Boston Loves Paris

Finally! (we have been shamed...)

2010-12-08T13:29:00.006-05:00

Angela & Guillaume have had a very busy summer, fall and winter. (Not really, Angela has been lazy.)

The Christmas tree is up, decorated and lit for the season. There has been no snow in Boston, although it is very cold! Guillaume still bundles up and rides his Vespa (La Voile) to work every night.

Christmas will be hosted here for the first time, and Guillaume is very excited. Helen and Andrew will be here, and hopefully Claudia and Guy (depending on things in France, of course), and maybe there will be snow! But there will certainly be Joy!

Now, some new pictures of the home. There is some new artwork on the walls, which has taken some time to choose, but finally decisions were made. (And some lamps were finessed from Helen...)

The dining room, with some artwork from our favorite artists, Papy Pierrrrrre and Andrew.

And the latest additions, another painting, the bookshelf and some pretty vases that look like they belong in the Caribbean.

And the little piece of Paris on the wall...

Hopefully this will not be the last post before Christmas & New Year's Eve, but if it is:

Joyeux Noel a tous!

Allez les Bleus!

2010-06-11T15:34:00.004-04:00

Guillaume is praying to the Soccer Gods.

And when he's not doing that, he is now golfing!

This is his new bag with some of his new clubs.

Angela & Guillaume went to the practice range in Saugus on a sunny afternoon. Guillaume is good. Angela is not.

Spring in Boston

2010-04-24T12:48:00.003-04:00

Finally, after a not-so-bad winter, spring is here!

Some signs:

Guillaume out for his first run of the year (with his new shirt and new sneakers)

The beautiful flowers and trees in front of the building

The Real Deal

2010-01-22T15:53:00.005-05:00

Guillaume's green card arrived in the mail today! The US Department of Homeland Security approves of our love. Hooray!

Happy New Year Indeed!

2010-01-01T19:21:00.003-05:00

Guillaume's 10-year green card approval letter came in the mail yesterday. Happy New Year!

Le Sapin

2009-12-07T15:49:00.002-05:00

Today was a busy day. Guillaume left the house to get the Christmas tree!

He brought it home and threw it on the floor, and left again to get the preparations for crepes, for tonight! Hooray!

Now the tree is decorated, and Angela is waiting (im)patiently to have her Christmas decorating tradition crepes.

First Snow & A Birthday!

2009-12-06T13:16:00.004-05:00

Last night Angela picked up Guillaume after work because the first snow fell during the evening, and he couldn't scoot around on La Voile. The seasonal lights are up on Commonwealth Ave, and it was so pretty with the snow.

And now it's time for spring!

And Happy Birthday Mom!

New Stuff

2009-10-23T15:36:00.003-04:00

Angela & Guillaume's apartment is finally getting some new (and very needed!) furniture. Everything that they like has been on back-order, but some things arrived just this week.

The lamp that Angela's mother gave to them finally has a permanent home on the new Mandarin Sideboard. It's a beautiful piece of furniture, and it holds a lot of stuff in it, too.

Guillaume has his new desk! He had some work to do, first.

But after a little struggle, and lots of moving pieces... It is all together, and looks so nice with the new rug.

And the wait for the couch continues. Hopefully it will be here by Thanksgiving, so the Rousseaus can see it live!

Gros bisous

New furniture

2009-10-02T13:16:00.004-04:00

Guillaume and Angela are awaiting some new furniture, and some refurbished lamps.

So first, Angela's mother gave them 3 lamps (and almost a 4th, but we're still waiting for that one...). They took them to a beautiful lighting shop, and got some new lamp shades. Two of the lamps need to be fixed a little bit, but they did get to take this beautiful crystal lamp home with a new shade. This lamp used to be Angela's grandmother's lamp a long long time ago. The lamp is very traditional, and the shade is a little contemporary.

The sofa is taking a long time to arrive. Guillaume ordered it a week before Cyril arrived here. It should be here within the next week or so. This is the sofa - but the color will be this little swatch, not the grey in the picture.

This is Angela on the sofa in the furniture shop. They did not buy the ottoman in front.

This is Guillaume's new desk. This will arrive at the end of October! This will go where his current desk sits now, at the front of the apartment, next to the wall of windows.

And finally, this will be placed along the wall that the livingroom shares with the bedroom, right at the hallway entrance to the bed and bathrooms. The crystal lamp will eventually be on this table as well. Of course, this will not arrive until the end of October either.

And finally, this is the parking space. Hooray! It's inside, and warm, and it won't get snowed on, or rained on, and it will be very nice when it's a terrible day outside to just take the elevator to the basement and get into the car. And the parking space is just 2 spaces away from the door! How lucky!

See below for some bathroom pictures, too.

We miss you all, and can't wait to see you soon.

Gros, gros bisous.

The bathroom

2009-08-23T12:38:00.006-04:00

There has been quite a lag between these blog posts. So here is a teeny bit, with pictures!

Sink & toilet before:

Sink & toilet after:

Shower before:

Shower after:

The move

2009-08-18T11:16:00.012-04:00

Angela & Guillaume finally moved!

On July 30, the packers came to pack everything. Angela and Guillaume didn't think they had a lot of stuff.

They were very surprised at the end of the day at all the boxes.

Angela finally found someplace to sit.

On July 31, the movers came early in the morning, and started to load the truck. Guillaume was the boss. (This is at the new place.)

Meanwhile, Angela met Vas & Sal at the new apartment, where the newly polished floors gleamed. They were all afraid to walk on it because it looked wet.

Vas & Sal cleaned the kitchen.

Sal: Here, take this.

Vas: No, I'm done cleaning. I want to play with the little Vespa.

Everything started to come into the new apartment, and they all tried to keep up with unpacking the boxes.

But there were too many.

Vas & Sal stayed until 6:30 that night, unpacking and hanging clothes and cleaning. Angela & Guillaume stayed up until 11:30 unpacking the kitchen boxes and trying to decide where to put things.

The next morning, Saturday, Angela's mom arrived to help. She started by cleaning the oven and then moved to the countertops. Then Angela & Guillaume gave her a ride home at around 3:00 in the afternoon, because she was taking some things that Angela & Guillaume won't use (including a little tv!).

On Sunday morning, Angela & Guillaume woke up early to an almost-completetly-unpacked home. They finished unpacking the boxes. Some things, they weren't sure what to do with, so they left those boxes alone. It may be a while before those get unpacked.

But one thing Guillaume was sure to unpack. Yes, the Playstation 3!

On Sunday afternoon, they drove to Logan Airport to greet the Rousseaus! They arrived at around 4:00 in the afternoon. There were too many people, and too much luggage, to fit in the car, so they split up. Guillaume and Guy took the car, and Angela took the rest of the family in a taxi. Some day Guillaume will learn how to get home from the airport.

Gros bisous!

Slowly...

2009-07-19T17:01:00.005-04:00

It is a lot of work to renovate a bathroom. There is so much to do, from the inside out!

From the inside, a look at where the old mirror was and the lights:

And now, the new lights above where the new mirror will be (you can just see the top of the hole in the wall at the bottom):

This is after the demolition of the wall in between the closet and bathroom, and the doorway between the bathroom and hallway:

And this is the new doorway framed in. The closet door is on the left, and the bedroom door is on the right:

The apartment is being painted right now. There will be more pictures here soon...

Premiere...

2009-07-19T10:50:00.004-04:00

Felicitations de Cyrielle et Nicolas! Ils sont engagés! Dernier semaine, Nicolas a propose dans sur les Champs Elysees, apres un diner intime au restaurant Relais Louis XIII! Wow!

Angela & Guillaume sont TREEESSS heureux de recevoir cette bonne nouvelle de la France!

(Cette photo n'est pas sur les Champs Elysees. Il est Cissou et Nico a Sydney... duh!)

Guillaume & Angela sont TREEEESSSS heureux de voir Les Rousseaus tres, tres bientot. Alors, que Cyrielle & Nico aidez pour le "unpacking", Guy et Claudia jouer en Florida. Pas mal!

Donc, le NOUVELLE APARTEMENT... BIENTOT!

Bisous!

(Angela ce qui est ecrit maintenant (et toujours), sortie l'hopital, et tres bien!)

Angela & Guillaume are Homeowners

2009-07-02T17:36:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, June 30, 2009, Angela & Guillaume purchased their little piece of the American Dream.

And today, they demolished it...

WOW! Incredible what someone can do in less than 6 hours!

De la banque!

2009-06-30T10:12:00.002-04:00

It's the biggest day today!

Guillaume is on his way to the bank to get a big fat check. Angela is drinking coffee in bed. She feels she should be doing something more...

More news later.

Il est mort

2009-06-26T11:57:00.002-04:00

Remember the Time.

Ne pas depenser d l'argent!

2009-06-07T10:03:00.003-04:00

Parce que Guillaume & Angela achete un appartement, ils ne sont pas depenser d l'argent! Donc, Guillaume cuit un menu degustation pour Angela la semain dernier.

Voila, la menu!

1st course - Avocat "a la guillaume-ah"

2nd course - seared scallops with caper and lemon butter

3rd course - ouef cocotte "a la guillaume-ah" (mais Angela ete impatient, donc sans photo de l'oeuf)

4th course - warm crispy veal rolls with proscuitto and basil, and green salad.

Pas mal, Guillaume-ah. Angela aimer economiser d l'argent! (quelquefois...)

65 Years

2009-06-06T15:16:00.004-04:00

A beautiful beach that will always be known as hell - where thousands of young men lost their lives.

Some of those young men will never be known.

But remembered here forever, on the shores upon which they died.

Big News!

2009-06-05T10:11:00.006-04:00

Les parents sont arrive en avril. Guillaume et Angela veulent les voir leur appartement avant de l'acheter.

Mais, premiere! Diner! Nous sommes allez a la Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro.

Le lendemain, nous sommes allez a l'appartement. Il y a beaucoup de fenetres. Il est tres lumineux, parce que l'appartement fait face a l'ouest. (Angele espere que vous comprenez...)

C'est Guillaume avec Liz, l'agent immobilier. Elle est tres, tres sympa, honnet.

Guillaume ne veut pas que le cabinet de la meme...

Ensuite, Angela & Guillaume a achete l'appartement! Ils ont l'appartement le 30 Juin. Il y a beaucoup d'ici la. Whew!

Y compris de Paque!

Guillaume et Angela va a chez Vas & Sal pour Paque. Guillaume est correcte Angela.

Peut-etre Guillaume besoin aide, aussi!

Suivant, plus appartement d'informations!

Gros, gros bisous a tous! Nous vous manque beaucoup.

Les Amies

2009-05-16T10:59:00.004-04:00

Gregory and Catherine have been visiting since last Sunday afternoon. We have had many lovely dinners with them. Angela has been working during the day, but Guillaume was able to take some time to spend with them.

Greg likes to walk a lot. Catherine doesn't mind the walk, but she likes to stop every once in a while. Guillaume will walk for a while, and then he leaves them to play around the city, so he can go home becaus, really, it's a very long walk. He's like the Forrest Gump of walkers.

Usually the dinners have been made at home, and have been delicious (except when Angela was in charge of just taking the chicken off the grill before it burned... the asparagus was good, though). They did go out one night to the Top of the Hub, which is a restaurant on the top floor of the Prudential building.

They got to the top when the sun was still up. Then, the sun sat as they did, and the sky turned all different shades of orange, red and purple. The lights of the city blinked on, and it was a beautiful night.

Once the food came to the table (which was more difficult to do that one would think), it was good.

Guillaume enjoyed his lamb shank.

Gregory and Catherine were a little taken aback by his new eating style...

Now Greg and Catherine are in New York City for a few days. Fortunately, the weather will be good for them. So far in Boston it has been pretty nice. They return late Sunday night, and Angela and Guillaume will take them to the airport on Monday afternoon. It seems like a short visit, but Angela knows that Guillaume is so happy that his friends are here for now.

And he knows that he has more friends and family visiting soon, and they are both very happy about that.

Gros bisous.

2 Years!

2009-05-02T11:08:00.002-04:00

Angela can hardly believe it's been two years since her heart arrived in America.

She remembers the drive to New York City, with her heart beating with excitement. She remembers seeing Guillaume walking through the airport doors, overloaded with his bags. She remembers being filled with joy. And she still is.

Joyeux anniversaire, Guillaume-ah!

2009-03-29T09:18:00.005-04:00

Je t'aime m m m.

Et, quel bonheur! Les Rousseaus arrive le jeudi! Hooray! Angela et Guillaume sont impatients. Alors, ils mangent du gâteau pendant qu'ils attendent.

Spring Has Sprung!

2009-03-24T08:51:00.002-04:00

It is finally spring in Boston, but Angela and Guillaume wish that the weather would act like it. It is still very cold in the city.

Angela is very busy at work. She was in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday and Saturday, and today (Tuesday), she is going to Tulsa, Oklahoma for her work! She has never been to Tulsa, so she doesn't know what she will see. But, since Tulsa is in the middle of the country, she is wondering why her hosts want to take her out for sushi. She was hoping for a nice steak.

Guillaume's work keeps him very busy as well, so when they can see each other, they are very happy.

Guillaume is expecting some friends to visit in the next couple of months. Angela hopes it will be warm by then.

Just a short update from Boston!

A+!

There Goes the Sun

2009-02-28T22:04:00.009-05:00

Angela & Guillaume returned home on Friday night at 9:30, after 8 days and 7 nights in paradise! Well, paradise with a lot of people...

They arrived in Aruba last Friday, and checked into their hotel, the Westin, on Aruba's Palm Beach. For the first night, they were in a room that was a little dark and smelled musty, like it was damp all the time. Fortunately, they received a room upgrade for the rest of the week, and their room looked over the pool, and the Carribbean sea.

After they got into their room on Friday at 5:00 in the afternoon, they put on their bathing suits and ran down to the beach. They jumped into the warm water and swam around like little fishes. The little bar next to the pool was not crowded, so Angela got a Pina Colada, and Guillaume had a Caipirenha. Then they each got one more...

They went to a little reception at the Westin one night and they watched the sun set from the terrace

For their first dinner in Aruba, they went to a restaurant in the hotel, Blossoms. It is a Japanese style restaurant, and they sat at the sushi bar. Angela doesn't really like sushi, so she got some chicken and beef skewers, and Guillaume got a sushi pizza! He also had tuna sashimi, and Angela tried it... and LIKED it! Wow! They drank some cold beer, and watched the sushi chef create amazing things.

They went to the casino in the hotel for the first and only time that night. First, they tried their hand at Roulette. They really didn't know what they were doing. Then they played Video Poker, and won $2.80. Big money.

Guillaume woke up early and went for a run on Saturday morning. When he came back to the room, they drank coffee on their little terrace, and went downstairs to the beach. They rented a "palapa" for the week. It is a little hut on the beach to give them some shade from the burning hot Aruba sun. The hotel brings bottles of water and fruit to the palapas every afternoon.

Unfortunately a very large group of people came to the hotel on Saturday, and were staying for the whole week. And it wasn't just any large group. It was a bunch of beer-drinking, chain-smoking, overweight, multiple-tattooed, extremely loud, really big people. They brought six-packs of beer into the water with them. I was so amazed that I had to take a picture. They were everywhere. Next to the little palapa. In the water. At the pool bar. So, Angela & Guillaume did everything they could to stay away from them. But Angela wanted to take a picture of them with their six-packs in the water.

They rented jet skis - twice! And they rented an ATV for half a day. It was fun and a little bit scary. They drove over half the island, and Guillaume saved the day when they tried to re-start the ATV in the middle of nowhere, and it wouldn't start. So he pulled the hand-starter, and it worked!

The food was very good, and not as expensive as Guillaume thought it would be. They ate dinner at all the restaurants in their hotel, plus dinner at the Hyatt, Le Dome (a great French restaurant on the last night in Aruba), Aqua Grill, and the Radisson Hotel (bad, bad food).

This was at the Aqua Grill, on the terrace.

On the last day, they didn't rent the palapa because they wanted to sit in the sun.

When we were leaving, Guillaume stopped to feed the birds that are on the property. They talk! "What's up?"

Well, what's up is that a snowstorm is coming in today, and lasting through tomorrow. Maybe the biggest this season.

Gros bisous, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYRIELLE!

On the road again

2009-02-20T08:11:00.002-05:00

More like, in the air again.

Angela and Guillaume are so sorry they have not updated this blog since their wonderful trip to France.

This morning, they are leaving for a week in Aruba. They PROMISE to update the blog when they return.

A+

We Have Overcome.

2009-01-20T23:19:00.005-05:00

On arrive!

2009-01-10T10:01:00.002-05:00

Nous partons aujourd'hui à 5h30 et arrive à Paris demain à 6h10.

Nous sommes très heureux!

A bientot!

Joyeux Noël (et plus...)

2008-12-26T12:41:00.011-05:00

Angela & Guillaume have had a very busy month, and have had no time to blog!

They went to a fundraiser on December 1 with their friend Kenny. There were a lot of New England Patriots football players there. Kenny bought an autographed football (the name was a little smudged), and Angela thought it was Number 1.

Angela's mother's birthday was December 6, so the kids took her to dinner at Flora Restaurant in Arlington. First, they went to her house to see her "winning painting." She entered a painting into a contest at the State House. Her painting won! It is now a holiday card that people can buy.

She gave Guillaume a New England Patriots winter hat. He liked it. It's very blue.

They had a lovely birthday dinner!

A few nights later, they went to a basketball game at the Garden to see the World Champion Boston Celtics.

Of course they stopped for food and beer first.

Doesn't Guillaume look very handsome?

The seats were very good. They were so close that Angela was looking for famous people, and she found some! Richard Seymour (he plays football for the New England Patriots), tennis player James Blake, and his brother, were all at the game. Okay, they're famous here in Boston anyways...

Finally they put up their Christmas tree. It was a lot of work this year. The tree stump was too big for the stand, so Guillaume had to go out and purchase a big expensive stand, and a saw (!) to cut off some of the stump so it would stand up straight. Guillaume wanted to buy the saddest tree on the lot because he felt bad for the tree.

But it looks very pretty now.

Just before Christmas, Angela and her best friend, Kelley, went to dinner to celebrate their birthdays. They have been friends since they were 5 years old! Angela's birthday is in June, and Kelley's is in November. They tried to go to dinner in between their birthdays, but they ran out of time.

They went to L'Espalier. Guillaume's friend, Greg, was their waiter, and he could not have been nicer. Angela had never met him before, so she was very happy to finally meet him. It was a wonderful evening. Since it was just the day after the big snowstorm, it was very cold and snowy outside, and it was so warm and cozy inside.

Guillaume had to work on Christmas Eve, so Angela went to her mother's house for a very nice dinner. She went to her house right after work, and watched as her mom finished making things for the dinner. At 6:00, some of her mother's friends arrived, and then Andrew came at 6:30. He had been at a friend's house for a party. His friend's father just happens to be one of Guillaume's regular customers at the M Bar!

On Christmas morning, Guillaume woke Angela up by singing a Christmas song. They had coffee and breakfast, and opened their prizes.

Santa Claus brought them Guitar Hero (because Rock Band just wasn't enough).

And lots of videos! And an iPhone case for Angela.

The biggest and best Christmas prize is yet to come. Angela & Guillaume are flying to France in just a few short weeks. They will be there for Papy Pierre's big birthday celebration! They are so happy they will soon see all family and close friends.

In the afternoon, they went to Cape Cod, to Aunt Andrea and Uncle Karl's house. They had a nice drive down to the Cape, listening to Christmas songs and calling friends and family. Feliz Navidad may have been over-played in the car.

Two of Angela's cousins and their families were there. The girls were painting nails and and playing with their new toys. Harry showed us how to use his yo-yo! Andrew came a little later, and their stepmother, Nancy came with her dog, Minette.

They got home at 8:30, and then hopped on La Voile to go to a little party at Greg's house in Brookline. They had a fantastic gumbo, some delicious wine, they rocked out to Rock Band, and finally went home at 2:00 in the morning.

Now Guillaume is in the office, Angela is on the couch, and she may not move until tomorrow.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

What is Gobble Gobble?

2008-11-28T09:44:00.007-05:00

The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is said to have occurred at the Plymouth Plantation. Several of our Frenchies have visited the Plymouth Plantation!

In 1621, Pilgrims set a day to celebrate at Plymouth after their first harvest. Back then, it wasn't seen as a Thanksgiving observance, but a "harvest festival." Years of these sporadic feasts later turned into an annual observance. In 1863, in the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be held on the final Thursday every November.

On the final Thursday of November, 2008, Guillaume received a text message from one of his friends, which read: "Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!" The pilgrims and Abraham Lincoln surely did not forsee iPhones and text messages at Thanksgiving.

Angela said that she received the same message from one of her friends. Guillaume asked what Gobble Gobble is. It is, of course, the sound a turkey makes. A live turkey, that is. Dead turkeys don't talk.

To start Thanksgiving Day, Angela watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. From the comfort of her couch, of course.

When they arrived at Vas and Sal's house, they were shocked to find Andrew already there. Andrew might be known for arriving a little late...

The house was filled with the delicious aroma of a Thanksgiving feast. The chef was hard at work in the kitchen.

While the handsome Guillaume, with his new haircut (finally!), relaxed on the couch.

The beautiful Helen arrived last - Angela thought she would be there first. There was a lot of traffic. Thanksgiving is one of the most highly traveled days in America.

There is a new picture added to the family table (see bottom right).

Of course, there is a full table of desserts.

Guillaume's first or second dessert plate.

And then his little piece of regret.

When Angela and Guillaume got home, they quickly changed into pants with waistbands that stretch. Then Angela made a plate full of leftover dinner, and ate some more. Guillaume thought she was joking. She wasn't. It was good.

Guillaume is now hard at work. Tonight, Angela & Guillaume will go to a Celtics game. The Holiday Season has begun, and it is very full!

A+

Like Christmas, Only Better!

2008-11-27T09:44:00.003-05:00

Angela woke up early this morning in anticipation of her favorite holiday. She is so happy that this year Guillaume will eat Thanksgiving dinner at dinnertime, instead of eating at midnight when he gets home from work. Hooray!

She is on the couch, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on TV, waiting for Guillaume to wake up.

The only thing possible that could make the day better would be if the Clan from France were here to celebrate. But everyone will be together soon. Peut-etre pour un événement spécial, en Janvier???

Soon they will all meet at Vas and Sal's house for a delicious dinner. Angela & Guillaume will bring foie gras (bien sur), baguettes (not as good), and wine (eh beh oui!).

A bientôt!

A Sporty Week!

2008-11-23T14:38:00.004-05:00

Angela and Guillaume went to a Boston Bruins hockey game at the Boston Garden on Wednesday night. A friend of Angela's won the tickets, but she doesn't enjoy hockey. So, good for Angela and Guillaume.

It was a very, very cold night outside, but they took the Vespa anyways. The Boston Garden is very close to where they live. Once inside, they found their seats, and got some food, of course.

In a minute and a half, the Buffalo Sabres scored a goal.

Less than a minute later, the Bruins scored a goal, too!

The game was very high-scoring. Final, Bruins 7, Buffalo 4. Hooray, they won!

The best part of the night was when the little boys came onto the ice to play Pee Wee Hockey. The little boys don't play strategically. They see the puck, and they all chase after it. It's very fun to watch 10 little people on skates racing around trying to be the first one to get to the puck.

Angela and Guillaume left a few minutes before the end of the game. They got some MacDo, and went home.

This upcoming week is a sporty week, too. They just bought tickets to Friday night's Boston Celtics game. Their seats are 5 rows up from the floor. It should be very fun.

They bought some other tickets, too... for January...

Gros bisous!

Hurricane Paloma?

2008-11-08T18:40:00.002-05:00

We hope Claudia and Guy are safe in Cuba!

Yes We Did

2008-11-05T10:17:00.003-05:00

What a night.

We dared to hope.

Yes We Can

2008-11-04T16:27:00.003-05:00

On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution became law, and women could vote in the fall elections, including in the Presidential election.

And so today, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Angela exercised her right to vote.

It's Been Such A Long Time

2008-10-26T13:09:00.013-04:00

Angela & Guillaume are sorry that it is taking so long to put something new on the blog!

After Cyril left, Angela had a little emergency. A doctor took one of her kidneys! She is fine now, back to work, and off treatment.

Shortly before Angela went back to work, Claudia and Cyrielle came for a visit. Claudia's trip was very quick! They arrived on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Guillaume had to work on Saturday night. So the girls stayed in and had some pasta and chit chatted, and went to bed.

Guillaume did not have to work on Sunday, so they went leaf-peeping! They were much more successful than last year when they went with Helen.

They stopped at a farm to look at the pumpkins, and to eat some food. (This is not them in the picture!)

There was a little stream next to the picnic tables, and it was a very pretty area.

There was an area full of pumpkins that Claudia was interested in.

And Cyrielle found it too...

After leaf-peeping and lunch, they went to Helen's for coffee and cakes. Helen had made some cakes and cookies for an art exhibit the day before. Lucky them! After coffee, Guillaume and Cyrielle went to the wine shop very close to Helen's house, while Claudia and Angela helped Helen clear the dishes. Everyone met at the wine shop, and then went to see Helen's art exhibit in a town close by. She had about 15 paintings on display.

On Monday, Claudia left because she had to go back to work. Guillaume had to work, too. Cyrielle and Angela enjoyed not working.

On Wednesday, the three of them went to Salem, Massachusetts, home to the infamous witch trials in 1692. Their first stop was The House of the Seven Gables. (A gable is a peak on top of the house.) Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a book about this house. They took a guided tour inside, and even climbed up a secret staircase inside the chimney! Once they were at the top of the secret staircase, one of the guests on the tour argued with the guide about how many gables there actually are on the house. Guillaume made Angela keep quiet because he could see she was getting annoyed!

They made it out of the house without incident!

Maybe Angela has watched the movie "Titanic" too many times...

After they got off the "boat", they went to the WORST "museum" in history. Ever. The Witch History Museum was full of wax figures from the 1970s, and hasn't been updated since then. They could not get out of there fast enough!

After Angela's meeting that evening, they went to No. 9 Park, a very nice restaurant on the other side of Beacon Hill, just across from the State House. They had the chef's tasting menu, and some nice wine. By the end, Angela couldn't eat her food because she was so full. Angela took a taxi home, and Guillaume & Cyrielle walked.

Guillaume had to work also on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, they all went to a French restaurant in the Colonnade Hotel, named Brasserie Jo. It was very nice, although Angela would get something other than the coq au vin next time.

On Saturday, Guillaume and Cyrielle took the Vespa into Cambridge so she could buy some things at the Harvard Coop. The Regatta was also taking place that weekend. It was a very busy day in Cambridge and along the river. There were many little stands for different fun things, including this!

At the last minute, Cyrielle decided to stay one more day so that we could visit with Vas & Sal. They were very happy to have her to their house, and she was happy to be there. We had a very nice time and left with full bellies!

Cyrielle left on Monday, and Angela & Guillaume went back to work. Guillaume got home early enough to take Cyrielle to the airport. When Angela got home, she found a prize from Cyrielle - a great t-shirt with Barack Obama on it. She wore it today! And on November 4th, hopefully she can wear it in victory...

He's gone already

2008-09-06T10:00:00.013-04:00

It seemed like a very short holiday, but really, Cyril was here for 10 days! After he arrived from the airport, he and Guillaume went to Newbury Street for something to eat.

Unfortunately, Guillaume started his new job two days after Cyril arrived. He thought he wouldn't start until September 8, but they asked him to come in early. Of course, he did - this was a great opportunity for him that he couldn't say no to.

But, before he started work, there was still all day Sunday! They went to Harvard, of course.

And Cyril saw a squirrel. Why do the French like squirrels so much? Everyone takes pictures of them.

One evening they went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Maybe Guillaume looks a little like a nerd. Isn't he cute??

Cyril visited museums, walked around the city, became a guitar expert with his Rock Band. He went on his own to the Cape, and to the Plymouth Plantation.

He rented a car. He wanted a small car. This is the car he ended up with.

They went to the Capitol Grille to give Cyril the Best Steak! They had lovely wine, and a delicious dinner. Angela and Guillaume both had the lobster bisque, and it was as good as ever.

One special evening was August 28, Cyril's birthday. (It also happens to be Angela's father's birthday!) The birthday boy:

They went to a restaurant called La Voile. Angela & Guillaume had gone there a few months ago... perhaps where they picked up the name for the other La Voile, the Vespa!

They had a very nice dinner. Angela had the blanquette de veau - it was not as good as Guy's blanquette de veau, of course! But it was very good.

On the Labor Day weekend, the boys went to Montreal. They left early Sunday morning, and came home on Monday night. (Angela may have been bored by herself, but she would never tell the boys that.)

Is this in Paris? Mais, non! Although this looks just a little like Notre Dame, it is not.

They also went to a race track, where they were allowed to drive the car around.

For Cyril's final evening, they went to... PETIT ROBERT for dinner, bien sur! It was such a nice night, and they talked and ate and drank for hours.

Is that the Eiffel Tower in the background?

Guillaume and Cyril said goodbye when he left to go to work on Wednesday morning. Angela came home from work early on Wednesday, and drove Cyril to the airport. She was sad to see him go, but she thinks and hopes he will return a tres bientot.

Guillaume is enjoying his new job so much. On Monday, he will meet the people that he will work with every day, and he will like that. Angela will enjoy hearing about it. They will both like when he goes back to a bartender's schedule. However, Angela is very happy that he finally knows what it feels like to work a 9:00-6:00 day! Now he understands why she "relaxes on the couch" (or doesn't do much) when she comes home at night!

In French news, Cyrielle arrives at home today!!

The Airport

2008-08-23T15:42:00.003-04:00

No, Guillaume isn't going anywhere... he's at the airport picking up Cyril!

Cyril is coming for a visit for 10 days! After Guillaume left his job, he talked to Cyril, and they decided that a vacation was due. In the meantime, Guillaume was also interviewing for another job.

Well, the two things collided, and Guillaume will start his new job on Monday. Yes, this Monday, when Cyril is here. He will be able to relax during the day and visit museums in the area, and walk around Boston. Then at night, Angela & Guillaume will be able to play. And of course this weekend and next weekend.

Angela is watching the new Vice Presidential pick for Obama on the news while she waits for them to come home from the airport. She is looking forward to seeing Cyril!

Of course photos to come!

Gros bisous!

It's half over!

2008-08-08T16:47:00.004-04:00

Angela & Guillaume can't believe how fast the summer has gone by. And the weather hasn't cooperated very well.

They did get a chance to get up to Seabrook Beach, in New Hampshire, to visit Sue & Steve and their children, Madalyn, Danielle, Nick and Ben. They spent the day at the beach.

After they went back to the beach house, and Danielle tried to teach Guillaume how to use a crazy sk8 board. He's a sk8er boi.

They stayed overnight at their beach house. Angela & Guillaume will go to visit again before they all go back to Missouri!

Meanwhile, Guillaume has been very busy with Petit Robert and Marie Antoinette. They made little babies a couple of weeks ago.

For a few days, Petit Robert took care of the fries (the babies). Then Petit Robert went back to his own little home, and now Guillaume is taking care of the little fries. There are a few who have survived.

Angela and Guillaume don't think they'll get $14 million dollars like Brad and Angelina did for their baby pictures. So the pictures will be on the blog for free.

Early 4th of July (and La Voile)

2008-07-03T10:36:00.010-04:00

Last Sunday, Angela & Guillaume went to Vas & Sal's house for an Early 4th of July cookout.

Vas & Sal are always very festive for all occasions. If there is no holiday, they make a holiday! Angela & Guillaume brought wine, and they sat outside on the terrace.

While they were outside, The Easter Bunny decided to show his little face. Wrong holiday, but at least he showed up. Guillaume wanted him with some salt, pepper and a little mustard. Then he followed him around the yard taking a lot of pictures.

Angela Ah-So'd the chicken (it's a sweet sauce), and Sal put the chicken on the grill. Vas picked the lettuce for the salad from their garden. It was delicious!

Guillaume found some of the table decorations to be very interesting. The plant holder...

Is also a hat...

They were very full, and Guillaume didn't want to move.

The BIG news is that they just bought something very fun...

Something very useful...

Something very cute...

Something very blue...

What could it be?

A VESPA! Angela calls her "La Voile".

Why? Because she is like the wind. (More like a breeze because she's not too fast...)

After the dinner that Guillaume prepared last night (rack of lamb and a mushroom ragout)...

They took a ride around the city, and ended up at Mike's Pastry in the North End. They parked right out front, and had a delicious cannoli.

Today, Angela will take La Voile all by herself to the hospital. She's a little scared, but she's going to do it anyways.

Gros bisous!

Back From the Wild Wild West

2008-06-22T15:39:00.028-04:00

5:30 a.m. on June 15 was very early. Guillaume and Angela had to be at Logan Airport by 6:30 a.m. Finally they were on the plane. Angela woke Guillaume up to smile for the camera. He didn't. Neither did she.

Finally, they arrived in Las Vegas at 10:45 on Sunday morning. They took a taxi to the Paris Hotel. Guillaume was excited to have a new pair of sunglasses.
Ooh La La, they arrived inside the Paris Hotel!
The Montgolfier outside the Paris, next to the "Arch de Triomphe"
This traffic was not nearly as scary as the real thing!

They took a trip to the Excalibur...
And took a picture in front, for Papy Pierre!
Here is the Bellagio Hotel, home of the famous Bellagio fountains. On this afternoon, Angela & Guillaume saw the fountains "dance" to Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas! It was a very warm afternoon - 115 degrees (45 degrees celcius)!
On Sunday evening, they went to dinner at the MGM Grand, at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. It was a wonderful dinner, and Angela enjoyed watching the cranky French chef!
Surprise surprise, there is only one picture of food.

After dinner, they went back to the Bellagio fountains. This time, the "dance" was the National Anthem, sung by Whitney Houston.

They walked home to Paris. Angela wasn't sure if the picture was fuzzy, or if it was her head from too much wine.
The Flamingo is the first hotel ever in Las Vegas.
Before they went to bed, Guillaume tried his luck at the slot machines. He wanted to win $9,934,430.
He didn't win.

The next morning, they rented their SUV, and hit the road!

They drove past the Hoover Dam, but didn't stop.
A few miles later, and they entered the State of Arizona!

They passed a convoy of antique cars with friendly people inside.

They did not go to Los Angeles or Flagstaff.
They just drove on a long, long, long road towards the Grand Canyon.
Guillaume thinks that when the Rousseaus went to the Grand Canyon years ago, they saw this Steak House.
Finally, they arrived at the Grand Canyon! It is very grand.

On Tuesday morning, Guillaume woke Angela up very early to see some deer outside their lodge. Then she went back to bed while Guillaume went to see the sunrise. He came back and woke Angela up again so that they could have their coffee at the Grand Canyon. Even though Angela looks cranky in this picture, she was very happy that he woke her for this beautiful experience.
They hit the road again, this time heading to Lake Powell. Angela was very relaxed in the car.
So was Guillaume!
He really enjoyed the SUV. Doesn't he look cool?
On their way out of the Grand Canyon, they stopped along the way to see the Colorado River.

Guillaume climbed up this tower. Angela waited below.

Inside the tower were old Native American etchings on the wall.
Guillaume was looking for cows...

Because he saw this sign...They didn't see cows just yet.

They arrived at Lake Powell, and tried to check into their hotel at around 1:00 p.m. The Chicken-McNugget-eating-front-desk-clerk told Angela that they couldn't check in until 3:00. Angela didn't want to check in at all. So, they drove to the Lake Powell Resort to see if there was availability. There was!

They checked into the hotel, dropped the suitcase in the room, and then went back to the main lobby to take a boat tour of Antelope Canyon. They thought they were not equipped well when they saw some of the people taking the boat tour with them:

They were fine with two bottles of water and a hat.

Antelope Canyon was beautiful!

(This picture was taken through Guillaume's cool new sunglasses.)
Lake Powell is created with this Dam.
After the very hot boat tour, they went to the bar at the resort for some ice cold Coronas!

Since they were staying at Lake Powell for 2 nights, they took a side day trip to Monument Valley. It was a long, hot ride, and there were not many cars on the road.

Angela drove for a while, and Guillaume relaxed. A lot.

This is their first look at Monument Valley.
You can see a squashed bug in the middle of the windshield.

Here is Monument Valley without the squashed bug.

They stopped to take a picture on the side of the road. Finally, they saw a cow.
And a donkey and a baby donkey.

Guillaume wanted to take a picture with the baby cow, but the baby cow ran away. Angela thought the cow was going to run into the street, but he didn't.

Guillaume is standing in front of a lot of the "monuments".

More cow signs on the way back to Lake Powell. But no more cows to be found.
They decided to rent a speedboat on Thursday and boat around Lake Powell. They drove out to Antelope Point Marina.

The marina actually rented them a boat!

First, they took the boat to Navajo Canyon, then they went back to Antelope Canyon.

They found a little beach, and went swimming.
After they returned the boat, they headed off to Bryce Canyon. The ratty old sign says "Welcome to Utah." Angela thinks they could invest in a new sign.

They saw a lot of horses and farms along the way.

Before Bryce Canyon, they drove through Red Canyon.

Angela loved the bridges.

After they checked into their hotel, they went to Ruby's General Store, just across the street. Guillaume tried on some cowboy hats.

After all the cowboy hats, Guillaume was in the mood for a real Western Rodeo! Just their luck, there was a rodeo just next door.

First, little boys rode little bulls.
Then, little girls rode horses pulled by their daddys.
Then the real bull-riding began. This was "Number 2" (that's what Angela & Guillaume called the bull) - he was the only bull that looked angry. The rest of the bulls didn't try to throw off their rider.
Then they ate Number 2. No, not really. But they did have a very good steak.

The next day, they drove into Bryce Canyon.

The red spires coming up from the ground are called Hoodoos.
The Hoodoos were huge, and breathtakingly beautiful.

They left the Park, and went 4-wheeling!

There wasn't anyplace to shower after 4-wheeling, so they hit the road dusty and tired. But it was SO much fun! They saw little antelope all over the place.

During the drive to Zion National Park, they saw an open range with many buffalo.

An hour later, they arrived at Zion National Park.

This tunnel went through a HUGE rock.

By the time they left Zion Park, they were exhausted from their travels, and were happy to go home.

The next morning, they returned the car, and got to the airport in plenty of time. First, they had breakfast.

Then, they spent a few bucks on the slot machines. Hooray, they won! But these were 5-cent machines, so they didn't win much.After a long flight, they were finally home.

They unpacked, all the laundry is done, and they are happily sitting on their couch. Petit Robert is happy they are home, too.

Happy Birthday Belle Mere!

2008-06-22T13:50:00.002-04:00

We were on vacation for your true birthday...

Happy Birthday!

Bon anniversaire!

Gros bisous...

One Year Ago

2008-06-13T21:05:00.005-04:00

One year ago today, Angela & Guillaume got married. They didn't realize their first anniversary would be on Friday the 13th!

But unlike the horror movie, their first year of marriage has been lovely.

Just over a week ago, June 4th, was the 225th anniversary of the first public demonstration of the montgolfier balloon, in Annonay, France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_Brothers

Andrew painted a little blue montgolfier in their wedding gift, just underneath the first A in Angela's name.

On Sunday morning, they fly to Fabulous Las Vegas!

From there, they begin their tour of the Wild Wild West! They return home to Boston on Sunday, June 22. Angela has to work on Monday, so there may not be a blog until the following weekend...

Gros bisous!

Hot Weekends

2008-06-08T10:44:00.004-04:00

Saturday was the beginning of a very HOT weekend. Before it got too hot, Angela had her morning coffee on the terrace, at their NEW TABLE! They finally bought a table, chairs and umbrella for their side of the terrace.The sky was clear, the leaves are on the trees, it was a beautiful morning in Boston!

Angela went downstairs when Guillaume woke up. He wanted her to open her birthday prize a week early.
So she did! It's a hand-crafted jewelry box, made with Purple Heart wood from Brazil, Wenge wood and Paduak wood from Africa, Curly Maple wood, Cherry wood and Black Obeechie wood from America.

Angela moved all her jewelry into the jewelry box, and Guillaume was very happy that it now has its place.

This morning they started to watch the French Open, but Roger Federer has lost the first two sets very badly, so Guillaume is now playing soccer on his PS3. Shortly, they will head to the north shore, to Rockport. It's a quaint New England seaside town, and they may end up at a beach somewhere. At the end of the day, they will surely end up at The Lobster Pot for some food!

Long Weekends

2008-05-26T10:11:00.010-04:00

Monday was Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. It has been a long, cold winter, so Angela & Guillaume are very happy that summer is finally here. The weather was beautiful, all the windows in the apartment were open, and a warm breeze drifted through.

On Sunday, they drove to Cape Cod to visit Aunt Andrea & Uncle Karl. First, they went to the dry cleaner to drop off Guillaume's suit for work. The shop was closed. So they got back into the car and hit the road.

To start, there was no traffic. On holiday weekends in the summertime, traffic is usually very heavy. Not on Sunday!

Whoops! Spoke too soon. As soon as they got close to the Cape:

...there was traffic.

But look here - even the motorcycles are stuck in traffic. Not like in France where they are crazy!

Finally, they arrived!

They went out back by the pool, and found Aunt Andrea, Uncle Karl, Cousin Pam and her husband Brian, and their two little girls...

And of course Andrew was there!

And of course there was a lot of food: hamburgers! hotdogs, salads, desserts, wine, beer, and some champagne for an early celebration of Angela & Guillaume's one year anniversary!

Shortly before sunset, Angela and Guillaume left the house to go back to Bone Hill Beach, where once again, it was a warm summer evening!

They drove home on Sunday night. Then on Monday, they went to Aunt Vas and Uncle Sal's house, where they had more food and fun! Pictures and stories soon!

Flying in the Toilet

2008-05-16T15:43:00.002-04:00

Angela saw this on the news the other day:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080512/jetblue_lawsuit.html?.v=2

She doesn't think his friend will let him fly "GP" anymore! (She also thinks that the jump seat wasn't so bad.)

Wild Wild West

2008-05-12T11:07:00.004-04:00

Angela and Guillaume are heading to the Wild Wild West!

For Angela's birthday and their one-year anniversary, they decided to take a vacation. They are flying to Las Vegas on June 15. They will stay one night in Vegas, and then will rent a car. They are renting a sport utility vehicle (or an SUV as the Americans call it)!

They will tour the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park!

They're very excited for their road trip!

What A Year!

2008-05-07T13:44:00.003-04:00

It has been one year and 5 days since Guillaume moved to Boston.

Greek Easter

2008-05-03T08:29:00.004-04:00

Well, it wouldn't be a holiday in Boston if someone couldn't make it to dinner. This time, it was Helen. She was sick, so on Easter morning, Angela & Guillaume stopped by her house in Lexington to pick up her homemade Easter bread, and a dessert.

At around 1:00, they arrived at Vas & Sal's house to find Andrew already there. They brought foie gras, baguettes, wines, and walked into a house that smelled delicious! They peeked into the oven to see the lamb cooking.

Shortly after, Vas and Sal's British friends, Henry and June, arrived. Then, all the boys took a walk in the woods behind the house.

The girls hung out and prepared some food (or had some wine).

Guillaume prepared the foie gras and gave Angela the hard task of cutting and toasting the baguettes. Her arm was tired. But the foie gras was a hit. Thank goodness they brought so much back from France!

Guillaume and Angela were happy to be together on Easter.

There is a Greek tradition with Easter eggs. Everyone chooses an egg, and each person knocks eggs against the person next to them. The goal is to be the "last one standing" with a non-broken-egg, which brings good luck for the year.

Andrew won. Andrew ALWAYS wins.

Vas and Sal always have a "seasonal" table. This time, of course, decorated for Easter. Isn't it pretty with the pinks and purples?

And even though Helen wasn't here, she was in their hearts and on their table... just like Guillaume for Thanksgiving!

For dessert, there was baklava, Helen's Easter bread, a lemon pie, and coffee. (Not Nespresso - George Clooney would be disappointed.)

After hours of eating and chit chatting, Andrew, Angela and Guillaume left, because they all had to work early the next morning. It was a very nice Easter, and Angela and Guillaume were very happy that they were able to spend both Easters with both families. What a treat!

Patriots' Day in Boston

2008-04-26T11:00:00.006-04:00

Patriots' Day is the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The town of Lexington has a reenactment on the battlegreen. Andrew and Angela's parents used to take them to the reenactment every year when they were little. Their mom made them little revolutionary outfits, complete with hats, that they would wear to the parades. The town of Lexington used to host a pancake breakfast after the reenactment, in the basement of a church in Lexington Center.

Last summer, Cyrielle, Guillaume and Angela visited the battle green, and ate sandwiches on the grass on a beautiful sunny day. Do you remember, Cyrielle?

The Boston Marathon also takes place on Patriots' Day. Angela's doctor, Dave Harmon, has run the marathon for the last 4 years, and he was going to run it again this year, to raise money for cancer research.

This year, there was also a Red Sox game on Patriots' Day. Andrew got tickets to the game, and asked Guillaume if he wanted to go. On the morning of the game, Angela also decided to go, since it was not going to rain. (She did not want to sit in the rain.)

The game was early in the day (11:05 a.m.!) because of the Marathon, so they got to Fenway Park a little early. They wandered around the park a little bit, and made their way to their seats.

The first seats were in the shade, and it was very very cold. So Angela decided to talk to the ticket people to see if they could get seats in the sun. And they did! Hooray for the nice Fenway Park people!

Not only were the seats in the sun, but they were in the very first row in the bleachers!

Guillaume looks very proud of his new Boston Red Sox hat, doesn't he? Andrew and Guillaume are especially happy because they are in the sun.

Angela was looking forward to a Fenway Frank. But the hot dog vendors weren't coming to their seats! She waited, and waited. Finally! She got her Fenway Frank. Of course Guillaume and Andrew got Fenway Franks too.

Red Sox win!

After the game, they walked to the corner of Boylston Street and Hereford Street to watch the Marathon runners. Of course, the winners and Lance Armstrong had already passed by, by that time. But there were thousands of runners still running by.

This picture is looking down Hereford Street, as the runners have to make the last push uphill.

And this is the final stretch. At the very end you can see a Boston Marathon sign stretched across Boylston Street. That is the finish line!

They had been watching for about 15 minutes, and they saw a man dressed as a plastic beer cup running by. (In the Boston Marathon, some people dress strangely.) Just after the beer cup ran by, Angela saw her doctor running! She shouted, "Go Dr. Harmon go!!" Of course he didn't hear her, but she was so happy that she saw him. There were over 30,000 runners in the Marathon this year, and Guillaume and Dr. Harmon think it is a good sign that we saw him! Dr. Harmon raised over $4,500 for cancer research this year. http://www.firstgiving.com/harmon Thank you Dr. Harmon!

Sunday is Greek Easter, and everyone is going to Vas & Sal's for Easter Dinner. And after a small battle at work, Guillaume can go to Easter Dinner too. Hooray!

The REAL GP Experience

2008-04-21T08:26:00.003-04:00

So finally there is time to blog again... finally, the end of their vacation in France!

On Monday morning, Angela and Guillaume awoke very early. They had to arrive at the airport a few hours before their flight because they weren't sure if there would be any seats for them on the flight.

When they checked in, the ticket agent told them that the flight was over-booked. Oh no! Their luggage was tagged "stand-by". Angela didn't think that was a good sign, but she is a believer, so she had hope. One of their suitcases was overweight, so they had to open up their suitcases to transfer things from one suitcase to another.

They took a little train from the main terminal to another terminal where they went through security. Then they went duty-free shopping and did not buy anything at all. They figured their suitcases weighed enough without adding to what they had to carry home.

After they waited for an hour at the gate, Guillaume checked in with the gate agent, who told him that it was unlikely that they would get on the plane, since it was oversold by 17 seats. So, again they waited. Finally, their names were called, and they received their boarding passes. Seat: JPS. That means jump seat. At least they were on the plane!

The passengers began to board the plane, and Angela and Guillaume waited until the very end. Finally, they got on the plane. Guillaume talked to one of the flight attendants, and he apologized that he could not seat us in Business Class, but it was full. At this point, they were just happy to be on the plane, since Angela had to be at work for an important meeting the next morning. (But they were a little disappointed that they would not be relaxing in Business Class!)

The flight attendant brought them upstairs to the jump seat in the bubble of the 747. They were sharing one jump seat.

Then, a flight attendant came over and asked us, "Which one of you would like to go into the cockpit for takeoff?" Angela pointed to Guillaume and said, "Of course, he will." Guillaume said, "No, I've been in the cockpit, you go."

Shortly before the plane was leaving the gate, the flight attendant brought Angela up to the cockpit. He introduced her to the pilot and co-pilot, who is a friend of Guillaume's father. Angela was buckled into her seat, and the pilot and co-pilot were doing their pre-flight checks while she watched. Finally, they were ready to take off. The plane started moving slowly down the runway, and suddenly, they were in the air! Angela didn't think they were going fast enough; it feels very different in the cockpit than it does in the back of the plane. About 15 minutes later, the pilot showed Angela the "mascot" and said, "Now she flies the plane!"

Then, Angela and the other flight attendant unbuckled themselves and left the cockpit, and Angela thanked them for letting her have that amazing experience.

Angela went back to the jumpseat where Guillaume was sitting. It was then that he told her he had never been in the cockpit for take-off. She asked why he told her that he did. He said that she wouldn't have gone otherwise. So, of course Angela told him he would go in the cockpit for landing.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, except for the rude woman sitting across from Angela's other jump seat. The woman put her bag on the floor in front of Angela, and put her feet up on the bag. One of her feet kept ending up on Angela's bag, right next to her water. Gross! Angela finally asked her to move her feet away from her water.

Angela went upstairs to visit Guillaume in the bubble, and he had just come out of a visit into the cockpit. The pilot told him that the U.S. doesn't allow anyone but crew into the cockpit during the landing. Guillaume was disappointed, and Angela was very disappointed for him.

They landed at Logan Airport, and Guillaume went through Customs in the US citizens and residents line with Angela! They didn't have any problems until after they got their luggage. The customs people told them to go over to the place where they screen the suitcases. They were a little nervous because they had 7 bottles of wine (which they told them about), and a lot of foie gras, tins of duck, rillettes, and a LOT of mini-saucissons!

After the suitcases went through the x-ray, the man asked them to open the suitcases because he saw some kind of can. Angela had packed the food inside clothes to protect it, and she found one jar of foie gras and gave it to the man. He looked at it, then told them it was fine. They closed their suitcases and went out to the taxi stand.

Finally, they arrived at home, unpacked, and collapsed on the couch.

Angela had a REAL GP experience!

Ahhh, Paris!

2008-04-05T21:10:00.014-04:00

Angela & Guillaume arrived in Paris late on Friday afternoon. With a quick phone call to Martine, they were inside the front door and in the elevator with their three HUGE suitcases. Angela doesn't know how all 5 of them fit in the elevator (Angela, Guillaume and suitcase 1, 2, and 3!).

They met Martine and went to the 14th floor, to their beautiful new apartment. Can you see what's in the background? This view is from their living room!

After bringing the suitcases in, the dining table came from their old apartment into the new. (It's VERY new, they had not moved all the way in yet - in fact, Angela & Guillaume were the first to spend the night there.)

Vincent and Martine came up to 14 for an aperetif before dinner at the brasserie at La Closerie des Lilas. The Eiffel Tower lit in the background was an amazing backdrop for the beginning of their evening, with a delightful champagne.

They arrived at La Closerie des Lilas, and waited at the bar for a table. More champagne? Bien sur! They finally were seated, 2 more glasses of champagne later. The olives were delicious, too.

This is the inside of the brasserie. There is also another restaurant at La Closerie des Lilas. Hemingway enjoyed this place, as well. He said: "The only decent cafe in our neighborhood was Closerie des Lilas, and it was one of the best cafes in Paris..."

Everyone had a delicious dinner, and very nice wine. Lots of wine. Angela didn't feel very well the next day, and it took her a long time to get moving. First, they went to the Crillon Bar for lunch! Angela had just a little club sandwich, and she wished she felt better to enjoy it.

Then, she saw the Velib' and had to take a picture. She loves the Velib'.

After lunch, they went shopping for a bag for Angela. She got a beautiful black bag, and a beautiful red wallet. Then, they went to Galeries Lafayette, and shopped a little bit more. Guillaume and Angela both bought very cute Lacoste watches.

Finally, they left shopping and tried to get a taxi home. But they ended up in the middle of a manifestation (protest) for the handicapped. They weren't sure what the protest was about, but there were lots and lots of people, and it took them a long time to get to a taxi. But, it did allow them to have a nice walk down rue de la Paix and through Place Vendome, past the Dubail store, where they bought their wedding rings!

Saturday night was the Big Birthday Dinner! Vincent had made reservations at Le Pre Catelan, a 3-star restaurant. They took a taxi to the restaurant, which is in the Bois de Boulogne, a beautiful wooded area in Paris. Roland Garros is also on the edge of Bois de Boulogne. At night, however, the Bois de Boulogne takes on a different tone... it's kind of like the "red light" district of Paris. At 9:00 p.m., there wasn't too much action in the woods, but they saw a few "workers"!

They turned into the drive of Le Pre Catelan, and saw the beautiful building which houses the restaurant. Guillaume thought it looked like the White House. The man who greeted us told us it is fashioned after a casino!

They were led to a beautiful table in a corner of the dining room, and they felt they had the best seats in the room. They could see everything, and no one was close to them. Of course, the table was set beautifully.

The first course was a mushroom soup with onion foam ... (if Angela had the menu, she could say exactly what it was, but she can't find it)...

After that, they were given urchin, as a gelee, as a creamy mousse, and as something else that can't really be described. It was amazing.

This is the gelee. Angela thought it was so pretty.

Then the scallops...

This one was seared on this hot stone, and the waiter said to turn the scallop over to sear the other side. Guillaume and Vincent were very happy with their wine choices.

The next course was langoustines - in a ravioli, with some kind of delightful sauce that both Angela and Martine drank after the langoustine, and with some kind of green foam. Not only delicious and pretty, but fun, too!

Then, Angela's first sweetbreads. And she's glad she chose this place for her first time.

Fromage!

Dessert! This is actually a glass made out of sugar. Angela tried to pick it up and it broke in her hand (she didn't know it was sugar).

This was a banana/peanut butter dessert (yes, two desserts... plus chocolates).
By the time they finished eating, they were the only ones left in the dining room.

They had such a lovely, delicious evening, they didn't want it to end.

But, they had a lovely apartment to go home to, with Paris and the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the background.

On Sunday, Guillaume went with Vincent on the scooter to buy some books for his friend, and to buy Angela a sandwich that she has been craving since she had it the last time she was in Paris... a year ago! The four of them had a lovely lunch, and then Angela and Guillaume took the train to Pigalle to see Bruno, Virginie, Milo and Lola, and Claudia and Guy would be there too!

Angela and Guillaume forgot the camera, so there are no pictures, but it was a very nice time, and it was so, so so nice to see them again, and they hope it won't be so long until the next time. And Angela is looking forward to a couple of tours with Virginie!

Claudia and Guy drove them to the Rosebud Bar, and they said their goodbyes on a rainy streetcorner in Paris. After The Rousseaus drove away, the other Rousseaus dashed down the street to the bar, and met Vincent and Martine, and Guillaume's old bar manager, Phillipe. After a few glasses of champagne for Angela and Martine, and a few bourbons for the boys, they left.

Angela got a ride on the back of Vincent's scooter, and Guillaume and Martine walked home. Angela's first scooter ride was pretty fun! As they rounded the final corner, the Eiffel Tower came into view, and was sparkling for the last time that night, and the last time Angela would see her for a while, so she was grateful for the show.

They sadly said goodbye to Vincent and Martine, and went to bed to prepare for the early day, and long flight home on Monday.

Back in Boston

2008-04-04T10:41:00.020-04:00

But there is still so much to tell about Angela & Guillaume's vacation in France!

On Wednesday evening, after spending their afternoon shopping for food and wine to bring back home, Guy made blanquette de veau for dinner. It was delicious. Angela even had it for lunch, too!

Cyril came over for dinner, too, and Angela and Guillaume were very happy to see him!

After dinner, they all watched the home movie of Claudia's 40th birthday party. Angela loved it! She loved seeing Guillaume, Cyrielle and Cyril when they were little too. It was a lot of fun!

The next day was the long travel day! The Four Rousseaus headed out on a castle tour: Chambord, Cheverny, and Chenonceau... the Three Ch's!

This is a map to show the locations of the castles:

The first castle they went to was Chambord. They didn't get lost (yet)!

Angela had to be very quick with the camera to get the pictures as they whizzed by! Sometimes Guy could back up and stop, like here. But she still had to be fast.

The first sight of the castle is very impressive.

They didn't give out free samples of the Chambord. Quel dommage!

They visited the outside of the castle, but did not pay for the inside tour. The outside grounds were beautiful, and the weather cooperated for a little while. It was rainy part of the day, but not this hour!

After visiting the castle a little, they made their way to the restaurant just outside for lunch. And imagine this: no pictures of food! Impossible!But this was their view from their dining table. Pas mal, non?

They piled back into the car:

Next stop, Cheverny!
At Cheverny, there are hunting dogs that go out two times a week. There are 100 of them! They arrived at the castle shortly before feeding time, and it looked like it would be very interesting.

And here is a movie to show that it was VERY interesting! They released the dogs, and then the dogs did not eat until the handlers told them it was okay to eat. Then they went crazy! They jumped all over each other to get the food. The food smelled terrible, and Angela and Claudia had to leave shortly after the dogs started to eat.

They toured the castle, and then headed out for the 3rd Ch.. Chenonceau! (Angela had to be very, very quick with the camera to take this picture - no backing up on the roads!)

Chenonceau is a castle that is build primarily over the water, and is beautiful! To get to the castle, there is a long promenade through trees. Guillaume, Claudia and Guy were very happy they didn't have to use their umbrellas!

Finally, they headed home. But they weren't quite sure how to get there.

But, they made it home with help from GPS, and with a little traffic. It was a long, but very very nice day.

On Friday, it was time for Angela and Guillaume to go to Paris, and their stay in Ste Genevieve des Bois was over. They were very sad to leave, but were very happy that they had this time together.

Guy drove Angela and Guillaume to Vincent & Martine's apartment in Paris. As they rounded the final corner to get to their home, they saw the Eiffel Tower, and they were all amazed at the beautiful view.

The story continues...

Thursday Already?

2008-03-26T14:04:00.017-04:00

Angela and Guillaume feel like they just arrived, but they have been in France for 5 days already. They have done a lot and seen a lot of people!

On Monday morning, they awoke with excitement. After a breakfast of croissants and coffee (Nespresso, of course!) they left Ste Genevieve des Bois.

First stop, Papy Pierre and Mamy Dedette! Guillaume and his father drove in one car, and Angela and Claudia drove in the other, to Chartres. It took about 1 1/2 hours to drive, and time passed very quickly.

Upon arrival, everyone piled out of their cars to find Papy Pierre and Mamy Dedette at the window. Angela called out, "Papy Pierre! Mamy Dedette!" because she was very happy to finally see them.

Everyone went into their home, and Angela felt very welcomed.

There were creatively wrapped gifts for Angela and Guillaume, and even for Petit Robert!

There was wonderful food: salmon, radishes, foie gras, ham, potatoes... it was so delicious, Angela had a hard time stopping to eat dinner.

Thank goodness for dessert or she may not have! Here, Guy is cutting the tarte tatin.

And everyone who enjoyed the day:

After all the food, they felt like taking a walk, so they drove to the huge, old (really old... much older than America - built in 1260!!) cathedral in Chartres. This is the Chartres cathedral from a distance.

Guillame made a friend just outside. He always meets interesting people!

When they were inside, Angela lit a candle for her dad.

After a final walk, and a drive back they left for Mamyline and Papy Roger's house, very close by. More lovely gifts were presented to Angela and Guillaume.

They had a very nice dinner that night, and ate a lot more food. Angela, Guillaume and Mamyline were very happy.

Chanel wanted to be sure Guillaume is in the picture. They stayed there on Monday night, and had a very good lunch the next day, with pain poisson, duck, vegetables, then desserts and more desserts! Angela thought she would never eat again!

In the afternoon, Manuel and Flora came to say hello, and to get the Paul Pierce Celtics shirt and shorts for Paul. Angela and Guillaume also went to see their new home, and it is beautiful!!!

Finally, the Chartres voyage had come to an end, and the Four Rousseaus returned to Ste Genevieve des Bois, and Home Sweet Home!

On Wednesday, Angela, Guillaume and Claudia met Guy at his golf club for lunch. Guillaume ran into someone who used to work at the Crillon Hotel! Lunch was very good, of course.

Angela is proud of her beaux pere - this plaque is above the bar at the club:

After lunch, the Four Rousseaus went to the wine shop and bought some wine to take back to America. The man who sold them the wine talked a lot. Angela thought it was funny that this is the only California wine in the store:

Next, the Three Ch's Tour... Stay tuned!

Looks Like We Made It!

2008-03-23T13:30:00.012-04:00

It is 6:30 pm on Easter Sunday. Angela and Guillaume arrived exactly 12 hours ago, and have had a perfect day.

First, all suitcases in Boston were packed with clothes, shoes and gifts. The suitcases were very very full, and just a little heavy.

Guillaume prepared Angela for her first GP "experience." She had heard so many stories from the family, both good and ... exciting ... so she was ready for anything!

They arrived at Logan Airport early, and there was no line at the ticket counter at all. They checked in at the counter and were immediately given their boarding passes. Guillaume was very very shocked, and asked, "So we are on the plane?" and the ticket agent said Yes! (The agent next to her said,"Don't ticket them yet," but the agent helping didn't pay attention to her!)

So, they went through security, went to Duty Free, where Guillame wanted to try on sunglasses... but the cabinet was locked and the clerk said that they didn't have a key. So, no sunglasses for Guillaume. Angela bought her perfume, some books and magazines and then they went to the boarding gate.

Once they were on the plane in the VERY last row, in front of the toilets of course, they were getting settled. One of the flight attendants asked if they wanted to move away from the toilets, and they did. They sat about 10 rows ahead. Then, the chief hostess asked if they wanted to move upstairs into the bubble of the 747. And they did. But the plane was about to take off, so they had to run. But Guillaume's Green Card was in his coat, still in the overhead bin next to the toilet. Oh no!

The chief hostess got the jackets, and the three of them ran up the aisle, Angela's carry-on bag over her shoulder and hitting almost every person as she went by. Sorry! They ran up the stairs, threw themselves into their seats, and the plane started moving. These seats were so much better than the toilet seats. More room, less smell.

The flight was uneventful, but no one slept. They arrived on time, and there was no line at Customs. This GP traveling was easy and fun! But then they waited for the luggage. And waited. Finally it started to arrive, and soon they were outside, and Claudia drove up just then. Perfect timing!

The drive home was nice and sunny, and without incident, except for one driver who wanted to stop in the middle of the highway right in front of them because of the speed traps!

They arrived shortly and emptied all the bags from the car.

Even though it was early or late, Guillame and Angela were too excited and happy to be there, so they stayed awake and talked and opened presents for a little while, while Guy prepared Easter dinner. Lamb, of course.

And he prepared a tarte tatin, too!

Finally they thought they should sleep a little so they didn't fall asleep in the tarte tatin. They slept until 1:00!! They showered and felt very refreshed, although Angela thinks Guillaume is still a little tired. They will sleep very well tonight.

First, an aperetif with an amazing wine, Chateau d'Yqyem.

Then, the delicious dinner.

And cheese, and then the tarte tatin.

And NESPRESSO coffee! Angela and Guillaume are going to buy one of these machines - it makes delicious coffee! Even George Clooney says so.

They decided to take a walk through the Russian Orthodox cemetary in Ste Genevieve des Bois after lunch so that they didn't all fall asleep.

Many nobilities are buried here, and Putin came last year to visit as well. Rudolf Noureev is buried here in a very ornate grave!

After the walk through the cemetary, they took a tour of the town as well. Angela saw something that made her smile.

Now, Guy and Guillaume are downstairs wating tv, Claudia is on her computer, and Angela is going to go downstairs with her Vanity Fair Magazine.

Tomorrow, more visits with family, and they can't wait!

Petit Robert's Vacation Home

2008-03-22T11:59:00.002-04:00

Here is Petit Robert at his vacation home. He had a nice trip, and Guillaume and Angela think he will be very happy. He has nice music, and a little plant, too!

Okay, the NEXT blog will probably be from France!

Across the Ocean

2008-03-22T07:48:00.004-04:00

Today is the day!

Angela was so excited yesterday that she waited up for Guillaume to get home. As soon as he walked in the door she jumped on him and they both shouted, "Hooray!" They hope they didn't disturb the downstairs neighbors.

They have a busy day today before they leave. But Angela is started with the blog and coffee on the couch while Guillaume gets a few minutes more sleep. Angela doesn't know how he can sleep!
They are going to drop off sweet Petit Robert this morning at Aunt Vas and Uncle Sal's house, and will have a small breakfast and some nice conversation. The table is set for the little leprechauns' visit!

Then they have to rush off to get things at the dry cleaners, and come home to finish packing, and maybe clean so they arrive to a nice clean home.

Angela is looking forward to the "excitement" of the airport and hopefully getting on the plane. Then she will know what everyone has been talking about all these years, and will definitely feel like one of the "Traveling Rousseaus"!

It's 8:00 now, and Angela is going to wake Guillaume and they will hit the road.

The next blog post just might be from France!

Maman & Papa Rousseau, a demain! (Et, Claudia, je suis desole que le vol arrive tres tres debut dans le matin! Mais, plus de temps ensemble! Je suis tres, tres heureux.)

A+

The final countdown...

2008-03-17T15:38:00.004-04:00

Let the packing begin!

It is Monday afternoon, and Angela & Guillaume have 4 1/2 short days remaining until they take to the skies and wing their way to France!

They are so excited to spend time with family and friends, it's all they have been talking about.

Angela has hung most of the clothes that she is planning on taking with her. Now all she has to do is try everything on to make sure she likes them all, and put them in one of the suitcases. They want to make sure they bring all the right coats, shoes, belts and bags, so they are taking 2 suitcases. One might not be completely full, for all the food they are planning on bringing back to Boston (but Angela doesn't want to think about the return to Boston) (but she does like to think about the food).

Guillaume is very busy at work this week, working most lunches and all dinner. Angela is sad she won't see him until Saturday morning, when they will bring their sweet Petit Robert to Aunt Vas & Uncle Sal's for his own little vacation. They think he will enjoy the visit, and Aunt Vas has babysat a betta fish before, too!

Angela est tres heureux de voir (et de rencontrer!) toute la famille en France (mais, elle est triest parce que Cyrielle est encore loin...). Guillaume attend avec impatience, aussi!!

A tout a l'heure!
Gros bisous toute le monde!

Un autre restaurant, sans photos...

2008-03-07T09:33:00.005-05:00

Angela and Guillaume had a night off of work together again, on Wednesday! They had planned to go to a restaurant called Brasserie Jo. Angela had been there for a work dinner or two, and didn't remember too much about it. So she wasn't sure if they should go there or not.

Eventually (at the very last minute), they decided to go to a new French restaurant on Newbury Street, called La Voile. When Angela called on Wednesday afternoon for a reservation, the first table she was able to get was at 9:00 p.m. She thought it was a good sign that they were so busy on a Wednesday night!

La Voile opened in Boston in November, and has been very successful so far. The restaurant moved from Cannes, France (where it was called La Voile au Vent) to Boston (where they lost au Vent!), and they brought with them much of the staff (waiters, cooks, etc.).

When Angela arrived at home from work on Wednesday evening, she was happy to see that her new shoes had arrived. Since she likes to take her camera when they go to dinner, the camera was on the kitchen island, ready to go, so she took a picture of her new shoe.

Guillaume always carries the camera when they go out, so Angela thought that he put it in his pocket when they left. He didn't. There are no pictures of the food at La Voile.

For a starter, they each had a type of foie gras. Angela had 3 kinds: a terrine, a brulee, and seared!

This picture Angela borrowed from another website of the dinner that she had - blanquette de veau. It was served in this pot, and on the side, another tiny cast-iron pot with rice.

Guillaume had a leg of lamb that was delicious as well.

They decided to forgo dessert this time, and have cheese instead. It was delicious, of course. They each had an espresso (with Illy coffee!), and left La Voile very happy.

They were busy on Thursday, Guillaume had to go to work for lunch, and Angela had her treatment. But at 5:30 p.m., when Angela had been home for an hour, Guillaume called and said he was coming home. Angela was so happy to have him home!

Petit Robert is very happy in his home (they think, although he doesn't speak much). Today Guillaume will give him a treat of worms. (Angela doesn't touch the worms.)

16 days to France! Hooray!

Happy Birthday Cyrielle!

2008-03-01T10:09:00.001-05:00

Welcome Home, Petit Robert.

2008-02-29T07:44:00.004-05:00

Angela and Guillaume have a new member of the family. Please meet Petit Robert! Guillaume went to find him yesterday and brought him home.

This is his little apartment.

Guillaume made a very nice little corner of the world for him. They think he is happy, although he didn't eat yesterday. Angela put a picture of the two of them next to his apartment so he doesn't get lonely when they're not home.

Angela gave him a little food this morning. He didn't eat when she was watching, so she went to the couch and decided to blog and have her coffee so she wouldn't bother him. She'll check to see if he ate his 4 food pellets in a little while.

Guillaume is trying to find a babysitter for when we go to France. He must be fed every day, twice a day. They don't want to come home to a floating Petit Robert.

Vive La France!

2008-02-27T18:58:00.003-05:00

Angela & Guillaume have finally found a little piece of France in Boston. There used to be a famous restaurant called Maison Robert, which closed in 2003. Petit Robert, a bistro owned by the same family, opened in 2005, in Kenmore Square in Boston. It is very close to Boston University and Fenway Park. There are some new hotels and restaurants in the area now, as well.

Last Friday night, Angela and Guillaume went to Petit Robert in the middle of yet another snowstorm. Yes, more snow. Lots of it! After making sure they had keys, money and lipstick (only for Angela, of course), they took a taxi to make their 8:30 reservation, and made it safely in the snow. They jumped over slush filled puddles and ran into the restaurant. Guillaume spoke to the hostess, who responded to him in French. Then the general manager brought them to their table, and he is French as well! He and Guillaume spoke about something (Angela realizes she still cannot understand French very well at all).

They had champagne, of course. They ordered their dinners off of a menu that had so many delightful choices. http://www.petitrobertbistro.com/Menus/MenuFrame1.htm

Guillaume got the escargots as a starter. He kindly gave one to Angela. It was delicious.

Angela got the "trio of pate", which were so good as well. It took her a long time to eat because she was savoring every bite, so Guillaume got one more escargots... Angela was happy because she had one more as well!

For dinner, Guillaume had the andouiette with a bouidin noir, and Angela had the beef bourgignon. She forgot to take a picture until she had eaten some of it... She also tried both of Guillaume's dishes, and maybe she wouldn't get it for herself, but she liked it!
They had an amazing bottle of wine that was perfect with the meal. Guillaume chose very well!

After the very long, relaxing dinner, they put on their scarves, gloves, coats and hats, and made their way back out into the snow. Guillaume was going to meet a colleague because it was his last night at his job, and Angela was going home. Angela took the first cab, and with a kiss to Guillaume she was off.

The taxi drove down Commonwealth Ave, and with the snow falling and the white lights on the trees, it was a beautiful ride home.

Unfortunately, Angela left Guillaume with the only set of keys. So she took another taxi back to Newbury Street to get the keys from Guillaume. Finally, she made it back home!

The next bistro Angela & Guillaume will go to will be in France! In 24 days!

A+

Le Velo est Arrive!

2008-02-18T16:33:00.003-05:00

Finally! (Well, actually it arrived last week, but Angela & Guillaume have been very busy.)

Guillaume was on his way to the shop. Angela heard him come back up the stairs right after he left. She thought something was wrong. But there was only a change in plans. The bike arrived!

It came folded up like a pretzel, so Guillame wanted to unfold it and put it together.

After only 1/2 hour, it was ready to ride!

Very unfortunately, it was raining very, very hard outside. Guillaume was so sad that he could not ride his new bike.

Since then, he rides his bike to work every day (except yesterday). Today, it is 60 degrees! It was a very nice day for a bike ride. Guillaume looks very cute on his new bike.

And we are counting the days until we go to France! Only 33!

C'est Ridicule!

2008-02-12T17:21:00.001-05:00

Oui, plus de neige!

La neige commence ce soir, et continue jusqu'a demain soir! Angela ne travaille pas demain (seulement de la maison).

Le velo n'arrive pas encore. Bientot...!!

Angela mange avec Vas and Sal pour le dejeuner aujourd'hui. C'etait tres sympa! Angela jamais partie travaille pour le dejeuner!

Et, bon pour le dernier... Angela et Guillaume allez a la france en mars! Hooray!

They Can't Keep Us Down!

2008-02-09T09:46:00.000-05:00

As you may remember, in the early morning hours of January 13, just before a big snowfall, Guillaume's bicycle was stolen by evil theives! http://bostonlovesparis.blogspot.com/2008/01/oh-no.html

Cyril and Claudia had good ideas about bringing a new bicycle upstairs every night (for safety AND strong arms). Angela thought Claudia was right about the walls. Angela did not want to follow Guillaume up the stairs every night with a bucket of paint to cover the smudges on the wall that were sure to happen.

Guillaume, however, is brilliant. He found a FOLDING BIKE! He can fold it and bring it upstairs every night, and now nothing bad can happen to it. It will be warm and dry, just outside our apartment door.

Angela ordered it for Guillaume online yesterday, and it will arrive this week. This is what it looks like un-folded. Angela thinks it is tres mignon. Guillaume isn't so sure.

Of course there will be photos when the bicycle arrives!

Oeuf, Neuf.

2008-02-04T09:13:00.001-05:00

The New England Patriots lost 17-14 to the New York Giants. There will be no victory parade.

BUT, Guillaume won $50 in a Superbowl Pool! It was his first bet and his first win. He even got a little yellow ribbon. He was very proud.

Angela and Guillaume stayed at the Superbowl Party until just after half-time. Then they took a taxi home and watched the rest of the game from their couch, and they were so happy (until the Patriots sadly lost).

The news reporters are very gloomy today, but at least there were no riots like when the Red Sox won!

Superbowl Sunday!

2008-02-03T16:19:00.001-05:00

Guillaume is going to go to his very first Superbowl Party tonight.

The New England Patriots are playing the New York Giants. The game starts at around 6:15 p.m. Angela and Guillaume will leave at around 5:30 for the party at the Ritz (wahoo!).

Stay tuned to see what happens!

Mamy Therese's Filet Mignon

2008-01-30T11:27:00.001-05:00

Guillaume did not have to work on Tuesday. So, he put himself to work in our kitchen! He spent all day cooking and baking so that Angela would have an amazing meal when she got home from work.

First, he called his father to get the recipe for Mamy Therese's filet mignon (that is pork tenderloin). Then, he went to Whole Foods to get the food. He spent a long time there, making sure he had all the right things. Here is the kitchen, prepared and ready to go. Look at the two beautiful filet mignons on the counter!

Look at them now, cooking in the pot, with mushrooms, pancetta, onions, whiskey... Oh, maybe the pancetta isn't in yet. It might be on the side, waiting to go in.

Cooking at full steam!!
Then, another masterpiece. Guillaume made his very first Tarte Tatin. First, he put sugar and butter in a pan to caramelize and added sliced apples. The apples drank in the sugar and butter. Then, he put it in the oven with dough on top. When it was done baking, he turned it over so the crust was on the bottom, and all the caramelized juices ran into the apples.

When Angela got home, she walked into an apartment that smelled so good. She couldn't control herself, and Guillaume gave her a small piece of the Tarte Tatin.

Finally, after a few hours, it was dinner time. Thank goodness! Angela was going to fall over from all the good smells at home.

Guillaume prepared the pasta to go with Mamy Therese's filet mignon.

He said, "It has to be done PRECISELY."

Angela waited patiently at the table, with the wine.

This is Angela's delicious plate.

This is Angela's empty plate.

Then, the warm Tarte Tatin, served with just a little bit of creme fraiche.

Guillaume was VERY VERY pleased with the way the meal turned out.
So was Angela. She has talked about it all day today. And she will have it again for dinner tonight, so she can't wait to go home.

They hope their family and friends are well, in all the corners of the world. They also hope that Maman and Papa Rousseau meet Tiger Woods in Dubai! Bonne chance! (And Angela hopes that Claudia gets to buy some good things at the SOLDES. Encore, bonne chance!)

Les Mecs Went to Canada!

2008-01-25T10:18:00.001-05:00

Angela and Guillaume apologize for the length of this blog posting, but Guillaume and Romain were very very busy, and no detail is too small!

(Romain was the guest photographer for this blog...)

The boys returned safely on Thursday night after a long, long drive from Montreal. Guillaume had a little cold, but otherwise they are happy and healthy still!

After Angela left on Saturday for Florida, Guillaume and Romain prepared for their journey. They left at around 8:00 on Sunday morning. Guillaume looks very ready for his long drive.

They had to buy a "real" map, because the GPS system that Angela bought for Guillaume for Christmas only has U.S., not Canada. That wasn't very helpful at all.

By the time they got to western Massachusetts, it was snowing. Thank goodness Guillaume had already driven in a snowstorm, so he knew how to do it.

They crossed the cold border into Canada at the Rainbow Bridge. The Customs Officer asked if they had anything to declare, and Guillaume said he wished he brought more hats and coats. The Customs Officer did not think Guillaume was funny. Guillaume won't try and joke with Customs Officers anymore.

This is one of the first "pit stops" at MacDo. I think Guillaume and Romain will not eat MacDo for a very very long time!

They arrived at Niagara Falls in the afternoon, and checked into their hotel. They went to the falls, and it was very very cold. They both said that they had never felt cold like that before. The temperature was -25 C.

The walked around the area a little bit (they were happy to have hats and scarves) and saw the pretty lights, and had dinner.

They even saw some Pizza from Boston. Angela isn't sure if it is really from Boston...

They went back to their hotel room. The hotel is the building in the background, not the scary building in the front. Angela was very worried when she first saw the pictures.

Was there a break in?? What happened? Oh, it's just les mecs.

The next day, they spent some time at Niagara Falls again.

They went on the Journey Behind the Falls. It looks very different in the summertime, when Guillaume and Angela went 2 years ago!

This is the same spot in the summer 2005.

This is the tunnel behind the falls.

This is the same tunnel, in the summer. There is no ice. Just a happy girl.

They headed out to Toronto in the early afternoon. It took them only 1 1/2 hours. They stopped at Lake Ontario.

They arrived at around 4:00. The city looked beautiful when they drove in.

They walked around the city, and found a place to ice skate!

This is their hotel in Toronto.

They went back to their hotel room. Was there a break in?? What happened? Oh, it's just les mecs...

They went to dinner at Ki, a Japanese sushi restaurant. They enjoyed a very nice dinner.

Don't they look so handsome?

This is the tallest tower in the world, at night. It's so pretty.

On Tuesday morning, they woke up and went to the tallest tower in the world!

It had a glass floor. Romain did not want to stand on it, and Guillaume had to take a picture, so he forced himself.

Then, of course, they went to the Hockey Hall of Fame! There were many things to see and do.

Angela thinks this is a very scary picture.

Of course, they took a picture with the Stanley Cup.

They won! They won!

They also sat in "locker rooms". Angela hopes it didn't smell like a real locker room.

Then, the real adventure began. They started to drive to Montreal from Toronto. It started to snow 20 minutes after departure from Toronto. They were stuck in traffic behind an accident with many trucks in the snowstorm for 2 or 3 hours. Guillaume called Angela and said they were stopped on the highway, and said that they would get off at the next exit and find a hotel to stay overnight.

Eventually, they found a hotel in Cobourg, and they were able to relax and have dinner, and get a good night's sleep. After dinner, they went back to their room.

What happened?? Was there a break in? No... it's just les mecs.

Hopefully, there will be no more snow for the remainder of the drive to Montreal the next day!

On Wednesday morning, they woke up to find no snow falling! They drove to Montreal without incident, and checked into their hotel. They walked around the "old Montreal".

Of course, they stopped to have a hot chocolate with pastry because it was so, so cold.

Wednesday evening they went to a bar for dinner, and then went to a club where they made some friends. They even met some Inuits!

The long walk began back to their hotel.

What happened? Was there a break in? Oh, no. It's just les mecs!

On Thursday morning, they began their long journey home.

They went through the border into the U.S. at Vermont, and had no trouble. This was Guillaume's first time using his Green Card to enter America!

Meanwhile, Angela's trip to Naples was all business. The flight to Naples from Boston was terribly bumpy, and an hour longer than it was supposed to be because of a strong "head wind". She flew over a big storm that was covering the entire east coast. When she arrived, she was happy to feel that the weather was very warm. At the hotel, she was able to sit on her terrace on one evening for 1/2 hour with her laptop computer in between meetings, and it was very nice!

She arrived home on Wednesday evening at 6:30. Her flight home was very easy, and faster than expected. And her luggage was even carried up to their apartment for her! She unpacked and did all of the clothes washing that very night so she could tell Guillaume. He was surprised, and wondered who took over his wife.

On Thursday, Angela did nothing but relax and go to the hospital for a quick shot (hi Bonnie!). Les mecs arrived at around 6 p.m. A little tired, a little bit sick, but very happy. They ordered takeout food (maybe they ordered a little too much takeout food, because they are still eating some of it right now), and while they were waiting for the food to arrive, Guillaume and Romain both fell asleep on the couch.

Finally, they were all in bed by 9:30!

On Friday, Guillaume and Romain took the car for an "inspection" that is necessary every year in Massachusetts if you own a car. It took them a while to find an open inspection station. One was broken, one was "at lunch", and finally 2 hours later, they found a very nice man from Africa, and he helped them. They also fixed the windshield wipers (which would have been helpful before their long trip!), and then they washed the car! It was a mess from all the snow and dirt on the road. Of course, it will be dirty again by next week, but right now it's shiny and pretty.

They went to Legal Seafood at the Prudential Center for dinner last night. They had a drink at the bar first, with a very nice and attractive bartender that caught Romain's eye! So of course Romain had another drink...

The dinner was very nice. They started with a cup of the famous clam chowder. The chowder has been served at U.S. Presidential Inaugurations since 1981! Then, they had a lump crab cake for a starter. For dinner, Guillaume and Romain had a swordfish, and Angela had Boston Scrod. Dinner was delicious!

They were home by 11:15. Angela went to bed immediately, and Guillaume and Romain started to watch Waterworld, a movie with Kevin Costner. Shortly, Guillaume came to bed. It is now 10:45 a.m., and Guillaume and Romain have been watching the rest of Waterworld. It's a very long movie.

Romain is packed, and is almost ready to go. He is bringing home a LOT more than he arrived with. He has an extra bag now... and the bag is HUGE! If Angela put the bag on her back, she would fall over. It is full of hockey equipment.

Today, Angela is going to see a movie with her best friend Kelley, and Guillaume will take Romain to the airport later this afternoon. It has been a very nice visit, and it makes Angela happy to see Guillaume with his friend. Angela knows Guillaume will be sad for a little while, and that makes her sad too. But we know we will see him again very soon. And that makes their hearts light. A bientot, Romain - bon voyage!

It's taken so long to write and download the pictures that Romain is gone, and Angela is home from her very nice day with Kelley. Angela and Guillaume are on the couch, and Angela is going to go to bed soon!

As the Quebecois say, "Allez, bonjour!"

Hot to Cold!

2008-01-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

Guillaume has made it safely to Canada with Romain. They are stuck in a snowstorm (surprise!), somewhere between Toronto and Montreal. They are at a bar relaxing now, and will drive to Montreal tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Angela is very warm in Naples, Florida. It is beautiful and warm, and she will go back to Boston tomorrow. She will be very happy to be home because she will finally sleep, but she is very very sad to leave the heat.

Angela & Guillaume just wanted everyone to know that they are safe!

Gros bisous!

The Boston Bruins Game (#1)

2008-01-18T09:37:00.001-05:00

Thursday was a good day for hockey!

First, Guillaume and Romain went to the hockey store. Guillaume used his new GPS System to find his way to the store, and they did not get lost!

Guillaume was cold enough so that he could wear his pretty green hat.

The first store was closed (they were very early).

So, they drove 1/2 hour to the next store.

Romain was very excited. There were a lot of hockey things for him to look at and buy.

And so he did!

When they got home, Angela was already at the hospital for treatment, so they played Hockey on the PlayStation 3, and had a fun afternoon. But first, they had to find a place to park. Guillaume called Angela to see if he could park here: She said no.

Guillaume found a spot just around the corner, and parked with only a little help from Romain!

At 5:30 p.m., Angela left the hospital to come home, and Guillaume and Romain left home to go to the GAME! They were like two ships passing in the night (but they didn't see each other). They didn't forget the tickets!

Guillaume and Romain walked to the Boston Garden. It took them about 20 minutes, and for a change, it wasn't too cold! (But of course Guillaume wore his pretty green hat.) They wanted to get there early so they could go to the shop and buy things.

But first, they stopped at The Harp, a bar across the street from the Boston Garden. Guillaume had a BUD.

Then, they walked across the street to the Boston Garden. First stop, shopping. Guillaume bought a Boston Bruins sweatshirt (a sweet!?), and Romain bought a Boston Bruins hat (which would come in useful later when Guillaume threw a snowball at his head).

When they walked into the arena for the first time, Romain was like a little boy - he was SO excited! He said it was much better than waking up at 4:00 in the morning to watch Canadian television through static. It was his first National Hockey League game live, and he couldn't stay still! They walked all around the ice and took pictures.

And they made a new friend: Blades!

The same man sings the national anthems at every game. With his red bow tie!

The game was very good. It was 2-2 at the end of regulation time, and went into overtime. Then it went into a "shootout", and the Bruins ended up losing. Better luck next time, boys! But, Guillaume and Romain will have one more chance to see the Bruins (hopefully) win, on Saturday night. Their seats are not as good, but they won't care!

Guillaume may have been as excited as Romain at the game...

After the game, they stayed until the arena was almost empty to savor every minute. Then they walked home.

Angela was on the couch when she heard Guillaume yell from outside, "Angela!" She opened the window and saw Guillaume with a HUGE snow ball. Bigger than his head! He was taking snow from all the cars and rolling it into one big ball. Then he threw it at Romain, and they had a snowball fight in the street. Now you see why the hat was a good idea for Romain!

They finally came inside, and we looked at the pictures on the tv, and then we went to bed. Well, Angela went to bed, and she thinks that Guillaume and Romain may have played Ice Hockey on the PlayStation 3 again.

Now, les mecs are ... yes, playing Ice Hockey on the PlayStation 3. Angela is at the kitchen island. Les mes will go to the New England Boat Show later today. Angela will take a quick trip to the hospital for a shot, and finish packing for her trip to FLORIDA! WARM! HOORAY!

On Saturday morning, Guillaume will drive Angela to the airport and say au revoir for 5 days. Then on Sunday, Guillaume and Romain will begin their road trip adventure to... maybe Canada.

Now, Angela will make egg sandwiches for les mecs. And then they will go to the Boat Show.

The blog will probably not be updated until Angela returns from Florida because she will be very busy working, and Guillaume will be in Canada somewhere.

A bientot!

Romain est ici!

2008-01-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

Romain est arrive hier a 4:00 p.m.
Guillaume est attendre pour 1 heure (le vol est un peu tard).

Ils rentrent a la chez nous. Il y a un erreur avec la deoderant dans la bagage... et un chemise morte. Romain apporte tasses de cafe de Bretagne! (Angela prend son cafe ce matin, bien sur!)

Apres le travail, Angela rencontres au 75 Chestnut restaurant. (Apres un crisis a le travail...) Elle etait heureuse de voir Romain! (Dernier fois, il y a un autre crisis....)

Ils attendent au bar pour un table, et boir un aperetif.

A la table, ils demandent BURGERS! Et un bouteille du vin rouge (Syrah, sans tanins!), bien sur.

Pour un special, hier soir seulement, il y a un "oxygen bar" a 75 Chestnut, avec "saveurs". Etrange, pour un restaurant, non?

Apres diner, ils rentrent chez nous. Guillaume et Romain jouer PlayStation3 "Ice Hockey" pour preparer le match Bruins ce soir!

Maintenant, ils vont a un magasin de hockey (comme le "golf warehouse") pour Romain.

Guillaume est responsable pour les photos... donc... pas des photos. Mais, bientot. Angela espere.

A tout a l'heure!

Oh, No.

2008-01-13T18:54:00.001-05:00

More snow in Boston. It's a Nor'Easter! (If anyone knows Mother Nature, we really could use a break here...)

Also, Guillaume's bike was stolen last night. He went downstairs to our storage to get my suitcase, and came up with a broken lock. That's all that was left of his bike. What's so ridiculous is that the seat wasn't even on the bike when it was stolen. He brings it upstairs every night. So someone stole a bike with no seat, and the front wheel isn't straight. They definitely could have chosen a better bike.

But his friend is coming soon, Angela will be in Florida, life is not bad!

Start Spreading the News...

2008-01-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

Don't worry! Guillaume is not dead! He just doesn't look very well in this photo. He had been wearing his pretty green hat, and his hair was not looking well at all. He wanted to see what it looked like, so Angela took a picture (no mirror on hand). He thought he looked dead. Angela agreed.
Angela did not fare much better (but at least she looks alive...). They are on the train, on their way to New York City (!) to see Vincent and Martine. They are very excited, because they have not seen their friends since August.

This is the first view of the city. It looks late in the afternoon, but it is only about 2:30. Ah, winter in the northeast!
They arrived at the Hudson Hotel, near Columbus Circle, at 3:00. The hotel is very VERY trendy. Maybe too trendy for Angela & Guillaume. This is the escalator that takes you from street level to the lobby of the hotel. In the background, you can see a lit area. That is the Hudson Bar. During the day it is quiet and not much happening. At night, you can hear the music on the street! It is very crowded, and there are ropes that prohibit people from entering unless you are "someone" or know "someone" (or are a guest of the hotel).

Vincent and Martine came to the Hudson Hotel later that afternoon, and everyone was so happy to see each other! They all went to the Library Bar at the hotel and had a nice time. There was only one incident with a rather large cockroach that was taken care of (almost) promptly by the bartender / exterminator.

Vincent and Martine left after dinner plans were made through the hotel concierge (who seemed a little bothered by any request at all, but made a nice recommendation anyways) at Craftsteak, a nice steak house in the Meatpacking District (where else?).

Angela and Guillaume took a taxi to Craftsteak. The taxi left them in front of a building marked with the number 85. Craftsteak was number 85. So, they entered into the front door.

They were greeted by a very nice black man in a shirt and tie. He appeared a little formal, and perhaps a bit abruptly said, "Can I help you?" to which Angela responded, "Yes, we have a reservation." He said, "If you have reservations here, you're going to jail for a long time." Guillaume and Angela thought for a moment that he was joking, but he didn't smile. Guillaume said, "Is this a jail?" The man said, "No sir, this is the FBI!"

*gasp* FBI! Angela and Guillaume thanked the man politely and immediately left the building.

The restaurant was at the number 85 right next door. Whoops!

They ordered a bottle of champagne and waited for Vincent and Martine (who made the same mistake and went into the FBI building too...).

Craftsteak is one of a few restaurants owned by chef Tom Colicchio, who is also the judge on the US television show "Top Chef," that Angela just started watching this year (she likes food). We were not disappointed at all! The decor was beautiful, modern but warm. The food was wonderful, the wine was very nice, but of course, as always, the company was the best. Angela isn't the giant that she appears to be in this picture. Don't worry Vincent and Martine, she won't eat you!

Here is everyone on their way out of the restaurant, happy with full bellies.

They took a taxi to the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Vincent ended up in the front seat. He looks a little like a Ninja.
They went to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, at Columbus Circle. Vincent and Guillaume ran into a guest that they knew from the Crillon Hotel!

They had a very nice view of Columbus Circle from their seat in the lounge. The view is a lot nicer than this picture!

The next day, everyone slept in a little bit. Guillaume went on a long walk to get Angela some coffee. He came back with a very nice latte for her, and she was happy.

At 1:00, everyone met at John's Pizzeria, "no slices" is written on all their t-shirts. (I guess they don't sell pizza by the slice.) But it was very good. We had 2 pizzas for 4 of us.

It was a very crowded restaurant with a long line. Vincent and Martine arrived before Angela & Guillaume, and found 4 seats at the bar!

After lunch, everyone took a taxi to "The Rock" - Rockefeller Plaza.

This time, Guillaume got the frontseat. In the US, we call this: riding shotgun. The first known reference to "riding shotgun" in print occurred in Western pulp fiction in the March 27, 1921 issue of the Washington Post's "Magazine of Fiction," in a story entitled "The Fighting Fool" by Dane Coolidge. It was used to refer to riding as an armed guard in the front of a stagecoach. Now, it is used if there is a group of people getting into one car, and someone wants to sit in the front seat. As soon as the car is in sight, the person yells, "Shotgun!" and they get to sit in the front seat.

They saw the big tree at Rockefeller Plaza, although during the day, it doesn't look as impressive. It's hard to see the lights. Or maybe when you see it live. On TV it looks huge and beautiful! It's big, but...We should have told the photographer that he didn't have to take a picture of the other man taking the other picture of us. Seriously. And maybe get the tree in the picture.

So, Guillaume to the rescue!
They took a tour inside, also, and saw a big picture of some NBC studio stars. This is Angela and Guillaume's favorite, from The Office. Vincent and Martine's camera took a better picture, but we don't have that one yet. Perhaps they will email it to us!

This view is from the "Top of the Rock". You can walk all the way around the building, and there are no bars obstructing the view, unlike the Empire State Building.

This was a beautiful church, but we never found out which one it was.

After we left Rockefeller Plaza, everyone went back to their hotels to get ready for dinner at the River Cafe. This would be our second time there, and everyone was looking forward to it. First, they planned to meet at the bar at the top of the Peninsula Hotel. Unfortunately, upon arrival at the Peninsula Hotel, they found out that the bar is closed. They knew that it was closed in the summer when Claudia and Cyrielle went, but we didn't think it would still be closed.

They decided to go directly to the bar at the River Cafe. They took a taxi to Brooklyn and found the perfect seats, overlooking the water and the New York City skyline.

Also joining them for dinner were Vincent and Martine's friends, Axel and Phillippe, who now live in Lille. They are a very nice couple, and Angela and Guillaume hope that they will see them during their next trip to France!

They had a wonderful dinner, as usual. Angela was too full for dessert, but she ordered this one just so she could take a picture to share. It is a chocolate "Brooklyn Bridge".
Here are our beautiful friends Vincent and Martine.
And Phillipe and Axel.
And the remnants of another perfect evening with friends in New York, that ended far too soon.
Angela and Guillaume apologize for the delay in the blogging! They arrived home Sunday night, and everyone worked all week with no time for fun. We hope it was worth the wait!

They now await the arrival of Romain on Wednesday! They have tickets to TWO ice hockey games (Nico, they will take pictures for you!), and perhaps are planning a little trip, maybe to Florida, maybe to Canada. Who knows? You will probably find out here... stay tuned!

Gros bisous!

Bonne annee!

2008-01-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

It is the second day of 2008 already, and it's still cold here in Boston. Cold enough to support the ice sculptures on "First Night."

Guillaume and Angela walked from their apartment down to Copley Square to see the crowds of people and the huge ice sculptures that artists create with very dangerous chain saws!

This is one of the finished sculptures - it might be a Disney castle.

Angela and Guillaume couldn't get very close to the sculptures to take pictures, but they were very very pretty.

There were so many people looking at the ice, and no one was moving out of their way. Guillaume finally lifted Angela up in the air so she could see them, and they were pretty!

They realized that it was far too cold, and far too crowded, and they wanted to be home and warm. So they stopped for some bread at Cafe Vanille on Charles Street, and went home and had some champagne!

Later on New Year's Eve, Guillaume cooked his special filet mignon, and they drank champagne and wine and watched a movie. Guillaume was going to go to his work for a party at 1:00 a.m., but his colleague called him just after midnight and told him he wasn't going, so Guillaume stayed home instead!

On New Year's Day, Angela and Guillaume decided to go to Vas & Sal's house. But first, Guillaume wanted to take down the Christmas tree. It didn't take too long at all. The apartment looks a little empty without the tree.

At around 12:30, they set out on the road to go to Vas & Sal's house. Of course Guillaume drove. It was his first driving experience in a snowstorm! He is wearing his cool new hat, too.

This is the driving conditions on the way to their house. Guillaume wasn't scared at all.

They stopped for gas when they arrived in town. Angela's Christmas present to Guillaume is on the dashboard (it's a GPS system so he won't get lost in his new city).

Guillaume is very happy that he's safe, and he only has 5 more minutes to drive in the snow.

Guillaume is very happy that they arrived safely at their destination! This is Vas & Sal's snowy driveway.
They are safe and warm at Vas & Sal's (and hungry for some food, too). They had not seen Vas & Sal for a long time, and were very happy to see them.
Angela just finished telling a very long story about the Opera House in Boston. She thought it was funny. Guillaume looks like he has something stuck in his teeth. Angela is sure he was interested in her story, though.

There was a lot of food and wine, and of course lots of good conversation. Angela was sorry to have to pull Guillaume away, but 6:00 a.m. comes very early!

They are very excited about their upcoming trip to New York. They are taking the train on Friday morning, and will see Vincent & Martine on Friday afternoon! A little Paris in America, mais oui!

And we LOVED the pictures from New Year's Eve in Paris!

Click here http://the-histories.blogspot.com/ for a message from Andrew.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2007-12-31T11:23:00.000-05:00

It's New Year's Eve day, and Guillaume and Angela are comfortable in their apartment. The snow stopped falling (Angela wants to move to Tahiti and never see snow again). Guillaume is preparing the filet mignon for dinner tonight. Angela is very happy about that.

Every New Year's Eve in Boston is celebrated as "First Night." This has been a part of the New Year's Eve celebration in Boston since 1976. There are artists and performances all over the city. For some things, tickets must be purchased. For others, like the gigantic ice sculptures at Copley Square and the Boston Common, no tickets are necessary. There are also fireworks at midnight on the Boston Harbor.

Guillaume and Angela will take a walk through the city later tonight to see some of the ice sculptures that have been created during the last week. Hopefully the ice won't melt before they get there.

And of course, today is Andrew's birthday, so...

(Imagine this is sung in a pretty voice)

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Andrew
Happy birthday to you!

A +

The Resolution

2007-12-29T13:55:00.000-05:00

No, not a new year's resolution. A resolution finally to the New England Aquarium fiasco from last August with the Frenchies!

Angela called and emailed the New England Aquarium (many times!) to try and find out what happened to the terrible employee who treated her Frenchies so badly. The only thing she found out was that the "situation has been taken care of" and it will "not happen again."

The Aquarium also offered to provide 10 free aquarium tickets to the charity of choice. So, Angela chose the Massachusetts General Hospital Hospital for Children. And a few days ago, Angela received a Thank You from the Hospital.

My thanks, and the thanks of our families, for the Aquarium tickets you sograciously gave to the Mass General Hospital's Concierge for our patients.The Aquarium is one of the most favorite places for our families to visit.I appreciate your thoughtfullness.
Sincerely,
Evelyn H. Malkin, licsw

So, thanks to the suffering of the Frenchies, 10 people who have to be at the hospital can at least have some fun with the fish (and the fat fatties) at the aquarium!

Joyeux Noel!

2007-12-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

Le jour apres Noel est triste... Surtout quand on doit travailler. Angela & Guillaume doit travailler.

Mais Noel? Et bien, ils ont prepare debut. Les cadeaux, nouriture et boissons pour chez Helen:

Guillaume et Angela et arrive a chez Helen, a 4:30, Lundi. Les cadeaux est sous l'arbre...

Est l'aperetif est sur la table!

Pour Cyrielle, Andrew apporte le vin Australian!

Et, Santa ici, aussi!
Voici une tasse d'Allemagne. La pere d'Angela achete en Allemagne dans 1960's, quand il est dans l'army americain. Nous mettons "Egg Nog" avec Kahlua dans la tasse.

Voici est un photo de Andrew (centre, dans un maillot jaune), quand il est un production de "Charlie Brown's Christmas". [En 1975, peut-etre, pas maintenant!]

Guillaume, avec un "Santa Claus Pez"

Guillaume et Andrew ouvrent les cadeaux.

Et Helen, aussi!

Voici, et un batteur (?) a oeufs. Mais, Angela & Guillaume ne utiliseron pas, parce que c'est mignon!!

Le soleil est enfin dans le ciel aujourd h'ui!

Cyrielle, un photo d'escalier, avec de neige (bien sur...)!

Pardon la langue francais erreurs... Angela n'est pas tres bonne, mais elle tente!

Maintenant, Angela va a la cafeteria dans le batiment pour une salade... pas comme Noel, avec foie gras, pain et vin. C'est la vie!

Let the Melting Begin!

2007-12-22T14:09:00.000-05:00

As you can see by pictures of the roofdeck, there is a lot of snow. It has been very cold and gray during the past 10 days, so the snow remains.

Tomorrow (Sunday), it is supposed to get up to 50 F degrees (10 c), so some of this will melt.

Guillaume came home with some very good news last night. He asked one of his colleagues if he would work for him on Christmas Eve, and he said yes! So Guillaume-ah will be with his American family on Christmas Eve. Hooray!

The Nutcracker in Boston

2007-12-20T17:22:00.000-05:00

Guillaume and Angela haven't seen each other a lot because of work schedules, so they were VERY excited about their date to go see the Boston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at the Opera House in Boston. The Nutcracker is a ballet by Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891-1892. It is a Boston tradition at Christmastime.

The Boston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker runs for about a month. In that month, about 120,000 people go to see the show. The playbill says that it is the most widely attended ballet production in the world! It used to be at the Wang (the old Metropolitan), but in 2005, The Nutcracker moved to the Boston Opera House, which was recently renovated after a catastrophic flood in 1991.

The first Opera House in Boston was built in 1909. During the Great Depression and WWII, it became very run down. Some people tried to have it destroyed because they said it was unsafe. Even though many people tried to save it, eventually it was demolished. This was the Opera House in 1905.

The current Opera House was opened in 1928, and it opened as a Vaudeville theater, called BF Keith's. Eventually it came into the hands of a woman named Sarah Caldwell, who appreciated the arts, but she wasn't very good with money.

In 1950, it was a very popular place to "see and be seen" in Boston. This was taken in winter. And what a surprise: SNOW.

Ms. Caldwell couldn't keep up with the building and all the bills. Because the building wasn't heated, a flood in 1991 destroyed the electrical system, and the inside of the building was ruined.

The Mayor of Boston, along with Senator Ted Kennedy (son of Joseph Kennedy, original owner of the Opera House) had the building provided with a National Landmark status. The renovation took many years, and $38 million dollars, but the result is incredible. It looks almost exactly as it used to.

It was re-opened in July 2004, and the first show was The Lion King.

Angela got tickets through her work for half-price! Angela and Guillaume like half-price tickets. Angela got home from work early on Wednesday, because she didn't want to take a chance of being stuck in traffic.

They left home at 6:50 p.m., for a 7:30 show. Even with snow (yes snow) coming down, they caught a taxi, and were at the theater by 7:15. This was taken on the staircase of the Grand Foyer.

Angela thinks this is a particularly flattering angle to showcase many chins. For something a little more beautiful, look at this picture of the Grand Foyer in 1928.

They found their seats, which were very nice, 2nd row of the mezzanine.

They got lucky with the people around them, although they did have the tallest people in front of them. The production and the music were beautiful! If you click on this link, and click on the little musical notes on the right side of the page, you can hear some of the music.

http://www.nutcrackerballet.net/html/nutcracker_music.html

After The Nutcracker, they walked to the Boston Common, and took a taxi to the InterContinental Hotel for dinner.

They went into Miel, the restaurant where they had their wedding dinner. They were taken to the back of the restaurant, in a quiet corner with no one around. They sat at their table, and were so happy to be alone together, finally!

Then, someone came over to say hello!

Guillaume was embarrassed that Angela wanted to take a picture (of course) but he smiled his way through. (You can see the Olive Oil Museum room behind them in the picture.) Paul was very nice, and gave us a nice glass of champagne. They were happy to see him. Although Angela looks like someone just poked her.

After the champagne, they ordered a lovely bottle of Meursault.

For a starter, Guillaume ordered tuna tartare, and Angela had an onion soup.

For dinner, Angela ordered the Dover sole, and Guillaume ordered a lobster dish. Guillaume really enjoyed Angela's dish as well as his own.

And finally, dessert! Chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream.

They relaxed and finished the dessert. Then they took a taxi back home.

On Thursday, Guillaume had to go to work a long day, both lunch and dinner. He left at 9:45 in the morning. Angela had treatment, so she went to the hospital at 1:00. At 5:00, Angela's phone rang. It was Guillaume. He was coming home! Hooray! He picked up some bread and cheese, and they met at home.

They watched a movie, Live Free or Die Hard with Bruce Willis, a fun action movie. Then Angela went to bed, and Guillaume watched another movie, The Number 23, with Jim Carrey.

Now they are sitting on the couch, ready to eat some breakfast before Guillaume has to go to work again.

Christmas is almost here!

La neige sans fin

2007-12-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Angela had to go to a holiday party by herself because Guillaume was working. She stopped at the Fresco flower shop to buy some pretty Christmas flowers for the party hosts. She met her friends Kenny and Brenda at the party too, and they had a nice time. Brenda brought a delicious dessert - everyone wanted the recipe.

Kenny said that he was going to the Patriots football game on Sunday. The stadium is outside. It's a terrible storm outside today. Angela hopes they are warm and inside!

The snow is falling again. Angela and Guillaume went outside to clean off the car, and shovel a little bit so Angela could go to work on Monday morning.

All of a sudden, Guillaume heard a loud *BUH BUH BUH BUH BUH*

He looked up, and saw a cascade of snow falling from the roof next door!

The falling snow crushed the top of the car that was parked just behind us!

This is the pile of snow that fell from the roof, onto the sidewalk and the car!

Guillaume shoveled some more, and wiped off the car as well as he could. The ice and wet snow continued to fall.

Angela was taking pictures of the neighborhood. However, she was less happy about the snow. The first time it was pretty. It's still pretty, but it's nowhere near as fun.

After all the shoveling and cleaning, Angela thought it would be smart to move the car into a garage overnight. The snow and rain is supposed to freeze, and Angela thought that she would never get out of the parking spot in the morning. They drove to the Holiday Inn, and the car is happily sitting in a dry parking space.

Angela is supposed to go to dinner at Dolce Vita in the North End with her friend Stephanie tonight. The weather might not allow it!

Angela and Guillaume think that Cyrielle & Nico are much warmer!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2007-12-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

This morning, Angela woke up at 6:00. She made coffee, and watched the news, just like every morning before she goes to work.

This morning was different. On the news, the weatherman was talking about a HUGE snowstorm that would hit Boston by lunch! Snowfall could total 6 to 9 inches (15.2 - 22.9 cm) in Boston.

They said that the snow would fall the fastest and hardest early afternoon.

This is a satellite view of the big storm approaching Boston.

Angela went to work as usual this morning, but she told Guillaume before she left that she would be home early, because she did not want to get stuck in what was sure to be a nightmare on the roads.

She went to work for 4 hours. After her meeting ended at 12:00, she jumped in her car before the first snowflake hit the ground.

On the drive home, she noticed that there were a few snow sprinkles. By the time she got to her exit at the Charles St. T Station, the flakes were flying! She was disappointed that the parking spot in front of their home was taken, but there was another parking spot just up the street.

Guillaume helped her carry her packages upstairs, and she was comfortable and safe at home! These pictures are taken at around 1:30 p.m., shortly after Angela got home.

In this one, you can see little snowflakes in the air, and the ground barely has a dusting of white.

Here, you can see a light covering on this black Saab.

Just 15-20 minutes later, look at the difference already!

Here is the same black Saab.

And again, about 20 minutes later, the same corner:

And the same black Saab. Are you sick of the Saab yet? Because there's more.

In Beacon Hill, because the streets are so narrow, we don't get the big snow plows to clear the street. So instead, they use tiny plows like this one (next to the black Saab).

Here again, same corner, 20 more minutes (so, about an hour and 15 minutes into the storm):

And that black Saab...

And then, this little snow plow got stuck. And couldn't move.

So they called another plow, this one a little bigger, to help the little plow. Finally, he was okay.

So, here again, same street corner, about 30 minutes later. You can see the snow really piling up!

And of course, the black Saab.

What happened to the Saab? There's just an empty parking space where the Saab used to be.

Sadly, Guillaume had to go to work in the middle of this fun. So he bundled up in his new North Face winter coat, his hat, scarf and gloves.

And he went outside and braved the fierce storm!

He took a picture of Angela from downstairs. Can you see tiny Angela up in the window?

He took some pictures of the neighborhood before he left. This is looking up Garden St. Angela's car is in the front on the left (the person who was parked there moved, so they ran downstairs to move the car into the good spot).

This picture was taken at the intersection where they live.

This picture is looking down Garden St. towards Cambridge St.

And this is Angela's snow-covered car that she will have to clean off on Friday morning before she goes to work. She might treat herself to a latte from Starbucks after that.

Guillaume called Angela and told her that he made it to work safely. He walked to work. Of course he couldn't ride his bike, and if he took a taxi, he would not have made it in time!

Of course Angela turned on the news to find out what was happening in the world outside her windows. Traffic stopped everwhere! She felt very smart to have left work when she did. These pictures are taken on two of the major highways around Boston. (Not by Angela.)

About 15 minutes later, he called Angela and said he was coming home because a lot of reservations were being cancelled due to the snow. (Angela thought it would have been a good idea for him to call before he went to see if they were going to be open because of the snow.)

On his way home, he stopped at the video game shop for a treat. Then he stopped at a shoe store and bought some winter boots. Then he stopped at Savenor's for some fresh bread, so we can have some cheese and bread for dinner! Hooray!

When he got home, he took some more pictures of the neighborhood.

Here is Angela's car, really covered in snow!

He walked down to Cambridge Street to take pictures there too. Here is the famous Holiday Inn.

And then, Guillaume changed into something a little more comfortable (the couch!), and I think you can all guess what is in his hand!

Angela & Guillaume are safe and warm, and very happy to be home together on this first snowy night in Boston.

Christmas Spirit

2007-12-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

It seems the elves have multiplied!

Since Maman Rousseau wanted to "learn" the dance, and since Cyrielle tried and it didn't work, Angela elfed them too! (Maybe Angela is more in the Christmas Spirit, and less in the Working Spirit today.)

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1325685020

One of Angela's jobs at work today is to make a Christmas cd for their Christmas party next Wednesday. The sound coming from her office is very joyful!

Last night, Angela and Guillaume were talking about their upcoming plans, and they are getting very excited to see faraway family and friends.

Vincent and Martine will be in New York City the first week in January, so Guillaume and Angela will visit with them for a weekend. They will probably go to see a Broadway show, too. They saw Mamma Mia! on Broadway almost 2 years ago, and loved it.

They are in very serious discussions about their trip to France. Angela would like to go next week, but they think it might take a little longer to plan. BUT, they will definitely go in the next couple of months, and they can't wait.

Also, one of Guillaume's best friends might be coming for a visit in January when Angela has to go to Florida for work. At least it will be warm in Florida. It is very cold here in Boston, and we are expecting 3 different snow storms this week alone.

Il fait froid, mais il fait chaud dans nos coeurs!

Ho Ho Ho!

2007-12-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

Click here for a little dance from some very cute elves:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1218503645

Travaille, travaille, et plus travaille

2007-12-06T11:26:00.000-05:00

Angela has been working so much that there has not been time for the blog! Oh no!

Guillaume passed his 75% test at work. He learned a lot about cheese, wine, and the restaurant where he works (the building, the chef, the food). Angela helped him to study, so she knows a lot more than she ever wanted to about cheese.

Today is Helen's birthday, so last night Andrew came up from Connecticut, and they all met at the Summer Shack in Cambridge.

You may notice that you don't recognize the two people standing in front of the "fisherman". That's becaues Angela had to take this picture from the internet. She did not bring her camera to work that day, Guillaume didn't bring the camera with him when he met her in Cambridge, and Andrew brought his camera. He left it in the car, so he went back out to get the camera. When he came back in, he said the terrible words, "I left my memory card at the office." Oh no.

So, we have no pictures of our Summer Shack visit, the food, Helen's birthday dinner. Nothing. Just our memories.

Guillaume had some shrimp, oysters, and clams for a starter. Angela had some clam chowder. Andrew had "steamers" (steamed clams), and Helen had some fried smelt (a smelt is a little fish).

For dinner, Guillaume and Andrew ordered the swordfish, and Angela and Helen ordered the flounder, stuffed with crab and shrimp. Helen didn't like hers, so Guillaume traded with her, and really enjoyed the flounder. There was too much, so Guillaume will have lunch today!

Angela is off to treatment soon, and Guillaume, Andrew and Helen will meet her at the hospital later, to give Helen her birthday present. In case Helen is reading this now, we won't say what the present is... But later for sure!

Speaking of presents, last week, Angela's friend, Marie Elena, who works at the hospital gave her a present for finishing her radiation treatment. A puffin. So now Angela finally has her puffin at home.

Guillaume bought a very warm winter coat yesterday. He looks like a big brown marshmallow! And he's very warm. All he needs now are snow boots, and he will be ready for the Boston winters.

Their Christmas tree is still alive and beautiful, and presents are starting to go under the tree. But still more shopping has to be done.

A tout a l'heure, tout le monde! Gros bisous!

The Magic of Christmas

2007-11-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas season is here! Angela and Guillaume decided that they would buy their Christmas tree yesterday, and decorate it last night. Guillaume thought that they should eat crepes, and drink champagne. Angela liked that very much. She wanted to listen to Christmas music, too. Guillaume thought that was a little too much, but they listened anyways. Angela sang with the music.

Guillaume wanted to go by himself (since he can drive alone now) to buy the tree. So he put on his hat,

his shoes, and his hands-free earpiece for the mobile phone.

The tree was short enough to fit in the back seat of the car.

But it was a fat tree - it's a fat fatty!

Guillaume also bought a tree stand, and had to put it together.

It didn't take too long...

And look, it works!

The lights were a little tangled up. Angela had to untangle them.

Champagne was a good idea to help with the lights.

After the lights were strung on the tree, Guillaume had the honor of placing the first ornament.

While Angela put more ornaments on the tree, Guillaume was preparing the crepes.

This is the first Christmas season crepe.

And here is the finished stack of crepes.

They enjoyed eating them while watching a movie. They decided that their Christmas tree decorating tradition will always include crepes, champagne, and Evan Almighty (even though it wasn't a great movie).

Helen painted this Christmas scene, and because Angela and Guillaume loved it so much, she gave it to them. They decided to put the Christmas tree in front of it as well.

Angela strung lights along the windows, too.

Et voila! Behold the Magic of Christmas!

Le velo

2007-11-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

Guillaume was riding his bike to work yesterday. He was on Charles Street, almost at the end, near Beacon Street.

He thought his brakes were not working well, so he thought he would bounce up and down to test them. He tried it once, and the brakes worked. He tried it again, and the front of the bike turned unexpectedly, and he fell off the bike.

The bike landed on top of him. Everyone on the street stopped to watch. He said, "Oh frick", and made a bad face, and rode off quickly, looking down because he didn't want to see the face of anyone because he was embarrassed.

After Angela knew he was okay, he told the story again, and they laughed until they cried.

Travaille

2007-11-28T09:57:00.000-05:00

Toutes les femmes Rousseau sont de retour au travaille.

Felicitations Cyrielle! Hier, nous avon regarde le site pour ton boulot nouvelle! Tres chic!

Maman Rousseau, nous voulons des photos de South Africa!

Angela manque Guillaume-ah...