Is it winter or spring here?!

it has rained almost every single day since i have been here since Christmas. BUT the last three days have been B-E-A-Utiful! birds are singing, the river is flowing quickly, the sun is shining, and the wind and rain have stopped! it feels like spring during the day. but at night it is FREEZING!

as far as life at the house...

here is a new picture of paul with the blanket that my mom knit for him. he is responding to gestures and noises, interacting more each day.


francois looks like a gem, but he’s a monster!

guillaume has grown up a lot since we arrived – he acts more like a little boy than an infant and he is starting to take his big brother role seriously.


after Christmas, Sadie and I traded bedrooms – now I have a radiator and a full bed.


and when I open the window I get a whiff of the sewage.

I took this picture of the sunrise from our kitchen window!


later that afternoon I took this picture from my bedroom window - sunshine filtering through the clouds onto our neighbors house on a rainy day!


since I returned four weeks ago, I have sped through eight books! I am so glad I have renewed my love for reading – indulging in fantasy worlds, deepening my spirituality, learning about infectious diseases in haiti. the problem is that I raced through almost all of the books I have and I can’t afford to buy any more – first because I am spending my money traveling and second because I have to carry them all home in three months (I don’t part easily with books). early this week I was chatting with my roommate Sadie, trying to figure how I will fill this void when she suggested I make something. so I am already halfway through a scarf! and she and I have big plans to knit sweaters - finishing just in time for summer vacation.

January 26 was Australia Day. you may wonder what that is. from what I can tell from talking to my Australian roommate, it is a day reserved for fireworks, bbq, and beer. but it's not sure what it is they are celebrating since it certainly is not their independence. regardless, I accompanied Holly to Paris to celebrate the big day with two of her Australian friends. Sadie, our British roommate, also made the journey and invited two of her British friends to come along. We did our best to find an Aussie bar in Paris, but were disappointed to find a cover at the door. so in true youngster fashion, we turned on our heels and found the closest free-entry bar. o’sullivans. we were sure we were in for an international night – America, England, and Australia in an Irish pub. and it only got better when the décor turned out to be Cuban! we had a great night, that is until the diabetic had too many sugary drinks and had to go home, an Aussie had to catch the last metro home, and a Brit got a tummy ache. The next morning I enjoyed a solo walk along the Seine in my favorite coin of Paris – just across the river from Ile St Louis. when we got to the train station I saw loads of people choreographing their luggage through turnstiles and onto escalators. I imagined myself doing the same at the end of my stay here and for the fist time I had a pang of discomfort about leaving. it is going to come faster than I can say “boo” and I will be sad to go. I will miss a lot about life in france. (read: baguettes)
here are some photos from our big night out!

Laura and Sadie – they study together in Bristol. Laura is working at a university in Paris.

Alex and Holly – the Aussies reunited!

Molly, Sadie, Holly - roommates!

Molly and Sadie – they follow their tequila shots with an orange slice covered in cinnamon

Alex, Holly and Hamish – all the Aussies on Australia Day

this past weekend (February 2) I visited Angers with my roommates and Holly’s friend, alex. we caught an early train, had a two-hour stop-over in Le Mans to explore the old city, and arrived in Angers at 12pm. we visited the cathedral, walked around the old city, ate lunch on the river and visited a chateau. there are at least 30 chateaux around Nogent, but this was the first one I have seen. it was nothing special compared to some of the enormous, rich chateaux in the countryside, but the cathedral, tapestries, towers, stairways and birds were neat!

the former residents used birds to hunt – they had a display of mini helmets for the hawks and owls. there are still some birds in captivity there - i dug the owl! also, Sadie and I may have amused ourselves by creating a dialogue between courting pigeons... anyway, we hustled to the train station and got back to Nogent for dinner. a day trip is just right for us – we can still take advantage of our free breakfast and dinner at home (and beds) but we get to be stimulated by real, live French people living in their natural environment.

Molly, Holly, and Sadie on the stairs leading to the Cathedral in Angers


the fortress surrounding the chateau – imagine if we always had clear blue skies like this!


chateau gardens in what should have been the moat


me with the cathedral in the background


a view of the cathedral from a viewfinder on top of the tallest tower


Sadie is enjoying the sunshine

interior chateau gate, between the cathedral and gardens


my buddy, the owl, was just chillin' in his cage. poor guy.


the gardens - these will be even more beautiful in a few months!


you tell me you think I am a superhero – traveling every weekend, eating whole baguettes without a second thought about the carbs, earning pocketfuls of euros while they are stronger than the dollar... well that’s not entirely accurate. I don’t travel EVERY weekend. there was a strike once.

sure, I am taking advantage of the time I have here, but I do miss home sometimes. I missed home a lot this week, especially a spotted cow with olives in it (at the Angelic!), doing my laundry at the Laundromat (that seems like a luxury now that my dirties have to wait in line behind seven other people), showering when I want (again, I have seven roommates, and a 100L hot water tank), eric, my bike, and paying for gas. nope. there are some benefits to living in europe!

during the week we are spending a lot of time with our friends - and I finally have some pictures of them to share!

Maria, Nina, Holly, Phillippe, Rosslyn, Nicolas, Sadie, Fabrice


Fabrice, Phillippe, Nina, Holly, Sadie


Fabrice and Holly


Nina, Molly, Sadie



Phillippe


Thanks to Kelly, Annelise, Travis and Sara, Jenny, and Abby for the letters! Oh and Die Bahn, but I had to pay you to send me a piece of paper...

I'll write more when I get back from my vacation at the end of the month!