Nimes Deux

Today we went back to Nimes by bus because we had some shopping to do. We needed:

1. A camera

2. Some new clothes for Frances (she's grown a full size in these three weeks)

And of course, along the way, we found ice cream and a REAL cappuccino.

My mom says, "It turns out that we have been drinking 'Cafe Vienesse,' even though we've been ordering Cappuccinos.  They always arrive with mountains of whipped cream instead of a foamy topping of milk. And by the time you scoop your way to the espresso, it's cold.  The woman who made ours today said the people making me this were just lazy. Yes, lazy. They didn't want to foam the milk so they sprayed a mound of whipped cream on the top instead. This real cap was WONDERFUL, for all you coffee-buzz lovers...and 1/10th the calories, not that we're counting in the land of bread and cheese."

We went into at least 4 different clothing stores for Frances. Every store had infant clothing or really really expensive kid clothes...except for, finally, one. Frances found leggings, skirts, tops, and a very sassy hat. She tried on purple shoes that had ribbons that lace up your leg but then she decided that she didn't neeeeeeeeed them.  Frances says, "I feel like...I have new clothes.  I like my pink outfit because it's all pink. A pink skirt, pink leggings, pink socks, pink shirt with little cherries on it, and my hat that makes me feel like I'm a person in France." 

Before...

...and ...

After:

Our camera takes great pictures at night. Here's one in our Place aux Herbes. Can you see the pigeons in the trees? Daddy likes to get under the trees and wait for a minute in silence and then CLAP. All the birds flap off the branches and screech and poop. Good thing we had my umbrella.

And it takes great photos in restaurants, too.

After my dad took this photo, he asked my mom, "How do you like those puppies?" She calls us her puppies and likes it best when we're cuddling her.

One more funny thing. Today when a man next to us said something like "thank you" to Frances, she replied with the word "derriere" (bottom) instead of "de rien" (you're welcome).  She was mortified.

Funny thing about Daddy is that Mommy says when he was on the speed skiing tour everyone always called him "the luckiest guy in the world." Well, he really, really is. We were far away from the bus when we decided we should try to catch it home (we were all STARVING and no restaurants in France are open for dinner at 5PM...usually they open at 7:30 and then you're still the first ones). We ran and ran and ran for the bus station. Daddy held the door open for us at the bus station and then ran past us and made it to the bus at exactly the time it closed its doors. Then, with Daddy standing there, and with us running fast to catch up, the doors opened up again. We made it on. Luckiest guy in the world. Mommy says, "We are the luckiest people in the world to be living with the luckiest GUY in the world!"

And you should see him do puzzles...fastest puzzle man in the world. But he always lets us hide the best shaped puzzle piece until the very end and then lets us put it in.

Oh, and we met our upstairs neighbor today. He heard Frances on the piano and came in saying he was a pianist. He lives in St Paul, MN and he plays piano for a living. He sat down and played Bach's Joy and Frances was amazed.  He and his partner John are coming for apps and drinks tomorrow night.

'Bye.

Eleanore