Summer Parties

Sticky Fingered Beauties

Sylvia stood patiently in line for a long time to buy this cotton candy for herself and her friend.

The theme of this year's Kermesse was masked ball, which is a bit less offensive than last year's  cowboys and Indians theme.

 These are some determined sack racers.  The brown bag says La Poste on it and someone must have borrowed it from the postman.

 Speed!

The party takes place in two attached courtyards.  The maternelle and elementaire schools are separate buildings but are attached by their courtyards.  There are probably over 800 kids at both schools.

 Maternelle courtyard

 Look who is in charge of the cactus game!

 Sylvia and I went up to her classroom for a private party, where the parents gave her teacher a gift.  Sylvia's teacher is retiring this year.  I am not sure why the letters that aren't cursive are on this chart.  I guess so that kids can identify them.  They almost always write in cursive.

 Just like last year, Pierre's big work garden party was the same night.  We dropped the girls at home with a babysitter and went back out.  We looked great.

The chateau has a long history, which you can read about here.  The current chateau was built by the Rothchilds.  The Nazis used it as their headquarters during WWII and then the allies took it over for their own headquarters.  On a lighter note, the first hot air balloon was launched from Chateau de la Muette.

Kermesse Cookies

Tomorrow night is Kermesse.  Today I was busy baking chocolate chip cookies.  Many bakeries here sell cookies, but I don't think they use brown sugar.  My job is to introduce the French to the subtly chewy cookie.  Our oven here provides very uneven heat and my cookies are various shades of golden brown.

Parents donate things to the snack table and the kids get a ticket to spend on baked goods.  By the time I meet up with the girls in the courtyard after school, they will be on their way to a giddy sugar high.

I picked up these chocolate chips at one of my favorite shops in Paris, G. Detou.  Paired with some Mexican vanilla, a gift from my sister, these cookies are a step above your usual ho-hum chocolate chips.  Mémé carried over about 100 pounds of chocolate chips in her suitcase last time she visited.  I still have a stash of the milk chocolate, but I couldn't resist these dark chunks.

Yesterday, after morning piano lessons, we met up with the girls' Ottawa piano teacher.  Carla and her husband Brian are in town taking in the sights.  It was great to see them, even if it made me miss my Ottawa friends.  I should have snapped a photo of Carla and the girls.

Fête de la Musique

After a long day in Provins, Lillian and I rallied to join Sylvia and Pierre at Place des Vosges. We wanted to check out Fête de la Musique.  One summer night a year, there are musicians and bands playing in venues all over Paris.  We chose Place des Vosges because there are monkey bars there.

 It was hopping.  There were several groups playing on each street.

 Celtic music

After listening to many different musicians, we caught the metro home at La Bastille.  It was the longest night of the year, and despite the light sky it was late.  We all had a nice sleep in this morning.  Happy summer and happy weekend!

Provins

Yesterday, Lillian's class went to Provins a walled city more than an hour outside of Paris.  We rode in a cushy coach bus with seat belts.   It was freezing.  I had looked at the weather report and thought I was well prepared, but I was wrong.  When we arrived it was raining hard.  The rain stopped, but the wind blew and the sun only appeared as we were leaving.  BRR!

When I needed someone to watch Sylvia after school at the last minute, I was able to quickly text an accommodating friend.  I definitely wouldn't have known anyone well enough to do that at this time last year.

The kids were given a quiz that led them through the city.  If they answered all of the questions correctly, they could spell the secret word at the end of the booklet.  Lil's teacher said she would do her own, shorter version next year.

 The medieval city was crawling with school groups.  The old city is really just a tourist attraction; there are only restaurants and souvenir shops within the walls.

 We climbed the tower and only lost one child (temporarily).

 Lillian was happy because two of her best friends were in our group.

 More stairs up to the bell tower.

 

 The grand finale was a "spectacle," which included, sword play, horse tricks, and bad guys that for some reason looked like orcs.

 The kids loved this and thought it was wildly exciting.

Creepy Orc King

Sylvia's chorale

 Sylvia knew all of the songs and was ready to go.

Pierre and I are so proud of Sylvia that we both came to see her sing.  Pierre took lots of videos, but I am having technical difficulties.  I will see if I can add one later.  The last day of school is July 5th and the end of year activities are fast and furious.

Girl Scout Camp Out

This is one happy camper.  I had had a hard week and was quite sure that I could not do camp out.  After sobbing and e-mailing my friend all of the reasons I couldn't possibly go, I received a reply.  The reply was not the one I wanted.  Coleen basically told me that I needed to suck it up for my daughter.  She was right.  In the end, I actually had a good time, too.

 We began our day early in the morning.  We caught a taxi to the commuter rail station.  The taxi we had called, pulled away right as we reached the sidewalk with all of our gear.  I was able to flag down another (a notoriously impossible thing to do in Paris) and we barely made it on the train in time.  We went to Versailles, where a nice Brownie mom picked up up and drove us a bit more than an hour to Jambville.  This chateau and grounds belongs to the Scout de France.

These ladies do not travel light.  See the cupcake holder?

 As we began loading up the cart, the sky darkened and it began to rain.  Happily, the clouds soon disappeared and we set up camp.

 Here we are with all of the troops.  The girls who are moving up a level go through the bridge.

 Lillian is moving from being a Brownie this year to being a Junior next year.

 See the chateau in the distance?  Lillian's troop plans to do a camp in there next winter.

The girls all make "swaps," which are little pins that go on their hats.  They trade swaps and decorate their hats.  Some of the older girls have hats filled with hundreds of swaps.

 This is Lillian's Brownie troop showing the younger Daisy troop how it is done.  Some of these Daisies are in Sylvia's troop.  Sylvia and Pierre stayed home this year because the logistics were beyond me.  Most Daisies do not spend the night, and without a car it was going to be way too much travel time.  Pierre and Sylvia had a grand time doing an incredible treasure hunt.  Next year, Sylvia will be a Brownie.

 These are Lillian's leaders Kim and Bly and they are marvelous.  Kim is a wedding planner and just wrote a coffee table book about getting married in Paris.  Brownies has made a huge difference in Lillian's happiness here and I am so grateful to these women.

 

 We stayed one night.  There was plenty of food for a week or two.

 The girls practiced their song, Bazooka, Zooka Bubblegum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PZapDitmdA

 S'Mores!

 The leaders' daughters have earned a lot of patches in their two years of Brownies. 

 Songs and skits

It stays light until about 10:30 at night.

Lillian was in the quiet tent and got more sleep than most the girls.  She fell asleep on the commuter train home.  I was happy that we had packed relatively light because carrying our backpacks onto the metro and home was no easy task.

So glad I went camping with this Junior Scout.

Unexpected visit with the fabulous Merk Family

 As I was attempting to pack up for Girl Scout camp out and waiting for Pierre to come home, I got a call from the Merk sisters.  Susi, on the right next to her mom, lived with my family my senior year of high school in Utah.  Susi's sister lives in Paris, so I sometimes get a chance to see this lovely family.  We plan to see Susi and her mom this summer at their home in Germany.

 Their dinner reservation was for 10:00, so I briskly walked over the river and to Musée Quai Branly.  There is a restaurant on the top floor with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower.

Fuzzy photo of the lovely view.

I had planned to stay for a quick drink, but soon realized I had been there for several hours.  Wonderful to see the Merks!  

If you have a teenager, look into Youth for Understanding.  This is the organization that brought Susi to us.  I also spent a summer in Switzerland and my brother, Pete, spent a year in Australia.  I am so grateful to have Susi as part of our family.

Field Trip to La Ménagerie

Sylvia's class went to La Ménagerie, Zoo du Jardin des Plantes. 

Her CP (grade one) class climbed on the metro and rode across town. 

 Madame Geftman, Sylvia's teacher, is retiring this year.  Her husband, Pierre, came along on the field trip.  We were glad he was along because this is a high energy group.  She has been a great teacher for Sylvia and I am sorry to see her go.

 Each student was given a sketch pad to draw the animals.  Here they are sketching the flamingos.

 

 Miraculously, it was another sunny day. 

Home again, home again!