Home again at last - how sweet it is to have three older brothers!

Meehi and his wife - a lovely pair. There is much promise to this new client Marc has. Here we are on our last night together at an Alsacian French restaurant -which is perfect fare for Marc. The girls are with us but are sleeping or pretty mellow - I can't remember!

Marc and I having a moment together.Somehow we did manage some quality us time.

FINALLY - a good shot of Marc with his girls!

Lucy and me in front of the MAILLE mustard shop. Inside they had a few "beer" taps in which out came mustard for people to sample. We wanted to buy tons but settled on a small sample pack of about 12 mustards.

Ok - so you can't see Marc - but I think it is somehow appropriate that he is silhoutted like the monuments behind him....besides I am sorely lacking in any shots of him! He WAS working working working.

Mimi's attitude fit right in - here she is with her special pink umbrella. It's not raining -no clouds anywhere.

Ok Paris revived me. Here are some flowers in the garden leading to the champ de lysee

Paris is beautiful and pictures often don't catch it. If you look carefully you will see the arc de triomphe in the background. In person it was splendid.

OK I admit it - I am a sucker for good french onion soup.....

OK so I'm a little skeptical about the girls being in this area of town - luckily they fall asleep in the stroller

Mimi dancing above an air vent in front or Moulin Rouge - ala Marilyn Monroe!

the couscous meal Marc and I had in Paris - Yum

No matter what we seemed destined to rush. For some reason our gate was changed just before it was time to board

Mimi at Paddington station - we took the train to Heathrow which turned out to be a pleasant experience.

Just me hanging out with my girls -pretty much something I do here - there and everywhere!

Our London hotel was a low point of the trip and the rainy weather - so Mimi and I took matters into our own hands and painted each other's cheeks with some face paint I had brought along.

I'm in a catatonic trance while we wait to board the Ryan air flight from Turino - Venice's "other" airport. The line moved so slowly that we didn't think we would make it - but we were all in line for the same flight and at one point we got shuttled ahead as we had two little ones. The girls were in their pj's as we left when they were sleeping.

the next morning - getting ready for the 5am drive to the airport

a glimpse of Monica - Paolo's wife and the girl Mimi had a blast playing with.

eating gelato at night after Marc's 5tg micro content dinner

Our good friend Paolo

one of the views from Paolo's office - it doesn't do the area justice

Vondelpark

I read somewhere that traveling with children allows you to feel you are living in each place. I have to say that and being in an apartment for awhile does make it feel very real. I am even back to penny pinching which is something I do with some regularity at home.

I have been going to Vondelpark quite frequently. Today the kids even went twice- once with me and once with the sitter. There is this brilliant play area called the Milk House that also contains a restaurant so you can have a coffee while you watch your kid play. The play area is pretty sectioned off which helps as well. There are many times I have yearned for the same deal at home-causing me to dash into starbucks before heading to the local haunt.

I actually think Vondelpark could compete with central park in my heart if I was to stay here any longer. It`s not quite as grand as central park-and in fact is much smaller. But it is a very cool pålace to hang out. It has a couple of cafes which is brilliant and must make them money. I could see mothers and kids being all over a snackbar option at home. And just imagine a park that lets you sit at a table and drink a beer if you have had enough coffee. Because in the end- I really do think it is all about the simple pleasures.

AMSTER AMSTER AMSTERDAM

The number one thing I love about Amsterdam is the bicycles. For some it may be the coffee houses and being able to get stoned legally. For me it is the way that bicycles are incorporated into everyday traffic therefor becoming a real alternative. I love the way cycling around gawking for a few hours makes me feel. It almost seems to nullify all the fattening foods I have been eating since I arrived.

I see all these cycles designed to allow parents to cart their children around and I wish I could have these back home. There are even clever covers for the many times it rains or has other bad weather. There is not much bad that can be said about this part of the culture. I think it is the reason the Dutch look overall pretty healthy. It certainly isnæt their diet!

Walnut Creek has great bicycle paths but it would be hard to do my shopping or other errands with a bicycle as their are just not enough paths that go through town. Also the roads nearest to me dont even have sidewalks nad I would just worry for the safety of my kids. Still it may be something I will have to investigate more carefully when I get home as it is a great way to get some excercise. I am really starting to feel good from it.

Mind you all my cycling has been solo as I don`t feel agile enough to try going around with my kids. Maybe if I was here a few more weeks I would feel differently.