Parent Party!

Hey there all, if anyone still has the patience to check my infrequently updated blog... what can I say, life is busy. So, at the end of March, my parents came to France! It was terribly exciting and our week was full to the brim, but I wanted to at least give the highlights and post some photos, although I left most of the photo documentation to Len.

AWESOME STUFF WE DID/SAW
in Lyon:

• Brasserie Georges restaurant
• Place des Celestins and urban contemporary art tour
  
• Croix-Rousse, the organic and general street market, traboules
• walk down to Hotel de Ville, place des Terraux, fountain, garden and outside of Fine Arts Museum
• dinner with my roomies at my house
• Parent party also at my house, lots of friends came and spoke varying degrees of English with my parents, embarrassing stories were told, much wine was drunk, good times were had by all. (French friend to me: "I can't believe you invited your parents to a party with your friends")
  
• silkweaving workshop (and gift shop!)
• Fourvière, basilica, view, walk down hill through gardens
• Vieux Lyon, a typical bouchon lyonnais
• about a million cafés
• Vélov to Les Halles de Lyon (thanks Paul Bocuse!)
• picnic in the parc de la tête d'or, greenhouse tour, bike around to see elephants, etc
• Brasserie Le Sud (thanks again Paul Bocuse!)
• shopping on Victor Hugo and Rue de la Ré

with rental car:

• Chambéry
• Annécy and its Lake
• lakeside drive, into the mountains and eventually home
• Pérouges, old medieval town
• les Côtes du Rhône
• vineyard tour and degustation of glorious (organically produced, clearly) wines

in Paris:

• musée Rodin
• île Saint Louis
• île de la Cité, Notre Dame
• walk around the Marais
• Petit Nicholas exhibit at Hotel de Ville
• Panthéon
  
• Le Timbre restaurant, rive gauche
• crêperie
• beaucoup de flânerie
  
• musée de la photographie (um, awesome.)
• probably lots of other stuff I can't even remember

In conclusion, a glorious trip in which we tried to see everything possible, and I have to admit, I was exhausted by the end, so I hope my rents weren't too run into the ground. It is lots of fun showing off my city and home away from home, and I can't wait to have more visitors soon...