Valence, France

On our drive to vacation in the South of France, we spent a night in Valence (about 30 min south of Lyon), driving straight to the center of town & enjoying the space to stretch our legs and our euro... We found a recently renovated (elegant asian simplicity) hotel close to the major park in town ~ and the train station as well ~ and were able to have dinner & put Sopha to bed, while Troy & I spent a romantic evening in the dark playing on our laptops... Although with the background noise of the street, and the music in our room I will boldly say that Sophia is FINALLY a hard sleeper. It's about time.

A joyful Sophia enjoying freedom after hours in the car.

Running, running & more running... The park was fantastic. Obviously built in the last 5 years, but attached to a much older park on the Rhone River. It was the ultimate parking garage gem (the garage was actually underground, below the park), and had tons of grass where Sophia could run - it took her a little while to understand that concept - and fountains that changed height every few min. It was so funny to watch her giggle as the water moved!

The height of the fountains catching Sophia off guard.

Troy & Sophia on the bandstand in the center of town.

The bandstand in the center of the park ~ heart included! ~ with chairs for relaxing all around. I think the chair is one of our favorite things about parks in France; they may not allow you to play on the grass, but the city will provide you with chairs in order to have a more civilized picnic or sunset experience.

Sophia in the drivers seat

Troy took Sophia to Luxembourg Gardens on Saturday morning for a little Daddy & Me time, and Sophia took the opportunity to learn how to drive a truck, and defend her space.

Sophia drives at Luxembourg
Video sent by moyamz

Bikes at Versailles

Sophia in her seat at the end of the lake at Versailles (the Chateau is in the sun...)

Troy driving Sophia...

Sophia & her chocolate ice cream reward for going the whole day without diapers!!

Running off the ice cream...

Hanging out in the sun.

We had a great morning in the gardens of Versailles, although somehow we managed to arrive before the bicycle rentals had opened & ended up drivng around - thru the gardens of Versailles! - until we found a rental shop that was open.
Sophia loves being on the back of the bike, apart from the really big tree roots across the path, and sang almost the entire time we were riding around.
Afterwards we walked around by the lake & had lunch at the cafe next to the boat rentals. Maybe next time we'll actually rent boats!

Sophia & her name

Sophia loves the etch-a-sketch, and this week attempted to write her name! A HUGE thank you to the french education system!

Easter Monday at Le Treport

Easter Monday (a very welcome holiday in France) is actually a day off for MS, so we decided to drive up to Northern Normandy for the day, to a little town called Le Treport. Very cute town, with a small harbor (fish ladder, locks and big freighters going thru little narrow canals), and a rock beach.
Seriously, big rocks. And no sand! It was amazing. The rocks were stunning because the water hits the shore so hard that the rocks actually break and then are polished. Sophia, needless to say, had a blast.
She loves to throw (her favorite game right now is to play catch with Koukala), and so to be able to throw rocks for hours was the highlight of the weekend for her, well , after the chocolate for breakfast yesterday.
We took a break from the beach to have Pizza for lunch, and when we emerged from the restaurant we couldn't see the water any longer. The fog came in faster than in San Francisco.
We then watched a freighter being moved thru the locks (about12 inches play on either side & the bar pilot tug following behind) with the fog horn blown every 10 seconds. It was a new experience for Sophia & she actually did pretty well. (fog horns are really loud when you are only 10 feet away from the ship)
We decided to drive inland, hoping the fog would disappear before the next town, but Sophia fell asleep, and we decided that days are better when she gets a nap.... We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering back to Paris (where it was almost 80!)

Blogger Problems

Hi,
Sorry I haven't been able to update the blog this week. First it was software problems (from that MS company), now my computer won't log on. I'll try & get it fixed tomorrow & post some new photos.
Love,
Moya, Troy & Sophia

Happy Easter!

Which one can I start with? Can I really have CHOCOLATE for breakfast? What kind of a great holiday is this?

YEA! CHOCOLATE!!
All dressed up & ready to go to church.

The Zs after Easter service in the Dean's garden at the American Cathedral.

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we went to an Easter Egg Hunt in the gardens of the Musee de la Mode. Although we had to share the gardens with a Japanese film crew making an ad, the kids were able to take over one side of the park & went crazy looking for eggs & treats.

It has been a really interesting holiday year with Sophia, and great fun. She has really understood the joys of the holidays this year, starting with Christmas. She was perfectly satistied opening 3 or 4 presents & then playing with all of the new toys! It took days to get through everything! (only child!) Her birthday was the same, and it looks like Easter is going to be a blast. After needing some encouragement to break the sacred rules of the Paris parks (no walking on the grass and no playing in the bushes), Sophia went crazy looking for eggs. She very proudly carried her Dora sand pail, and tagged after Troy as he was slipping eggs & chicks into all kinds of creative places. She was able to stand her ground & beat out quite a few of the older boys to the eggs that were placed in her path. It was hard talking her into taking a break. She really enjoyed the hunt...

A big thanks to Message, the english speaking moms group in Paris that sponsored & organized the hunt today.

Getting a lift from Dad.

Is it a race? Can I beat her?
I found another one!
What is inside the chocolate? More chocolate of course...

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!

Sophia after school

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Sophia attends an Halte Garderie at St Honore d'Eylau. Each afternoon she runs down the driveway and out into the courtyard in front of the church where she is fascinated by the metal (removable) blocks the church locks into place when they do not want people to park in that area. To be honest the only time I've ever seen them down is during weddings and funerals. But everyday Sophia has to test it out.

When they are down, the world as she knows it just doesn't make sense. She talks about it all day long, all night long, until we return to school, and the barricades are back up, and the world is right again.

I don't know if she likes the noise that they make, or the fact that she can shake & rock them, and they won't fall down, but it's the same - everyday.

Sophia running after school
Video sent by moyamz

Sophia & Ava fishing

On Wednesday mornings, Sophia & her buddy Ava have an art class together, and then usually get a good run in the Park across the street before going home for lunch & naps. Today the girls decided to fish in the stream running thru the park, and proceeded to catch a number of cartoon characters on their rods.

Sophia fishing with Lou
Video sent by moyamz