Paris 2024 Day Two

 Egads! I slept 'til 10:00 a.m.! Out for a fresh baguette and some croissants for our breakfast: SO Freakin' good! Around noon we went to visit Notre Dame de Travail, a late 1800s church with a very industrial/Art Nouveau interior. We had lunch in a little Vietnamese restaurant nearby. The owner, Dominique, is a one-woman band: serves, cooks, and mixes with the clientele. She and all of it were wonderful. We visited a Christmas market near Notre Dame (whose exterior is not yet finished), and walked through the Quartier Latin as the misty rain started. This evening we visited Lucy at her chouette little flat on the Canal Saint-Martin, followed by a walk to a delicious Chinese dinner. A taxi (can you believe this tightwad?) brought us back to our neighborhood and home. Getting ready for bed and tomorrow's adventure.

So good!

Notre Dame du Travail

Ironwork instead of stone

Art-Nouveau stencils

Dominique and Annie

A Metro transfer at Duroc

Notre Dame

Christmas market in the Square Viviani

Rue Saint-Juliene le Pauvre

Rue Saint-Séverin

Chez Lucy Jane

Gros Bao on the Canal Saint-Martin

Louisa and the old man

Place de la Contrescarpe

Rue Mouffetard

That's it. More to follow.

OXO

D

Paris 2024 Day One

It's the same old question of when day one begins, but today is the first full day, so this will be day one. The direct flight from SLC was uneventful, smooth, and long. CDG was fine except for another visit to a backlot gantry and a bus ride to the terminal. The desire to nap was real. With the blessed help of a visit from Lucy, we made it clear 'til 8:30 p.m. 

SKT stayed behind in the Utah inversion

I had a look at the new central tunnel at SLC

They saved this iconic map from the former terminal: a real feat!

From SLC to the world

Descending into the clouds and CDG

below, just at sunrise

Out and about for Navigo passes and some vittles -- Sir Richard

Wallace's fountains have been put to sleep for the winter

The happiest part of all was a visit

from Lucy Jane

We will be back at it tomorrow. But now it's time for bed.

OXO

D.

November 2024

 Mostly -- as you would expect -- Thanksgiving stuff this month.

We hosted Group Dinner: beef strogonoff -- all

that was left were flowers

Thanksgiving warm-up with Kreg and Dorothy, SKT, AW, Millie,

H. B. and Norma, and Kristina

Always a delight to be with the Hansen cousins

Lemmon, cranberry, and pumpkin pie!

Family Sunday dinner with the kiddos

New burger spot in Orem

La Casita with some Boyntons: Matt, Brig, Kim, Kris and Rod

The actual day at Emily's

Anders made a rare appearance from Fort Collins

Dickie actually made a cameo appearance

The whole group

Turkey soup

We leave 8 December for a week in Paris and a week in London, so there will more posts from there.

OXO

D.

October 2024

With just four days until the 2024 election, I am anxious, nauseated, and hopeful. We will know by the November blog post if we survived. October was filled with good stuff. Debby Gibbs came for conference weekend and we went leaf peeping. We met with The Group, ate with SKT and Annie, traveled to Arizona, and flew from Phoenix to TX for a visit with Debra Sue. There was good food, visiting, and movies. We had a day trip to Waco to see Chip and Joanna Gaines' stuff with a stop at Buc-ee's on the way back to Houston. Returning to AZ, we had a three-day reunion with Kris's brothers. Again: visiting, a movie, and plenty of food. Following a couple of days with Maren and family, with whom we celebrated Kris's birthday, home was calling. We arrived back in Utah just in time for Cousins' Breakfast. Poof! October was gone.

Nebo Loop

Family Dinner with Debby

Alpine Loop

Group Dinner at the Millers

Post-dinner drive with SKT and AW

"Real American" at breakfast in Henderson

Texas-bound

Mexican nosh with Debby

Saturday Night at a posh dine-in theater

Fall in Texas

Dickie did dinner

Biscuits and gravy in Waco

At the Gaines' Magnolia

Waco's Silo District preserved and redeveloped

by Chip and Joanna Gaines

Joanna refused to paint the silos so as not

to destroy their character

Small chapel for weddings

Buc-ee's

Tacos in Mesa with the Boynton gang

Excited to see Conclave

Best onion rings anywhere at Waldo's

Art show in Scotsdale; Utah artist

Steamed muscles at Alessia's in Mesa

Alessia's

The Marlpit-Hill Boyntons

Magic at the Cornish Pasty Company

Birthday dinner for Kris with the Youngs

Cousins's Breakfast at Little America -- we missed

Market Street Grill

May we survive November 2024!

OXO

D.