Posts
Three Houstons in the House
Sarah came at the beginning of May to visit us and to finally see the Eiffel Tower (the girl has been dreaming of the thing since she was a wee mite). She got a whole lot more out of this trip than she bargained for, I think. Despite cold and rainy weather during her first week here, she put on her walking shoes and saw the town. Here we are doing the quintessential cafe meal at a little place right across from Notre Dame:
After a week in Paris, I spirited Sar away to the south of France for a little girls' rendez-vous with the McCombs women, Karen and Jamie. We left the filthy and foul Paris weather for a little Aix-en-Provence sunshine and enjoyed pastis, rosé and our nice hotel patio for three days of heaven.
After one night back in Paris, all three Houstons left for a four day trip through the Loire Valley. We rented a car and drove around to the castles. We had GORGEOUS weather and a lot of excitement, including getting the car stuck in the mud and having a tractor pull us out! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that, but I do have some other nice shots.
Santorini, i.e. HEAVEN
Two days after Sarah left, we left too-- headed this time to meet up with the Harmons and the Kavaileros in Greece. Dimitri and Sara arranged the whole trip, and we could not have had a better time. Santorini is absolutely beautiful. We watched the sunset every night from our balcony overlooking the Aegean sea. We chartered a boat for an afternoon of sailing, swimming, and sunning. We laid on the black sand beaches and drank mojitos made by the very nice and very competent, Dionysos. In short, it was the best vacation I think I've ever been on. When do we go back?
Bauchieros in Paris
Two days after returning from our Grecian holiday, Kerry and Ryan Bauchiero came to visit. We had a lot of fun exploring Paris together, including a chocolate tour of the Right Bank's lesser known yet completely delicious chocolatiers. Let's just say that was definitely the perfect way to start their visit. Ryan and Kerry are such sports, they even agreed to ride the Velib-- Paris's rent-a-bikes. There's nothing like risking your life in Paris traffic to get the blood pumping or to get a real Parisian experience.
So, the guests are gone and I'm tired! It was a great month, not the least reason being that Jon found out yesterday that he's going to be completing his internship at the Ritz! That's right-- the Ritz hotel in Paris! I am so proud of him and all he's accomplished in the six months we've been here. I certainly can't wait to see what the next six hold for us.
