Police Barricades & Night Explosions with 6 Kids The reason we had to dash-away-Cinderella-style at the stike of 10 was to get down to the big park in Uriage for le pièce de résistance of the evening…Fireworks.  They were supposed to start at 10, and we started our rapid decent down the mountain at about 9:59, so we were…

Le Bal There were signs up around town for the local bal.  When we told the kids, the girls were quite excited as they heard “a royal ball, just like in Cinderella” and not “a small dance in town square with some people from the village and a cover-rock band.” But rest assured, no one…

A Day in Uriage We spent Saturday waling around the town of Uriage-les-Bains, which is the area we are hoping to find a place to stay.   Uriage is a resort town of sorts- with a thermal-healing hot springs (which also has a line of cosmetic products made form it) and is just a really…

We spent Saturday waling around the town of Uriage-les-Bains, which is the area we are hoping to find a place to stay.   Uriage is a resort town of sorts- with a thermal-healing hot springs (which also has a line of cosmetic products made form it) and is just a really nice place.   We…

Chateau de Vizille Yesterday we took a little drive over to the town of Vizille just down the valley for a little outing in the parc around the chateau.  It was more amazing than either of us had remembered. The chateau itself is magnificent, and the grounds are – well, fit for royalty (go figure)…

Here’s what we got: a (mostly) lovely Opel Zafira.   Opel is apparently a German car. The Zafira is a cool sort of half-way-between-hatch-back-and-mini-van.  It’s basically a decent sized 5-seater – but two smaller seats flip up in the back so it can seat 7 if you need (so yes – 2 of you can…

Car Buying Day! Today we went out to buy a car.  Should only take an hour or so right?  Oh no no no Monsieur, c’est la France! We got lost on our way to this little town way up in the mountains – and the guy had to drive to find us and lead us…

For today’s outing we walked down the mountain a ways to pick blackberries in front of a friends house. We took our 3 kids plus the Simoni’s 3 kids for a hike to get there. We picked enough for a large blackberry crisp for desert -and have about half left.  On the way the kids…

Here are some more shots of our first few days in France.  We are having a great time staying at the Simoni Chateau.  They have bunnies, a trampoline, a zip-line, a huge yard, and a farm next door.  Yesterday we went down to the park in Uriage where there was a live jazz concert going…

Yesterday Mary Ellen took me to a local farm where she usually goes once a week to buy her produce.  It was a vegetarian’s dream!  For only 10 euro I bought a huge crate filled with assorted veggies.  Fresh garden-grown eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, several heads of lettuce, topped with tonnes of basil.  …

      Yesterday Mary Ellen took me to a local farm where she usually goes once a week to buy her produce. It was a vegetarian’s dream! For only 10 euro I bought a huge crate filled with assorted veggies. Fresh garden-grown eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, several heads of lettuce, topped with tonnes…

sometimes a long vomitous journey.   3hrs in the car. 3 flights for 13 hours 3.5 hour by train plus transfers, waiting etc. = 31hrs 45min door to door We’ve made it here. Despite puking kids (2), time zone changes (8), and missing a day of sleep – everyone is doing pretty good. The kids…

3hrs in the car. 3 flights for 13 hours 3.5 hour by train plus transfers, waiting etc. = 31hrs 45min door to door We’ve made it here.  Despite puking kids (2), time zone changes (8), and missing a day of sleep – everyone is doing pretty good.  The kids played today with their new friends…