Wednesday, June 17th The morning started out pretty funny. Tiffany decided to take a walk around Brignoud with one of the girls since we weren't going into Grenoble until later that day. A few minutes later she came back and I asked her what was wrong, why did she come back so early ? Tiffany said she was worried she might get a ticket for disturbing the peace. I was confused naturally. She laughed and said that one of the guys in town had whistled at her and waved, apparently appreciating the new shorts she had purchased the day before. Embarrassed but also suddenly full of herself, Tiffany headed back to the house with a giant story to tell. Cool Meter Takes a Hit Burned twice already by the sun, I was determined not to let ... read more

Monday, June 15 Monday was our first day in the Rhone-Alps region of France. Grenoble is in a valley practically surrounded by high mountains with snow at their peak even in June. Pierre technically lives in the suburbs of Grenoble in a little town called Brignoud. From Brignoud it's easy to access the many hiking trails in the summer and ski resorts in the winter. When you step out of Pierre's house, your eyes are immediately drawn to the immense mountains at your doorstep. With so many mountains it's no wonder that Grenoble hosted the winter olympics in 1968. If you listened closely, you might even hear the "Hills are alive with the sound of music" floating on the breeze. High in the Alps For our first outing we decided to go high in the mountains ... read more

Saturday, June 13 On Saturday we went to the Chateau of Versailles with Pierre's parents and with Anne's family. The plan was not to see the Versailles in the usual manner via the palace at the front entrance (very touristy) but to come in through the back entrance and see the huge English garden filled with fountains, and walk around the Marie Antoinette's Estate also known as the Queen's Hamlet. We found out later in the day after talking some tourists from King of Prussia (Yo, Philly !!) that it was an hour long wait to get the tickets and then another hour just to enter. Smart move in retrospect. As we all know Queen Marie Antoinette had the misfortune to be one of the first people quoted out of context by the media for her ... read more

Thursday, June 11th On Thursday, Pierre's sister Anne accompanied us into Paris for a day of site seeing. We took the Bateaux Mouche which is a nice leasiurely way to see the primary sights of Paris in one sitting. The Bateaux Mouche is basically a big tour boat with open air seating on the top to get the best view. The weather was still mixed so it was freezing cold and windy on the top deck of the boat. To make up for the cold morning we decided to have lunch at the Creperie de Cluny in the Latin quarter. This particular creperie specializes in foods from the Normandy region where Pierre's family originally came from. The crepes went down really well with a bottle of cider or bouteille de cidre, which is basically fermented apple ... read more

Dear Friends and Family, After many months of planning we are about to embark on a grand trip to Europe, 2 weeks in France followed by 2 weeks in Ireland. For years I have dreamed of taking a long summer vacation ever since I skipped my first summer off to enter college early. What I didnt realize at the time was that college cost a lot of money, so that kind of limited trips and vacations. Then came a job to pay for that college (what, only 2 weeks vacation ?!!), which very quickly ended in marriage and kids (hello Disney World). Before I knew it the 20-something decade had blown by and summers off as kid were a distant memory. Fast forward a few years and I suddenly realize I am about to be 40 ... read more