Lovely day to see Buffalos

The Arc (from the website)

About a month ago we finally visited Thoiry Zoo and Park, after talking about going for 4 years. It is about 45 minutes from Paris. I really loved it. I liked it so much in fact, we bought Sabine and I an annual membership to go during the week. So, we went again today - and the weather was perfect.

It has something for everyone. Botanical gardens, a château, a labyrinth, African safari, kid's playground, petting zoo and of course tons of different animals in a huge, natural outdoor setting that you walk through.  They also offer "shows", which are more like college lectures (but hey this is France).

 The diversity of the animals is just breathtaking. For a bit of a glimpse, click here.

Thoiry Chateau and giggles

 The grounds: the trees, flowers, ponds, gardens - just gorgeous. I cannot wait to visit next spring when everything is in bloom.

Thoiry does something that I thought was incredibly unique, though maybe it isn't, but I had never seen this done before. For a few of the animals, they put the people in the cage (so to speak) and the lions were free to roam. There was a long (very thick) glass covered corridor which people walk through. The lions were laying on top of them when we were there. Their heads are enormous! (no pics this time, sorry).

The drive-through Safari is also cool. Animals strutting down the main road next to the car, very cool. I may have seen buffalo before, but have no recollection of their enormity. They really are beasts.


Here are just a few pics I took with my phone today of the Safari part. I was alone with Sabine and Leo, therefore couldn't really get into picture taking during the animal park part. That is one thing about being with small children, they really demand ALL of your attention (and some!). But in the car, they were strapped in their car seats...

bonus pic of my sweet Sabine <3

For more info on Thoiry Zoo and Park, check out their very nice website here:  http://www.thoiry.net/fr

Curiosities and Questions

As I was trying to title this post, I reread it and discovered that most of the topics - though unrelated- do indeed revolve around Curiosities and Questions.
 
Well Alright! Baby Leo is nearing up to the BIG 0-9 month mark and crawling like a little glow worm, 6 teeth to call her own, eats a variety of foods and has just about the most delicious laugh you will ever hear from a baby. I think she is typical in that she likes to explore, but it seems that she is the most curious baby ever born! With her concentrated brow-furrow as she tries to do... well anything, she is just the coolest baby.

Sabine is a bike riding (with training wheels) dare devil with more bizarre and unexpected things rolling off her tongue on a daily basis. I should like to start a regular entry called, "Sabine actually said that". For example, like most kids she is interested in her private parts. But she is also intrigued by the idea that we ALL have them. I had to endure her listing every single person she knew and ensuring that they too had a "ZEE-ZEE". Does XX'x mama have a zee-zee? Does Monsieur XX have a zee-zee? Does so and so and so and so and so and so have a zee-zee??????  The cool thing is that in France, boys and girls both have them. So, there isn't the issue of difference yet.

A very sad thing happened tonight. Sabine got a little black baby doll for her 3rd birthday last January. Her name is Louise. She was the favorite doll for months. Tonight when I noticed Louise was not in her spot near Sabine's head for bedtime, I mentioned it. She said she didn't like Louise anymore. I asked her why. She responded that she is dirty. I looked closely at Louise and said I didn't see any. She repeated it and she even said, she wanted to return her to the Monsieur at the store! I asked her where she was dirty, she said "all over". I didn't want to make a big deal about it, because she likes to see my reaction when she tells me she ate meat at the creche (which she does not do). So, I just took Louise out and asked her if she wanted to sleep with me then. Louise said okay. I told Hicham about this painful conversation and he suggested that we give Louise a bath tomorrow and pretend that she was a bit dirty and then afterwards she will be nice and clean - ready for a snuggle.

UPDATE: Oh, how the adult mind functions. So, Sabine was all excited to give Louise a bath this morning. She took a gigantic bubble bath, washed her up, toweled her off and got her dressed and said, "there mama, all clean!". In my defense, I am cognizant of the studies done with little kids describing various dolls and attributing traits to them ... anyway.


This is a big year for our family, this September Sabine will be starting school, but not going everyday as I have decided she will stay home one day per week with Leo and I (for many reasons). Why should other people get to spend the bulk of the best time with my kid? I wish I could do this her entire childhood, but she might not agree. "But, mom! I want to go to school everyday!". The drawback is that this will be on her RECORD, says the directrice. Too bad I don't give two shits, she is only THREE.

Leo will start going 2 mornings a week to Creche... what will I do with myself? Oh... I sure can't wait to find out either! I was thinking it would be to take French classes, but honestly, I doubt it. I will probably surf the web and lay around drinking smoothies.

Which brings me to my latest daily drama. I am a green smoothie freak show. For real. Sadly, I have gone through many blenders and repair and replacement parts and new blenders in the last year that today I finally had ENOUGH when I found that my blender just stopped working again today. This was not a shitty generic blender either. Doesn't matter, these blenders are not made for the craziness that happens in my kitchen. They can't handle what I give them.

So, we are going in. Making it happen. No hold back. Making the investment in my health. Etc, etc. blah blah blah, VITAMIX! If you don't know about this amazing tool, google it now! Now we just have to figure out the best way to get one in my kitchen: buy abroad ($500) and have it shipped and pay the taxes/fees/shipping ($200), have a friend ship it unboxed (anyone?) or just suck it up and pay the European price ($1000). Damn! It is expensive here (except wine and well, except wine only). I will keep you posted. See, questions abound!

Shiny red boat, just yes!

Beyond that, went to The Netherlands about 2 weeks ago. Hardly took any photos while in Amsterdam, but there were a few things I did manage to be impressed enough by to take out the camera.



Here are some of my favorite pictures of Amsterdam bikes:

I just adore the tiny seat in the front compared to the child seat in the back, seems impossibly small!

Wooden box to tote tots.

I found that metal holder incredibly intriguing, it is probably obvious to most what it is for, but it is just this kind of thing that makes my imagination soar. Wine, flours, umbrella, newspaper? The possibilities are rather endless! 

Not often one sees a 2 colored eye cat, next to a boat... in Amsterdam. Rather curious I would say.

Yes, I love Amsterdam. And am eager to go back and explore much more. I took more pics of the other places we visited on this 5 days excursion (tulips galore!). For the next entry ...

Post Vacation Entry. What a trip!

Alright well!  Home again, home again la tee dee dah!  We are back from our whirl-wind 5-state, 6 week tour of the USA and what a trip it was.

Coming home and the resulting peculiar feeling also deserves mention.  When I walked in the door and saw our apt, I felt like I was walking through a dream that I had awakened from.  Like,"this place still exists?"  Strange but true.  Unlike any other "homecoming" than I have ever experienced.  You know, the kind where you just are eager to sit on your own couch again, drink coffee in your own cup again, water your plants and settle back in?  Yeah, not so much.

I guess because I felt so much more globally at home in the States.  Not just the language either, but a real sense of comfortable anywhere I was.  The return to our apt was as if we had been away for so long that while it did seem familiar somehow, it also didn't.

Also, my mind is yet clinging to all the wonderful visits, experiences, sights, tastes, encounters, deals and connections all that made up the last six weeks of life .... I am still mentally "there" - in the land of friendly smiles, clean streets and Whole Food's salad bars.  

Yet, in any case, I am physically back in Paris and I am rejuvenated, fulfilled and inspired.  Wonder how long it will take for the French disposition to smear that smile off my face.  Probably in a matter of days when a group of local midwives and their psychologist analyze my mental health state - which has become a requirement due to my honest assessment of one of their team members: my former midwife who did a shitty job two years ago.   

More on that sooner than later (meeting in about 5 days).... and  I have enough juicy stuff to blog about that occurred in the last six weeks for some riveting reading or at least photo gazing.  I am thrilled and excited to revisit them too.  A preview: Renting an RV in Colorado, Children's new & improved (and incredible) playgrounds now in every corner of the country, My beautiful friends and my wonderful family, Utah!, Sabine!, Food and sights pictures, and so much more. 

Much more to come, check back soon!