c'est sympa

at the beginning of june, i had the chance to go an an adventure. 
a big one.
well, as far as my life goes.


i was asked by dabble magazine to join them on a jaunt through france.
and take photos.


just me and my camera. 


and while i am not saying much about the trip, or sharing many photos until the articles are published, ( which for all of you who know me well KNOWS how this is killing me )
i will say this...


i love france. 


all of it. and i saw a good little bit.


now, i am not a huge world traveler. 
my first trip outside of north america was three short years ago. paris and london with a 9 month old. british nappies and parisian playpens did nothing to dampen my excitement of being there. i have been waiting breathlessly to get back ever since.


and travel by myself? 
then we have to reach back to 1991 when i did a stint in beverly hills and banff for roots canada. 
that is a LONG time ago. i was young then. 


so when i found myself, comfortably ensconced in an Air France plane ( which is the only airline i think i wish to travel from now on), lifting off from montreal, alone, except for my camera bag...well, i was a little excited. 


even when i made it to my final destination and my bag stayed in paris while i did not...
even when i managed to develop the blister of all blisters...
even when 8 days in to a 10 day trip i ran out of memory on my brand new laptop..


nothing could take the smile off my face:)

even my pseudo franco anglo accent went over just fine in france. 
even when i made mistakes and it was pointed out that i *must* be from quebec...it was done with genuine affection and humour. none of the rejection for my less than perfect parisian french i was warned about ever happened. in fact, i was fascinated by the difference in accents within france that i discovered! from the south to the north, the differences within the french language i came to hear was lovely. 


my travel partners and i covered some serious ground in france. 

the first leg of my trip was shared with the lovely victoria from dabble magazine. her absolute joy in being in france was palpable - and addictive! i can not wait for you to share in our adventure when the issue of dabble comes out. you will get to *meet* victoria as she was too cute not to capture along with some delicious french treats.

( in a normal post, i would now include the adorable image of victoria about to enjoy the  above mentioned treat...but you will just have to wait!). 


okay. i need to quantify that. 
not "some delicious french treats". that makes it sound as though we picked delicately at a croissant over the days we were there. 
that, i can say in all honesty, did not happen. 

we INDULGED in some of the best food i have ever experienced. every meal. every day. 
i have never eaten so well. 
france, you spoiled us with your offerings. 
just to be clear. 

and when i had to say good bye to victoria, and continue of to the next part of my trip...well, i was so very sad. it was amazing to discover a country the way we did...and discover a new friendship at the same time. she is the bravest driver ever...and always ready to stop on a dime and capture a moment. 

le sigh:)

for the second leg of my trip, i was a little intimidated. i was set to travel with three travel writers, all women who venture far and wide regularly for their careers.  how would they react to a newbie? not even a writer! someone so fresh to their world that i did not even know where to begin with my questions ( and boy, did i have questions...).


i should not have worried. 
along with our absolutely lovely *handlers* melanie and  edouard, my travel mates anita, carole, robin and julie were fabulous. these women made me laugh and shared their experience and insights honestly and without reserve. they were wonderful. 
this, combined with the many, many, many sites we saw? it was almost overwhelming.
and in one case, even death defying!  

and oh! the food.
as pretty to look at as to eat. 

and the alcohol.
who knew there could be so much goodness in a fruit?
and not even the fruit you are likely picturing! 
(although me made good use of that one as well)


( insert imaginary image of the most unique tasting, regional drink, which of course, i am not yet sharing, here )

okay...i will share this. but that is all. 
this may be a very, very, very, very old wine cellar.

i returned from france brimming with excitement...and in need of sleep. many hours of photo editing later and my images have been handed over to become something more. hopefully the depth and enjoyment of what i was feeling while taking the photos will come through. 
france was completely unexpected. beautiful and simple, fresh and detailed, welcoming and demanding of my complete attention.  


i would go back tomorrow. 


i want to go back tomorrow. 


the sight of a sunrise, glowing orange over green hills, serenaded by the early morning cry of a rooster... i am surprised i even came home.


( and yes, that photo exists as well )

oh, i would have sent for the husband, children and dogs of course.


thank you dabble. for giving me this opportunity. 
it was tres sympa:)

 when the articles appear in dabble magazine, i will share.

until then, enjoy some of the other amazing places dabble has been!


and of course, please discover the travel writings of my travel companions!


anita draycott
robin robinson
carole perehudoff
julie kalan


and if you have any questions about travel in france, do not hesitate to contact any travel bureau in any city - there is an incredible network of people just waiting to help you discover france. they really do know where all the best food is;).
start here:)

hanging by a thread

hanging by a thread, originally uploaded by Jhascrapmom.

a few weeks ago, alex had a surprise two week break.

well...if i had actually read his school calendar, it would not have been a surprise.

and if i was german, perhaps i would have understood the excited preschool pickup chatter about all the vacations everyone had planned for the break.

but, i did not do the first and i am still woefully challenged on the second...and so, the day before the german school spring break happened, i found out about it.

no biggie, right? two weeks off with one of my kids. awesome chance for some bonding and together time.

except in reality? it did not really work out that way.

there were definitely afternoons of baking together, mornings of pyjamas and books, trips out for cupcakes and play doh and lots and lots and lots of park time.

there was also a lot of the other stuff we all forget about when you have much older kids.

the tantrums. the short attention spans. the not understanding that the universe does not actually revolve around the one little three year old i call mine.

and this is a tough age. i forgot about this. i obviously forgot about many things, but this was a biggie.

i know the testing and the establishing of boundaries is a healthy stage.

but damn...why does it always have to play out so publicly? am i the only one who has this happen to them regularly?

what do i mean?

please refer to the photo above.

i had planned a lovely morning trip to mont royal, with alex, after dropping off the big kids at school. one of the perks of living near the city now is the fact that we can take these awesome adventure mornings to do things like walk to the top of a mountain, feed the ducks at a lake and play in the most entertaining kid parks i have yet to discover.

i love doing this.

and so does he.

until i pull out my camera. all i wanted to do was take a photo.
one.
a quiet self portrait on the grey flatness of the summit. there were very few people ( oh how that feeling soon changed!) and i thought what a great chance to do something fun. for me.

for 10 seconds.

because that is all it would take. 10 second timer dash and all.

alex was happily busy walking on the steps...
until he saw the flash of the self timer.

and so...
with me 10 feet away from the camera
with the shutter about to do it's thing
and with alex knowing that when the little lights speed up it is almost time for the click...

he stepped in front of the lens.

which, i have to admit, was brilliantly timed and funny.

the first time.

and almost the second.

but the thrird?
the fourth?

the novelty was wearing thin.

not to mention that he was laughing very loudly so now, a few people were turning to see what the cutie kid was doing.

to his poor, weird mother who kept running away from her camera.

so, on the fifth and final try, on my way to my spot...
i scooped him up and brought him with me, surrendering to the reality that this was going to be a shared moment. again.

which i was okay with, really. i love mommy/happy kid shots. i just did not want another out of focus shot of the back of his sneakers.

what i actually got was wholly different.

take a look at that photo again.

what you are not appreciating are the ridiculously loud screams of a 40 pound banshee - and the accompanying thrashing.

5 seconds turned into an eternity, with his echoed screams of rebellion and rejection reverberating off every bit of slate and every single head on that mountain turned to watch us. and with not one parent in the crowd ( because obviously they knew better than i that day ), i was left to look the lonely parenting fool.

it took every ounce i had not to drop the kid, which, of course, would have made things much worse.

sigh.

please remind me when this stage ends? when i can expect to have a child that does not turn on a dime?

because i love him dearly. and i thrive on figuring out fun things to do widen his little universe and world of experience.

but i am beginning to understand people who disappear into their homes with a two year old and emerge with a pale five year old, just in time to wave them off on a bus for kindergarten.

of course, i kid.

really.

i should mention that after this particular scene, after i pointed out that even the meditating man had been interrupted by the outburst, i did get a heartfelt apology.

whispered.

to which i asked if he would not mind screaming that out for a change.