The battle of the Aisne

This time we outnumbered them. There were eight of us (Amicie, Melina, Gabrielle, Nefeli, Iris, Constantinos, the Gongo and myself) and only six of them. Our reinforcements didn't come in due to appendicitis in the ranks, so we were down three. But that also meant two adults less, and boy did they miss them. We couldn't wait any longer. Operation "drive them straight to the asylum" was put into action.






The battle took place in the Aisne. We used tactics picked up from watching documentaries about Guantanamo Bay and Abou Ghraib: sleep deprivation, high-pitched noises for extended periods of time, confusion, cross examination ("but mama said I could!"), and sabotage of personal belongings and furniture.





They did their best to counter attack. They tried to force us to sleep (failed). They tried to keep us away from sugar (failed). They tried to keep us from getting lost in the woods (failed). They even tried to keep us somewhat clean (failed miserably).

They knew they were losing badly and so a decision to reconvene around a dinner/summit on Saturday night was taken. But the adults are weak fighters. We survive on a steady diet of Mintos and orange juice; they feed their fighters fois gras, salmon, and Champagne. No new strategies came out of Saturday's dinner, only a couple more kilos around the waist, and then we suprised them with an early-morning offensive.






The battle lasted two days, but in the end, we won! And yes, the loot was exquisite. We turned all adults into our slaves, watched videos at will, and slept where and when we wanted to. For having perfected my torture tactics, I received an early birthday celebration, and we all enjoyed an explosive chocolate cake topped with extra chocolate, some more chocolate, a little more chocolate, and candy.



We also forced the bald guy to give us a lesson in SLR photography. You can see our artwork here: did someone say Henri Cartier Bresson?




It's hard to return home to Paris after experiencing the sweet taste of victory in the Aisne.


Why not check out all the pictures here: ABC: Aisne, Birthdays, and Cousins

Más Feeesh!

The First World War lasted a pretty long time; but it had to end someday, and that day was the 11th of November. Now, I guess that was generally good news for those soldiers left standing; but it's also good news for those of us who, all these years later, get the 11th of November off as a commemorative holiday. Yeap, and since mama and papa didn't have to go to work today they decided to take the Gongo and me to the aquarium!

After a couple of pictures of us in front of the Eiffel Tower (we can do that without looking dumb, we live here) we plunged into the deep dark waters of the Paris Aquarium. And who would have believed that so many fish live in Paris? I mean, it's a crowded city but so far I've seen mostly people, dogs, and a few Canadians! Here was a huge underground apartment complex for fish. Big fish, small fish, colorful fish, jelly fish, just lots of fish (and a few screaming kids, like me).



After the shark tunnel I was so excited that I needed a little rest, so we emerged from the fish world and hit a touristy café terrace on the Place de Trocadero. By then , of course, the sun was out and I had to reach for my sunglasses in mama's bag. Ahh, sun on the 11th of November? I'm glad they ended that war, and that doing so was such a big deal that 91 years later they still had to give mama and papa a day off to remind everyone that fish don't know how to use heavy artillery.


Why not check out our Armistice Day celebrations here: fish, not canned