Joyeux Noël!

Joyeux Noël and Merry Christmas to you all!

People have been reminding me that we've been overdue with a post for sometime, now...O.K., I know, it's been over a month.

Lyon by night

Lyon by day

Cora:)

Père Noël

We've had a very busy, but exciting month, getting ready for the School holiday vacation (which is upon us, now!) and also preparing for our first Christmas in France.  The city is energetic and filled with lots of festive decorations, and everyone seems to be smiling.  It's a really nice time of year, here.

Katherine's Christmas Dress for Midnight Mass

The kids picked out a beauty of a Christmas tree, and it's now decorated in the living room. Katherine's mom was kind enough to send a box of our Christmas ornaments from the States (Thanks, Grandma!) so the tree is full of familiar decorations and it makes us feel right at home, even if we are missing friends and family.

I hauled this monster home, myself.

The beautiful Christmas Crèche at the Basilica of Notre Dame, Lyon

So, in lieu of a long update, I'll bullet point some happenings from our last six weeks.  I promise that I'll send out a more detailed post after Christmas, but for now, here are some high points:

• We celebrated U.S. Thanksgiving in a very funny way.  The kids were in school all day long which struck them as odd.  "Why should we have to go to school on Thanksgiving??" they asked.  Over the following weekend we made up a traditional feast.  Sadly, Daphne and Leo got sick and spent the 'feast' on the couch with fevers.  Dinner tasted great, though...

Prepping for Thanksgiving at the holiday market

Leo's Thanksgiving

• My world-traveling cousin, Anna, came to visit us in early December!  We had such fun with her, sampling Lyonnais treats, like a bathtub-sized pan of ham and potatoes which makes our whole quarter smell amazing, and the traditional mulled wine which every restaurant seems to have a kettle of outside their door-it tastes like Christmas in a cup, and I love it.

Anna and Katherine, pre-Vin Chaud (Mulled Wine)

Holiday fare

When you mix cheese, cream, potatoes and ham, good things happen...

Christmas street food, Lyonnais...

Leo and Anna out on the town

• The girls got their end-of-trimester evaluations from school, and they've both exceeded expectations!  Their teachers are very happy with their work, and we are proud of how well they've excelled in school, even in the midst of such a major move.  

• After four months, Leo is comprehending more and more French.  He is now even occasionally lapsing into French at home (accidentally, of course).  He gets visibly annoyed with himself when he does this, and it's hilarious.

Leo with Père Noël

• Katherine and I have graduated from our 12-week intensive French language class and have given each other the Christmas gift of another six weeks after the holidays.  We are gluttons for more French grammar!

This is an actual photo from our French Class.  Not an offensive play-scheme for the Green Bay Packers.

• I (Aaron) am almost finished up with the nearly two-year recording project I've been working on for Florestan Recital Project.  It's scheduled to be released in mid-February: a three-disc set of the Complete Songs of Virgil Thomson.  It's beautiful music, and you can see a short behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the discs, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfVr2QRIcvY or, here: http://www.florestanproject.org/florestan_new_site/recordings.html

The disc cover!

• We've loved receiving your calls, gifts and Christmas cards from abroad!  Thank you, all:)

Leo's Santa letter:)

• Last, but not least...yesterday (12.23.15) we closed on the sale of our house in the States.  We celebrated by popping a cork with some friends here last night, and madly texting back and forth with my parents, who managed the signing of the paperwork for us. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!).  It's a great house, we loved living in it, and we're happy for the new owners and for the fact that it won't be empty during the cold Minnesota winter.

Afton Abbey.  Our house has sold!

Beyond that, we think of you all especially at this lovely time of year.  

Making Gingerbread...

The French can candy anything.

Happy Holidays to you all, and please keep us updated on your happenings!

Lots of love,

Aaron

Quick update from Lyon

Hi everyone:

We have had many kind and concerned phone calls and messages over the past 24 hours since the tragic attacks in Paris.  Since it happened late in the evening, we didn't know about the situation until we woke up yesterday morning and heard the very sad news.

We wanted to let you know that we're just fine here in Lyon.  We are about 2 hours (by high-speed train) from Paris (about 300 miles).

The feeling here is best described as sad and shocked.  People are very sad, but life goes on, and people still have to go to the market, etc. We have been out a couple times, and feel very safe in our neighborhood.  There are more armed police/military visible, and it seems like there are fewer people around than would be expected for a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. As yet, we don't know anyone who was directly affected by the tragedy. Our Parisian friend is actually in Lyon this weekend working, so that was very lucky!

Yesterday was the first time we've discussed intentional violence and terrorism with the girls (Leo is still too young). There have been countless acts of school shootings and the like which have occurred during their young lives in the States, which we never told them about. But this time we had to tell them, as it will be discussed in school on Monday, certainly.

Last night, Cora and I took a long walk and saw many windows with candles lit in memory and honor of the Paris victims.  There was a moving memorial of candles at the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) near the Lyon Opera House.  We rode the subway, went to a performance of an operetta and talked.  She had lots of questions, none of which have satisfactory answers.  But, she knows that we're careful, and that we don't feel in danger.  There is not unrest here.   Just sadness and shock.

A candle-lit memorial on the steps of the Hôtel de Ville

So that's our quick message to you all, as well.  Like the rest of the world, we are very sad for the victims' families and friends, and we're distressed that occasional acts like these are now part of our world. But we're ok, and the city is by all other standards, normal.  It's a beautiful day here and we took a long walk, ran into some neighbors, enjoyed the weather and played in the park.  People are out smiling, spending time together and giving one another kind looks of understanding.

Lots of love to you all.

Weekend trip to Annecy

Hi, all!

Happy November!  We hope you’re all well.  Things here are going great.  We’ve had a busy three weeks, and are now enjoying the beautiful “Fall” weather here in Lyon (60’s and sunny).  

All the kids in France enjoy a nice, long 2-week break in late October, and our kids were really excited as it approached.  They have adjusted beautifully to school here in France, but it’s been a big change, and the vacation came just at the right time.  They gave big hugs to their friends on the last day of school, and headed home.

The day after school ended was Cora's birthday, so we celebrated that with 3 of her new school friends on Saturday afternoon. They played, gave her cute gifts, and we all ate chocolate cake. Cora specially requested this cake, and everything else that we ate all day. She had breakfast in bed, served to her by her siblings. Lunch and dinner were chosen by her too, of course, cooked with love by Chef Dad. Cora had a great time, got an awesome new scooter (thanks Gramma!) and other great gifts.

Birthday breakfast in bed.

All dressed up in her birthday suit.

I made a birthday cake!

Back to school vacation...I had envisioned school vacation here consisting of walks to museums, lots of reading, exploring the city…you know.  For some reason, I thought school vacation might be different here.

By the third or fourth day, we were hearing lots of things like, “Mama, what can I do?”  or “Dad, can you please tell them to be quiet??”  

Some things stay the same no matter where you go.

Carving a pumpkin killed some time...

After a day-long Monopoly game, we've got to get out of Dodge for a few days...

So we figured a little change of scenery would do us all some good.  But, because we didn’t have our residency cards quite finalized yet, (but they are now  -  next post on that!!) we couldn’t leave the country for fear of being sent back to the consulate in Chicago.  Not a good risk to take.  

Since the French Alps are so close by, we decided to take a weekend trip to a beautiful little town that we’d been reading about called Annecy.  Annecy is an alpine town which sits right on the northern edge of Lake Annecy tucked in the foothills of the French Alps.  Only two hours by train from Lyon, we grabbed tickets, booked a quick Airbnb, and packed a suitcase.

On the train to Annecy

The kids said the train reminded them of the 'Hogwart's Express'

The train ride was beautiful.  The Fall colors here were so much more beautiful than I had imagined.  Living in New England for years has made me a foliage snob, but I was ‘oohing and aahing’ each time the train rounded a bend and new vistas came into view. But, Katherine says New England foliage still beats this place. Hurrumph.

Passing Lac du Bourget, en route to Annecy

The train station in Annecy is nice and small, and we were able to find our digs quickly and easily. Then we headed downtown for a little exploration.

Leo, the photo-bomber, strikes again.

What a beautiful town!  We walked street after street and along the picturesque canals which wind their way through the village and into the great mountain lake.  Each time we turned a corner we seemed to be stopping to snap pictures, until we realized that you can’t really take a bad picture in Annecy, so there is no urgency to any shot.

The food was all Alpine fare: think of fondue, lardons and cream.  Most restaurants had a regional food section which was a big pile of potatoes, cheese and ham.

This canal is one of the most photographed spots in Annecy.

Epic photo bomb, courtesy of Cora.

We had beautiful weather and took a two-hour boat ride down Lake Annecy right away.  Leo actually fell asleep, but was happy because he was sleeping on a boat.  And Daphne and Cora were happy because he was asleep.  

Leaving the port of Annecy for a two-hour cruise. The castle in the city center is just visible beneath the tip of the flag.

Best. Bubble. Ever.

Annecy at night is quite romantic!

Buying earrings with Mama.

The kids wanted to bring this little friend home with us.

He was hanging out at the entrance to the castle.

Another secret passageway.

Cutest house ever, just in the shadow of the castle walls.

Sunday market along the canal.

On our second day (Halloween), we rented some bikes and rode along the bike path which goes almost all the way around the lake.  The only trouble we encountered was trying to find a stopping place for lunch.  We keep forgetting that everything closes down between 2pm and 6pm, so we kept striking out looking for food.  Ah, well.  “That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right kids?”

Katherine wanted to ride in the chariot, but Leo won the coin-toss.

FREE subscription to our blog if anyone can identify this bird!

Cora, gamely keeping up, but very hungry....

The lake in the morning

These trees have been "pollarded". It's a special yearly pruning method very popular here. They are sycamore trees. 

We rode around this town for a while, looking for food...

Anything but potatoes, cheese and ham, please!

I want potatoes, cheese and ham!!!

Halloween festivities, Alpine-style:)

The kids want to come back to Annecy next year for Halloween too.

Lots of love, and we'll see you all in the next post.