Delhi Belly

Hi Everyone!

Just thought you might like to have an update from your girls in Paris! I just got back from an incredible trip to New Delhi, India! It was really the most different place I've ever been.

There were goats on scooters, cows on the highway, cobras being charmed - and of course - the Taj Mahal! Me and my entire class were sick for the majority of the time, but it was still worth while and something I will never forget! A few pictures have been posted here, but you can find the rest on facebook.

I hope to hear from you soon! Cyn and I are planning a trip to Spain in a couple of weeks - and I hope we will give you an update on that too.

Onyx

Hi everyone, 

Most of you have heard that Onyx is very ill.  In fact, this may be her last night among us.  Onyx is our 7 year old Pug.  She got sick last Friday and has been in kidney failure since then.  We are really broken up about this.  

Apparently, she ate or licked something toxic - presumably anti-freeze.  Her kidneys stopped working and she hasn't eaten or drank anything (on her own) since then.  She has really deteriorated over the past five days.  We have brought her home for the past two nights because she was sleeping better here and was seeming to get better during the evenings - so we thought being home was giving her strength.  Maybe it was denial - probably - because her levels show that the negative effects are increasing exponentially.  

The vet has allowed us to bring her home for one final visit tonight, but tomorrow we have to make the decision about what to do.  We don't want her to suffer any more - and the tests are showing that she is moving in the wrong direction.  She is really trying to be strong and comfort us - as always - she is wagging her tail when she sees us crying too much and seems to be alert, even as her body is shutting down.   She is really a fighter - and she has given 'em hell  this time - but I don't see a miracle on the horizon. 

We just wanted to let you know what was going on.  We really don't know how we will survive without our little puglet.  She has brought so much joy to our lives...

Happy Cancerversary to Me

Hi My Peeps,

This week was my 14 year anniversary of kicking bone cancer's butt!  :-)  Pretty cool huh?  So I decided that for next year's anniversary, I am going to do a triathlon or a 10K race with my siblings and I am totally stoked about that!  We have 1 full year to train - so I know we will be able to do it!

In other news, Cyn, Carine and I went to the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Grand Palais.  It was tres cool!  Check out some pics of the exhibit being put together here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/mar/17/paris-andy-warhol-grand-palais?picture=344694057

That's really all I wanted to tell you today.  I LOVE YOU!  

Lola

Happy Birthday Austin!!!!

This message is for one of my 3 favorite nephew's!!!!!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR STINO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

We love you Austin and wish we could be with you today!  Please have fun and eat a big ole piece of cake for Auntie Lola :-)

Okay - here's Prague

Hi Everyone!

We are back from Prague now - and trying to get some rest before I have to get back to work.  Cyn posted all of the pics on her facebook - but I will put a few here too.  

We started out the first day by having lunch with my old friend Martin.  He was in Moscow with me in 2007.  He was nice enough to take us to the new traditional Czech lunch of Pizza / Pasta.  He joked about how Prague was getting more and more international food - but he was totally right!  Everywhere we went it was Pasta/Pizza, Chinese Food, KFC/Starbucks/McD's and Ice Cream!  We did manage to find some authentic Czech food and definitely a lot of Czech beer!  

After that, we went to Wencelas Square and walked towards the River.  This is where we first noticed the architecture in Prague is so unique!  There are tons of random statues on most of the buildings.  Sometimes there are also pictures of Mary, Jesus and other people whose faces I don't recognize so easily!  The statues are larger than life sized - and really creepy at night.  You almost expect them to come to life when you are on the cobble stone streets in the evening!  

We stumbled across a classical music concert - which was great.  Only Czech composers - so it was very patriotic!  

Then we had dinner in front of the Astronomical Clock.  This clock is really interesting - but can also be a let down.  On the hour a little skeleton (aka Death) turns over an hourglass, then the disciples march across the windows at the top.  The bell rings the hour and it's over.  After 

sunset, nothing actually happens, but the crowds gather anyway - and are let down until sunrise.  It was really funny to watch over dinner and beer.  

So then we made our way back to our hotel and slept until we woke up.  My favorite thing to do on vacation!  The second day, we spent the majority of our time at the Prague Castle.  St. Vitus church was my favorite part about the castle - you know - you've seen one castle, you've seen them all!  The church was really cool to me.  When you walk in, you see beautiful stained glass, there is a little door with 7 locks on it that guard the crown jewels.  The guidebooks say that the president lives there today, but we were really surprised by the lack of high level security... so we aren't convinced that he actually lives there today.  

We ended up at a tourist trap for dinner that night - it took us nearly 4 hours to manage to get 2 beers for Cyn and 1 for me and Carine, plus little appetizer dishes.  Then the waiter forced a 15% service fee on top of our bill.  IT WAS AWFUL - but - we were warned by the natives not to go to places like that!  We have to learn the hard way!

The next day - our final day - was our favorite day.  We spent the morning in the Jewish neighborhood visiting Synagogs, Holocaust Memorials and the Old Jewish Cemetery.  It was very emotional - and an amazing experience.  We were not allowed to take photos at most of those places, but our friend Carine managed to snip a few without being caught.  I will try to snag those from her to show you what it was like.  

All in all, I would say it was a great first "European" vacation for us minus the Chevy Chase experiences of passing the same landmark when I was the navigator!  "Look Kids - Big Ben"  

Here is a cute video of a drunken Cyn to send you off!  Love to you all :-)  Lola

   

Prague Tomorrow

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick message to let you know that we will be on our first "official" French holiday tomorrow!  There have been many - but this is the first time we will go out of town for one!  We are going to Prague!  I have a friend that we will visit and one of our other (American) friends will join us.  I will try to update with pictures when we get back on Saturday! This will be Cyn's first trip outside of France - so she's pretty excited!

Thanks for your messages after my last post!  I miss you Lee B and I wish we could skype sometime soon.  Cyn's macbook has a camera installed, so if we can talk, you will be able to see us!

Love you guys!

Lola

What ever happened to Lorraine and Cindy's blog?

You would think, with all the freaking rain I complain about, that I would have LOADS of time to sit and blog to you about all of our daily adventures.  You know, to tell you the truth, I would think that too!  But for some reason, blogging is a lot like writing in a journal - and therefore, my commitment is sporadic!  It doesn't mean that I don't love and miss you - because I really really do!

So - I should probably tell you a little about Beijing and Boston.  Keep in mind it will be the super short version, but I will include pics - so don't be sad!  Beijing was a very cool experience.  I know this is going to sound - un PC - but being surrounded by so many Asian people was the strangest thing.  I mean, we have all known lots of Asian people, but it is not usual, in our Western cultures, for them to be the majority!  It was really cool.  And there were millions of

 people - every time we went out to explore the city.  That was also a different experience.  Paris is crowded - but nothing like this! 

So - I got there the weekend before my program started and I met up with some of my participants.  We went sight seeing and had some really cool experiences!  We started out by going to the Tower of Heaven.  The coolest part about this place was that people were spontaneously creating music everywhere!  There were bands that were playing traditional Chinese music and there were little choirs all over the place.  As you walked into the park, you were just overwhelmed by the sounds!  People were also dancing everywhere.  I really loved that.  The band above was my favorite!  They had this little old guy playing the symbols and he was the cutest thing ever.

We went up to the tower after enjoying the music

So - after that we tried to meet up with some of the others for dinner.  We had a hard time finding a restaurant that could accommodate a large group, so we ate in the alley (from the first picture at the beginning of this blog).  Now that was an adventure!  I won't lie to you, I was worried all the time about what I was eating.  I didn't want to offend my pets!  But I am pretty sure all I ate was either beef or chicken - with noodles and rice.  It was nice - and I didn't ever have to go to the hospital (like in Turkey)!  

The next day, we met up with more people and went sight seeing and shopping.  I bought pearls and jade and cucci sunglasses and a dulge and gabanna bag.  (notice that the miss-spellings are definitely on purpose)!  It was great.  I got to see the Summer Palace.  That was probably my favorite, even though it snowed.  It was truly beautiful and relaxing!  

My most relaxing experience came later in the journey, when we signed up for 2 hour massages, that cost less than 20 US Dollars!  It was GREAT!  Much more relaxing than my Turkish Bath experience!  They gave us little silk pajamas to wear - so there was no nudity involved - thank God!  :-) I promise my participants that what happens in the program stays there - so I can't post all my pictures because I want to protect my word!  But there are some cute pics with all of us in PJs that I can show you in person when you visit!

We also got to see the Forbidden City and of course, The Great Wall.  What an amazing job I have huh? 

 

So, I will leave you on that note!  I will try to get better - but I make no promises!  :-)  I love you guys and miss you so much.  Don't forget to SKYPE - Love Lola