, what a great idea, what a great day in France!

In the mood for exotic international travel? Live it vicariously here: à la vapeur

Our favorite things...

It was a short but elegant vacation. Outside the world was catching a glimpse of Pluto and preoccupied by two meltdowns: a hot summer and the Greek economy. But nestled in the Tyrolean Alps, the only thing melting was the glacier we were skiing on.

There was something about this part of the world that made this little Parisian triumvirate feel particularly comfortable. What was it? Was it the hills alive with the sound of music? The ubiquitous figure of Mozart that greeted us at every corner? The sophisticated cafés that reminded us of Paris' best? The schnitzel? The
yodeling? The dirndl and lederhosen? The Riesling? The crazy ice cave? Gastro Express Ketchup? The soft green mountains? The kid-friendliness? The Austrian politesse? Or was it that soon-to-be-forgotten word, elegance?

Papa always said that, if you're searching for elegance, there are only two places in western culture worth looking: Paris and Austria. You may find style in Italy, comfort in the US, and a good sense
humor in the UK, but you won't run into any elegance. Don't even ask about Switzerland.


Being three little Parisians, we felt right at home in Austria.

Rainy vacation with nothing to do? Kill time waiting for work to start again here: Waltz anyone?

Or you can check out a Swiss sunny spring here: Schools out but papa's not

While mama was away on business...

It's to easy to saturate here. For Parisians accustomed to good taste, isolation scan be a constant threat. Luckily, within reach, there are oases of elegance, both urban and natural. Without mama at home, it was too easy to feel that all the elegance had slipped away from our lives. We needed to resource.

It's a good thing that papa is on our wavelength. We woke up, got dressed and jumped into the trusty Koleos. By mid-morning we were soaking the Saturday sun in God-given Annecy. Park, lake, old town, lunch, and Monoprix.

A carefully timed escape to Chamonix provided much-needed nap time. We awoke to at the bottom of the Chamonix valley. An afternoon of Snell, amusement rides, dinner on a terrace, and snow-capped peaks was all we needed.

So we drove back to Nyon.

Lost your way back to Eden? Check it out here: Work stinks

Circus minimus

Nyon may be a small town but we get a little of everything one needs to survive life in Europe. There is a castle to protect us from any pirates that might cross the lake, there is a cinema, restaurants, supermarkets, an American food shop where you can also buy any ingredient from Latin American you might ever need, a train station, Roman ruins, a handful of museums, a port where you can catch a ferry to France, live theater performances, two beaches and an outdoor pool, a yacht club where we learn to sail, tennis club where we learn tennis, music conservatory, and the usual bunch of butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. It ain't Paris but it's not bad.

In the summer, when you can't go skiing anymore, there are also a number of things to make the time pass while you wait for the first flakes to fall again. There are film festivals like the one that just finished, there are wine festivals and antique markets, there are music festivals, and of course, there's the circus! We missed the big Knee circus last year so there was no way we we going to let the Nock circus get away! There it was, just outside our window.

We watched the tent go up on the Place de Perdtemps and waited for Saturday to arrive. There were clowns and trapeze artists flying through the air, there were animal tamers and jugglers and acrobats and magicians that cut ladies in half. There was popcorn (sold by the artists during the intermission - circus life must be tough) and that animal smell that tells you it's the real thing. Raphaël even enjoyed his first pony ride. It wasn't exactly Ringling Brothers but, like Nyon, it had everything we needed.

You had to be there but there's a few snaps here: bread and circus

How lucky is papa? Papa's little schoolgirl

Gongo's big day!

Some days you're just on fire.  Some days are just made for you and nothing can go wrong. Today, Gongo had exactly that kind'a day.

A good day always starts with the sun shining through the windows and a clear view straight to the Mont Blanc. But better days start when you lose your first tooth! Yeap, Gongo had been waiting for ever, 'cause a lost tooth means big bucks from the tooth fairy.

"Mama, could I have an apple?" "Really? You never ask for food,  much less an apple. Do you feel alright?"

Apples didn't do it. Corn on the cob didn't do it. There were no pears. But this morning the chewing gum pulled that little hound dog right out. Payday!

Must'a been the tooth that charged the way because this day was going to be special. Special as in ride-a-bike-without-training-wheels-for-the-first-time special. That's pretty special.

Raphaël was not one to be left behind. Chalk up a first ride on a manège for the Guigui!

Triumph of the will baby! Triumph des Willens!

Wanna see what a great Sunday looks like on Lake Geneva? Why not check these out: I still bite.

The best things in life are ski

Perhaps the biggest consolation that papa has found for being far from Paris is the mountains. While nothing beats Paris, the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève doesn't quite throw a shadow on the Mont Blanc.

And perhaps the best thing about being surrounded by mountains is being able to go up high into the snow, strap two wooden planks to your feet and throw yourself down as fast as you can! That's what we did again and again this winter.

Now the Gongo likes going down the hill, but doesn't like going up. He's still waiting for a mountain where you only have to go down, not up. A sort of one-way skiing adventure. But as we say in the Chamonix Valley, what goes down must go up.

The season took us to the French Alps, the French Jura, the Swiss Alps, then ended in a spectacular Italian gastronomic snowfest where we were joined by hot-doggers la Grande Inès and Henri. A few ageing skiers came along to pay for things and, in the spirit of Easter, even allowed a snowboarder to join!

Mind you, this was not a good year for snow. But there was enough up high to do some stupid things. And stupid things we did. But we were Happy!

Feeling a bit like a marmotte? Check out some action shots here: 45 degrees of freedom

The fourth season

Greetings from Switzerland.

Today is Guigui's birthday. That little Parisian turns two. For the third straight year the Guiger rings in the spring.

We moved here in summer, lasted the fall, skied a short winter, now it's time to see what spring is like here.

How was the summer? It was full of walks in green mountains and fun by shiny lakes. There was a first day at a new school, a climb up a castle. There were boats to Corsica and friends in the Southwest of France. It closed with Gongo's birthday. No party, we didn't know anyone.

And the fall? It opened with mama's birthday. Guigui got his first haircut, finally. There were sunny days and more walks. We had circus , wine and fun close by. Fico's visit, mimi's visit, papa's departure far away. Inès turned eight. She got a party. In fact, the museum almost had to shut down. This isn't the ENC...



The winter came late. We had Christmas with Ata after the school shows. We skated and, eventually skied. When we did ski it was a lot. Except when papa hurt his leg, then it was Paris, the center of the universe.

Yesterday morning, a short eclipse opened the door to our fourth season in Nyon. It seemed to say, happy birthday Raphaël, this is your spring, and it's going to be special.

If you're retired and don't have enough money to travel or know how to play bridge, you may feel a little less guilty wasting your time on these:



Cross the waters with us to Corsica: Please pass the wild boar

Or cross France with us to St. Jean de Luz: Santiago anyone?

Walk with us? Take a hike

Again? I said take a hike!

Trip to the land of swiss cheese? Is it me or is it the fondu?

Care to see who came to Inès' 8th birthday? Let them eat cake

Stage fright? Limelight becomes me

Another visit by Père Noël? But I was bad this year!

How about New Year's in Chamonix? So close to heaven, it must be

Care to see who came to Ata's 80th birthday? Crème de la crème

A return to Eden? Heaven is on Earth

What does a normal winter day look like in Nyon? You call this normal?