New Car and School

We bought a Prius this week! It is Toyota's version of the hybrid. The gas mileage is supposed to be around 50 in the city. The car is super cute. James will be the primary driver which means I get the Cruiser as my car and the Intrepid shifts down to Forest when he gets his license this summer. He is starting driver's ed this Monday.

Anyway, the car! We were in the market for a new car and were considering our options when An Inconvenient Truth came up in our Netflix list and arrived in our mail box. It really helped us make the decision. If you haven't seen it yet, you must. I was afraid it would be a lot of stuff I already knew and would leave me feeling even more depressed (like The Corporation - a good movie but very depressing). Surprisingly An Inconvenient Truth ended with a very hopeful note that we can make changes to turn the situation around!

The car has GPS, satellite radio and blue tooth. All the technical stuff really appeals to James. He is having fun with it. I made him promise to watch the road and not the little screen. When it turns on, it is super quiet. One of the screens you can chose will tell you when the battery is charging and when it is using gasoline. It also shows you what gas mileage you are getting at different stages. Another cool thing is that you get a tax credit, insurance credit and free parking at meters in downtown Austin. Hooray!

Forest has started at a new school. It is a public charter school that focuses on small class sizes, developing bonds between teachers and students and helping students like Forest who are bored in a regular classroom situation to re-engage with school. The homeschooling just did not work out for us. We were not able to help him enough with Chemistry and Math. This school also has some really cool affiliations with groups that do different types of projects like green home building. If he completes one of the programs, he can get a scholarship for college from it. Another affiliation they have is one that helps kids with their job skills, resume writing, job searching and interviewing techniques. Fingers crossed that it will be a good experience for him.

Last Days in Paris

Paris was so amazing. The train ride was nice and they served a great meal. We did a whirlwind tour of the city in about 48 hours.

We arrived the afternoon of Thursday and first walked over to see the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre. We met up with James' cousin Elizabeth and her family who were vacationing there also. We had a great dinner in a little market area and then walked over to the Eiffel Tower. The tower was amazing and huge. People had warned me but I was still dumbstruck by how big it is! The lights were on and soon after we got there, it started its hourly light show in which it twinkles all over. It was beautiful. After that we walked along the river and saw the barges that people live on. We saw the exterior of a new museum where the walls of the building were alive - it was neat, like a terrarium (sp) there was actually grass and all sorts of plants growing off the walls of like a 6 story building. I couldn't get a picture because it was too dark. I wish we'd had more time so we could visit the museum. It is supposed to be American, African and another culture which I can't think of right now's art. The court yard had the most interesting little lighted tubes.

On Friday, my birthday, Forest slept in and James and I boarded one of those sight seeing buses that you can get on and off of. It was such a great way to see the city in a short time. We got off and went into the Notre Dame cathedral which took my breath away. James lit a candle and said a prayer for me since it was my birthday. I don't know what happened next but I was staring at the Rose Window and I was suddenly very emotional, feeling all this amazing gratitude for my life. Just thinking how fortunate I am to study the Rose Window in school and then to come and see it. How fortunate my life is in so many ways. I began to cry. It was such a beautiful and warm place. It was a very special experience.

We continued on the bus and saw the Place de la Concord, the Arc de Triomphe, and so many other beautiful buildings and streets, booksellers along the Seine. We got off at the Eiffel Tower where Forest met up with us. He so impressed me getting around on his own in both London and Paris. We all had lunch around the corner. We got back on the bus and rode it up to Monmartre where we took the steps up to the Sacre Coeur. After looking in the church and admiring the hilltop view of Paris at night, we walked to the courtyard area of Monmartre. There were portrait artists. Forest had his portrait done. After shopping around we had dinner in a little restaurant called Chez Eugene that just had the most perfect atmosphere. The decor was super kitschy and there was a two man band, comprised of a guitar and drum, who played the most happy music. Our waiter grabbed some spoons and kept time with the band as he bustled around. They played that song from Triplets of Belville. We had champagne and then a bottle of wine. The food was great. I felt very happy. This is how we celebrated my birthday!

The next morning James and I got up very early and headed to the outskirts of Paris to the St. Quen flea market. We only had a couple of hours but it was heaven! I could easily spend an entire day there. Serendipitously, the first booth I came to was selling old beads and findings. Score! In other booths I found some great old religious medals for earrings, some beautiful vintage glass cabachons that I hope to use in my silver work. It was such a successful venture.
We headed back to the hotel to check out and get Forest. We took a cab over to Arc de Triomphe because Forest really wanted to see it. We walked the steps to the top and admired the view.

Then it was time to leave Paris. We arrived back in London, packed everything and had one last meal at a restaurant nearby. Unfortunately, in my tired state I mis-set the alarm clock and we missed our flight the next morning but it all worked out because they got us on the next one. Now we are home! I have a long to-do list. I am happy to get back to my life! I was beginning to get a little homesick.

London Days 12 & 13

1/04/06

On day 12 we finally got to take Forest to the Tower of London! Last time we were here James and I went to the Tower twice! It is such a great experience. But I have to say that hearing all the history, it is easy to start getting very mixed up about all the kings. The only thing you can definitively say is that being in line for the throne is very deadly! We also saw the crown jewels on display at the Tower. They are quite sparkley.

After the Tower we had dinner at the Wagamama noodle house. Another place that James and I remembered fondly from our last visit. So yummy.

On Day 13 Forest went out on his own adventure in the morning. I was excited for him to have this experience. It is always exciting to be on your own for the first time in a large city like this. I remember how thrilling it was the first time I was out on my own in NYC.

James and I went to Westminster Abbey. It was overwhelmingly ornate! Every surface was covered in some beautiful wood or marble carving. It was really great to see the tomb of Elizabeth I. The Lady’s chapel had the most beautiful ceiling I have ever seen. We also saw Poet’s Corner where they memorialized many great English writers such as Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Westminster was an amazing experience.

Forest met up with us for a late lunch at a sushi place called Matsuri. Yummy!

We headed over to Covent Garden for some shopping. I had some bead shops I wanted to search out. They ended up being in a great little area called Seven Dials. While I found some amazing beads for earrings, James had coffee in a really neat little courtyard outside the bead store called Neal’s Yard. It seemed like a set for a play! Forest found a great skateboard shop there where he finally found the elusive white belt he had been looking for. Down the street we went into a vintage store called Rockit where James found a great vintage leather jacket. I found the second bead store and James bought some cool t-shirts from a street vendor. James said he was glad that I wanted to seek out those bead stores because it led us to such a neat area for shopping.

After that we came home, made ourselves some spaghetti and packed for Paris. We leave this morning. Can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower. I dreamed about it all night!

London Days 10 and 11

On New Year’s Eve day we visited the Tate Modern Museum. It is such a great museum. My favorite thing there was this piece by Christian Marclay called Video Quartet. He took all these musical and lyrical clips from movies and keeping their original sound and placed four at a time side by side so that they make up an entirely new piece of music. It was mind-blowing!

They also had all the Guerilla Girls posters up in one room and I had noticed that they had a pretty fair representation of women’s art hung in the museum as well.

That evening we went down to the Thames to watch the great fireworks display, make our resolutions and drink some champagne. Getting home was crazy with throngs of people pushing through the streets.

On New Year’s Day James and I got up early and went for breakfast at the Patisserie Valerie. I love that place! We had lattes and eggs benedict. After that we took a walk in St. James’ Park and fed the birds. We stopped and had tea at a little restaurant in the park.

After the park we visited the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms which I found incredibly interesting and informative. The Cabinet War Rooms were the original rooms from which he conducted the war and were restored from old pictures to look exactly as they did in the 1940’s. There was a museum attached which had five sections focusing on his life at different times. I never realized what an amazing character he was. It is one of the best mueums I have ever visited.

This New Year's Day was so relaxing and nice!