Fencing and French etiquette

So we did it! I took Josh to his first Fencing class and everything went fine, despite the fact that he couldn't understand a word of what the instructor was telling him. He did manage to survive two hours surrounded by local kids and he learned two new terms: "garçon" and "filles". He met a girl in the group, Lila, who speaks a bit of English so he felt more relaxed. I spoke to his father, Andre (or Andrew?) who turned out to be born in California (Palo Alto) and moved here when he was 25. We spoke for at least half an hour, then, while walking to the exit, I turned to him and said: "By the way, I'm Isabella". He smiled at me and replied: "That's so American!". "What?" I asked him. "That you introduce yourself by name. You see? French people don't normally introduce themselves at the first encounter, they just wait, talk, and then after a while, perhaps days, it will eventually happen!". I'm not sure if he was making fun of me but in any case I thought it was funny. Last week it was the other way around: I was at home, sitting in the patio (which is in common with the other neighbors) and trying to "blend in" the house when a neighbor came to me and formally introduced himself and asked me several questions (where were we from, why where we here, how long are we going to stay, etc). He told me that this place, this neighborhood, the "Butte aux Cailles", is like a big family and everybody knows each other. Well, I guess I'll have to study more French etiquette!

Thinking of Marengo

If we were still in South Pasadena, today Josh would have started his 4th grade, and he would have seen all his friends...but here in Paris we are still in vacation. School starts officially on September 5th, so we only went there to complete all the paper works. The school is big for a French standard but it's so small compared to Marengo. Josh will be in a French-English 4th grade class (they call it CM1 Adaptation) with other 8 kids coming from all over the world: there are 3 other USA kids, one from Australia, one from UK, a couple from China, then Belgium. None of them speak a word of French so at least he's not going to be left behind. I enrolled him in Theater in English and Climbing. He will have to wait the second term in order to enroll in Science and Math since those are only given in French. 

The PiA (Parents in Adaptation) is pretty much as the PTA, they organize a lot of extra activities. 

Look at the website video here: http://www.eabjm.org/home/about

Then we met our new family doctor. We picked up a name in the neighborhood, went there, waited 3 minutes, we explained to him that we needed the certification to practice sports. He visited Josh, filled 7 different papers and that was it. 28 euros. I love the French Medical System!

Tomorrow I'll take him to the Fencing School next to us: here there are 46 different Club of Fencing, basically 1-2 in each arrondissment, so it won't take as much time as getting him twice a week in Monrovia. And the terminology is in French, so no cultural or language impact! 

So, for all of you who started the school today, have a great year and send us some pictures! We miss you all, a lot. 

La canicule

The heat wave is here! The brief rain shower that we had yesterday night didn't help at all, Josh was totally unprepared and couldn't sleep until 1.30 a.m. Finally he drop dead on the sofa and I had some rest too. We are no longer used to this temperature, in L.A. the summer is warm but at least we have some wind. Here, despite the wide streets, the air doesn't move between the tall buildings and you can almost feel it, stuck and oppressive. We decided to go for a walk in the afternoon, hoping to get some relief, but unfortunately we picked the worst place in Paris: the Centre Pompidou, with its glass structure...it was like walking in a furnace! I had to refrain Josh from jumping in the Stravinsky Fountain! 

 

I was surprised by the fact that there are no longer street artists here, apparently they have been banned by the municipality: we saw just a couple of musicians playing but as soon as they finished to perform their first piece, two "flics" arrived and had them leave! What a pity...They were actually good. 

The only breeze we had in the day was at the Paris Plage: hundreds of locals and turists in bikini, naked kids, all lying on the sand, just as they were in Cote d'Azur! Very funny. I wonder why we don't have the same in Torino!

And here we are, exhausted, on our way back, in front of the Tour Saint Jacques. Am I the only one who, looking at it, thinks at Minas Tirith?

Notre Dame

Today we went to visit Notre Dame. The last time I've been here we attended a concert, St Matthew Passion by J.S.Bach and I was able to stay awake until the end! Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful music but we went there after dinner and the French wine doesn't help to keep you focused for such a long time. Today no wine, no concert, just a walk in it.

 

After dinner I took Josh for a walk here in the neighborhood: it's full of brasseries and people in the streets, so vital and chaotic still at 9.30 pm. He had his first crepe au chocolat at the "Des Crepes et des Cailles" and you should see his face when he tasted it: dark chocolate, whipped cream on top! Huge. I still don't know how he managed to finish it but he did. BTW,  no problems after that, he was so happy that as soon as we got home, he brushed his teeth, went to bed and in 5 minutes he was sleeping.

One small step...

Actually two steps, in fact today, despite the bad news with the apartment, we were able to open a bank account and get ourselves mobile phones. This morning when we got up we were almost ready to move from here, we asked the Agency to find us another accommodation. But then we wouldn't be able to get any bank account nor the mobile phones nor all the other thing you need in your daily life, at least we wouldn't be able to get them in a reasonable amount of time. So, even thought we are not exactly happy with the house (my friend Etta told me "What did you expect?"), we decided to stay...for the moment. Then in the future, who knows? We are living as if we were in a campground, no hot water, spiders everywhere, dust..pretty expensive camping!

Paris: we are here!

We made it! It has been a "dream" for so long, now it's real.

We left Torino with our 9 luggages, we traveled on the TGV (the high speed train) and now we are here.

 

We are in Paris, in our new home, 12 Rue Alphand (13eme arrondissement). The first surprise was that the house is on the top of a hill, within the Quartier Butte-aux-Cailles...so we have to carry our bags or whatever we have up and down! The second surprise was that of course, to enter the house, there are 13 steps of a stair that is so steep, you almost need a chain! The house is small, compared with our home in South Pasadena (which is already one of the smallest home I know!!!). Unfortunately we had to face some problems since our entry....the water heater doesn't work, so we are getting cold showers. Tomorrow  hopefully we'll have it fixed. Josh loves his bunk bed but will need to get use to the lower ceilings or else he'll bump his head a million times. And the piano is out of tune....Giuseppe is nervous!

Obviously our first trip was to visit the Tour Eiffel: Josh couldn't believe how tall it is! We didn't climb it, yet, it was too late in the afternoon, next time. Then he went on a go-kart and tried to talk to a girl in French...of course she was American!

Bonne nuit!

-1 to Paris: Adventure Park in Bardonecchia

The bad news are that I suffer from heights and I get panic attacks on the first step of a ladder. The good news are that I won't be asked again to do this crazy Adventure Park. It's a 3 hours route on ropes, between 10 and 17 mt from the ground. Josh is a monkey, honestly, we couldn't stop him. Me? I was terrified, shaking...at a certain point the Staff offered me to quit but then I asked my self: "When I will find again the courage to do it?  It's now or never" ...so I finished and I won the bet with Josh. 

-1 to Paris: news from Bardonecchia

While mom and dad were soaking in vodka in Saint Petersburg, Josh was acting totally wild in the mountains with his granparents and his uncles. I wonder...was it before or after lunch?

 

-1 to Paris: Villa della Regina

I don't normally miss too much Italy, since leaving in California is so much easier. I miss my family and some habits, the food and the wine, but most of all I miss the history and the amount of ancient buildings. And from this video you can see why. This is only one of the 26 and perhaps more houses which belonged to the Royal Family...this one belonged to the Queen and was build in 1620. Josh was especially astonished by the panoramic view and by the fact that all the the frescoes in the main hall ("The Ballroom") were once again restored by my sister. Check them here:
http://www.cultor.it/VR/22.html
 He just can't believe that someone so messy and crazy in her daily life as my sister can be so meticulous and precise in her job. Then he realized that he is just the same with his models....Well, at least he has a future as restorer!
By the end of the visit, he forgot the pain on his arm due to the vaccination against TBC...I know, nobody does it anymore in the world, not in USA nor in Italy. But in France is still mandatory to enroll the students in public or private school. Guess why? Just think about the name of the inventors: Calmette and Guerin, both French...and then you understand...

 

-1 to Paris: hiking with grandpa and grandma

Good job Josh! It was a long hike, 3 hours and a half each way, but you made it. I have to admit that I was a bit worried for grandpa Giorgio, who is 80. But, as usual, he surprised me and we went all together up to the top of the Freidur Mountain without problems. The view was spectacular. I learned that every year, on October, people from U.K. come here to commemorate the English pilots who crashed their plane on the top of the mountain while trying to help the partisans. The monument on top is called "Wings as sails". There is also a stone with the following words from W. Churchill: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". 

- 1 to Paris: Zoom - Bolder Beach

Who on Earth could imagine that near Torino there is a Biopark? Surprise, there is one, huge, with penguins, camels, dromedaries, meerkats, tigers, eagles, vultures and monkeys! Check it out here: http://www.zoomtorino.it/contenuti/ita/home/home/home.php 

The real surprise was to find out that my cousin Valentina, who is a biologist, is one of the staff...So we went to visit her, together with my uncle Renato (she named a penguin after him!!!!) and we spent the day watching the Birds Show, feeding animals and of course swimming in the pool. The only terrifying moment was when my 84 years old uncle rolled down the amphitheater ...nothing broken, just a huge scare! 

- 1 to Paris: trip to "Il Bricchetto"

Another day, another trip. This time we went to Mondovi', to visit Josh's cousins Cesare and Michele in their summer farmhouse named "Il Bricchetto" ("the small brick")...It looks more like a castle, with the tower, the walls, the moat, the watchtowers and it's a great place for the kids to play knights or just hide and seek. Cesare and Michele and Josh are very alike (I like to call them "The three Musketeers") and they had a great time playing and building. Zio Marco is a "funny guy", he always jokes around and , as you can see, is a great musician and singer (you can actually see him singing in Giuseppe's rock band - I Karamamma - on youtube!). Anna is  always smiling and relaxing. Zia Irma is the best cook in the world! Great family, great time.

-1 to Paris: July in Venice

Here we are in Venice. I know it sounds bizarre, but this was my first time here. I spent 20 years living in Turin, only 4 hours by train, and I never took the chance to visit this astonishing city. Ok, I've been to the Venetian, in Las Vegas...but I don't think it counts. 

We rented a nice apartment in Dorsoduro, facing La Giudecca: the second terrace on the roof had a spectacular view on all the city. The owner, Sebastiano, is an Italian journalist that works in Warsaw. We found the ads on sabbatical homes and it worked great. Don't go there if you are a 5 star hotel lover, but if you like to have a relaxing breakfast in your pj at 9 am and to come home after walking all day and relax on the sofa, have a nice dinner at home ....well, you get the idea!   Of course we went to visit la Basilica, il Campanile, Murano, Burano and Torcello. Josh had a blast when we took him to the Historical Marine Museum, with all the models of the ancient and new boats! This was one of the highlights of our time in Venice. Thank you Giorgio and Gheghi for this adventure!

 

- 4 to Paris

Well, it looks like the Italian vacation has come to an end. Everything was great!

First: we finally met the 2 new arrivals in our family: a boy (Giuliano Libero Fortunato....what a name!) from my sister and a girl (Maria Elena) from Giuseppe's brother. They are both adorable!

Second: I passed my exam so I finally received my M.D. license and I'll be allowed to work as a doctor in the USA....perfect timing for someone who's moving to Paris one year!

But now, let's go back to our vacation.

Here is Josh with his cousins Cesare and Pietro at Castello di Osasco, which is a XIII century  castle close to Torino.  The kids were supposed to use cardboards and paint to create castles...of course Josh reproduced Mordor (the Lord of the Rings), all black, while the other kids used all possible combination of colors! I think I'll enroll him in a painting class, perhaps he will start to use some color...

Here is Josh with grandma Annabella visiting the Royal Palace in Torino. I almost forgot how beautiful this city is!