Connected in Motion

Hi everyone,

Sorry my posts have been lacking again but I really haven't been up to too much and the weather has been awful so not too many pictures either. No news is good news at this point and I am still really having a great time.

I do however have a post in me that really has nothing to do with France... As some of you know, this summer I went on a 5 day hike with a group of 14 people who, like me, have type 1 diabetes. It was a really amazing experience for me because up to this point, I really hadn't been in contact with other diabetics and I didn't even realize how much it would help me out to know people who go through the same things as me every single day. I guess in a way, it has everything to do with France because it really prepared me for this upcoming year. I met some incredible people that I intend to stay in touch with, and hopefully I will continue to meet up with them and other type 1's. Connected in Motion, the organization that planned the trip, did a bunch of these types of trips across Canada this summer and they have just recently uploaded a really awesome video that I hope you guys will check it out. All the videography was done by Hank Devos, an extremely talented diabetic!

Unfortunately I can't figure out how to post the video on the blog but here is the youtube address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCqpMnrXjGc

This is really it for now!!

Love you all,

xox M

Rodin, Notre Dame and Louvre

Dave and I let a british lady take our picture in front of The Gates of Hell.... Unfortunately she cut out the top, and its a bit crooked.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame from the side
Rodin's "Cathedral" This is my favorite piece that we saw today.
Dave doing some thinking with "The Thinker"

Today was a really great day. Well, it started off not great and then got really good.

I woke up this morning and had a quick bite to eat in the house before setting off to the train station that is 5 minutes from the house. Unfortunately I made a wrong turn pretty much as soon as I walked out the door and I ended up taking 30 minutes to get there. I also asked probably 6 different people where I was going. Luckily, I managed to make it on the train and then the metro and then to the Musee D'Orsay only 5 minutes later than planned.

Dave had only been waiting a few minutes so everything worked out well. We decided to start our day at the Musee Rodin, instead of the Musee D'Orsay, because the line was looking pretty big and we were really up to do anything. The Musee Rodin was really amazing, tons of Auguste Rodin's sculpture, including the famous ones "The Thinker" and "The Gates of Hell." It was a really nice day and a lot of the sculptures were outside in the garden but there was a big party being set up so unfortunately we didn't have access to everything. We left the Museum about 11:30 and headed toward the hotel where Dave was staying because he had left his brother to sleep for the morning and we went to pick him up before we continued on.

We walked back to the Musee D'Orsay but figured since it was such a nice day, we would try to stay outside instead of spending the day in the museum. We walked down to where the boats are on the Seine and got on a boat called a Batobus. Basically, this boat does a continuous trip around the main attractions of Paris and you are welcome to get on and off as you please throughout the day. It was a good way to get around, as well as check out some of the views from the Seine.

We stayed on the boat until Notre Dame and Ile de la Cite where we got off and walked around the cathedral and took a few photos. We then went to a nice little cafe and had a gelato. I got fig flavored and the guys both got raspberry. They were delicious!

After we finished our gelato, we got back on the Batobus and continued on to the Louvre. We didn't go inside the museum, we just sat down in the amazing gardens and rested our legs for a bit. After the lawn mower threatened to run us over, we got up and moved on. We walked for a long time into St Germain Des Pres and found a Laduree tea shop where obviously, we had to go in and buy macarons!! I got a Pain D'epices (gingerbread) and a caramel a la fleur de sel and they were both amazing!

After all of this fun, it was getting close to time for me to head home so I hopped on the closest metro and luckily found my way home without a problem! I made it back to La Garenne just in time to pick up Philippine from school.

The day was really successful and I enjoyed my first taste of Paris, sans jetlag! I am really itching to get to the Musee D'Orsay now though so I hope I can do that in the next few weeks.

Anyways, I am a bit tired now and my feet are pretty sore. I am going to head to bed,

Love you all, xoxo M

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is the birthday of my lovely mother so I would like to dedicate this post to you mom.

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays today and a very healthy upcoming year.

Love you so much and wish I could be there tonight to celebrate with you.

Love M

The Past Week

First Picture of Philippine
The back yard and the house
Lunch in the Jardin

Dear Friends and Family,

I have been a terrible blogger for the past week, and for that I would like to apologize. To be perfectly honest, things haven't been too exciting, so I haven't had that much to tell you about but I will do my best to recap what has been going on.

I believe the last time I wrote was last saturday morning, so I will start there.

The weather was awesome last weekend, getting all the way up to 30 degrees! We were able to eat lunch outside both saturday and sunday which was really amazing. I have posted a picture of our table in the back garden. On Sunday afternoon, I went to a forum in the community centre for all the activities and sports they have here. Unfortunately, there was really nothing that jumped out, and mostly everything was geared towards kids. I really need to keep looking because I am realizing that all this cheese and good bread is going to catch up to me!

This week was a pretty good example of how things are going to be from now on, because it was the kid's first full week of school. The only difference was that on Monday night, Xavier left for a work trip. He is gone for 11 days, and in that time going to Seoul, Beijing, back to Seoul and then to San Francisco. From what I have been told and from my experience, it takes about a day for every hour of time difference to recuperate from Jet Lag (aka it took 9 days for me). I wouldn't even know where to start to calculate how long it is going to take him to get back to normal!

Cecile also had a pretty big week at work, as she had to do a big presentation at a conference that was taking place here in Paris. She had a lot of late nights with clients who were here from out of town, and then she'd get up super early in order to practice for her speech.

Wednesday was Philippine's first day of horseback riding and according to her mom, she has been talking about it since May. I was a little nervous because she is 6 years old and I was told they'd be getting right on the horses that day. I then found out they were riding Shetland Ponies and was very relieved.

Probably the most exciting part of my week is that I made my first friend. I know that is really pathetic but honestly up to now, my only friends are 11 and 6 and its a bit lonely. Her name is Tarah and she is from Sydney, Australia. She is an Aupair also, for a family that has 4 kids, 2 of which go to the same school as Philippine. She is also going to be attending the same French school as me, only she speaks no French at all so we aren't going to be in the same class. On Thursday afternoon, we went together to our school and I wrote a placement test. My classes are going to be tuesday and Friday mornings at 8 am. That is very early for me, and I have recently been informed that there is a lot of snow in the winter here so I am doing my best to not think about how cold I am going to be when I have to leave the house at 7 in December!!

The school seems pretty cool and Its really easy to get to. Just one bus and 2 different metro trains. I also got to choose a subject in which to take an additional lecture, and I decided to take Art History. I am really excited, but unfortunately, school doesn't start for another 3 weeks.

I have tried to take pictures, but the weather hasn't been great since last weekend, and I have yet to figure out how to take nice pictures in the rain! I will work on it and hopefully post some more soon.

This week I have a meeting and medical exam in order to get the final piece done for my Visa. I am also meeting Dave Carter on Tuesday at the Musee D'Orsay so I am really looking forward to seeing another familiar face as well as going into Paris to see some more of this great city!

All in all, everything is pretty good here and I will do my best to get better at blogging!

Love you all very lots and starting to miss everyone a bit more too!

xoxox M

P.s. If anyone wants to send me some Peanut Butter, I would love it! I can't seem to find it here haha, they only have Nutella.

Chez Leon

Last night I went out for dinner with Claire MacEwing and her family. It was so nice to speak english and see familar faces. I also had my first experience taking the metro and bus by myself! I had to take a 20 minute bus ride from the house and then I got on the metro for 3 stops. When I got off the metro I was a bit turned around because the street signs aren't always easy to see but I had drawn myself a map and I managed alright. When I finally got there I was so happy to have figured it out on my own!

The MacEwings told me all about their holiday, they had just spent 2 weeks at Ile d'Oleron which is a beachy island, I think on the Southern coast of France. It sounds amazing. They had also spent a few days in Paris and had been to Versaille which is something I can't wait to do.

I had lamb for dinner and it was delicious, it had been a while since I'd had lamb because mom doesn't like it but it was so good. I also had a strawberry salad for dessert. There were fresh strawberries with chopped basil and balsamic vinegar. It was such a tasty combo.

After dinner I took the metro back with the MacEwings because they were headed the same direction. Unfortunately when I got to the bus stop, I found out they had stopped running. I had to call Xavier and he came to pick me up. I was about 10 minutes from the house but I felt terrible for not knowing what time the busses stopped. I will have to remember that for next time I decide to come home later at night. Anyways It was a great night and I am so happy to have met up with them. I am hoping to relax this weekend, go to the market and also hopefully do some exploring in Paris tomorrow.

I have changed my email to margauxburns@gmail.com if any of you want to update me on how you have been also!

Love you,

M

I know it has been a few days since I have posted so I am sorry! I have been busy trying to help get the kids ready for their first day at school, and visiting with their grandparents also. I will fill you in quickly on what I have been up to the last few days. On Monday, Arnaud and I went into Paris with the intention of going to the Palais de Decouverte. From what I read, its kinda like Science World (Telus World Of Science MOM!). When we got their, we found out it was closed but it is right at the bottom of the Champs Elysee so we walked up there instead. It was really busy, but Arnaud showed my some cool stores and then we went back to the house. I am getting a bit more comfortable finding my way around, but its still nice to have a tour guide.

On tuesday afternoon, Philippine finally came home after being at her Grandparents house for a holiday. She is really sweet just like the other 2 and missing her 2 front teeth!

She had been staying with Cecile's parents at their house in Nantes, which is about 4 hours away by car. The 2 of them drove her back and stayed at the house for a few days too.

They are about the same age as Grandma and Grandpa and very similar. They love their grandchildren a lot!

On Tuesday night we had a little party at the house and Xavier's parents came too. They only live about 5 minutes away but it was nice to meet them too. We had champagne, and some appetizers and then for dessert I finally got to try my first french macaron. I had a chocolate one and a pistachio one and they were delicious!!

Wednesday was kind of a day to relax and make sure all the kids had everything they needed before their first day. Cecile and Xavier took Alex to his boarding school, its in Champagne, and I hung out with Arnaud and Philippine and their grandparents. We went for a little bike ride around the neighbourhood which turned out to be a little scary because Philippine decided to ride on the other side of the road. All was fine and Arnaud and I made sure she stayed in between us for the rest of the ride.

Yesterday was a big day all over France as all the schools reopened and the kids started classes again. Philippine was adorable with her brand new Hello Kitty backpack and little ballerina flats. I walked her to school with Cecile and then came home and read for a little while, then me and Mami walked back to get her for lunch and then dropped her off again after lunch and I said good bye to the grandparents. I met Arnaud at Philippines school at 4 30 and then we came home and played a game, had dinner and the 2 of them went to bed.

I did get to meet another Aupair yesterday at the school, her name is Megan and she's from Australia, but unfortunately she isn't staying and she should be heading back to Australia in the next coming weeks. I didn't ask why but Cecile is friend with the family and she said something about the girls parents calling to tell her they had a job for her at home. Either way its too bad because I could use a friend here!!

Tonight I am meeting Claire MacEwing and her family for dinner in Paris. I am so excited to see some familiar faces and hear about their trip. I'll post again soon, I promise!

Love,

M