Braving Bastille Day

From Return to the Aisne

Tu sais, there are perhaps a zillion and one reasons for living in France, but one of the main reasons that we forced papa to move to France is vacation. Not just that you are already in a vacation spot without even moving, but that you actually get vacation. Tu sais, a decent number of days off. Kind of like the Roman Empire just before the Germans showed up. You know, seven, eight, ten weeks - plus holidays.

From Return to the Aisne

In the summer, most normal people point the car south. This year, being a fairly unconventional group, we drove north to the Aisne to a huge cousin convention. For four days we prepared for that most bewildering of holidays, tu sais, the 14th of July. Tu sais?

From Return to the Aisne

The days were full. There were flat tires, ping pong tournaments, conjunctivitis, World Cup finals, Play Dough moustaches, potato picking, donkey feeding, roosters thieving, picnics, flowers floating down the lavoir, corn reaping, thunder storms, hot sun, fireworks, Champagne, Bambie terrine, five-star breakfast service, abandoned castles, swimming, appéros, bike riding, barbecues, and cousins, cousins, and more cousins. Wow! Tu sais, the people that stormed the Bastille must have been pretty angry. But with all these vacation days away from home I was wondering, who has time for a revolution? I mean, wouldn't it be better to be our working on your tan? Tu sais?

From Return to the Aisne

But I'm not one to complain. I suppose that all those people who wandered off to the 11th arrondissement with pitch forks in hand got us last Wedensday off. And that's great because as papa still complains that he doesn't have enough  days off. Tu sais, I think he's right.

From Return to the Aisne

Given that I'm still on vacation, I'll wonder off to the beach tomorrow and think about retirement.

From Return to the Aisne

So cool

From With Tess, under the sun

If you aren't familiar with the word canicule, and you want to be, you can do two things. You can buy a French-English dictionary or you can come to Paris this summer.

From With Tess, under the sun

Today was triple special. It's our first day of vacation, we went to the Jardin d'Acclimatation with Tess, and we got to see four parents wilt under the spell of the canicule. After a short Saturday morning drive through the Bois de Boulogne, papa eased the green machine into a nice parking spot. We were only about an hour late. They were waiting for us at the gate: Tess, Lorin, Edith, and Edith's belly.

From With Tess, under the sun

Papa held back his germ-phobia and let us play in the water park. That was so nice of him that we decided to return the favor and took him to see the animals and let him watch as we played in the park and sandbox. We also let him buy us ice cream.

From With Tess, under the sun

That right, summer vacation is off to a good start.

School's out!

From Year ends, summer begins

I made it. I finished petit section de maternelle. One whole year. That's about one-sixteenth of my pre-tertiary education! And I feel a whole lot smarter.

On Thursday, papa came to pick me up at school. It was all over. He was a little teary eyed but I explained that I wasn't leaving home for college just yet. That seemed to calm him down, a little anyway.

From Year ends, summer begins

Now it's officially summer. Long days, sand castles, sandals, and ice cream.

If you have nothing to contribute to the world at this moment, you can check out a few pictures of our parents' breakfast (really exciting stuff!), lunch at Arut and Solenne's, and other early-summer snaps here: Summer sun a go go

From Year ends, summer begins

Sad news report: Maylis is leaving ENC Blomet for a school in the 4th. Poor Gongo will not kick off his academic career with this talented maîtresse.

From Year ends, summer begins