trip to chablis...

While my mom was visiting I was able to sneak away to join some friends on a wine tasting excursion to Chablis in the Burgundy region.  It was such a great way to spend a day - the drive to Chablis and around Burgundy alone was beautiful!  As this was my first official wine tasting trip, it was quite an education for me.  After we left the Jean-Marc Brocard vineyard, we went on to visit Vezelay, an ancient town known for its massive cathedral (where the crusades are said to have begun?).  Really amazing.

Click here to see photos.

grammie's visit...

My mom spent the first two weeks of April here and - despite all the rain - we had a fantastic time exploring some nearby towns and generally just relaxing in the French countryside.

Click here to see photos of our afternoon in Moret-sur-Loing.

Click here to see photos of our afternoon in Barbizon.

in the backyard...

We haven't posted anything in a little while because we've been too busy doing fun things with my mom... I'll post some photos of our recent adventures and day trips soon but in the meantime, here is a funny clip of Max with my mom in the backyard.  Enjoy!

in the neighborhood...

Recently I've taken some context photos for those of you interested in catching a glimpse of our village (Bourron-Marlotte) or of Fontainebleau (where INSEAD is).  The links are below.  The weather has been interesting here lately, one hour it could look like it will rain for the rest of the day, the next hour there is bright sun, and occasionally these changes are followed by a random hail storm.  But, it's beginning to change to Spring so there are more flowers everywhere and generally the days are getting warmer (there are some 70 degree days in the forecast for Paris this week!).

Click here to see some photos of Fontainebleau (there are only a few and they are mostly of a day at the fresh market that happens three times each week ... we really are lucky).

Click here to see some photos of Bourron-Marlotte.  

mont saint michel and granville...

Brook & Max overlooking the tidal basin

We've just returned from our weekend trip to Mont Saint Michel.  What an amazing place!  The Mont is a tiny island in an enormous tidal basin that is connected to the mainland by a causeway (it used to be a tidal island that was only accessible at low tide, now the causeway is permanent).  We learned that the tides here are the largest in Europe, and at certain times each month, the water can rush 15 kilometers from low to high tide in only 4 1/2 hours - moving as fast as a galloping horse!  I wish we could have seen this...  Anyway, at the very top is a millennium-old abbey.  The place is so unique that I am including a quick summary of its history from Let's Go France 2008 (if you already know this or don't really care, just skip the next paragraph):

"Legend holds that the Baie de St-Michel was created by a giant wave that carved three islands, one of which was so appealing that heaven wanted a piece of it.  In AD 708, Archangel Michael supposedly appeared to St-Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, and asked him to build a place of worship on the island.  The bishop proved rather unresponsive; Michael reportedly had to put a flaming finger through Aubert skull before the bishop heeded his vision and erected the first small church on the Mont's summit.  In the 10th century, a Benedictine abbey was established on the Mont, and the four crypts supporting the abbey church were built.  To the French pilgrims, the Mont soon became a spiritual destination as important as Rome and Jerusalem.  In the 14th and 15th centuries, Mont-St-Michel was fortified against a 30-year English attack.  When church property was appropriated wholesale in the French Revolution, the Benedictines were driven out of Mont-St-Michel; going from heaven to hell, the abbey became a penitentiary, housing around 700 political prisoners.  Finally, in 1863 the abbey closed as a prison and Mont-St-Michel was classified as a national monument.  Today, the abbey is again home to a small community of monks - no longer Benedictines, but rather Brothers and Sisters of Jerusalem."

We stayed in a town nearby called Granville - childhood home of none other than Christian Dior (we are SO chic these days!).  Granville is a tiny pennisula that has a big harbor and marina, and lots of beaches.  Very beautiful!

Click here to see photos of this trip.

next up...

Mont Saint Michel!

This weekend will find us visiting Mont Saint Michel with our friends from Chile and Belgium.  Mont Saint Michel is off the northern coast of France (about four hours away by car).  We will be three families - six adults and five kids... stay tuned for stories and photos!