I finally got around to uploading the videos from Jack and Daphne’s mid-year piano recital. They took piano lessons after school every Tuesday with Rhea.  We bought a nice clavier portable for them to practice on during the year and it really was a good idea because their piano progressed considerably. Rhea was patient and demanding, which was excellent. Our favorite part was that they learned a duet, which is the sweetest thing ever.

Without further ado…

Jack Solo

Daphné Solo

Duet: Le Phantome

Jack’s Marionette Spectacle

Coming later….

Daphné’s Dance Spectacle

Coming later…

After a nice stay in Athens we took the train to Katerini (Κατερίνη) in the north. The train ride was uneventful and, apparently, unmemorable.  Our arrival was not, as a large group of our relatives were there to greet us at the train station including my uncle Dagi who had driven down from Thessaloniki. It was quite emotional, actually, especially for my mother who cried quite a bit. We’d prepared the kids for the hugging and kissing and cheek pinching and they weren’t disappointed.

Katerini

Katerini is a relatively small town of about 55,000 people and is only a few kilometers from the sea, which makes it a popular destination in the summer months. We were there in April and on our only visit to the beach it was completely deserted. One of these days I’m going to go to Greece during summer and lie around on the beach…

The time in Katerini, as usual, was predominately about visiting family.  We stayed with Anna and Yannis, Anna’s daughter Phoevia, Phoevia’s husband Sebastian (who is French in an interesting coincidence) and their very young son Claude. Anna has been an English teacher for many years and Phoevi’s English is also perfect (she’s teaching some English now too) as is Sebastian’s. Their hospitality was amazing and we really had a great time staying with them. My Mom stayed with Nounou just down the street. Nounou was our designated chauffer and took us to see a variety of places, including the famous ruins at Dion and Vergina.

Yanni is the director of the church choir and so the house is very musical.  Both Jack and Daphne enjoyed playing the piano that was in the living room. Yanni is actually writing the authortative book on pipe organs in Greece and he was hard at work both on that book and on getting the choir ready for Easter services. There are only about 12 or 15 pipe organs in Greece and, in fact, one of them is in Anna and Yanni’s house!  Yes, a real pipe organ in the house. The kids actually got to play it and their duet of La Phantome sounded fantastic.

The week culminated with Easter Sunday.  The services were, of course, in Greek but they provided a translation (via headset) in English.  And there was plenty of singing which we all enjoyed. I have to say that the kids were incredibly patient and well-behaved through a service they didn’t understand (in more ways that one!).

My family in Greece comes from the Pontus region (outside of Modern Greek boundaries in what is now Turkey) is actually protestant (evangelical) rather than orthodox.  This is extremely unusual and is apparently a result of the conversion of a single orthodox priest in Pontus. As part of the ethnic cleansing and population dispersal during the early 20th century (happening at the same time and place as the well-known, in the US at least, Armenian ethnic cleansing) many who survived ended up scattered around Greece. Because of their relatively small numbers they petitioned the Greek government to relocate them to a single place, Katerini, so they would have critical mass to have a proper church and evangelical community. And so there is a relatively high concentration of Greek protestants in Katerini.

Thessaloniki

The day before we headed back to Paris we spent in Thessaloniki, the 2nd largest city in Greece and home of more of my relatives including the famous Theo (Uncle) Daki and Thea (Aunt) Riga. Shannon, Matt, Joyce and I stayed with them 20 years ago and to say we have fond memories of them would be a staggering understatement. Tears still come to my eyes when I remember how well they took care of me when I got sick there. And the expression “it’s not so much” (said by Riga to Matt as she shoveled a giant amount of food onto his plate) is still used amongst us today. They’ve slowed a bit in the 20 years since we’ve seen them, but just barely.

We saw the white tower, had a snack at Daki and Riga’s house, and then went out to a late dinner with a large group of family members, including Theodoros and Gregory and their families.  Daphné always thrives in these late night outings and she was going strong at 11pm.  Jack, on the other hand, kept his schedule and ended up crashing on a couple of chairs.

It was definitely too short a visit but it was fantastic to renew the relationships with our family members there. It was especially gratifying to see Daki and Riga again because I know they won’t be visiting us again in the US.  Hopefully, though, some of the other family members can make the trip to California so we can return a small part of their hospitality.

Lots of photos are available on Flickr.

Greek Flag

(April 14-22)

My heritage is Greek. Half-Greek, actually, on my mother’s side. And I don’t speak more that a few basic words in Greek. So I’m not a “real” Greek, I know. But my maternal grandparents were the only ones I knew, they lived nearby and I was quite close to them both. Their first language was Greek (they also spoke some Turkish) and they were never perfectly fluent in English. In fact, in a roundabout way, the fact that I never learned Greek as a kid is a reason we’re in France this year. That was a reason I thought it important to send the kids to a bilingual school. And since that school is French/English, France was an obvious choice for Shannon’s sabbatical.

I’d been to Greece twice before, the last time was in 1989, a year before Shannon and I got married and the same year my yia yia died. So after such a long time it seemed almost required to make a trip to Greece given that Paris is only a short flight away. Shannon went with me in 1989 and she, too, was eager to reacquaint herself with Greece and, as you’ll see if you continue reading, my family there. And, so, off we went for Le Vacances de Pâque in April.

My family lives in the northern region called Macedonia. This is now also the name of a country that was formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia (and also the name of a town adjacent to where I grew up) . The Greeks put up a bit of a fuss at the time about the use of the name, but I don’t think it rankles them much at this point. Not that the Greeks have short memories–remember, it’s still Constantinople, 550+ years after the invading Ottoman Empire renamed it Istanbul.

Before heading north we stopped for a few days in Athens where Shannon had never been and I hadn’t been since I was a kid, just a few years older than Jack. And, even better, my Mom was able to come with us! My Mom has rare occasion in the US to speak Greek so she’s a bit rusty. And she tried a few times with Greek restaurant proprietors in Paris (yes, they’re everywhere) and stumbled a bit. There must of been something about hitting the homeland, though, because her Greek was incredible while we were there. Not just tourist Greek, which we need in Athens, but talks with the relatives and even cracking some jokes around the dinner table. But first….

Athens

We rented an apartment in central Athens. We only had a couple of days there but that was fine, especially with the kids. Athens is a big, modern, vibrant city, but it’s also loud and dirty and crowded and not a relaxing place for a holiday with the kids. We did the obvious things: the Acropolis, the (absolutely fantastic) Archeological Museum and the National Gardens. And, of course, we ate. You can say what you want about the quality of French food, but nobody loves to eat more than the Greeks. After all, they invented the edible complex.

The first night we went to an excellent, small taverna called ‘O Kostas’ just off of Ymittou street (Thanks Mom!). I think we all still remember the fish which was ethereal. We felt like we needed to eat it quickly before it floated away. Yummm.

So day one was the Acropolis, which is home to the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena, the Erechtheum and the Theater of Dionysus. It was crowded and the Parthenon was covered with scaffolding and there was an ugly corner of a worksite [img] (the Parthenon is undergoing a serious preservation project), but the whole thing is inspiring, especially if you know any ancient Greek history and can envision the famous philosophers and poets wandering about. The view are good, if hazy, and you can see the Temple of Zeus down below [img].

Soaking Wet in Athens

After wandering about for a bit we started to head down for lunch. And the skies opened. It simply poured down rain, nearly as hard as any rainstorm you can imagine.  And this being Athens in April. Sheesh. Nobody, absolutely nobody, had an umbrella or a raincoat. Well, that’s not totally true. A few entrepreneurial Sri Lankan’s were selling cheap umbrellas for 5 euros apiece. They could have charged 15, easily, it was raining that hard.  After pausing under some trees for a minute to see if the rain would stop (it didn’t, and the trees were becoming less effective by the minute), we took out 15 soggy euros and picked up 3 umbrellas. We still got pretty wet, as this photo attests.

We then wandered to the new Acropolis Museum only to discover its opening had been delayed and we wouldn’t get to see it. Too bad. It’s opening as I’m writing this (in mid-June) and it looks pretty magnificent. I do hope the British will send back the Elgin Marble now that the Greeks have a proper place to keep and share them. (Great story in today’s New York Times about the same subject.)

After a decent lunch in the neighborhood (nothing noteworthy, but welcome after the rain) we licked our (wet) wounds and hobbled home to shower/bathe and change clothes. And then we called it a day. I ran out to get some souvlaki and fries, we opened a bottle of (ever improving) Greek wine and turned in early, vowing to get an earlier start the next day.

Archeological Museum

Infant Death "Mask"

First of all, a note on the Athens subway.  Doesn’t stop in enough places, yet, but very nice. Clean, efficient, safe and definitely worth using.  Unfortunately the house we rented wasn’t that close to a subway stop so we took a cab to the museum. I definitely recommend trying to find accommodations near a subway stop. As usual, finding something near a station that serves two lines is even better.

In any case, the museum itself: What an amazing place. They’ve pulled together some of the most amazing artifacts from excavations all over Greece and the variety and quality is simply awesome.  I’ve been to the antiquities collection at the Louvre, which is certainly impressive.  The Archeological Museum in Athens is even better. You should go, even if you don’t think you like “that sort of thing.”

The artifacts that made the biggest impression on me were the gold “death masks” that covered the faces of those (presumable) important people who were buried in tombs. Especially the full-body masks for infants that were buried. It is extraordinary that these  survived at all, much less  in such great condition. These are thin, soft metal sculptures from 16th century BC! I also liked the wall paintings throughout and the pre-classical Greek sculpture.

National Garden

Athens National Gardens

The usual pattern with the kids is to do one “adult museum” and one “kid thing” each day. So after the museum (which the kids loved…they love them all even if they complain about having to go) we headed for the National Gardens in the center of Athens. It is quite lovely and there are some great ponds, complete with turtles giving rides to birds and a really nice playground. After some time relaxing there we decided to head home. On the way the taxi driver stopped at the Ancient Olympic Stadium. You can’t walk around inside (at least we couldn’t ), but it is very cool.

And then, finally, Shannon and I had a date night. With Grammy-O taking the kids, we headed out for a long walk and then a really fun dinner at Kuzina.  Shannon and I wanted a cocktail and they didn’t really have a cocktail list. The server gamely said “tell me what you would like, I’m sure we know how to make it” and Shannon said “a sidecar.” That baffled them. Well, luckily, not all of them. In the back, near the kitchen, was a robust man in chef’s attire who was eavesdropping and said, simply, “That’s with cognac, lemon juice and orange liqueur, right?” Right. He ambled up to the bar, pushing the bartender aside and whipped up an excellent sidecar for Shannon and a Negroni for me. It turns out he was the owner/chef and had formerly worked at Roy’s Hawaian Fusion in Maui.

The food is “Greek Modern” and everything looked so good we had a tough time deciding–too bad we weren’t staying another day. The setting is lovely. The meal was excellent.Almost as good as the cocktails

After that Shannon and I wandered around a bit and finally took in the view of the Parthenon from the roof of our apartment building. The next morning was our train ride to northern Greece to see my family.  But that’s another post…

CHADENAC: Our February vacation started with a trip to the little country town of Chadenac about an hour outside of Bordeaux.  There, our friends Sharon and Christophe from Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley have bought a farm and are in the process of crafting a new rural life in France.  There kids, Walter and Margot, attend local schools in the area but had plenty of time to play with Jack and Daphne, too.  While they were in school, Sharon, took us to a wonderful Neanderthal museum whose interactive exhibits—javelin throwing, digitally rendering the children into Neanderthal tykes, and more—were incredibly fun for all.   Sharon and Christophe were amazing hosts at home and in giving us tours of both farmland and other medieval towns in their area.  We were so impressed by how much they have changed the rhythms of their life;  Sharon can talk with local neighbors about what they will be planting next, and Christophe works with his neighbor on the upkeep of their party, pruning and harvesting himself as well.

TOULOUSE:  We stopped for one day in the Ville Rose, the beautiful town of Toulouse.  While Michael worked, Shannon and the kids toured the city and local museums–purchasing a flag with the Croix de Languedoc—and of course checking out the play structures in the city’s squares.  Shannon’s mom, Jackie, arrived in France at the Toulouse airport where we picked her up and headed out for our next site, Carcassonne.

CARCASSONNE:  This is a city we picked for its medieval heritage, its varied city life, and its prime location in the Languedoc region whose wines Michael and I have been loving more and more.  Jackie found a wonderfully old–but selectively rehabbed—house for us in the middle of the city.  We could easily walk to the local markets as well as to the medieval city of Carcassonne down and across the river.  The medieval city was truly an adventure for young and old, with narrow meandering streets enclosed by huge remparts, a terrific “chateau fort” and a beautiful cathedral.  Since Jack and Daphne now play “chevalier” at recess and with friends so much more than they used to, this excursion really reinforced their curiosity in all things medieval.  Nearby, we were also able to check out the “grottes” and “goffres” of the area, the wild, stalagtyte-festooned caves and caverns that make you think you have entered the center of the earth.  Mixing excursions outside as well as work and playtime inside–Jackie and Daphne probably played Uno fifty times—this was a terrific place to hang out for five days. More photos from Carcassonne on Flickr.

VALENCIA:   We concluded our vacation with a trip to Valencia. Michael worked with colleagues at the university there while Jackie, Shannon and the kids explored this absolutely fabulous city that really became a new favorite for us.  It has a beautifully maintained old city with a famous–justifiably so–market in the center; we had never seen so many strange creatures from the sea for sale.  More recently, the city’s leaders have decided to invest in a new civic lay out with ultra-contemporary architectural landmarks within a newly developed park.  They brought in Santiago Calatrava to create a a series of extraordinary structures.  With a new Museum of Arts and Sciences, an aquarium, an opera house, and an Imax theatre, the scene was both aesthetically and “ludically” fulfilling for all.  Jack and Daphne continued their ongoing research investigations of European playgrounds here in Valencia as well; in addition to the many great play structures, the football field sized reproduction of a reclining “Gulliver” proved to be the most exciting thing on offer–and still the play structure they seem to remember most.  This giant is indeed giant; you can even see it from Google maps.  Finally, Valencia is a coastal town–which is to say that it has a glorious beach as well.  We had a great time meeting the family of Michael’s colleague–Jaime.  This was a super-fun and spirited city; we hope to go back again some day. More photos from Valencia on Flickr.

Daphné et Josephine

Daphne’s 6th birthday was February 7, and we had quite a super-fun time.  She decided she wanted a “Hello Kitty” theme and chose all of your decorations and party favors accordingly.  Monsieur Pinaud of our local boulangerie made a super huge gateau chocolat–with praliné, meringue, mousse au chocolat, and a bunch of other yummy things layered throughout.  He also took great care in fabricating a perfect Hello Kitty figure from “pate amandes;” Daphne spared no time in eating the entire little sculpture.  A dozen children from Montessori Kids came over, including several older girls from Jack’s class who have been very kind to Daphne from the beginning.  Michael trotted out his traveling magic show, which never feels to impress (even Shannon who has seen it repeatedly).  Daphne received many wonderful presents from her friends along with lots of hugs and kisses.

Hello Kitty Cake

More pictures from Daphné’s birthday on Flickr.

The exchange occurred on her way here. Bad weather had her stuck in Washington DC and we weren’t even sure she would get here. She was supposed to land in Brussels and then take the train to Paris. With all the lost time, though, she decided to try to fly from London to Paris. The only problem was getting her bag…hopefully it wouldn’t be checked through to Brussels.  In any case, she started texting me with updates (Marianne is in blue):

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 7:08:46 AM
Hi Michael it’s Marianne, hope I’m not texting too early. I am STILL in wash dc. Hoping to get to London by 2 pm and then i might try to jump ship amd fly straight to paris but the problem is that my luggage is going to Brussels. Madness. Will report from UK. Thnx, m

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 7:37:42 AM
So sorry! Just let us know how things progress…and good luck.

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:38:39 PM
Any luck?

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:44:20 PM
I’m at heathrow. Just bought a pricey ticket to Paris but there is no sign of my bag. The earliest I would get there would be 8 30 tonight but only if I find my bag and make the plane. Ugh.

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:47:24 PM
Yikes. I’m about to leave for Amsterdam, so I’ll see you in liege. You can reach Shannon at +33 (0)6 07 12 13 26.

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:50:10 PM
Ok but can she text?

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:52:57 PM
Probably can, but you can also phone if you don’t get a reply. Or text me & I’ll call her.

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:54:08 PM
Thanks. Hope your trip goes my smoothly than mine. Don’t let anyone touch your bag!

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:54:49 PM
Taking the train;-)

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 4:55:25 PM
Very wise

Sunday, Jan 18 2009 at 7:28:01 PM
Disaster, actually. Bag with computer & passport stolen! Should have taken your advice…

How, I wonder, did she know to type “Don’t let anyone touch your bag!”?

The restaurant is small and unpretentious. It isn’t convenient to most of central paris, although it is not far from the charming market street Rue Daguerre and place Denfert-Rochereau, where  you can access the Catacombs. Regardless of the surroundings, though, Le Fils de la Ferme is worth a trip, especially for a traveller on a budget.‎

Shannon and I went on December 5th for dinner. For an appetizer, Shannon had the foie gras creme brulee and I had foie gras in a chestnut bouillon (in December, foie gras is ubiquitous in Paris). Both were sublime and reminded us of the best of our restaurant meals. For main courses, Shannon had sea bass with truffels and I had a venison “stew,” which was very refined and precise–not really a stew at all but a rich, elegant sauce for the perfectly cooked venison. This was all accompanied by a lovely Vacqueyras wine that fit perfectly with our selections (the truffles allowing the fish to harmonize with the rich red wine). Dessert was l’isle flottant and tarte tatine. Neither was particularly innovative but both were perfectly executed.

When I went in July the server (I don’t know her name) was working incredibly hard to keep up. She was (is!) fantastic but definitely fell behind at times.  With our latest visit, though, she had some help, which made a huge differance.  Her natural warmth was accompanied by an efficiency and attentiveness that wasn’t possible when she was trying to serve the whole resaurant tout seul. We definitely hope that les fils keep the extra help around….it makes a big difference to the diners and, I’m sure, to the hostess.

We don’t hesitate to recommend Le Fils de La Ferme to even the most discriminating diners. It’s very good (dare I say excellent?) and you won’t need a second mortgage.

In any case, I was able to snap a few photos of our neighborhood in the snow:

Snow in the Jardin des Plantes

3 Chimneys

Bikes in the snow

Snow in the 5eme