Roundup of September

Home have been an absolute zoo in the past few weeks, which explains the absence of activity on the blog.  We have some wonderful visitors with us currently, who brought with them an entire luggage and a half full of food and goodies from Malaysia.  The ruckus aside, it is great for the kids to have some company of their age, and to spend time with Nai Nai and Gugu.  And I'm not really complaining because I go home every night to a hot meal cooked by two sifu (masters), and I don't even have to clean up :P

Here's a quick and dirty update of what we've been up to:

It's the kids' 10th time, and my 7th, but it's still as much fun.

After the classic Disneyland ride, It's a Small World.  Normally this 5-minute ride has a ridiculously long queue, but we sauntered right up to the loading area this time.  A visit on a non-school holiday weekday makes all the difference.

We had free run of the place, and even had the time (and space) to take frivolous photos.  

Helloo...

The three September babies celebrated their birthday with a special guest

Monet's gardens in Giverny were a riot of colours; it was just as beautiful in September as it was in May. 

The pink house where Monet lived for more than 40 years is in the background.

One of the things that we have not been able to do since moving to France was to go fruit-picking (cueillette).  We finally found the opportunity this month.  There are several farms just outside of Paris where you can do this.  We went to the one in Jouy en Josas, about a half-hour's drive from Paris.  They have 50 hectares of fruits, flowers and vegetables available at very low prices.  Pick as much or as little as you wish, and then have them weighed at the exit.  We got some aubergines, carrots and strawberries for only 6 euros.

In this picture, you can see everyone searching for some shiny solid aubergines to take home.

Nai Nai gave restrained shrieks of joy when we brought her there and ran around snapping photos and caressing fruits and vegetables alike.  She said, "Aaah...this is SO much better than Disneyland!"  The kids gave her the evil eye.

Showing off the carrots that they pulled straight out of the earth

Fruits and vegetables are only interesting to young children for 20 minutes, despite the wide open space which gave them the liberty to run, stomp, and yell as much as their little hearts wished.  You can see what happens after the novelty has run out...

We originally wanted to picnic at the farm, but decided quickly that it was not a very appealing place for that.  YL had the bright idea of going to Versailles, which was "just" 7km away.  We spent one hour going through tourist traffic, finding parking spots, and trekking INTO the park from the parking area before we gratefully slumped on the first patch of (shady) grass we found.  No pictures of the picnic because we obliterated almost everything as soon as the containers were opened.   

Feeding the ducks in the canal of the garden of Versailles.  By the way, the gardens are free unless the musical fountain show is on, but even then some parts are still free.  It's a great place for a picnic, with the golden palace or the massive canal in the distance.  

Yup, the sign of a great day out

On yet another day, YL and Nai Nai went on a little market tour with Le Cordon Bleu.  I didn't join them - someone has to work in this family, you know?  

Le Cordon Bleu runs English language programmes all year-round.  This one takes you on a tour of a typical Parisian market to introduce you to the dynamics of a market, while the chef purchases some fresh ingredients to take back to the school for a cooking demonstration.

Le Cordon Bleu chef in action.  Food was good; both sifus (masters) were pleased.  

YL and I are cheap drunks; we do not hold our alcohol well and our unrefined palates are unable to tell the difference between one wine from another.  We attended a wine-tasting session where the participants said things like, "Ooo yes, I can smell the warm summer in this glass.  The grass was wet when the grapes were harvested, wasn't it?", or "This taste like 5-week old purple cherries mixed with a bit of a 80-year old Californian oak stored in the cellars at 14 degrees".  We could only come up with things like "Taste like pineapples".   

So here we are, at Gugu's encouragement, at another wine-tasting session at O Chateau, making another attempt to educate ourselves.  Didn't work.  We still got red-eyed and lobster-red after 3 quarter-full glasses of white wine.  

Today was a beautiful day with blue skies and white fluffy clouds.  We caught a bus and ended up at the Pont des Arts, over the Seine.  

I think we thoroughly appalled Nai Nai & Gugu with our uncivilized lifestyle here.  Paris is not all romance and elegance.  We often trudge through dusty metro stations, run after buses, jostle with the crowds for seats, and walk everywhere carrying a 3-year old and while lecturing a whiny 7-year old.  A life without maids and cars can be a serious shock if one is used to them, like the case in Malaysia.  (....Oh how I look forward to that life... :P )

Happy faces amidst golden glow of the Louvre

A rare family photo

We finally settled for lunch at the park of the Grand Palais.  

Et enfin, to end the day, a soothing string performance of Pachelbel's Canon in D by the Palais Royal metro.  Uplifting melody surrounded by inspiring architecture.  That's the beauty of Paris.  

And then, back we went into the smelly metro.