Last Sunday Dinner

We celebrated Catharine's birthday (Lila helped blow out the candles) and the boys and I said good-bye to Diana, Mitch, Lila and baby Anna. They are off to London to begin a new adventure. Mitch's employers, Fortis Bank, have been really impressed with what he has done in Paris and are moving him to the center of the financial universe.

With our recent change of plans -- staying in Paris -- it wasn't as sad an occasion as it could have been. We will all be on the same continent and, with the Eurostar, just a short train ride a way. Still, Sunday walks in the park followed by dinner probably won't happen again for a while. We'll miss them.

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Gaudy and La Pedrera

I did an overnight in Barcelona last week. I was speaking at a conference on the benefits of search engine marketing and instead of the 2 days I was supposed to have to enjoy Barcelona, it turned out I had to be back in Paris that evening for a meeting. So I cut out at lunch, grabbed the nearest taxi and told him to take me to Gaudy's famous La Pedrera, a building right in the heart of the city not far from his famous cathedral the Sagrada Familia .

I took a fascinating audio tour and learned a great deal about Barcelona's most famous architect. La Pedrera is an apartment building and one of his last works. It has his characteristic art nouveau styling with some really inventive roof decorations. Besides his predilection for organic stylings, he pioneered some interesting techniques used today by modern architects. I loved his emphasis on light, which was always his priority. One floor of the building was done in period furniture and the apartments were wonderfully open and well lit.

I tried to take a bunch of photos with my mobile phone but there are actually plenty on the web that are much better. Here is a link to a good site if you are interested in knowing more about Gaudy. View photo site.

The Loire Valley

Our friends Barbara and Jeremy kindly lent us their beautiful country cottage in the Loire Valley for the May 8 long weekend and we jumped at it. As you can see from the photo above (and more below), it is a gorgeous spot. Inside it has loads of character: huge, ancient beams, enormous fireplace, all nicely modernized where it counts -- bathrooms and kitchens. And it sits in the middle of a woods/garden that was in full springtime bloom. A little bit of heaven that they call "La Folie".

If you like the look of it, they will be renting it out and we would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to spend some time in the Loire area.

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Chateau Chenonceau


We had intended to see a number of chateaus in the area, but this was the only one we managed. We weren't disappointed. Catharine recently read a book I gave her for Christmas on the love triangle between Dianne de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici and Francois II. Chenonceau features Dianne's garden and Catherine's garden. I preferred the latter garden but from the sounds of it would have preferred the former in person (as did Francois). Catharine kept us all well informed of the history as we toured and admired the beautiful building.

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Skiing in Tignes

Imagine skiing on the first of May in the French Alps! That was the dream that Catharine and I were fortunate to live 3 weeks ago. The company employee organization books a hotel every spring in Tignes -- one of the highest stations in the Alps -- and 150 of us spent 4 days skiing our buns off, eating good French food and even racing each other down the hill.

We couldn't have been luckier with the weather. It was sunny but not hot. The snow was very skiable and, except at the very bottom, didn't turn to soup until the end of the day. The mornings were icy but by 10 am things would soften up enough to make it really fun. On my last run, I dropped 1350 meters (over 4,000 feet) in 10 minutes and covered close to 3 miles (and only stopped 4 times to catch my breath). What a rush. (Click here to see an interactive map for the ski buffs -- my last run started at the La Grande Motte, Glacier de la Vanoise).

My photos begin with a view of the station itself, which is quite ugly. It is all built above the tree line, which makes the skiing spectacular, but the village feels like it is built on the moon. And everything is modern. However, our room was charming and the view from the heated swimming pool was of mountains only.

See the photos or the slideshow. Look for the photo of Jean-Claude Richard coming in 19th of 120 (playing it too safe).

Easter at Le Fief

Easter is a special time for us, because since we came to Europe it has been a ritual to join my Uncle Michael, Aunt Irena and assorted cousins at their lovely country place in the Limousin. Le Fief has become our second home.

This weekend was especially poignant because we thought it was to be our last Easter with them (since then life has taken a lurch and we are staying after all). So there was a certain sentimentality to the weekend as we quietly said our good-byes. We ate and drank sumptuously, which is to say, occasionally to excess but never with regret. Katherine's children, Felix and Sophia, are growing and becoming more and more part of the social life. We enjoyed a rousing game of Pictionary -- Felix contributing some wonderful drawings of pirates ships and kings and queens. And we took lots of walks through the blooming fields with Max.

Le Fief and the surrounding countryside provided, as always, inspiration for my camera. Hope you enjoy the results. View the photo set or watch a slideshow.