Summertime hike

A leisurely, July 4th weekend hike. Southern Massachusetts, 2011

Paris, at anytime

We've been busy and I haven't had much time to blog about much of anything lately, but it's not an indication that much hasn't happened. Quite the contrary: we've traveled a bit and now, summer is finally here (90 degrees today!). One major trip that we made between February (the last post) and now is a two week escape to Paris.

We had debated about going someplace tropical and warm in March, but it was slim pickings with Mexico out of the question (Christopher can explain why, when asked). Early/mid March was still a bit too cool for a Mediterranean vacation, so that was out too.

Paris was beautiful. We certainly made the right choice. Having the time to really enjoy the city like a true Parisian and ample days just to meander the streets day or night in one of the most beautiful cities in the world is something I'd recommend to anyone.  After New York, Paris is not far behind as our second favorite city. There was so much to be taken in and I, for one, was inspired by so much that I observed and saw.


We ate, relaxed, photographed, and ate more for two whole weeks. We've shared all the pictures previously, but these are some details again, that I think really capture the beauty of everything. C’était vraiment la vie de rêve. 

Prayer candles in Notre Dame

Dusk outside the Centre George Pompidou

Dusk at  the Musée du Louvre

Returning to the Louvre at night

Window knob detail at the Petite Trianon, Versailles

Night falls on Avenue Montaigne, one of Paris' most prestigious streets and across from the Hotel Athénée- our new favorite hotel

A stroll through the Jardin de Tuilleries

Truly the City of Lights

First Photo: the Paris metro at Saint-Germain-Des-Prés- taken by Chris on his iPhone 3Gs- how impressive is that one?!

Valentine's Skate

I surprised C with a out-of-the-ordinary activity last Thursday. I arranged for us to have a VIP skating night at The Charles Hotel in Harvard Square! I told him we'd be doing "something fun," but we both thought it would be more fun if he didn't know what it was until the day of. C guessed a gaggle of things: apple picking, Celtics game, cooking class, and jewelry making class (like that would be "fun" for him...)! 

But he really had no idea until we showed up at the skating rink. It was a great night, because there weren't as many people as there would have been at the rink at the Commons- just the other people who'd signed up for the same thing. I was pretty mediocre at skating, but C was great! I could honestly say he could beat me at ice skating.  

Though it was COLD, a great time was had by all. We even got complementary hot chocolate which C claimed was "the best hot chocolate" he's ever had.  

Now, that's a good surprise!

Monsieur Speedy

All in a days work

Though most days are not like this, I spent the morning in the beef barn at school.  I usually like to take photos with our "good" camera and not my Blackberry, but it looked really nice out there and my phone was all I had. 

It was so cold out there and after two hours outside (the current temperature is 24 degrees) I was sure my toes would be purple when I came back inside.  Thank goodness, they're still alive.  We have another foot of snow in the forecast tonight so I'm crossing my fingers for another snow day tomorrow.

Winter Commons at night

Last night, we went to see The Fighter.  This was an impromptu photo I took with Chris' iPhone as we were walking across the Commons to the movie theater

(I fiddled with the settings to make it look a little dreamier).  

It was just such a pretty sight, with the building lights in the background, lights draping from the trees, people skating at the Frog Pond, and the massive cloud-like piles of snow that have been pushed together.  There were a few people sledding down the big hill.  I enjoy walking through Boston Commons the most in the evenings when there aren't too many people around and all is quiet on a brisk night.  It was pretty perfect.

Snowed In

We got more than a foot of snow overnight.  It was a serious blizzard.  School was canceled for me today, and Chris got to work from home.


This is the view from outside our window.  It doesn't look like that much here, but this is what it looked like when we took Harry outside...

We also spent about forty-five minutes shoveling out the car tonight.  Chris did most of the heavy shoveling while I scraped down the sides of the car, the windows, and the roof.  I definitely can see the benefit of having a smaller car when it comes to shoveling and de-icing.  Another couple across the street started a little after us and finished about fifteen minutes before us! 

SAT

This past weekend, Chris and I traveled to San Antonio, my hometown, to attend the wedding of a very good friend I have known since middle school. We were really excited about this trip since we hadn't been to San Antonio in such a long time. 

I wanted to show Chris my old school, my old house, and we wanted to be sure to make our rounds at all the good places to eat!

On Friday, we traveled downtown to my old school and later had dinner near the Riverwalk (which had been drained of its usual water and was actually just muddy).

On Saturday, we woke up to a home-cooked breakfast prepared by my friend Kasey's mother- we stayed at their house this weekend and Kasey was in town for the wedding as well. We all then met up with more old friends for brunch at an interesting restaurant which was joined to a car wash and a laundromat!  Afterward, Chris played golf  at the driving range at Alamo Quarry with Axel, Kasey's boyfriend, while Kasey and I headed to some pre-wedding events. That night, we attended the rehearsal dinner hosted by the groom's family for yet more delicious food at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Alamo Heights.  I don't think we stopped eating all day.  We also stopped by my old house and met the current inhabitant!  He was perhaps more excited than I was!  He welcomed us in and showed us around- I even got to see my old room, which is now a game room.

Sunday was the day of the wedding, but we made sure to get up early to...eat. Again. We traveled all the way downtown to a historic building, the Guenther House, for a traditional breakfast of waffles and pancakes (and a fruit platter). The wedding was so brief, but it was the first Jewish wedding either of us has been to, so it was fun nonetheless (no bride or grooms in hoisted chairs, though). Of course, we ate some more at the reception.  In fact, I don't think I ate anything on Monday after all the eating we'd done since Friday.