A Tale of Toilets

Sometimes vacations have a theme of their own that you don't really realize until you get home. Our trip to Paris could be surmised by the troubles we had with toilets. Let me elaborate:

• A toilet in the apartment that leaked sewage down the wall
• The same toilet later leaked sewage on your head
• The same toilet that entrapped my mother in law to the point where I was afraid we'd need an axe to chop down the door
• Toilets we could never find in museums
• Toilets, once found, always had long lines that required a 30 minute wait
• Toilet confusion resulting from common handwashing areas for men and women, but separate toilet stalls (complete with attendants directing users like airline control towers)
• The toilet my husband went into that was for women, not men (we'll have to save the theme of "being yelled at in France" for another day). As my daughter aptly put it, I just went on in and pretended he wasn't my dad.
• The toliet at Charles de Gaule that I wanted to barf in when I had a reaction to the Dramamina and Prevacid I'd taken at the same time

Arrivees!

The pick up at O'Hare was a thousand times easier than the departure. There were less people, and even though the security line was long, I got through it in seconds. I told the nice TSA man that I was here to pick up my children and (brace yourself) he took me to the front of the line!

They turned out more French that we could have possible imagined.

(Chaque fois que je regarde cette photo, je me dis que ma fille est tellment jolie.)

Letters from Camp

They're nearly home but yesterday I finally received my first letter from William. When I spoke to him on Sunday after the whole hazelnut incident, he asked if I'd received his letter. I realized after taking one look at the letter yesterday why it probably didn't whiz through the postal system....You decide.

Tomorrow they're coming home!

And I cannot wait!!

Proof this really *IS* French camp!

These kids eat like kings

No hot dogs and hamburgers for these summer campers. I think my grocery bill is going to go through the roof when they return. Too bad there are never any coupons for Brie cheese!  This is just from lunch one day!

Love the expression of the girl in the back! OMG more quiche.

They bake their own bread daily at the camp. Yes, at the camp!

Tomato salad with fresh cheese.

This is cute!

Attention Italian Villagers: RUN

More photos. No descriptions. What's a mom to do but come to her own logical conclusions.

Across the lake, the Italian language village lies sleeping while the French village plots.

Translation: we invade tonight

But since we are French, crudites for EVERYONE!

And les brownies!

Tomorrow I go to battle, but tonight my love, we DANCE our last tango in Paris.

Au revoir mon amour! At least we had Bemidji!

Feast before the assault

Choreography can only mean one thing: the invasion has BEGUN

The villagers rejoice!

We will wear these disguises. No one will know!

And use our cardboard axes!

But wait, are those more croissants??? I grow dizzy at the thought of them.

On second thought, let's just send them hate mail. "Your pasta is undercooked and your bread is stale"

We'd rather watch a movie in the A/C. Bonne Nuit!