Bonjour à nos amis

Remarkably, we have now been living in Paris for over a year. In fact, Andrew has passed the halfway point of his initial three-year contract (after which renewal for an additional two years is relatively standard procedure). And how do we like it? Living in Paris is really quite fun. It is an interesting city with a tremendous amount going on. It is a beautiful city for walking in, and several friends have commented that their favourite thing to do in Paris is simply walking and looking up. The architecture is truly beautiful with charming and spectacular details at almost every glance. Our quartier is loaded with excellent restaurants, great little shops, a regular street market and a lovely new cinema. And of course, there is never a shortage of interesting art and historical exhibits to see in the myriad museums of the city.

Andrew has settled into the work environment and rhythm at the Nuclear Energy Agency.  The staff and committee members come from around the world, providing opportunities to learn from the customs and technical approaches followed in other countries.  The only downside is the working language is English, sadly not leaving much opportunity to learn French.  Spring and Fall are very busy supporting the work of various committees and their task groups, leaving mid Summer and Xmas / January as times to catch up and take longer leave.  And of course, we enjoy catching up on news and sharing our Paris experiences with friends from Canada attending NEA activities.

Leslie also finds that she is not immersed enough to learn the language quickly. Her friends are, for the most part, OECD spouses. They are a diverse group whose common language is English. Fortunately, not having to go to work frees her up to take French classes so she is able to make some slooooow progress. She also enjoys a casual French history group--en Français--led by a wonderful French friend, Coco, as well as tours of museums and various areas of the city led by Coco or organized by the OECD support organization Alora. .

Our trip of note in 2014 was definately Morocco. We hired a wonderful pair of guides through Under Moroccan Sun Tours. If you have any inclination to head to Morocco, we absolutely recommend them. They are trustworthy and our trip was well planned based on our travel wishes. We hit the road with our guide, Mohamed, and our driver, Hamid, and saw a wealth of history, majesty, stunning landscapes, delightful people, delicious food, coastal cities, mountains, canyons, oases, Roman ruins, snow (yes...snow!) and our favourite...the Sahara Desert. The Sahara is a world apart from anywhere else we've ever been, peaceful and majestic.
www.maplebrandy.com/morocco          Morocco photo album

In addition to our grand trip to Morocco, we have been enjoying travel around France and Europe, sometimes with visiting family, with friends, or on our own. France is a very beautiful country and Paris is really only a part of it. It's certainly worth getting out of the city, not only for the relief of getting out of the city, but to see a wide range of landscapes and regions...and to taste a wide range of wines. In Strasbourg, we experienced a more Germanic flavour of French culture. In Toulouse, things lean towards the Spanish. Each region has its own unique characteristics and history.

In July, we realized that Amsterdam is about the same length of a drive as going from Deep River (our home in Canada) to Oakville (Andrew's family), about 5-6 hours. That's a long drive by European standards but seemed just fabulous to us, so we packed up the girls and went for a long weekend. Having a car has given us a lot of freedom to take the scenic route and explore the back roads. If you want to read a little more about our trips and see more pictures, check out our blog at www.maplebrandy.com.

Being this far away from the kids (and other family) is the harder part of this adventure. We are pleased, however, to report that the kids are doing well. We really appreciate technology like Skype and Facetime that allow us to talk face to face, even if we aren't in the same room, and we are fortunate to be able to travel to back to Canada and bring the kids here. We had the girls here for the better part of July and enjoyed showing them Paris and Amsterdam and we are very excited to have three out of four of them coming for Christmas. (Unfortunately, Gosaye had trouble getting his passport on time). Here's the kid update:

The boys are both working and independent. Gosaye continues in Ottawa where he's getting back on his feet after a challenging year and a half. He's got a good job with a small catering company that runs a government cafeteria in the old Ottawa city hall. He plans on upgrading his living arrangements in the spring so will be looking for his first, entirely-his-own apartment. Biniyam has his fingers in a number of pies as he builds the connections and knowledge necessary for successful entrepreneurship. His day job is at a local Prince Albert weekly paper, he deejays evenings, and he does so many other things that it is hard to keep up. He is community-conscious, has joined the Rotary Club and participates in making Prince Albert a better city.

Meghan continues in her fourth year at the University of McGill, studying math and physics at a level that now boggles most of us (although Andrew can still keep up). She enjoys living in Montréal where she has built a nice life for herself with good friends, a fully-approved boyfriend and a nice apartment, although she is beginning to contemplate where she will go to do her masters degree. Lauren also continues in Montréal at the Marianopolis CEGEP. She has moved across Montréal from Westmount to live with her sister in the Plateau district (along with another friend from Deep River). The Plateau is a funky area full of students and an interesting mix of shops and restaurants. She will graduate in the spring and is also contemplating her next move...university in Ottawa or Montréal most likely.

We hope that all is well with you and yours as we close 2014 and head into 2015. We look forward to hearing your news and perhaps seeing some of you in Paris in the upcoming year.