Today, France Can Bite Me

Today Ronny and I tackled some necessary errands. The first being trying to get in contact with a doctor so I can get a check-up. CERN has a pamphlet with doctors in the area including the languages they speak. It isn't too helpful if the doctor speaks English when none of the receptionists speak English. We finally made the call (we've been having a problem with the phone number provided) and the receptionist doesn't speak English. Our French is definitely not good enough to convey what I need and when I am available, so road block.

Then we went to Val Thoiry for groceries and to get the oil changed in the car. Boy, did that go badly. We got the groceries no problem, dropped the car off to get the oil and filter changed, no problem. The problem came with the bill. It cost 70 euros! The dollar to euro is about $1.49, so you can do the math. Ronny and I were both bummed, but we're trying to let these things just roll off the back.

Finally, we purchased veal escallops and I decided to make Veal Marsala. We went to a store to find the wine. No Marsala wine in the whole place! They didn't even know what we were talking about because we did ask. So instead of Marsala I will be using Vin de Table, or Table Wine. We'll see how it goes.

So yeah, today France can bite me. I'm trying to be more like a duck though, so I'm letting this slide right off the back. I thought my blog audience would appreciate the story though!

October

I can't believe October is almost over! By my lack of posting, you can assume that we were either busy or up to nothing. Aside from the Paris trip we really have been working a lot. I babysat a lot this month. The bummer is that the hours are being cut back because the family is getting ready to move in about a month. Ah well. Aside from that I am also spending my weekends in Laconnex, a small commune in the canton of Geneva. The theater group I joined, GAOS (Geneva Amateur Operatic Society) has a barn out there for set construction. Somehow I have become the go-to painter. The show is an English pantomime with singing, dancing, a working water wheel, and a tree that spits wine. I like going. I'm the youngest one there, but apparently there are more young people that I just haven't met. They are pushing me to audition for the Spring musical, The Sound of Music. Well, I got the audition notes yesterday and all of the female parts are for sopranos. I'm not, so that's a bummer. I guess I'll just audition for the chorus and throw in that Lisel could be an alto.
In other news, we will have our first visitor on the 9th of November. My friend since the beginning of time, Brad Wallace, will be coming out for a fun-filled week. I imagine his visit will definitely be blogged about.
That's all for today. We have a big surprise coming tomorrow that I will blog about with pictures, so stay tuned...life is getting a little bit better!

Monet Part 2

Monet's Water Lillies

At Musee de Orangerie you can find Monet's Water Lillies under natural lighting. They are amazing. I took this video while we were there. I know that sometimes I go to fast around...hope you don't get dizzy!

On Strike

If you have never done a blog before, you may not realize how important comments are. They motivate you to continue doing what you are doing because you know that someone cares. We actually take pictures and stuff purposely for the blog audience, and yet we have received no feedback. So I'm on strike. I've been busy as it is, but this is ridiculous. Ronny gave an interview and he didn't even get a comment! Come on people!

The CMS Times

Here is a link to the newsletter that featured my interview:
http://cms.web.cern.ch/cms/Media/Publications/CMStimes/2009/10_05/index.html

Paris Slideshow..in no particular order.

The Top of the Eiffel Tower

This is a video Ronny took of the ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I did some deep breathing in the corner. Enjoy!

Paris, Friday October 2nd

We took off from Geneva at 9 am. We arrived in Paris one hour later. After a train ride from the suburbs to the city, we headed toward our hotel. We got lost, big shocker there. We ended up where we need to go, checked in, and went straight to the Eiffel Tower. We were really really close, so it was the most logical stop. The above video is from the second observation deck on the Eiffel Tower. Keep in mind I don't really like heights.

Paris...The First of Many

Hello All,

It's been awhile. This week I am babysitting all week and spending the night, so my time is limited. I will not be able to fully post about Paris until tomorrow or Friday. But I wanted you to have a sneak peak. We had such a wonderful time! Paris is a wonderful city. I wouldn't mind living there, and will at the very least, visit again. So here are a few pictures.

On our anniversary in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The Arc de Triumph

At the top of the Eiffel Tower.