Sunday Picnic -- A blog by Mark

Today Jill and I decided to have a picnic dinner at the park at the end of Passy & Paul Doumer.  This is a great little park where there are lots of kids, dogs and families enjoying the sunshine.  We went to the market yesterday and today after church to get cheese, multi-grain baguette, artichoke hearts, stuffed peppers, stuffed artichoke hearts (ok, so I really like cheese), a stuffed Greek pastry, a chocolate desert that was to die for, fresh strawberries and raspberries and a bottle of white wine.  To tote our stuff for the picnic we bought a nice wicker market basket.

We pack the basket, brought the iPad for music, the wine was significantly chilled, a blanket, books and sunglasses.  We walked to the park with our basket.  At the park there was all sorts of action, so we set up our blanket, opened the wine, kicked off our shoes and enjoyed the sunshine.  It was a lot of fun watching the kids, dogs and pony rides.
 

After awhile we decided it was time to eat...  We start to unpa

ck the food and Jill realizes she left all the cold stuff in the refrigerator.  Oh well, we were able to enjoy what we had with us.  The wine was good, sun was warm and lots of funny kids and animal moments.  All wasn't lost, when we came home we finished the picnic.

So in the end we had two picnics today and both were enjoyable.  It is so fun to have these moments together.

 

Kaitlyn's Visit to Paris - a post from Kaitlyn

Well I guess I should finally blog about my trip to Paris since I have some time. Not only was it my first trip to Paris, but it was my first trip traveling alone! After a flight change the night before and an hour delay then another hour delay on the run away I got to Paris without any glitches and only 20 minutes later than our planned arrival (how that works out after being 2 hours behind beats me). As most of you know I know absolutely no French so once we got off the plane I decided just to follow the crowd since I didn’t know what the signs said, which this plan worked great until I was looking for where to get my bags and Mom and Dad see me and wave… so naturally I go to them and Dad goes, “Did you get your bag?” (a) Dad didn’t tell me before hand anything about baggage b) dumb question I obviously wasn’t rolling my suitcase and c) they waved at me so I thought that’s where I had to go, so after going back through the doors and getting my suitcase we can leave the airport.

So that first day (Friday) I was there (I got in at noonish) we went to the apartment then we walked around the neighborhood. Before dinner we went to get drinks at Le Passey and being in Paris I was old enough to drink! And the bartender made me the special of the night a blue laguna! Then we got dinner at somewhere I don’t remember…I think we did sushi the first night (?) and we went home and watched tv and I passed out and slept forever.

The second day I was there we went to the market and bought all kinds of good stuff like cheese and strawberry tarts and olives and gnocchi! Then we went home and took care of the groceries and Mom and Dad made lunch while I napped (still jet lagged) then after lunch we went shopping! My favorite thing to do :) I don’t remember what it was called (since I don’t know French) but Dad mistakenly made the rule “If you like it buy! We are not coming back” which I took full advantage of and got 3 shirts, a skirt and a dress (thanks Daddy)!

Then we went to a restaurant for drinks that was by the shopping center. For dinner we went to this actual French restaurant and I tried snails!!!! They were good too! They tasted like clams! And I had filet of beef for my entrée and chocolate mousse for dessert! It was all VERY good!

On Sunday we woke up and went to church. I liked watching the little girl that was running all around the church because she reminded me of me at that age. She got the arm grab just like I did! After church we went to lunch and got mommy flowers for the apartment. After that we went to the Louvre and that was AWESOME! Reminded me of the Da Vinci Code! Unfortunately I was still jet lagged and was very sleepy and did not fully enjoy the experience do to my sleepiness. After we walked the little park area outside of the Louvre and got drinks and I got ice-cream! Then we went home and I napped and Daddy made dinner of gnocchi in an Alfredo (Dad comment -- it was gorgonzola sauce) sauce with ham and peas and it was delicious! Then we watched Julie and Julia (well Mom and Dad did… I fell asleep).

Monday: Mom and I did some exploring and shopping (both of us got shoes!) and had lunch at Le Passey where I had sea bass and it was fantastic! We also took a walk to the Eiffel Tower and layed in the grass and sat by the river, where we made a friend from Bali of all places! She was back packing across Europe and asked me to take a picture of her and a boat. Then we went to the apartment and rested until Daddy got home from work. Once Dad was home we went to Le Passey for drinks and went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I tried duck that night and it was so good! After dinner we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower! That was so much fun! It twinkled while we were going up it, which I was VERY excited about!

Tuesday: Mom and I went to the Arch de Triomphe. Which to Bryan’s surprise there was an elevator that we got to use (it was closing in like an hour for lunch). At the top Mom and I took a lot of pictures and talked then we walked down the stairs. And me being a dumb dumb had a very difficult time walking down the stairs and got really dizzy because I can’t walk down stairs without looking down and had to go super slow (Mom made fun of me the WHOLE way down!). After we walked down Champs-Elysees and did so more shopping. Then we walked to the palace and down by the river back to the apartment. This day it was so hot that I wore a tank top and was still sweating! While I was hot however all the people that live in Paris were still wearing winter coats. For dinner I think we went to La Matta and I let Dad pick for me because I couldn’t decide between the spaghetti with meat sauce or pizza with an egg on top… he choose the spaghetti… it was delicious! For dessert I had this HUGE ice-cream sundae! And I walked out of the restaurant practically unable to move! WAYYYY too much food!

Wednesday: Mom and I stayed in and relaxed for the day. We got a visit from Fatima…that was interesting since I know absolutely no French and Mom only knows a little bit. What I got from it was she told me I was pretty, she liked my necklace, asked me about what I thought of Obama and told me Happy Birthday…she was there for 45 minutes and that’s all I got. Then when Dad got home we went to see Notre Dame and had dinner in the Latin District. It reminded me of a black market with all the people trying to get you to come to their restaurant. At dinner I had the BEST goat cheese salad and beef bourguignon which I was not the biggest fan of…too much like stew which is too close to soup and for dessert I had crème brulee. Then because I somehow hurt my leg we went home and did not walk around every much.
Thursday MY BIRTHDAY!: I woke up to Mom bringing me mimosas in bed and then she made me nutella on toast things and we layed in bed and watched T.V. until it was time for Dad to come home. For lunch we went to this Irish pub with a REAL Irish man as the owner! I had my first Guinness which I proudly finished! And I had AMAZING salmon! Then after we ate we moved to the pub where we talked with the owner and this crazy lady with a picture of a man exposing himself and had more drinks. Dad had some super expensive whiskey, Mom had a KillKenny beer and I had Baileys (we’re so Irish). Then after lunch we went back to the apartment and I napped. We met up with two guys that Dad works with for drinks at Le Passey before dinner and had a good time there. For dinner we went to Le Petite Tour and I had the lamb and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO delicious! And for desert I had something that I am not even going to try to spell since I cannot pronounce it, but Gary the owner made sure there was a candle on it for me to blow out. It was a good birthday!

Friday: My last day… I don’t remember what we did... Mom and I went grocery shopping for Nutella and chocolate for me to bring back to share with my friends (who loved it!). And we went to Le Passey for lunch and I got raviolis but the appetizer size not the meal size (language barrier) and for dessert I had chocolate molten lava cake it was the best thing EVER! For dinner we went to La Matta again and I tried the egg on my pizza. It was good but I didn’t think it was anything special. Then we spent the rest of the night just packing and watching T.V. as a family.

Saturday: Dad and I left the apartment at 6 a.m. for the airport. That morning I heard words come out of my Mom’s mouth that I never thought I would ever hear! She wanted Dad to leave the iPad because she would be bored and didn’t want to use the laptop! She was very distraught about this too…it made me laugh (sorry Mom). Then at the airport I made through check-in and said good-bye to Dad and made it through security to my gate where I only had to wait about 30 minutes (compared to my 5 hours on the way there). I got home in enough time to nap, shower and pick Ryan up from the bus station!

It was a long week in Paris but it was a great way to spend spring break!

Things that happened that I don’t remember when they happen: Mom had her first crepe, I got a leather jacket, I tried foie gras and did NOT like it at all!

To Eat or Not To Eat??? -- A blog by Jill

Today I walked to the corner store, the Monoprix, to pick up a few groceries.  I had quite a sac full to lug back to the apartment and by the time I got back and walked up one flight of stairs, I was sooooo out ot breath...last year at this time I was in such good physical condition!!!  What happened????  Oh yes...living in Paris and traveling around Europe as if I'm on one long extended vacation and I guess I've been eating like itl!!!  I will only live in Paris for a short time so I better enjoy it, right???  And to quote Julia Childs, "I love to eat, that's what I love to do~Eat!!!"

Even though we walk quite a bit, I guess I just eat and drink more...I am uncomfortable in my skin and clothes AGAIN!  I was so hoping I had the eating and exercising thing figured out last year.  To think I have to start all over and fight this battle again...Ugh!

I try to eat healthy most of the time, but it is difficult!!!  When we were in Madrid, Mark took me to dinner with his work group to a very cool restaurant right outside the King's Palace.  The King in fact occasionally eats lunch in the very room we had dinner.  Anyway, I think we had five courses of food, plus wine , bread and coffee!  It started with a warm lentil pudding like substance with fois gras and pine nuts(not my favorite); then we had cooked sliced potatoes with thinly sliced raw scallops drizzled with olive oil; next was a serving of cod with spinach and potato gnocchi covered in a light cream sauce; after that we had a chicken leg stuffed with sausage!  The coup de grace was a rhubbarb tart!  I could barely walk out of the restaurant to get a taxi back to the hotel!  We didn't have a choice in the menu, the food was served and we ate it!!!  Except for the lentil thing it was all very delicious...Oh~I forgot a serving...it was wild mushrooms served in a cream sauce with a raw egg on top!  I took a large gulp of wine, mixed the egg into the mushrooms and ate.  It was so yummy!  Now if I was counting calories and not opening myself up to all these wonderful experiences and taste sensations, I would not have known how wonderful a raw egg tastes when mixed with cream and wild mushrooms!  And Julia would be so disappointed in me!!!

Another night in Madrid, Tonio a friend of Mark's who is spanish and lives in Madrid recommended an argentinian restaurant for us to visit.  The restaurant is owned by a cousin of Tonio so he called and made reservations for us...9:30 Saturday night.  We get to the restaurant, Basilicos, and we are the only ones there until almost 10:30pm~that is the time the spanish start eating dinner!!!  You could tell we were tourists arriving so early in the evening...Anyway, they served real argentinian beef which is supposed to be the BEST beef and a charcoal grill to cook it!!  We started the meal with a large antipasti of grilled vegetables(see~I was trying to make an effort towards healthy eating) and had the best filet mignon I've ever eaten!!!  It tasted so good...a real charcoal grill!  Let's not forget the cream fraiche with fresh herbs to spread on crunchy little garlic toasts and the chocolate gelato for dessert!

Oh my, I get full just thinking about it!!!  I could go on and on...I think I will tell you of one more food experience...Sunday after visiting a huge flea market, we happened upon a very interesting restaurant/spanish bar called Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas.  We walked in and it was so cool we knew we wanted to enjoy a sangria and tapas here.  The sangria was sitting in a large wooden barrel on top of the bar, so we planted ourselves at the bar and enjoyed a true spanish experience...the sangria was 1,40 E and every time you ordered a drink they gave you a  free tapas.  You remember that tapas is a small bit of food served with wine, right?  Anyway our first small plate of food was paella and it was very good.  Then we got two fried smelt(Mark enjoyed those) and another plate of paella!  We ordered a plate of mushrooms and grilled asparagus.  All delicious and a very fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  The ambiance and decorations of the bar added to our enjoyment:)

So, I guess I should relax and enjoy all culinary experiences, continue to try to eat healthy most of the time and walk, walk, walk!!!  Bon appetite!!!

First Time Visit - A Blog From Allison

My Trip to Paris with the Darrows
First off, I just want to thank Mark and Jill so much for inviting me to Paris to spend a wonderful and experimental trip with them!   I had a blast and won’t soon forget all the wonderful food, wine, beer and adventures we dove into.  I also really enjoyed telling people after break that I went to Paris and seeing their faces light up with questions and “wow I’m so jealous!”  This trip definitely was a great experience for me because I really got a chance to open up and try things I had never thought I would get the chance to do before.  
Before going on the trip, Matt and I created a bucket list.  Here it is:
-try escargot (did it!)
-go to the Louvre (did it!)
-Climb the Arc De Triumph (did it)
-See Notre Dame (saw it)
-Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower (FINALLY did it!)
-Eat pizza with egg on top (sadly no : (  )
-Eat duck and Oysters (yes, I didn’t enjoy Oysters)
-Champs Eles’ee (did it)
-try Croque Madame (had it and it was delicious!)
-Visit ‘the market’ (didn’t do it)
The first day I arrived in Paris seemed like a blur.  We landed in Charles de Gaulle, Mark picked us up and we went to the apartment.  Soon after we got lunch and partook in a mini bar crawl.  I tried hanging tough with Mark and Matt, but by the second pub I almost fell off the stool and chipped my tooth on my beer glass.  
On the second day we went to the top of the Arc de Triumph to take in the view of the city.  The climb to the top made me a little dizzy because the staircase was spiraled and extremely narrow.  I had to force myself to look straight ahead the entire walk because of the dizziness I felt.  The trip down was even harder and people kept walking around me because I was going so slowly.  The view from the top was extremely beautiful and I think that’s when it really hit me that I was spending a WHOLE week in Paris!
One of the things I noticed when we were in Paris was the amount of pigeons that surrounded the streets and trees.  Matt, Jill and I were walking through a park in the city and Matt felt a light thud on his head.  He kept imagining that bird poop had landed on his head earlier that day, so I didn’t think anything of it when he asked me to look.  There on his head was a huge plop of guacamole colored pigeon poop.  It started running down his hair and I had to run away because I thought I would throw up.  He kept asking for tissues or anything to clean up the mess and finally sighted a bathroom where he was able to splash some water in his hair. The rest of that week we all walked a little more cautiously under the trees.  Matt would yell at pigeon passer bys to stay away.  So FUNNY!
I would have to say my favorite part of visiting Paris was all the great food and drinks I got to try.  Matt and I kept coming up with excuses to drink as much delicious champagne as we could. Before and after every meal we all shared wine, beer and coffee or espresso.  It took me a while to get used to the strength of some of the espresso and I started off drinking Café Ole, but by the end of the trip I began to enjoy espresso as well.  I would have to say the best food I tried on the trip was rabbit.  It didn’t seem right to eat such a little helpless and adorable bunny, but once I took a bite I was in love! I have never tasted a meat so rich and tender.  That same night we also had a mouth watering dish of cheesy potatoes and delicious white wine which may have contributed to the ambiance, but I still would have to say I enjoyed rabbit the most.  Some of the other foods I had were smoked salmon (delicious), escargot, pizza with mushrooms, ham and tomatoes, duck, quiche, Croque Madame, and Oysters.  I really enjoyed the escargot, but I just couldn’t get my mind off of what I was actually putting into my mouth.  I quickly shoved each snail in my mouth, chewed fast and swallowed.  I was proud of myself for eating these little creatures but I am not sure if I would ever try them again.  Matt and I also both agreed that eggs should now be put on everything from sandwiches, salads to pizzas.  The eggs in Paris just tasted so much better than eggs here in the U.S.
Sometime during the trip I got a strong craving for dark purple grapes.  We searched the markets and grocery stores, but couldn’t find them.  Finally on the second day of our search we found them in a nearby grocery store.  There was mold all over them!  Grapes were not meant to be : ( so instead I ended up buying fresh raspberries and it all turned out alright because once we got back to the apartment we plopped raspberries in our champagne and enjoyed an early afternoon cocktail.  
My most monumental accomplishment on the trip was climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  We walked by the structure everyday but I didn’t actually believe I could make it to the top.  I have always been scared of heights and had a panic attack on the mini Eiffel Tower at one of Ohio’s theme parks.  I ended up lying on the floor of the elevator when we got to the top and refused to get up until the elevator took me to the bottom.  Considering I was uncomfortable on the way up and down the Arc de Triumph, I didn’t think there was any way I would be able to make it to the top of the actual Eiffel Tower.  Day after day passed by and I told everyone “I won’t do it today, but I will tomorrow” thinking that I could talk my way out of it once we reached the end of the trip.  Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see the city from the top, but I didn’t want to ride an elevator all the way up.  Finally the day came; I can’t remember if it was Tuesday or Wednesday.  Matt and I decided that we would go after dinner.  We waited in line for an hour and a half and I was alright the entire way through until we got to the ticket booth.  I told Matt I only wanted to go to the first level but he talked me into buying tickets to the top.  Finally once we got through security I started my freak out.  I turned away from the elevator and told Matt that I wasn’t going through with it.  I started walking away but he pulled me into the elevator, talking to me the entire way to the second level.  When I got off the elevator I grabbed onto the nearest sturdy object and locked my arms around it.  Matt kept reaching his hand out to me but I wouldn’t move.  I yelled at anyone who got close enough to me to not touch me.  I finally ran over to the side and took a quick glance before wrapping my arms back around my safety pole.  That’s when I told Matt I was finished and wanted to go back down.  “You don’t understand Matt, You’re being unreasonable!”  Needless to say this happened in front of crowds of people.  It was very embarrassing.  Finally we got into the elevator, I put my face in Matt’s chest, and we made it to the top.  By that time my anxiety went down because I realized the top of the tower was closed in.  A panic attack aside, the trip to the Eiffel Tower was worth it.  
Thanks Again for the Wonderful Adventure!  
Allison
 

A Collection of Thoughts from Mark

Jill and I have both been experiencing a blog blah writer's block.  We have so much we want to share but every time we start to write it, nothing comes out.  So I'm just going to ramble...

We just finished a two week run with the kids visiting.  Kate was here for her birthday.  We took to an Irish pub for lunch and nice French dinner. She was able to try her first Guinness.  I leave for her to write about as she still owes her blog.

On the morning I took Kate to the airport, two hours later I picked up Matt and Allison.  We had a great time with them. I'm pretty sure we wore them out.  They both have been working so hard on their final project for college.  Between that, the travel here and the long days of touring they left here exhausted.  Again, I'll leave to them to write about.

This afternoon Jill and I are on a plane traveling to Madrid.  I've been there only once and of course my world traveling companion will make her initial visit.  We look forward to exploring the old city together.  Maybe take in a Flamingo dance or something intriguing like that.  We'll see.  Maybe it will give us more to write about.

My French classes are going well.  I have a good tutor who is tolerant of my sloppy French.  However bad it is, it is way better then when I arrived.  This round of lessons (30 hours since January) is almost over.  Three more sessions.  I'm not sure I'm going to go to round two.  It takes a lot of time and summer is soon upon us.  Right now it's a "no", but we'll see.  I do ok in the "hood" so any more will just be showing off.

Wishing you all well and hope to see you in Paris soon.