Happy Birthday Philippe

Each year at this time I think back to the birth of my son Philippe who was born in Paris on the 31st of December, 1975. I remember the day as if it was yesterday. And I wish him a wonderful birthday in Portland, Oregon.

Frank Gehry in Paris

The Fondation Louis Vuitton commissioned architect Frank Gehry to create a building designed to showcase its collection of modern art and to provide a platform in Paris for twenty-first century art and culture.

The exterior of the building with its 13,500 m2 of curving glass panels has just been completed, although the interior will not open to the public until autumn, 2014.

Weather conditions were perfect yesterday afternoon for a photo-visit. I thought my architect-daughter-in-law Rachel would enjoy seeing some pictures.

 The building is located next to the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne. Gehry imagined a "glass sailing ship" that would reflect the natural beauty of the forest.

A technology marvel. And one that will surely become an icon in the years to come.

Christmas Eve

No white Christmas this year. Just rain - thanks to the storm "Dirk" that brought high winds, rain, and mild temperatures to Paris today. Good weather for taking pictures before coming home to Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas lights in Paris

We are not doing very much Christmas shopping this year; we're saving our pennies for travel in 2014. That doesn't mean we can't go window shopping or enjoy the Christmas lights on the Champs Élysées.

One of Patrice's favorite shops - haha!

No money for dinner at Fouquet's

The view is always great, though.

The giant ferris wheel in the place de la Concorde

Merry Christmas to all!

Autumn in the Bois de Boulogne

We're having some fine weather here in Paris. This Sunday we traveled across to the opposite (west) side of Paris to take a bike ride in the Bois de Boulogne.

The trees haven't yet given up all of their autumn colors . . .

And biking is good for Patrice's knee . .  .

Les Étangs de Hollande

On Sunday afternoon we had lunch with Patrice's granddaughter Léa who lives in the suburbs southwest of Paris. On the way home we drove through the forest of Rambouillet. We stopped to take a walk along the Étangs (ponds) de Hollande which were built during the reign of Louis XIV to bring water to the fountains in the Parc de Versailles.

As we drove home through Paris, I couldn't help talking one more photo of the Eiffel Tower. I know it's a cliché, but I still pinch myself when I pass by. I can't believe I actually live here.

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving is virtually unknown in Paris. It's just another Thursday. You don't see turkeys in the markets, nor cranberries, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin pie.

This year we decided to host a Thanskgiving dinner for my friends Dominique and Emmanuel and their three kids. Seven people for dinner in our tiny apartment - but that's what Thanksgiving is all about.

The first challenge was finding traditional foods and then finding a way to cook the turkey and several other dishes in my tiny oven. The solution? We have an excellent butcher nearby and were able to order a turkey which they roasted for us. Patrice had never eaten (or carved) a turkey before.


French pastry shops offer dozens of tasty desserts but they've never heard of pumpkin pie, so I decided to make one from scratch. I found a recipe and then had to translate into the metric system: How many grams in a teaspoon of cinnamon? How many milliliters in 12 ounces of cream? You get the idea.

However, everything turned out just fine as you can see in the photos below.

Serving the turkey which my guests had never eaten before

Dominique and daughter Claudia

Melissa and her father Emmanuel

Dominique, Claudia, Paolo and me

 I hope your Thanksgiving was as happy as ours.