I loved Paris a LOT

I am back from Paris!

I had such a nice time there. Rog showed me all around the city. It was great.

Here is what we did basically:

Saturday, drove to Paris, got there, went to the apartment and then walked to the eiffel tower. It is only a few blocks away. AMAAAZING. Then we got dinner, and went to bed beacuse we were quite tired!

Sunday morning started with pain chocolate. basically the best breakfast food ever. think crossiant meets chocolate. Then we strolled down the street to the Eiffel tower to wait in quite a long cue, but it was definitely worth it. We walked until you weren't allowed to walk anymore. Quite a lot of steps. Then after that, we went on this thing called the BatoBus, which is a boat tower on the Seine river, and we saw: Tour Eiffel, Musee d'Orsay, St-Germain-des-Pres, Notre Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hotel de Ville, the Louvre, and Champs-Elysees. Basically really cool.

THEN we went and met Perrine's freind Sophie for lunch for FALAFELS in the Jewish neighborhood of Paris. A lovely area. After walking for 10 miles that day, we had another great dinner, and went to bed.

MONDAY again started with pain chocolate. The best invention of food. Ok, then we went and rented these bikes that they have everywhere, and jsut rode ALL around Paris. For about 15 miles. I know. Me doing any sort of exercise for 15 miles? But I did! 2 days in a row! We went up to Mont Marte and a million other places. Ok im getting tired of writing so you must be getting tired of reading. Here are some pictures!!

This is the view from our apartment window.

Here's me on the Tower.

Notre Dame

Arch d'triumph!

Thats a bit for now!

Love you all and miss you.

quiet day.

Today was a nice day. I went into Vence for a bit with Lou and Perrine, but after that, we all just stayed close to home. This is such an amazing place. Sometimes I just sit outside and stare into the sea. My love for tomatoes is great here. We go through probably 1000 every weekThat is until Lou comes and jumps on me. She is a precious girl. I am beginning to see how hard it will be to leave. Maybe by then she will be sick of me. I can't imagine leaving now though. I do miss my family a lot. But the Sherwoods are great too. Lou is teaching me a lot. She makes me read one book in english and one in french everynight. It's probably good for me. . Ha. Let's not forget about Ben though. He is probably the sweetest kid I know. So kind and patient. He has been sick and it is so hard to watch such a great kid be under the They will never be able to ruin this place though. The house next door to us is always playing really loud music. Like pump yourself up for a big race or Michael Jackson or something. Yesterday Lou and I looked through the fence to see who it was, and it was a little boy dancing in his room and doing exercies. It makes the horribly loud music bareable :)
Goodnight. It is time for a shower. I have 42 pages left in my book :)

Mom, Dad, Brother. I love you guys a lot.

Antibes!

Today we spent the first half of the day in Antibes. My favorite place we have gone so far. Every place is close, but they are all so different! Antibes has sandy beaches, unlike the rest, which are rocky. So that is nice. The old town is really nice, but so is the... not old town. Lots of history there too. Picasso lived there for a bit. We went and looked at the marina and some of the yachts were just RIDICULOUS!

I'm getting to know the neighborhood pretty well. I'm loving my nightly walks. So beautiful here.

Here are some pictures for you.

This is Antibes. The beaches are sandy. The alps the mountains furthest back. What a life!

The Picasso museum in Antibes.

A famous fort. I don't remember the name. Right by the marina.
Alright. Say hello to America for me. I miss it a bit.

Je taime.

Let's see. Yesterday we spent another nice day in Nice. I'm beginning to recognize my way around a bit more now. Walked around a bit, then for the evening, Lou and I spent a couple hours at the beach! Today Lou and I played at home. We did 20 puzzles, played a Dora card game for HOURS and colored probably 30 coloring pages. Lou and Ben have taught me a lot of French. My vocabulary consists of words like... I want, I need, I am, those types of things, plus colors, numbers, general hello thank you good bye greetings, and any word you could think of that would relate to Dora or coloring or any other game we play :)

I just tucked Lou into bed with a story. She kindly asked "would you like me to choose an english one?" I laughed and said si vous plait, but she denied that, so I read the diez little coccinelles (ten little ladybugs) in french. I suppose i'm improving a bit!

Overall, I love it here. I can't imagine a better family to be staying with. It is great getting to know them all better. Plus, looking at the Mediterranean Sea everytime I look out the window isn't horrible either :)

Tomorrow we go to Antibes!

Oh. Mom here are some pictures for you :)

A photo I took yesterday in Nice. ^

Me and Lou at the fountain in Nice. Place Massena.

My new twin :)

Bonjour.

I don't have much to add today. Since it was Sunday, I didn't have to work, and because I'm still getting used to this place, I wasn't feeling up to leaving town on my own. And, there was a bit of a foot problem with the little boy and I stayed home with the little ogirl while the rest of the fam went to get Ben taken care of. She was thrilled to have me to her self. Last night I went to a Jazz festival with the parents. It's great how much they treat me as a freind/visitor rather than someone they are paying to take care of the kids. The kids spent the day/night at their grandparents and we adults got to have our own fun. Tomorrow we are going back to Nice to shop and stuff. Ben's birthday is in 11 days. He has been counting down since 35 days. I like my nightly walks. Here are some pictures I took today from Lou's bedroom window.

The one above is St. Paul de Vence. The one below are just more houses:)

Thanks for reading. I miss you all a lot.

hey emily, want to go to italy?

Today this morning we went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea for a couple hours. It was sooo nice. Like a pool, but it was a bit tricky becasue the beach is stones. I played volleyball a bit with Ben, and swam too. Then we went home and had our typical lunch. Then, I rested! I took a nap and read and showered. Perrine's mother adn father live in Cagnes s mer right on the beach. The kids are there tonight while Perrine, Rog and I go to a Jazz festival in the city. Should be fun. I had a whole conversation about Jelly fish with Perrine's mother in French! I got a bit sunburned, but I applied sun cream every half hour at least. It was crazy. I went to the french "super market" this afternoon with Rog. It was an expereince... ha. Everything is just so crazy here. The lifestyle is soooo laid back and relaxed but everyone goes so fast in public. Driving is out of control fast on tiny roads. and the same was in the supermarket. Today when we were driving back to the house, Rog asked me "would you like to go to Italy?" So I said yes. It is less than a half hour away, so we will go soon. We couldn't go this afternoon becasue of the festival we are going to. We are also going to Paris next weekend. Perrine's brother has a condo five minues walk from the Eiffel Tower, in central paris and he is gone in Vietnam so we will stay there. Wow. this place is great. Rog told me I wouldnt be too much of a tourist if I started taking more pictures, so I think I will. FAMILY I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU AND WILL CALL YOU SOON!

ohhhh how i love the south of france.

This will be a quick one because I am tired.

Today we walked around old and new Nice. It is just beautiful. I haven't taken many pictures becasue when I am with the family, I just don't feel very touristy. When I explore on my own on the weekends, I will take more pictures. But here is a picture of Old Nice:

Here is a picture of the sea:

We walked around there for a couple hours, came back here and had lunch. the kids were pretty tired, i've been wearing them out, so we rested this afternoon. And when I say rested, I mean we played uno and the wii and ate chocolat. We picked over 500 plums yesterday. We also de-stoned them today. That was fun. HA. Ben and I dominated it.

I survived my first French dinner party tonigth. The Sherwoods had friends over and it was fun. A five course meal in French. A little bit in English to include me, but I followed a long pretty well. I'm finding that I can understand a lot more than I think. Speaking with the kids is great practice. It is easier for me to do that and ask the children for help with words.

Well i'm tired.

We are going swimming in the sea in the morning, so I should get rested. Then a music festival cote d' azur at night. I am done working for the week, but will probably stay close this weekend becasue I don't know yet what to do on the weekends!

A bientot!

oui!

I am speaking more French today.

The day started out just like the others. Crossaints and fruit out on the terrace. I could get used to this.

Then we went into the old town of Vence (different than St. Paul de Vence if you are interested). We walked around a bit and got our cheese, meat and fruits for the day. A daily routine. The town is from the 15th century. Pretty awesome.

Then Rog and the kids and I went to their friends house up otuside the old town to swim. They have a beautiful villa with an orchard, so we picked fruit as well.

Then the kids and I played a bit while the parents worked. I'm getting good at speaking with the kids because we just repeat things. Ben is doing a great job at teaching me. He is turning 8 in 13 days! We have a countdown going.

The kids are asleep now, its 8 so I may go on a walk or something. Rog goes running at the sea often so I will start going with him. They basically are amazing and so hospitable. I can't see why they are paying me! They spend/do more for me than I amdoing at all!

They are great.

Tomorrow we go swim in the sea i believe.

Au revoir!

Emily

Here is a picture of vence:

today I had a water fight in the south of france.

Allright children,

This is the best place in the world.

I love it.

I woke up this morning to find the mediteranean sea outside the window.

The house is old and sweet on top of the hill, and everyroom downstairs opens up with a door to a porch that connects to the terrace. So, I walk outside and Perrine (the mom) and Lou and Ben (the kids) are sitting at the table. Perrine went out earlier and bought 9 different kinds of pastries and breads, and so we had breakfast with a whole bunch of different fruits and jams. They buy fresh fruits and breads everyday. AH! While looking at the sea. What a life. Even more exciting, Perrine was wearing shorts and a tank top (thats for you mom). Everyone told me no one in France wore those and I would stick out as an American.

I'm speaking a bit of French already, mostly with the kids. I get intimidated easily. But when I went on a walk tonight, Imet a nice lady and she spoke with me.

Ok basically all I do all day is eat bread, fruit, and cheese and play with the kids. We have been playing lots of football (soccer) and uno. We were hoping to swim in the sea today but there were too many jellyfish so we were warned not to! Tomorrow we are going to the old town to see everything.

A tout a l'heure!

Here are some pictures from today:

Ben avec Lou.

Lou avec moi:

Au revoir.

i learned all the numbers and colors today playing uno

I am in France!

It is beautiful here.

I'll fill you in tomorrow, I have been up for a day and a half. Can't figure this time change/jet lag thing out.

But, Nice is great. We had dinner over looking the mediteranean sea on their terrace in the back yard. haha. heres a picture.

In exactly one week, I will be on an airplane to Amsterdam, then to Nice. I am basically freaking out. But it will be so much fun. Today is the perfect summer day in Portland. After I worked this morning, my brother came over for lunch and the ICECREAM MAN came! So, we had our lunch then went on a walk with our dog and ate our icecream. I am sad to be leaving Portland and my family. But I know France will be fun and the Sherwoods are a great family too!

I just had coffee with my good friend Amegame. My friend Amy is the best. I don't see her as often as I should.

Amy is the kind of person whos laugh just makes you laugh. even if you just think life sucks that day. She tells you what you need to hear, and is always there for you. I love my Amy.

There's us in our super awkward highschool years. Gotta love highschool. And Amy.