Mon Elise Meets Mona Lisa ⇒

Hi there, I just got back from France after travelling for a month with the Big People. It was very exciting going on the big airplane - I got my own bed to stretch out and sleep in (I think Mama and Papa were jealous). Everyone on board the Lufthansa flight was so nice...they even gave me toys to play with but they weren't as entertaining as Mama's purse. There must be some great treasures in there because Mama takes it everywhere. Note to self: learn to open zippers. In the meantime, the strap tastes great. I don't know what people are talking about when they complain about airline food. I had the milk - it was delicious!

When we finally arrived in France, we were greeted by Nigel. He is so cute! Then I met Mel and Claire who is a Slightly Bigger Person than me. She didn't seem to want me to eat her toys. We had a birthday party for Mama because she turned 33 on March 31, the day we arrived. Let them eat cake - I'll have the milk.

Mama was speaking so I couldn't understand her - what the heck does Bonjour mean?

Week 1 We spent the first week in the Grenoble/Meylan area getting used to the way the Big French People do things. Shops are closed from 12 til 2 (or 12:30 til 2:30 or 1 til 3 or 12 til 3...) Shops are closed on Sundays so The Big and Little People can spend time together as a family. Big People go on strike on Tuesdays. All the Little French People have Doudous, their little stuffed friends they take everywhere with them. I sure hope Mama buys me one! One afternoon we all went for an adventure in the car. We tried to go to Fort St. Eynard but there was snow on the road. We tried to go to Castle Touvet but it was closed. We tried to go up the funiculaire to St. Hilaire de Touvet but it was closed. So we had a picnic in the Alps instead. Woe is us! We finally got our view when we went up the Boules to the Bastille above Grenoble. I tried hard to sleep in my new bed. It was not as nice as my crib at home and the Hairy Big Person made a lot of noise snoring and coughing. Poor Mama didn't sleep very well so I tried to be extra special cute so she didn't feel so bad. This tactic seemed to work because she kept smiling at me and giving me lots of yummy milk which is the whole point, really.

Week 2 We went on a giant boat and stayed on it over night. You should have seen how they parked the cars - every which way pointing in all different directions. I didn't know how we would ever get out! I tried to eat a baguette and then I made Mama spill her wine on me. I'm getting faster at grabbing things. Note to self: wait til the Big People aren't looking before trying to eat their supper! I had yucky stuff in my eyes so I got to meet the doctor on the ship.

Corsica was very nice. The first day we drove for a very long time so I slept in the car a lot until we got to our villa in Porto Vacchio. It was ok though because I didn't feel very well with my stuffy nose. We saw cows on the beach and they tried to interrupt our picnic. We didn't know we were sitting in their spot! We went on a small boat in Bonifacio and went into some cool caves. Mama, the Hairy Big Person and I went on an adventure together to Propriano where Mama and the Hair Big Person took me to eat in a nice restaurant. Mama was surprised when the fish she ordered still had a head and scales but the nice lady who brought it to the table cut it up for her. I had the milk - it was delicious! All the Big French People are so nice to me even though I don't understand what they are saying. They always smile or make faces at me or say Coo Coo when they touch my feets. They say I'm mignonne which seems to be a compliment. It's different from home because a lot of the Hairy Big French People fuss over me and sing me songs. We also went to Sartene where a brown dog took us on a tour.

When we got back to Meylan, Mama and I went for a walk to Haut Meylan to a patisserie and chocolaterie. Look at this giant Easter egg!

Easter Sunday was great. We finally got to go up the funiculaire and then the Hairy Big Person tied a giant balloon and another Hairy Big Person to his back and jumped off a cliff. Claire was sad when her Papa jumped off the cliff. I think she thought he was going to fly away and she wouldn't see him again. I don't blame her...he is so cute!

Week 3 We left Nigel, Mel and Claire's house (I was sad to say goodbye to my boyfriend. He is so cute!) and drove to Avignon where we picked up my Sherry Godmother. Mama and I danced sur le pont d'Avignon and visited the Palais des Papes. Look how little I am to be sitting in such a big room! This area is called Provence and from my carseat I can see lots of vineyards, olive orchards and cherry orchards (Cherry trees are Mama's favourite so the fields of pink flowering trees made her very happy!) We visited a red town called Rousillon and walked in Fontaine de Vaucluse, visited a market in St. Remy, walked around a medeival town and castle ruins called Les Baux de Provence, saw the artist Cezanne's studio and home in Aix en Provence and Mama got to enjoy a relaxing coffee with Sherry Godmother without me in Place de L'Horloge in Avignon before we spent the afternoon tasting fancy wine at Chateauneuf to Pape. I had the milk--it was a good year. Slightly fruity with nice legs and a full body (especially after all the bread and cheese it had been eating for three weeks!)

Week 4 Said au revoir to Sherry Godmother and took a high speed train to Paris. Mama and the Hairy Big Person seemed very excited about it all. I enjoyed playing in a sunbeam on a table in the dining car watching the trees go by very fast! I got to meet Jen, my first cousin once removed (the Hairy Big Person's cousin on Grandma's side). We visited the Louvre and that's where I met the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. We walked through a park to the Place de la Concorde where we got to "hang a louis where they hanged a Louis" (This was the Hairy Big Person's joke. What he meant was we turned left at the spot where King Louis the XVI was hanged. I didn't get it but the Hairy Big Person thought it was hilarious). Then we went to the Eiffel Tower and got caught in a storm with sudden wind, thunder and lightening and lots of cold rain. I cried because it was the first day I needed my raincoat and the ONLY day it wasn't in the pack. The next day we went to the Chateau de Versailles but it was closed so we walked in the gardens and the Hairy Big Person rowed Mama and I in a boat on the Grand Canal. On our last day in Paris we went on a double decker bus for a tour, went inside Notre Dame cathedral, and walked along the Champs Elysees. Mama and the Hairy Big Person were disappointed there weren't as many nice shops as they thought but I had a great nap so I liked it. That evening we went on the high speed train again and spent the next day in Lyon.

The trip back on the big plane was okay too but I was so tired I slept and walked around with Mama and the Hairy Big Person. I met the pilot, he was nice but then...who was flying the plane...hmmmm? I had the milk - it was delicious.