Francophile in the West

I finally touched down in Portland late in the evening on June 1st. I was back in the USA! And boy, did I jumped right back into life in the Pacific Northwest! Kris was in Vancouver visiting his mom the weekend I got back, so on June 2nd, the three of us got up early and went to the beach (screw you, Jetlag!). We drove to Seaside, Oregon, and dipped our feet into the Pacific Ocean, then we drove up to Astoria, OR, and explored town for a while, enjoyed a few beers, and climbed the Astoria Tower (more towers, hooray!!). While it was overcast at the beach, it was beautiful and sunny in Astoria. We had a great day of adventuring and finished it all off with a family dinner at my parents' house. It was an excellent way to transition back home. At Seaside Astoria Tower The view of the Astoria Bridge spanning the Columbia River  At the top of the tower! During the week, I started working for my folks, doing home improvement projects around the house and garden. It...

Ahhh, Paris in the late spring. So beautiful, so full of life, so... Overcast and rainy?? Yes. :-/ During my last two weeks in France, we seemed to be followed around by Seattle-like weather. However, we did have a couple of strategically-placed sunny days (day-trips to Giverny and the Beaches of Normandy), as well as peaks of sun throughout the rest of the trip. Nevertheless, rain or no rain, the Tyler family bounded out into the midst of the humongous, gorgeous city of Paris! Now, no one else in my family speaks French. Dad has Spanish down pat, Mom and my sister speak a bit of German, and my brother-in-law's other language is math and science (I sure don't understand it!). During the week when I was traveling with my folks, I suddenly morphed into a tour guide! I had to speak for the group everywhere we went. Ordering pain au chocolat at the bakery, buying tickets for museums and the metro, translating menus at restaurants, checking into hotels, trouble-shooting any iss...