Last Tango... or rather, Slow Steady Stroll in Paris

After a few blissful days in the country, we head back to big city life and spend our last few days in Paris. This time, we stayed at the charming Hotel New Orient in the Opera district, which was walking distance to the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. We were also nearby the bohemian Montmartre and notorious Pigalle districts, and could easily take the metro to the Eiffel Tower.

Russell and I spent these last few days seeing the last of the can't-miss sights, and also eating and enjoying as much of the gastronomic French delights as we could stuff ourselves with.

Click HERE to see the photos from the last leg of our trip.

Land of the Loire

After a few days in Paris, we head to Pays de la Loire, the land of the Loire, to experience the rustic countryside. Russell and I stayed in the town of Ingrandes at the Hotel Le Lion d'Or right next to the Loire River, which used to be an old priory dating back from the mid-1600s. Ingrandes used to serve as a border town between France and Bretagne (Brittany), before Bretagne became part of France in the 1500s.

We were taken care of by Russell's friend Ninie, a musician who lives in the small town of La Chapelle St Sauveur a few miles away. She and her daughter Margot took us to see different sights in the area. Ninie also took us on a day trip to see the seaside resort town of La Baule, Le Pouliguen, and the medieval fortified city of Guerande (which is renowned for its sea salt). She taught me how to make traditional Breton-style buckwheat galettes, as well as beurre blanc sauce. And while Ninie & Russell played music, Margot taught me words for different animals and colors en Francais. Click HERE to see Ninie rocking out at her house.

Click HERE to see our photos from the Loire River Valley.

Springtime (kinda) in Paris

Russell and I wanted to take one last trip before the baby arrives in June. We've gone to so many countries over the years... where haven't we been? Oh! France! So France it was. Being pregnant, I couldn't have any of the runny cheeses or charcuterie or a lot of wine... but at least I could eat my fill of everything else!

We arrived on March 3, and our homebase was Hotel Acte V in the Latin Quarter, so named because of the neighborhood's proximity to the Sorbonne University & the classical Latin language spoken by the students. It's a lively neighborhood filled with inexpensive cafes, bistros, and bars. We were also a 5-minute walk to the Rue Mouffetard, the oldest food market street in Paris. Even the Pantheon and the Notre Dame cathedral were a walkable distance. We had dinner with cousin Justin, his lady Florence, and their darling daughter Zoe at Bofinger, the oldest brasserie in Paris. A couple of Russell's musician friends who live in Paris, Aurelien and Adeline, also took us around town during our visit.

Click HERE to see our photos from the first leg of our trip.

Royale with Cheese

Russell played an opening set for our friend Sheilani Alix and her backing band The Kurt Ribak Trio at Cafe Royale. Some of our friends showed up to support, and to hear him play for the very first time.


Russell played a few originals and a cover. My husband is a rock star! Or rather, a singer-songwriter-star.

Bursting with the News

So... yeah. Cat's outta the bag. I'm pregnant!

I'm now in my 5th month, and the due date is June 24. Russell and I don't want to know the gender, which made the last ultrasound a bit interesting because the doctor/technician has to tell us to "look away" every time they got to the boy/girl parts. This was the ultrasound at which they could discern the gender, and the doctor just ended up saying "whichever one it is, one or the other, all the parts are there and it looks totally normal!" Yay, a "normal" baby!

Russell has been taking a weekly picture of the... um, "growth" every week since my 3rd month, which was when I really started showing. You can see them HERE and on the link to the right titled "Pictures of the Preggo in Progress". What SUCKED is that we found out I was pregnant a couple weeks before we went on our roadtrip to Oregon & Washington. This means I couldn't drink any beer in Portland. No. Beer. In Portland. If that isn't hell, I don't know what is.

We've been telling Corser that he has to be a good Big Brother to the little one, set a good example, and not hog the couch all the time because he will soon have to share it with his little sibling. Of course, as usual, Corser was not impressed.

A lot of our friends have been giving birth, either with their 1st or 2nd child (or 3rd for the Rozales family), in the past and next few months. In less than a 12 month period, our group of friends will have produced 8 new babies (counting ours). That's already in addition to the several little kids who are already running around at our backyard barbecues. Oh my goodness, look at what our lives are turning into!

We're lucky to be living in such a great city to raise a kid, and we're looking forward to experiencing new adventures with our second urban baby (our first baby being Corser, of course!)

Sunny Day at Stow Lake

The sun was shining warmly for the first time in a loooooong while, so we took advantage of the weather, packed a picnic lunch, and headed out to our playground, Golden Gate Park. Or more specifically, Stow Lake.

This is one of our favorite spots in Golden Gate Park, and we even took some of our wedding shots there!

Of course, we had to have the requisite Icee and Pink Popcorn snack. No visit to Stow Lake is complete without it.


Corser and I had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying the scenery


While Russell did all the hard work


After the boat ride, we walked over to the lawns near the De Young Museum & Academy Of Sciences, and basked in the sun.


What a great way to spend a warm February afternoon!

For more pics, click HERE.

Cabo Wabo Xmas IV Revisited

Update! Click HERE to see Monica's pics!