Alex

I have been babysitting for a family since the first week we arrived in Paris. They have one little boy named Alex, who is 1 1/2 years old. He is a really good baby. His parents mainly speak English, but he goes to a French Mothers Day Out. He is just beginning to talk a lot- and will only speak in French. He can fully understand English, but for some reason will not speak it. That is one of the reasons they have hired me- to help get Alex speak in English.

The Mom, Connie, is pregnant with a little girl, who should be born in October. She is from the USA and her husband is from North Africa. Pretty unique family.

I have truly enjoyed this nanny job for many reasons: 1. it feels so good to be in a family home/flat 2. they have good food and snacks 3. I get to take him to areas and places that are new to me. His favorite spot is the Luxembourg Gardens. There is a sand box and small pool for children.

I took these 2 pictures of Alex just the other day when we were playing the in Luxembourg Gardens.

It was a very Happy Birthday!

My birthday was July 6th, for those of you who didn't know. I don't particularly love my birthdays anymore- for some reason I get sad sometimes. And to be honest I was a little nervous about being away from all my family and friends for my birthday. Well... that was not the case this year! Tyler is the most amazing husband and woke me up at 8:00 a.m. with a huge breakfast in bed then he gave me 2 gifts: first one was from my sweet Dad and the second one was from Tyler- he gave me a day at the Ritz Carleton Health Club and Spa. It was awesome! As soon as I opened the enveloped I screamed and asked "when can I go?!" Right after breakfast I got on the Metro and went to the Ritz. I was there by 9:00 a.m.

It was such a perfect and relaxing day. I have been craving swimming so much over here in Paris- it is hard to find places to swim. The Ritz had a big pool so I took advantage of that. I even did a water aerobics class. I felt like I was in the WWII era. All the women were wearing these different swim caps. The kind you see on TV- with flowers and different designs- the ones they wear for synchronized swimming. It was great! I had to borrow one and felt like the biggest nerd. I wish I had a picture to show you because it was pretty funny. It almost felt as if I was in a dream way back in time. (the teacher was only speaking in French as well)

After swimming I laid by the pool, read a new book and took a nap. For lunch I had a giant Club Sandwich, which cost 40 Euros (aka $60). I know that is insane, but it was at the Ritz (what do you expect) and it was my birthday! The waiter was so sweet and also brought me all these little desserts- pistachio macaroon, raspberry tart and a dark chocolate truffle. Yum!

Next, I went to the Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. And at 3:00 p.m. I had a full body massage. I almost fell asleep at one point, it was heavenly! She rubbed my bottom and my stomach- which was a little awkward at first- but I guess that is normal over here. When the massage was over the lady took me to a quiet room and gave me Green Tea. I didn't want the day to end!

Finally, around 5:00 p.m. I left and came back to our apartment to get ready for dinner. I met Tyler at his office at 7:30 p.m. and we walked to dinner. We went to the cutest restaurant. We had wine, champagne, foie gras, escargot, sea bass and lobster rosotto. Talk about yum!!

To end the night Tyler surprised me and had asked several of our friends to meet us over at the Mebane's apartment for cake. At the Mebane's they had prepared my ALL TIME FAVORITE cake- Funfetti cake. The kind that comes in the box and has the vanilla icing with sprinkles. I had 4 huge pieces!

It was such a wonderful day! I will never forget my 25th birthday in Paris!

The Loire Valley

Tyler and I went on a Bike Tour in the Loire Valley. We took a train from Paris to the town of Blois (about 1.5 hours away). From there we rode our bike 16 kilometers to the town of Chambord. Blois is home to the valley’s most historically important château, the royal palace during the golden age of the renaissance. The medieval town spills down the hillside surrounding the château: white stone, red brick chimneys, and roofs of blue slate.

Chambord is the valley’s biggest château, though built as a “mere” hunting lodge. A veritable jewel of renaissance architecture, 440 rooms of royal excess surrounded by a forest. Da Vinci designed the staircase in the center of the castle, which is a double helix.

We ate lunch in Chambord and walked through the château and around the grounds before making our 16 kilometer trek back to Blois. We biked through the French countryside and farm lands, we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. The scenery was beautiful.

The Anne Frank Huis

On our last day in Amsterdam we went to the Anne Frank Huis (House). Anne Frank was one of the millions of the Jews persecuted during World War II. She lived in Germany until Hitler came into power and her family fled to the Netherlands (Amsterdam) in the 1930's. When the Nazis army occupied the Netherlands the Frank family hoped to escape them by going into hiding in a secret corridor in their home. Anne kept a diary the entire time they were hiding (which was from 1942-1944) and it was published in 1947. It has been translated into 65 different languages since then.

Tyler and I bought the book and are so excited to read it!