On my way home to California, following a couple of issues, I will not fly home directly but will take the scenic route, CDG-JFK-LAX... 

We have now left Langres and are on our way to Newcastle (girls) or California (boy). After a quick train trip during which the girls slept end to end, we are spending the afternoon in Paris, before meeting with my brothers tonight for dinner.

On the menu, a bit of Champs Elysées, a bit of Metro a peak hour, a dash of walking around the heart of Paris and another mandatory "Apéritif".

And the girls now both know how to cheer with a glass in their hands... 

View of the Sacré-Coeur from our hotel in Paris.

Seen in a restaurant in Paris, during my last visit there (at a dinner with my bros and niece)...

Feels a bit like France today (thanks to quasi general strike) or my mood of the day!

So far, so good, no strike or riot in sight!

Once again, I have managed to elude my little blog for over a month and simply didn't post anything about our current life, trips, etc. But we've done a lot since the last post...

So, last month, the entire family left sunny Los Angeles for a several weeks long trip back to Europe. Sarah and Thia had booked their tickets a long time ago and by pure luck, I had to attend a conference in London. I promise, no cheating, only pure luck.

Flight #1 LAX-LHR

We are back in London and are straying at the Royal Garden. It's cold, sometimes rainy and I don't see anything of the city. My days are basically the following: Wake up early (6:30), get ready, meet Yoshi at Starbucks, jump on the tube, go to the BBC Broadcasting Center, attend 8 hours of meetings, sleep for at least an hour of these meetings due to jet lag, jump back on the tube, go to Hammersmith, do a couple of emails, go to pub, drink beer, have dinner, go back to hotel, sleep. Just as if I was still living and working there... Honestly, far from being my best trip to London!

Sarah, on the other hand, had some slightly different days. Meet with friends or parents during the day, enjoy the parks with Thia (feed ducks), walk on the streets of London (Oxford St., New Bond St. King's Road), see all the nice parts of town, see more friends, do shopping! A perfect tourist life! :) She had a blast!

The few highlights of that week for me were the following:

- As Sarah had managed to organize a little gathering of all our friends, we spent a cool night at our former local , "The Salisbury Tavern", drinking beer, wine & champagne, while chatting, as if we never left...

- Dinners with friends (Chris and team, Nono & Bea, Jef, Grant & Antony)

- I met a Dalek!

Flight #2 LHR-CDG

We then left London, boarded our second flight and went to see my parents in France. France remains France and the first thing that we were told once there was that we should not count on any form of public transport as there was a nationwide strike going on. Luckily, we had a rental car and we avoided being blocked by French culture!

We stopped on our way there in Paris and spent a night with our dear friends Allison, Alex and Pipo. The kids had a blast together and so did the dads... I spent most of the time there with Alex looking at the set of games included in the "Orange Box" being played!

The following day, we managed to have lunch with Thia's Godparents, Jean & Audrey as well as the newly wed Caro & Momo in downtown Paris. Our lunch barely finished, we rushed to Langres and 3-4 hours later finally arrived.

While in Langres, traditions had to be respected. Long aperitifs in various bars (Thia can now sit on a bar stool and order her juice), the annual family Christmas dinner and the gifts exchange (we will be in LA for Christmas so better do it while we are all together).

The sad news is that one of my old time friend and bar owner Fabrice has decided to sell his business and the next time we will be in town, his bar should be either closed or transformed. Bye bye "Le Café du Musée a.k.a. the Bikers bar".

After a couple of days, we decided to take a trip to Dijon, my old Uni town and do some more Christmas shopping while there. And what did we see there? What did we enjoy? A French speciality: A street protest!!! Students, state employees, etc, hands in hands... The main street was packed, slogans were shouted and sausages were sold on the side of the protest. Did I mention that we were in France?

This year again, for the second time, I had the honor of being the one who takes our traditional family "Xmas Dinner Picture" as Dad is now rapidly declining and seems to have forgotten how to operate a camera, after well over 30 years of his life taking pictures on a daily basis... Alzheimer is a bad thing! Diner was fab.. Aperitif with Champagne (a little magnum), Foie Gras, Oysters, Smoked Salmon, Snails, Boudin Blanc, etc... 3 hours later, we were done, full, barely able to move!

And Thia, as you can guess, had a blast opening her pre-Christmas presents!

From there, we went back to Paris for our last night in France and had an improvised dinner  with Caro & Momo at my old local, "Le Vieux Logis". The place hasn't changed with theyears, the menu is still the same, written on a paper tablecloth, and I had to enjoy a little French delicacy: The Famous "Andouillette".

Flight #3 CDG-LHR

Another day, another flight. Thia is so getting used to the routine of the check-in, boarding, snacks, drinks, landing...

Nothing to report at that point... Well, we don't know yet, but all our bags have been left behind in Paris and we are about to land in Newcastle with only what we wear and what we are allowed to carry with us on the plane...

Flight #4 LHR-NCL

As hinted, we land in Newcastle and wait for our bags. Nothing. Nothing and nothing... We then start filing the loss of luggage and have to deal with the local crew. Slight issue for me. Their strong "Jordy" accent! So for the first couple of days, we have enjoyed some interesting 3-ways discussions with the local BA staff talking to Sarah, Sarah translating to my right ear, me answering (no, they didn't need a translator to understand me!) and them replying. Finally our bags arrive "by the twenty-three flight, man" (understand here 2:40PM or Twenty to Three, Sir) and all was good.

Same as in Langres with my parents, Sarah's parents had organized our second Christmas dinner and we enjoyed it on the Sunday night, as well as the gifts exchange

Flight #5 NCL-LHR

My trip in Newcastle is short. Very short and after a couple of days, I have to go back to London (Mike called me while at my parents and I had to shorten my trip by a day or two). I am back in London and spend the night with my little bro' Jef. The night is too short, the pubs close to early and we are both tired. Tomorrow night, I'll be back in California...

Flight #6 LHR-LAX

I woke up that day to the sight of the London wintery weather. It is cold, grey, raining and totally foggy. I want to go home, to my large house, my cars and my garden... :) (well, I don't really want to leave my friends and family, but anyways, I have to go!)

So Sarah and Thia stayed behind and enjoyed another 2 weeks of Britishness while I was having the house for myself and discovering certain parts of LA.

Sweet note: On her way back, Thia clocked her first 10,000 air miles on one trip and got a little certificate for it!

Today is the day I have to say goodbye to my Mum and Dad...

Not an easy task... Especially after last night's session and the time of the wake up call...

Whatever! We'll make it!

7:30, Thia and I are at Waterloo train station, almost ready to go, if it wouldn't be for the fact that the ticket collection machine has swallowed my card and that noone seems to know how to fix this issue

8:05, The card is finally back (after a complete reboot cycle) and we are checking in through "Premier" line as we are getting pretty late

8:10, We've made it to the train. pfeew

8:12, The train departs, Thia screams "Blast Off", courtesy of one of her favorite TV show, "Little Einsteins". The trip to Paris is fine and Thia is almost an angel...

Arrived in Paris, we rush from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est to meet Mum & Dad. Once together, we realise that one of the great Brasserie opposite the train station is closed and we have to go for plan B. Maybe not the best, but the important part is to spend some time together and to get Thia to see her Papy & Mamy...

3 hours go by at the speed of light, too many things to say, to tired to realize and we are on our way back to the Gare du Nord, to catch our train back. Usual pit stop by one of the station's bar and off we go, we are back on the train, goodbyes said in a rush, trying (without real success) to avoid the gates of emotions to open to much...

6:00pm, we are back in London.

7:00pm Stop on the way back to say another set of goodbyes to Clarissa and Alistair.

7:45pm: We're back at Sophie and James. I am exhausted. Sarah's parents are having dinner with us.

The family is back in London, after a long and exhausting week of "Goodbye Tour 06" in France, meeting friends and parents...

Second real part of our "Californication" adventure, we have now said goodbye to France for few months... Only God knows when we'll land back there! It all starts to feel real!

To all the family and friends over there, all I can say is "Salut, bisous et å bientot!"...

"A ciao, bonsoir!"