Happy, tired, and ready to come home.

You all know the saying, "there's no place like home." Well, we've officially made it there. We spent today touring another chateau (the best one we've seen yet). We had more great French food and today we finally did some shopping. Then at 7PM, we took the train, then metro, then RER, and finally the shuttle bus to arrive at our airport hotel. The last 2 hours of the trip were trying, and when we finally arrived at the Marriot, the restaurant was closed.

We went to the bar and ordered a cold sandwich and pizza in addition to several drinks. This was not a wise decision given our pre-existing level of dehydration and lack of calories. As you can imagine, we have been walking our butts off, and it has been impossible to eat or drink enough during this trip. We are both excited to go home and replenish.

We met the most rambunctious crew of men at the hotel bar. They work for an international company that sells/maintains gas pumps. The men were from Switzerland, Belgium, Scotland, and Italy (and two others who threw the towel in earlier). They were quite drunk and were having "swimming races". They were practicing the butterfuly vs the backstroke on the concrete floor and racing to an invisible line. We got to be the judges. What a strange ending to a long day.

We come home tomorrow. We are excited to be back in the states. Will post more pictures upon our return.

Amboise

We left Paris early this morning and took a train to the quaint town of Amboise in the center of the Lorie valley. It is a beautiful town with narrow streets filled with shops and lots of friendly (yes, friendly Frenchies). Despite what you may have heard, the French people are very nice and patient, considering droves of non-french speaking tourist invade their towns on a daily basis. Amboise has a population of 12,000 and 1,000,000 tourist annually!

All day we toured the town, saw a church built in 1000 AD and still standing proud, tried to find the remains of a Roman wall and got skunked, climbed ancient stone stairs and ramparts, and shot lots and lots of photos. Everything here is worth taking a picture of but no picture seems to quite do it justice. Amboise is a must visit if you are in the Loire. Tomorrow we tour Chenonceaux ("the" chateau of chateaus per Rick Steve's France 2009 Guide) and do some shopping.

Quasi Moto and the Moai

We started the day out exploring Notre Dame, lighting a offering candle, and reading up on the statues of saints and martyrs. After that we strolled up through the Latin Quarter to the Louvre where we saw Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa before touring the African/Oceanian art where we found a Moai (one of the status you find on Easter Island). I was super-excited since I've read all about these things.

The Louvre is huge with lots of diversity but all in all Heather and I preferred the Van Goghs and Renoirs of the Orsay. We finished off the day doing what we like best about Paris, eating hors-d'oeuvre and drinking a nice glass of vin in one of the hundreds of roadside cafes. Bonsoir until the next post when we explore the Loire valley.

Buenos dias!

Well, we didn’t set an alarm this morning (and we made it into bed around 2:00 last night). We promptly woke up at 1300. Now, before you rush to judge how we slept this long, consider that 13:00 is 7:00 EST. Also understand that this Hilton Hotel is inside a sort of shopping mall. Our windows, therefore, do not bring in any natural light.

Once we got moving, we went to see the Musee de Orsay. We saw many, many masterpieces, our favorite being in the collection of Van Gogh. For certain, the painting we will forever remember is titled “Origin of the World”. For those who are unfamiliar with this painting, we recommend that you google it. Hundreds of years later, people still stare at it in awe.

Next we walked along the Seine to pick up the M 8 line to go see the Eiffel Tower. We walked down the Parc du champ de Mars towards that magnificent structure. The park was full of Parisians with their children lying on the lawn, kicking around soccer balls, riding bicycles, and sharing lots of laughter. The Eiffel Tower is really something to see. It is most brilliant when its lights are shining.

We finished off the evening with a fantastic French meal and the BEST onion soup we’ve ever tasted. The Bellini and crème brulee were equally as delicious.

Tomorrow we will go on a walking tour including Notre Dame, the Latin quarter, and finally the Musee du Lourve.

P.S. Greg and I are much better at speaking Spanish. I frequently respond "si", instead of "oui". If only they spoke Spanish in France...

Bonjour!!!

The Sudlow’s are in Paris. Ooo la la! We hit the ground running (to the hotel for a nap that is) it’s a long plane ride! When we awoke it was straight to the metro where after a few minutes we got our bearings and made our way to visit a family friend and stroll the jardin des tuileries and the av des Champs-Elysees. That first night we saw the Arc de Triomphe and had dinner in a sidewalk cafe while observing the French dress. Heather and I have come to a few conclusions about how the French dress: Ladies if you like to wear black tights with short , short skirts and cowboy boats you might be French. Guys if you prefer tight, dark-blue jeans, converse sneakers and v-necked sweaters with no under shirt you too might be French!
We’ve also took a day tour to Versailles – visited Louie the 14ths Chateau, saw the royal chambers, strolled through the seemingly endless Gardens, and toured the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette, a separate home Marie-Antoinette had built because she didn’t like the crowded thousand room Chateau!

Next on the list is the Musee de Orsay and the Eiffel Tower .

(More photos later. Uploading the photos is taking way too long.)

Climbing at the New

Another great weekend at the New! Beer, burgers, climbing and rain... what's not to love? Spent Saturday exploring new crags and put up some really great routes in the process. Sunday was spent at Endless chompin' away at more than 350 routes! That place is truely... well endless! Back in PA now but looking forward to bridge day. Interested? Just call Riftrafters and say Greg sent you, the owner is a close friend!

Hunting slugs

We spent about an hour tonight hunting for leopard slugs. Fun times, we know. These interesting, large slugs seem to have invaded our side yard. This is most likely due to my aversion to kill living things. Claudette has told me over and over again that I must pour salt on them. Alas, we collected about 30 and dropped them off 2.5 miles away at the wetland restoration.

Caged Beast

Here is a photo of our small, ferocious lion. Look at those teeth! Alright, so he was just lounging around on the porch enjoying the breeze. Love the picture though.

4 Years!

Four years ago today we walked down the aisle. I nervously chattered up a storm at the alter. Greg and his groomsman raced each other on go-carts. Our family and friends celebrated and danced with us all evening. Greg played a wonderful rendition of Pachelbel's cannon on the guitar. It was a wonderful day.

Stump by stump

This tree removal project started in January of this year. Greg has been struggling to remove the four tree stumps for the last few weeks. Tonight, he finally finished! Now on to erradicating the ferns that continue to grow despite being pulled out again and again.

French Drain

Some of you will remember that last spring Greg dug a french drain protecting the side and back of the house. The project lasted for SEVERAL weeks and overall was quite successful. Today we experienced torrential rains which tested the french drain once again, and it passed with flying colors! Unfortunately, one of the front window wells leaked, causing a small flood in our basement. Yet another day was spent cleaning out the basement.

I should also mention that we had a minor roof leak. It is such a joy to be a homeowner!

Deer seed?

I chased this Doe out of our yard 3 times this afternoon. I'm assuming from the way she's sticking her tongue out at me that she'll be back again. Food must be scarce.

Harvest time

Greg's garden is finally producing crops! Tonight we picked sage, dill, oregano, basil, onions, and one lone zucchini. This has been a tough growing season with too much rain and too litte sun in the early spring. Our peppers, beans, and tomatoes all had to be replanted after an initial crop failure. The plants seem to be bouncing back now, so we're praying for more nice weather!

Weekend with the Murphys

The blueberries weren't quite ripe, but the blackberries were delicious.

The two natural redheads in the family.

Must love the karate kid.



They spent all day in that tree.

Greg and his fairly matched opponent.


We had a wonderful weekend in my hometown visiting family. We climbed trees, picked blueberries and blackberries, and ate freshly harvested corn. My Grandmother turned off her hearing aide and spent all day watching the kids (this includes Greg) play games. The rain started just in time for our picnic dinner. We'll do it all again in another year.