Villefrache

Papa, Sophia & Nana halfway up the stairs from the harbor to the top of the village. Somehow we decided to drive down to the harbor, and then walk up the hill.

Fishing boats in the Harbor...

Sophia posing on the upper walk into town looking over at Cap Ferrat (nice yacht in the background).

The harbor of Villefrache with the villas of Cap Ferrat in the background.

Exporing Antibes

Sophia & Troy hanging out in the Mediteranian. The water was quite cold, but the temperature was about 70 degrees (about 10 less than in Paris - a bit ironic).
Sophia spending hours throwing stones into the ocean
And throwing smaller stones in the back yard of the villa where we are staying
The Fortress at Antibes, lined with cars on market day.

Promenade des Anglais - Nice

Sophia at the beginning of the day (before all the clothes were stripped off) on the beach at Nice. It was raining when we left our villa, so we thought we would have no need for a bathing suit. However, by the time we reached the beach - the temperature went up 15 degrees and the sun came out for a beautiful day.
Troy & Sophia playing at the water's edge
Sophia playing with Don in the Mediteranian
Every time sophia got a piece of clothing wet, she would want it off immediately. So she played for the better part of the morning sans clothes. Of course, the French loved it.
Lynn & Moya relaxing at the beach cafe while Don & Troy played with Sophia down by the water. Draped with classic blue & white Nice umbrellas, it was quite a Cote d'Azur post card.

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.