done

So I am ready to be done being an au pair.
india. india. india!

germany

yes it has taken me a while to post about germany. sadly it was too short of a trip to be able to say much. it was a 6 hour drive. we made our first stop in Koln where I got to see the Famous catherderal of Koln that I have never heard of... but now I know! And also the river of course and it oddly looked a lot like the Portland Esplande... except german.
Nicole lives an hour away from Koln in a quaint town called Menden. We stayed at her sisters place with her beautiful baby boy Luka - who I kept calling Evan because my brain directed its cericuts to my cousin Luka and Vanessa whos baby is Evan.. voila
Nicoles birthday was the friday we drove and I got her some big books of photography. One of Man Ray's work and the other just a big coffee table book with color photography.
The first night we spent with her family at her grandmas place where I sat out on the balcony and after some wine they were teaching me german. it was great.

Cathedral. It was too big to get a full photo.
It had flying buttresses mom!

Antoinne (Nicoles boyfriend) got this. It was discusting...

Nicoles sister and baby


The Second night we went out with Nicoles friends.

Yes it was great!

Hopefully I will be able to go back to Germany for longer than 2 days and play with Nicole and her friends. Maybe before I head back for home.
I got my ticket to India for July. Less than 2 months away WHOOO.
au pairing has become quite boring.
This next week will be nice though! Nathalie leaves tomorrow morning for Le Festival de Cannes so I get to play MOM. It will be a relaxing few days for everyone in the house as Nathalie makes everyone feel they might mess up something.
Than Thuresday morning we leave for Duville in Normandy.
I will bring my computer. hopefully it will work.
I will stock up on my free Hermes parfume from the maid carts!

Oh my mike doesnt work really for my computer I have discovered after an hour trying to figure out why poeple cant hear me on the other end. But I will ask the father if he has a mike that I could use or I will just got buy a mike mike. sans camera.
But thanks to you who have called me!

love
a.

Mc Skype!

HOLY CRAP. skype is the coolest thing in the world
so i was buying the thing so i can call unlimited in the whole world for only 10 dollars a month and than it says " do you want a phone number? you get 50% off cause you bought something else" so i said "hmph" and i read about it and it means all of my friends and family in portland can now call me as long as my skype account is on and its the same if you are calling someone next door from your cell. my number is even the same area code.

971 232 5951

so like when i call you at night and you miss the call that number will show up and you can just call me back. if i dont answer that means
a. i am asleep so dont call back
b. my skype account is off.

wow
cool.
it was only 10 dollars too! for 3 months!

wow

Date home... vers september
blog of germany coming soon. i have to finish this book; Eragon. its really amazing.
tomorrow... or thuresday.

did i miss mothers day? Sunday it was mothers day in germany but not in france. i didnt know dates like those changed depending on the country.
hint. germany has the lush and greeness i missed.

sausage-a-go-go

This post is dedicated to my papa bear. Happy Birthday (sort of belated yes)
We had a good chat a few minutes ago but he had to go to a webinar.
webinar.





I was able to get this weekend free to spend it with my favorite Nicole and Antoinne in Germany for Nicoles 26th birthday! We are driving this friday morning for 6 hours and than I will be back late Sunday night.
Than Wednesday through Sunday I will be going to Normandy with my family to the same hotel. My friend Mariam will possibly be there as well so that will help relieve any stress since I will be with Nathalie ALL DAY pretty much.
Than there are a few other things happening which I will blog about as they pass.

Nathalie came home with a pair of shoes the other day....
She says to me excitedly "want to see the most amazing shoes in your life"?
I say "YES". knowing that they are going to be epic
and yes they were;
Below are some ideas of hers. I couldnt actually find the exact image of them as THERE ARE ONLY 5 PARIS IN THE WORLD. They are Louis Vuitton but designed by Marc Jacobs who I didnt know actually started out working for LV. Anyway, her shoes are a work of art and look like they went through an african jungle 5 times.
She has a friend that works at Louis Vuitton and calls her when things like these come to the store and her friend saves them for her because as Nathalie said "She knows I'm crazy".
She said that Madonna has one pair and than some french Actress and 2 other people AND NATHALIE.
CRAZY.




crazy.

Soooooooooo I will take many photos in Germany and tell you allllllllll about my lovely weekend surrouneded by my new favorite language. german.
yes

Whales

Simular idea as the image above portrays.. except minus the whales and add in the sheep. bountiful sheep & lambs. I said this to many poeple upon my return today when asked about Wales (yes I discovered the correct spelling!), there were many many lambs and sheep and they are my new found favorite animals. I listened to them talking in the field next to our house and could even desifer the different accents and tones of their "baahh's".
Post Wales I really didnt know what to expect. Upon my mother and father's arrival I was given my new favorite book, Eve Green. This was a good shot gun introduction to what was to come; braken and that other plant that in the summer turns the fields violet whose name is escaping me.


I guess I should back track some. Yes maman and papa came the week before Wales. We spent a delightful week wandering Paris.

I did have to work half of the week but we still got some time in together. We visited the Meusee D'Orsay but it did not meet my mothers epectation as the paintings she wanted to see had been sold to the Chicago art insitute; Claude Monets Lillies and Hay stacks as well as some others I think. However it was good for me to finally get into a famous meseum that featured many famous other artsy things.


We also made a visit to Monet's actual house and grave which has been obviously manicured.

Thrilling grave as you can see.

We ate well with help from the markets near by their humble abobe.
This photo was my idea and turned out to be a winner in my opinion.

best sausage in the world that I scoured the shops for that created an excellent
final meal in France.

Most of the poeple looking at my blog also are looking at couisin Vanessa, Nick and baby Evan's blog as well and will see simular photos. But for those of you who this is a new thing here are many photos.

This is our Welsh cottage as well as papa and Dave sight seeing in the backyard.




Maman, papa and Vanessa took a very difficult hike and I wish I went on it but my mother says that it would have been too difficult and I didnt have the best shoes for it. But even though it would have been hard it would be worth it after I saw their photos....
























Oh I learned how to gut and clean fish! Thanks to papa. I went to a fish farm with Jenny, Dave and Vanessa. I watched the guy catch the fish and than he just bopped them on the head.















It was a very good vacation to get away and really relax and spend time with family. I got to meet baby Evan for the first time and get to know him. The day we left they were going to feed him his first real food! So I have two more months till summer holiday and than I will be going to India for the month of July and than after that I am playing with an idea to go do this pilgrimage in spain for a week or two where you just walk and its suppsosed to clense your mind or something. I will let you know.

a.

thrills &

I bought Claude Monet's hat and we stood where he painted.
Great weather in Paris - excellent choice for the dates to visit.
much stumbling and tumbling on the sidewalks.
Wales tomorrow.
A proper blog soon to come