March 29, 2014

Springtime in Paris

We had a great mild winter here in Paris. At first I missed the snow back home but after reading about storm after storm I was actually happy not be in Jersey. I did miss the sleigh riding in the backyard and the building of snowmen but what I didn’t miss (Keith especially) was the plowing and shoveling of our super long and exceptionally steep driveway at home. Spring is here now and this weekend we get to spring ahead (Europe is still on the old daylight savings time schedule).

Peyton enjoying the spring weather in the park

But first I have to catch everyone up on what has been going on the last few months. It has been action packed and since it has been a while since my last post I need to catch up on everything.

In January (wow, that was long ago) Keith and I went to our first wine and cheese class. He had wanted to go for a long time and so it was the perfect Christmas present for him. And of course I benefited also. It was at this really cool place called O’Chateau. They had this wine tasting room in the back of the wine bar up front that was so neat. We learned about the different regions in France and how to pair cheese and wine. We tasted all the different wines, cheeses and, my favorite, Champagne. It was such a fun time. Unfortunately I can’t really tell you I remembered what I learned but I had a great afternoon with my hubby and, got a little tipsy at the same time. Oh yeah …and no kids. Woohoo!

Getting ready to taste some wine and eat cheese...woohoo!!

Next was my Christmas present from Keith, tickets to see Maroon 5. YEAH!!! As most of you know by now, I just love love love Adam Levine. A quote from another person attending the concert, “ I now know why he is the sexiest man alive”. Keith and I had a blast, I actually didn’t realize just how many songs I knew of Maroon 5’s; we pretty much knew them all. Fun..fun..fun.

Then came a really big day; my first day back to work. Yup you read that correctly I am employed again! I am once again working at Sanofi, only this time I am a French hire. I am very lucky that they asked me to come help for the next year (filling in for a girl going on maternity) and I am just thrilled to be back. The great thing is that I will be working with some of my old colleagues back in the states and learning a great deal here in France. Of course with happiness comes sadness. My children, especially Peyton were not too happy. She has recently been better but still has her moments. We did however find an awesome babysitter. She is a dream, picks them up from school everyday until we return from work. The kids really lover her. I can’t tell you what a nightmare it really is to find a good babysitter. We interviewed so many different girls before we found Rachel (our babysitter) and thank God. The great thing is that she is British and speaks French. LOVE HER!!!

Rachel with Lance and Peyton.  She is awesome! — Rachel with Lance and Peyton. She is awesome!

Two weeks after I started work I took a vacation. It was our annual ski trip. Only this year it was Switzerland! The kids were on what they call “ski break” for a week. No really, they call it that. I can’t make this stuff up. So we did what most other Europeans were doing; packed up and headed for the slopes. This year it was Zermatt, Switzerland, home of the Matterhorn. It was AWESOME!!! I know I posted some pictures to Facebook but the pictures do not do it justice. First of all, I have never seen so much snow. There was so much snow that when you were walking down the street the snow on the sides of the road was taller than you. And it wasn’t that it was a snow drift, it was the amount of snow they actually have gotten. There were so many great things about the trip but one of the best had to be the fact that Keith and I got to ski together every day. That is right, I said every day. This was the first time since pre-kids. It was awesome the kids went to ski school everyday and Keith and I hit the slopes. Although it was only half a day (the kids ski school only lasted that long) it was still great. I love skiing. My other favorite thing about the trip was something I also posted about on face book….. night sledding. We had reservations at a restaurant on the mountain where you take a gondola up to the restaurant but by the time you are done with dinner the gondola is already closed. There are no cars in Zermatt. The only thing allowed are electric cars just buzzing thru the streets. Anyway, the only way down from this restaurant was either hike it or jump on a sled. It was great! We were with our great friends who also two kids. So we paired off and headed down the mountain on our sleds. Lance and I were partners and we had a blast. Lance called our team the Jr team (Dale Jr). All of the adults had headlamps and we definitely needed them. At one point we almost took a wrong turn which would have put us on a very dangerous ski slope. Thank God that didn’t happen. It was such a blast! It was definitely too short of a trip.

Daddy and Lance taking a break from skiing

My girl in the snow...which was up to her shoulders.

Keith and I with our great friends Ashley and Scott!!

In the gondola going up to the restaurant

Then it was back to everyday life, except that the weather in Paris has been just so wonderful. The flowers are in bloom and the kids are outside playing in all the parks. Spring has definitely arrived. Of course I know better than to assume this weather is going to stay. It has been raining a bit more the past few days so I am just hoping the weather does not turn in some horrible direction. Also, with the nice weather came some crazy smog days. To be honest it hasn’t really bothered Keith or I. It just looks like a haze. I am convinced that the smog is not caused by all the cars but by all the smokers. It is ridiculous. I don’t know how these people live past 40, if they do. Can I get lung cancer from second hand smoke for a few years…just wondering.

I almost forgot, I did the Paris Half Marathon the first week of March. It was the Sunday after our ski trip and by no means did I feel ready for this race. It was a beautiful day and over 30 thousand people running. Thank God, unlike most races in Paris, they actually assigned you to a coral based on time. Also I am learning to run in Kilometers and not miles. The good thing with kilometers is that there are closer together so when you are counting down what you have left in the race you get there faster, the bad thing is that there are more of them. Anyway, even though I felt much slower training I ended up killing my PR, so I was happy.

We also had the first of our visitors this year. One of the Fahrney brothers, Scott and his wife Laura, came to visit. It was a short stay but great visit with them and now we are just really looking forward to the rest of the Fahrney family coming to see us; along with a bunch of our other great friends in the next few months.

Oh wait, I can’t forget Keith’s birthday. What a fun week. We went out with a bunch of friends to a great pub in Paris followed by an awesome dinner in one of our favorite areas, Montmarte. Lets just say it was such a great night that we were all moving a little bit slower the next morning. Haven’t done that in a while..LOL!!

The gang out for Keith's birthday....note the bottle of shots in front of Keith.

Some more great events coming in the near future so stay tuned.

Life is good…

In Paris!

Thanks for Reading!

I have included extra pictures …enjoy

Max just relaxing...its all about the position!

Lance and Peyton working on their coloring, it is a huge poster of all the Paris monuments.

January 10, 2014

Our first Christmas season in Paris

by Alicia Demmerle

The holidays began in our house mid December with the purchasing of our Christmas tree. Back in New Jersey we would drive a few miles away from our house and pick which tree farm to pick our winning tree. In Paris picking a tree consisted of Keith walking down to the nearest florist and taking a good guess on what might be a decent Christmas tree. We decided to go with a normal tree, not a flocked one (sprayed with color). Not that we weren't tempted by the bright red or gloomy black flocked trees but we wanted to keep it more traditional. So Keith picked out the best Parisian Charlie Brown Tree. Of course to add to it the lights I bought were all different sizes and had about 6 different settings on how they blinked. We loved it!! I also have to mention that there is no way to water the Christmas trees after you bring them home. The trunk of the tree is hammered into a make shift stand, which is made out of a tree trunk (See picture below). Although we didn't water it, it lasted thru Christmas. None of the needles were falling off but the branches started sagging.

Not our tree but an example of how the the trunk is put into another to make a stand.  No watering required. — Not our tree but an example of how the the trunk is put into another to make a stand. No watering required.

As Christmas got closer we had the Christmas Pageant at our church. Each of the kids took part in the pageant. It was a little iffy with Peyton but she came thru and was a great little sheep and Lance was a great donkey. The Church did such a good job and I am so glad that we were a part of it. On the same day Keith ran a race in Paris where everyone dressed up as Santa. He looked great and the kids loved it!!

We continued to enjoy the activities going on in Paris for Christmas such as the Christmas markets and a Christmas illumination open bus tour. Lance had been begging us to go on the open bus tour since we arrived and when my friend Ashley told us about the Christmas illuminations tour it was perfect. We lucked out with a night that was not so cold and the rain held out until we got home. It was great to go around the city and see everything lit up.

In between getting ready for Santa to come I managed to do my traditional cookie baking. Although I am still struggling finding certain ingredients I was able to make a few of my favorites. The kids also had a blast taking part in their traditional decorating of the cookies. Lots of messes means lots of fun and we did both.

Before we knew it Christmas Eve was here. We headed to the Children's service at the American Church and they did such a good job at keeping the kids interested during the entire service. Normally the kids go off to Sunday school so they don't kill each other in the pews. But for the children's service they showed great clips of an animated movie of the Christmas Story. The people behind us were convinced it was made by Pixar but we later found out it was made by a member of the church many years ago. I loved it because my kids were watching the entire time. Here is a link if any of you are interested. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12zngy_the-very-first-noel-2006_shortfilms. Then when it came time to light candles for Silent Night they handed out glow sticks....genius!

After the service we headed back to our place and had some great friends over to have Christmas Eve dinner. It was an awesome night. Not sure why but I have no pictures from Christmas Eve, I guess we were having too much fun together. That is ok, we made up for it the next night.

Then it was Christmas and Santa found us in Paris and I guess the kidlets were pretty good because they did well. Santa brought them each scooters, which they have wanted since arriving in Paris. The rest of the gifts consisted of legos, Hello Kitty, Spiderman and a guitar and microphone that Peyton won't put down. It was nice to hang out in our Christmas jammies for the morning. Later in the day we went to our good friends Ashley and Scott's house for dinner. We had such a good time!! All the kids played their toys together and the adults had fun just talking and being merry. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of their good friends and his family, Jeff Gordon. Lance was excited to meet Jeff "Corvette" from one of his favorite movies. He was super nice and his wife was just so pleasant. I think I may have become one of his biggest fans. Our night ended walking home under the Eiffel tower, the perfect way to end a great Christmas.

Although we had a very relaxing Christmas we of course missed all of our friends and family from overseas. We are so grateful for everyone that remembered us during the holidays, with all the cards and packages sent. We are truly blessed to have such caring people in our lives and just so thankful for everyone.

Out riding new scooter on Christmas morning!

Charlie, Lance, Kate and Peyton...love these kids!!

A few days after Christmas we hoped on the train and headed for the French Alps. I am such a fan of the trains in Europe, although we took a fast train to a slower train and then to a much slower train to get up the mountain, I still love the trains. We went to Chamonix which was beautiful. The mountains reminded me a great deal of the Grand Tetons, not quite as beautiful but almost. We got the kids in ski school for a few days, although it was tough. When we got there all the schools told us they were booked and come back next week. Thankfully our hotel had some connections to a school and got the kids in. The one thing we always seem to forget is that we live in France, where customer service is not a priority. Lance had a blast in ski school, at least on the first day. During his first lesson there were only two other kids in his class so his instructor just kept taking them up the mountain. He was exhausted, he loved it. The next day was Monday and it was packed with kids, so they split them all up and kept them in the training area. Lance was so PO'ed Thank God it was only half of day because he was so bored. We made up for it the next day by taking him skiing ourselves and he was so happy again. He is still only on the bunny slopes but doing sooo great. He actually snow plowed me at one point. Peyton started out slow. We dropped her off at ski school the first day with tears and even had to pick her up early. We were concerned to say the least. This girl HAS to love to ski, what will happen if she doesn't??!! No panic, it turned out she just didn't want to go to class. The genius husband I have decided to take her on the slopes himself and she had a blast. Wheww!!! The next day she was all excited about ski school and lasted the entire class. She is a little dare devil. Of course all she wants to do is ski with Lance. Unfortunately Keith and I didn't really ski since the kids were only in ski school for a few hours, which didn't give us must time on our own. We still had fun though. It was a great ski town, after we stopped comparing it to where we usually go. The only thing we regret is not staying longer.

Lance with the mountains...it almost looks fake.

Beautiful town with Mount Blanc in the background

We arrived back to Paris on New Year's eve and all we planned on doing was resting at home. Taking the cab home from the train station all the barricades were set up at the eiffel tower and the Trocadera, police everywhere, getting ready for the new year's eve bash. Is there a New Year's eve bash in Paris? The answer is no. There are advertisements saying that Paris is magical on New Year's eve, the truth is that there are no fireworks, no light shows, not anything. Of course there were masses of people that caused problems at the Trocadera. They also have the tradition of burning cars....crazy!!! Needless to say we stayed in and enjoyed a relaxing night.

The kids are back at school and everyday life is back after a great two week holiday break.

2014 has begun and there are many exciting things to come this year....I can't wait!

Thanks for Reading!!!

Life is good...in Paris

Alicia

P.S. as always I have included some extra pictures at the bottom

December 15, 2013

Thankful for some great times

by Alicia Demmerle

The holiday season is in full gear here in Paris and it is wonderful. The celebration starts extremely early here in Paris, even earlier than the states. It is crazy. The celebrations started with the lighting of the the Champs Elysee. My friend Ashley and her family met us to watch the lighting. Unfortunately the celebrity that was supposed to flip the switch for the lights was on French time and, after waiting about 45 minutes in the freezing cold, we decided to bolt. While walking to the metro, "voi la" they went on. I can say the lights aren't very pretty. They have a rather odd modern art look. The French don't seem to like them either. Oh well, we can check the box now.

Having fun with friends waiting for the lights to go on.

Then came Thanksgiving. We first celebrated Thanksgiving with our church, the American Church of Paris, the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. It was great. Good food, good company, what else can you ask for. The kids also had a blast with all the other kids.

Kids with their buddies at the ACP Thanksgiving.

Then came Thanksgiving day. It was a normal day in Paris but Keith took the day off and we had our cousin Caroline and her friend Geoff in town, which made it so great. They were on leave from their Peace Corp posts in Cameroon. It was so awesome having them here. When we picked up the kids from school, Caroline and I also went to pick up the turkey at the butcher. With the Parisian ovens there was no way I could cook a turkey in it, let along fit it in the oven. The guys in the butcher were so fun and soo nice. We did, however, cook all the trimmings and we couldn't wait to eat. Geoff was great and worked out a direct stream of the Macy's Parade, so everything was perfect!!! Keith got to carve the turkey and we all agreed it was the best cooked turkey we ever had. I never want to cook a turkey again.

Best kind of visitors...ones that do dishes!

We were sad to see Caroline and Geoff go, it was so nice having family here for the holiday and we just had a great time with them.

The following weekend Keith and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, I can't believe it has been 7 years already. We got a babysitter and went for a night on the town. We started the night off at the Budha Bar (Asian fusion restaurant) and ended it walking around the Christmas markets on the Champs Elysee. It was a great night.

The following weekend we headed for Germany. Germany is known for their Christmas markets. There are so many and we decided to head to Munich. We thought between the markets and the beer it would be perfect. We were not disappointed. It was beautiful. Authentic Christmas decorations and ornaments everyone plus all the great German food. Oh yeah and don't forget the mule wine. I wasn't sure I was going to like the mule wine but it was delicious!!! All the different markets there had their own mug and of course I had to have them... I collected a few. We ate, drank, and shopped. It was awesome! The kids had a blast also; they got to go iceskating and swimming. We stayed at a Marriott because they always have pools and the kids always love it. The Munich Marriott we stayed at was one of the most accommodating ever. In the lobby they had little Mini Coopers and BMW's that the kids could drive around. (BMW's home is Munich). It was kind of funny watching the kids just drive around the lobby with a ton of people around. They had a blast. There were so many other fun things, like the Krampus parade where Father Christmas accompanies these scary monsters that look for bad children. It is the creepiest parade; a bunch of scary guys dressed up trying to find the bad kids and take them away. Lance loved it. He thought the guys looked cool. Thank God Peyton was sleeping or she would have been scared to death. They really did pick up children and take them away. Of course they gave the kids back. Here is a link to read more about the tradition: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/12/krampus-saint-nicholas-dark-companion/100639/

Of course we hit the beer gardens of Munich. We first went to the famous Hobrauhaus and then hit a random one the next night (there are just so many). The good thing about beer gardens is that they are soo loud; that way if you have fussy kids no one cares. We also got to meet some great people from Germany, since everyone sits together. The woman loved the kids so much she gave them a huge back of gummy bears. Nicest woman. Oh yeah the second night we met up with Caroline and Geoff again.....love them.

We are looking forward to going back to Germany, maybe in the spring or summer....I can't wait!

Hofbrauhaus!!

Bundled up Peyton...it was cold but nice!

Another cool fountain on the town square.

Cool clock in town center, has littlle performances on the hour.

Bratwurst...our favorite! You can tell these kids are german.

Big market at Town hall.

There is less than two weeks until Christmas and we have been watching all the Christmas shows (thanks to Apple TV) Tomorrow we are headed out to get our Christmas Tree, it will be so different, usually we are cutting down our own but this year we will pick one up at the local store. I am looking forward to my Charlie Brown Parisian Christmas Tree. Although we didn't really bring most of our decorations (I didn't want anything to get lost of broken in the move) I have bought enough in Germany and here in Paris to get by.

I probably won't post again until after Christmas, possibly New Year's so I wish everybody a very Healthy and Happy Holiday. We love and miss you all!!! Looking forward to a fantastic 2014.

I am ending my post with a view that Keith sees everyday walking to work, you really can't beat it.

Thanks for Reading!!

Life is good....in Paris

What a sight!!! You can't get tired of this.