Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone! We hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as we did. Madison had a fun filled weekend of shopping for clothes and shoes for the cruise. We had a very nice lunch at Le Gare for Easter sunday. Attached is some video of Madison chatting on "her" blackberry (just like her daddy!).

What a great weekend!

This past weekend we took a road trip to the Normandy region of France; which included Caen, Bayeux, Omaha Beach, Cabourg, Deauville, Trouville, Honfleur and Etretat. Our first stop was the Memorial Museaum in Caen. It was a very modern museum which recounted World War I, World War II and the Cold War. From the museum we drove into Bayeux.

Bayeux is a very lovely, quaint little French town with lots of shopping and cafes. It's main attractions are the Bayeux tapestry, a 230 ft long tapestry which depicts the 1066 Norman invasion of England, and their own Notre Dame cathedral. Our hotel, Hotel d'Argouges, was a beautiful French hotel made up of three "houses". We stayed in the Garden House overlooking the courtyard. Later that night we walked around town and had dinner at Le Pommier.

The next morning we headed to Omaha beach to visit the American Cemetary and the D-Day landing sites. The cemetary was breathtakingly beautiful and very serene. On the D-Day landing site in Omaha there is a spectacular metal sculpture called "Les Braves". It was created by a Frenchman to honor the Americans who gave their lives to liberate his country.

After Omaha Beach we drove to the seaside resort town of Cabourg. We stayed at Le Grand Hotel de Cabourg and it was gorgeous. Marcel Proust used to come there to write. Now they have a suite named after him and you can stay in the same room he used to. Our suite had an amazing ocean view and the entire room was just so impressive. We walked around town and then had drinks and dinner back at our hotel, where we ejoyed the world's best frozen cosmos, oysters and a fantastic French seafood dinner.

The next morning we drove through the other seaside towns of Deauville and Trouville and stopped in Honfleur for some walking and lunch. Afterwards we drove to Etretat and hiked up their famous cliffs that surround the small town. The view from top of the cliff was breathtaking! It was definitely worth the climb.

The weekend went off without a hitch and we had sunny but chilly weather all the way through (it's said that it rains daily in Normandy), so we were very fortunate. Now we are back at our apartment and getting ready to enjoy our last month of Paris. We still have some sites and museums to visit (and some restaurants!) before the big move!!!

Isn't She Lovely

It's still hard to believe how fast Madison is growing up!

Springtime in Paris

The weather these past few days has been gorgeous...clear blue skies and sunny! We visited Versailles Palace on Saturday but there was an issue with the stroller. Instead of visiting the inside of the palace we walked around town, got lunch and then walked the palace gardens. We are definitely going back soon (this time with the baby bjorn) to see the inside.

Yesterday the weather was not as nice but we still took a long walk after lunch and took Madison to the park by the Eiffel Tower. I still can't believe these parks do not have any swings :)

This upcoming weekend is very exciting. We are taking a road trip to the beaches of Normandy and staying in the towns of Bayeux and Cabourg. We'll be sure to post pics of the trip and our hotels. Bayeux is an old French country town and Cabourg is more of a seaside resort town.

Time flies!

Can you believe that yesterday we officially booked the moving date for our return to the U.S.? Hard to believe that in 6 short weeks we will be getting packed up and hitting the road to begin our journey back home. On April 28th the movers will come to pack up our apartment. The following day we will begin our road trip to Southhampton, England, where we will board the Queen Mary 2 on May 2nd. The transatlantic cruise is 6 days and we are really looking forward to it. We will arrive in Brooklyn, NY on Friday morning, May 8th.

For the remainder of our stay in Paris we will be taking full advantage of the gorgeous spring weather that has already begun. Next weekend we will be taking a long weekend trip to visit the beaches of Normandy and the seaside resorts of Trouville and Deuxville.

Just for Fun

Back in Paris

Well, our trip home wasn't all that we expected it to be...Madison had bad ear infections that kept us home-bound for most of the trip. Luckily we got to visit with most friends and family, no matter how brief. We also realized that Madison has been a bit sheltered for the past few months and is rarely around anyone beside Kevin and I, which made for some very unhappy grandparents/aunts/uncles when Madison wouldn't let anyone hold her :( A major case of separation anxiety on top of ear infections equals a very exhausted Mommy and Daddy! There were a few things we missed out on but we'll be home in 2 months to make up for it!

Now we are gearing up for springtime in Paris. The weather is already starting to break. We need to make sure we accomplish all of our Paris "musts" before we pack up in April.