Inspired by our trips to museums in Paris and Edinburgh, the four of us headed to the Legion of Honor last weekend. Despite Avery’s insistence that she finds “painting spots” boring, she seemed to enjoy herself (sort of) – but the trip was mostly for Zoe. She took a liking to the Impressionists in Paris, and the two of us had a good time analyzing the paintings in the Degas exhibit. (Added bonus: There were three Mary Cassatts, Zoe’s favorite, including the one she’s looking at below.)

-M

As most people who know us (or San Francisco) well, the city never gets very hot, even in the summer. Triple-digit temperatures are pretty much unheard of, which is why last week’s heat wave was such a big deal – and such a shock to our system. On Friday, Zoe wore shorts to school (a first) and Avery a spaghetti-strap dress with no leggings and sandals (also a first). And when Avery walked outside she summed things up nicely be declaring, “It feels like vacation!!”

-M

Almost every day of our trip last month, Avery talked or asked about one of her good friends. (“I wonder what she’s doing right now. Can I text her? What time is it there?”) She missed her and couldn’t wait to see her; and I think part of the reason she wasn’t sad to come home was because she knew they would soon be reunited!

Indeed, friends are a big part of the girls’ life – and seeing them was a major perk of returning to school! Here are a few more pictures from their first day back…

-M

After our trip the girls spent a week hanging out at home and recovering from their jet lag (which, happily, wasn’t that bad). And then, last Tuesday, they headed back to school! They were more excited than nervous about third and fifth grade (though Zoe was a bit uncertain about her homeroom teacher), but all seemed to go well. When I asked them to describe their first week just now, Avery said, “fantastic – and different,” and Zoe said, “interesting – and different.”

-M

The last leg of our trip was to Edinburgh (another new city for us); we were there both to hang out again with Safta and PopPop and to experience the Festival Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival.

Along with seeing some good shows (including a kind of bizarre, but impressive, Korean musical about monkeys and an amazing performance by Cirque Eloize), we explored the Royal Mile, visited the Edinburgh Castle and saw the street that inspired JK Rowling to write the Harry Potter books.

We hopped on a plane and headed home after three days there. And, after our earlier flight to Tel Aviv (which was a full four hours longer), the 11-hour flight home was no sweat!

-M

I had always heard that Paris is a city for walking and wandering, and I now see what people mean: We walked miles and miles each day. And while the museums and touristy spots were certainly a highlight, some of my favorite memories are of when we just strolled around and discovered places and things we hadn’t read about in the guidebooks. We stumbled upon a random restaurant (which really looked and felt like more like a bar) on our first morning, for example, and it wound up being our favorite place to grab a tartine and coffee each morning. (It wasn’t fancy and seemed like a place that locals, versus tourists, would go.) And on our way to the Eiffel Tower one afternoon we walked through a pretty and quiet (read: non-touristy) street and suddenly stumbled upon the Place des États-Unis and a park called Square Thomas-Jefferson! Given our love for the musical Hamilton (and Jefferson’s role in it), it was a very cool (albeit random) find, and we wound up stopping and sitting for a while to enjoy the sunshine… A good memory indeed!

-M

Our last full day in Paris meant a visit to the Musée d’Orsay, where we saw tons of Impressionist paintings and Zoe grew to appreciate art. (One of the first things she did when we got home was write a paper on Mary Cassatt – for fun!) We then took a boat ride and walked along the Seine and explored our neighborhood before having steak frites and the best creme brulee I’ve ever had! (I had to laugh when Zoe said, “That’s the best one I’ve ever had, too! I mean, it’s only the second time I’ve had it – but it was the best.”) Before jumping on an afternoon flight to Scotland the next day, we spent the morning enjoying croissants and café crème (see last photo) and visiting the Musée Picasso.

As I told friends when I got home, I had been looking forward to visiting Paris but I didn’t really understand what the fuss was about. Now I know. It’s an amazingly beautiful city, and I love that I got to experience it with my family. When I’m feeling blue or having a down moment I can just shut my eyes and think back to our time there – and to the streets, the cafes, and the museums – and smile. The memories we created were lifelong ones, and I can’t wait to go back someday and make more.

-M

We packed a lot into our 3 1/2 days in Paris. After a full first day, we spent our second one exploring the beautiful Sacré-CÅ“ur and Montmartre district, visiting the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées and walking through the city until we reached the Eiffel Tower. (We didn’t want to miss the big stuff!) We ended it all at our apartment (see last photo) in the Le Marais district, which was the perfect little spot for us.

-M

Q had long wanted to take me and the girls to Paris, so we made plans for a quick visit after Tel Aviv. I had, of course, long heard how beautiful the city was, but even with all the expectations, my mind was blown. I felt as if I was walking around in a postcard, and tears sprang to my eyes on more than one occasion – like when I first saw some of the art in the Notre-Dame or the Musée d’Orsay – because of the beauty there. I have some amazing memories from our time there – and some great photos, too. Here’s the first batch, which include Avery’s first bite of a real Parisian chocolate croissant, the view on top of the Notre-Dame (where we spent our first morning), and our visit to the Louvre.

-M

Seeing family – including Lily and the girls’ newest cousin, Carmel – was also on the agenda for our trip. We went to Haifa (about an hour-long train ride from Tel Aviv) on the first and last day of our time there, and then Gil and Lily came down one other afternoon to play…

-M

When we visited Israel last year, we did tons of running around and sight-seeing – so this time around we decided to be a bit more mellow and stay mostly local (see previous photos). But we did still do several things we didn’t get to last summer, including visiting the ancient city of Caesarea and hitting the (beautiful) beach.

-M

The reason for my blogging break was our summer trip: We just spent 16 days in Israel, Paris, and Edinburgh. Our first week was in Israel, where we spent a good chunk of time just wandering around, exploring the streets of Tel Aviv, shopping and eating. (The girls visited their favorite restaurant, Da Da & Da, at least four times! And I think we had ice cream every day.) Here’s our first batch of pics…

-M

Like last summer, I’m taking a little blogging break. I’ll be back – hopefully with lots of good photos and stories – in a few weeks!

-M

Zoe’s always working on little projects on the computer, and I sometimes get emails from her where she gives me access to a Google doc or invites me to some event she’s hosting. She recently discovered a pledge page on the American Girl website, and the other day the note below popped up in my in box. Seeing her name in the from line always makes me smile, and the girl-power message behind this little project made me even happier.

-M

Speaking of my birthday, Avery came in after helping her dad in the front garden a few weeks ago and handed me a tiny shell. “I found this, and I wanted to give it you as an early birthday present,” she told me with a little smile. “No one lives in it anymore.”

-M