Francophile in the West

Lots has been happening since O and I went to France! I went home for a long weekend, my parents visited me in Denver for a week, I ran the BolderBoulder 10k for the third year in a row (this time with Owen!), my sister gave birth to a perfect baby boy (whose birth I was able to attend!), we started the summer adventure season with two outdoors-packed weekends in a row, and O and I moved in together (!!). WHEW!  Let's take a look at a couple of those major events...  Welcome to the world, TJR! My sister and brother-in-law welcomed the most beautiful baby boy into the world on Father's Day this year. I was able to run away from work for a few days to be home and with everyone in the delivery room when the little guy was born. It was an edge-of-your-seat whirlwind trip, waiting every day for TJ to make his debut. At 3am on Father's Day Sunday, I got the call - take the next flight home, he's on his way! After a beautiful and early flight into Portland, with

Our ten days in France continues... Ahhh, Paris! One of my favorite places in the world. It is always such a pleasure to visit the City of Light, and this trip was no exception. There's something about Paris in the Spring that just can't be beat.  Owen and I arrived in Paris on the Thursday afternoon of our trip, and we braved colder temperatures and a light rain to check out Nôtre Dame and a bit of the Left Bank before the evening set in. Great staircase in Shakespeare & Company Bookstore The Louvre and the Palais Royale Friday morning saw us off bright and early to check out the Louvre. I had been to the Louvre on a couple of previous visits, but this was a top to-do for Owen for his first time in Paris (and rightly so!), so we made a morning of it. Owen was impressed by the size of the Louvre (huge!) and the variety of art (paintings, Greek sculpture, Roman glasswork, ancient Egyptian artifacts, Middle Eastern tile work, and moooore!)  It was a great m