L'aventure américaine

The days are not packed here, but just full enough to keep us happy and rested. The heat is intense, especially in the afternoon, so we have aimed to do most of our site-seeing in the morning, leaving the afternoon for naps and pool time and leisurely dinners.  Yesterday, we drove to Orange to see the Theatre Roman. Is is a beautifully preserved Roman theater that is still in use for outdoor concerts. It has the best preserved acoustic wall on the stage and you can image the Roman spectacles, from bawdy to religious. There was a wonderful audio tour and it was interesting trying to describe to Marian what 2000+ years old really means. We had a delicious lunch in the shade and then went to the small museum across from the arena afterward. The Popes and Mom headed back to the house for naps, while the Jochims stayed in Orange for a bit. Dinner was delicious - out on the patio and we watched Spain beat Portugal. Today we went to the market in La Vaison-La-Romaine, which is one of the ...

The heat and World Cup hindered my blog posts for the last couple of days.  We had a great beach day in Nice- although we might have been a touch ragged at the end of the day. The sun is strong here! We also enjoyed a hop-on hop-off bus tour and got a good Birds Eye view of the city and Villefranche-sur-Mer. The water was perfect and the kids were tired and all around success.  Some of us were not as cheerful. Yesterday, Charles and I took an early jaunt to the beach and collected sea glass for Randal (who couldn’t handle the early trip). We checked out of Nice and headed to Antibes, a charming little town only 30 minutes away. We walked along the ramparts, ate crepes, and tried not to overheat.  This picture was posed… this time. When I decided we were ready for an air conditioned drive, we got in the car and headed to Provence for our charming town, La Vaison-la-Romaine. Our house is on the hill with a gorgeous view of the town and Mont Veuve and a pool to entertain the...

I set my alarm this morning so I wouldn’t sleep so late. There are adventures to be had in Nice and I wouldn’t want to miss them! Yesterday was a slow morning. Or slow for Randal and I anyway. It was Elisabetta‘s birthday and hopefully she had a good one! Charles had gotten croissants and pastries for all of us and we had a leisurely morning as we decided what to do. Art museums! Enjoying stellar public transit, we made our way to the Chagall Museum. He really is my favorite. Such joy and such celebration of love. My favorites were the room with five paintings about love and the painting where Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, which was joyful and beautiful, celebrating motherhood!  Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the paradise one- but this another that I loved. The kids’ favorite was likely the cat at the bag check point. And I had to have a talk with them (re: Marian) about doing things that other people wanted to do patiently because there were 9 people to pleas...

Ack! I just drafted a message and it got an error.  So, will fill in the gaps later- but here are some photos from yesterday. We’re all together and it’s lovely. 

We are in the home stretch. Last 10 minutes of the drive.  It was a good trip home. Our flight was delayed, but it allowed for a leisurely morning and slow (agonizing) goodbye.  The flight was good and Delta paid for a hotel for us (and made the reservations). We got to stay in the infamous TWA hotel (infamous to randal- I had never heard of it) in JFK and it was fabulous.  We then had our last flight home this morning. Mom is ready to see dad. Milo will start 2nd grade tomorrow. I will rush to get my class prepped for next week. Marian will be back to the routine. Randal is scrambling to catch up on work.  So, for now…. Ciao. A presto. 

 It's late and I'm tired. We also went to Murano today to see glass-blowing. Tomorrow these eyes will be full of tears. So, glassy-eyed indeed. This will be short as I need to head to bed. Quick update... Randal and I spent our last anniversary morning in Venice: I shopped and he went to another exhibition. We took the train and happily met the rest of the crew in the great hotel that Mom booked (with the utterly forgettable name: NH Padova). Mom had made reservations at Scrovegni Chapel: one of Giotto's masterpieces and some significant firsts: first "love" kiss among others. Our stay was fabulous and too short. We had a delicious dinner and were exhausted, so headed back home. Train back to the kiddos. Pumped for Scrovegni Chapel Marian lost a little enthusiasm for the chapel on the way. Incredible chapel. See Kenda for details. (She bought the book.) Darth Vader looms large even in Italy Kitty family, house, cars, and the cutest 7-year-old ever. Happy and full....