This is a combo entry. Yesterday and some of today. On Tues., we went out to St. Germain en Laye to have lunch with Jack Lee's, a friend of ours, Aunt Joyce. It is a cute suburb about 25 minutes out by train. We had a bit of a problem getting our tickets. We needed tickets for the RER, a train that travels out to the suburbs, but we mistakenly ended up in the line to purchase tickets to Belgium or the like. We figured it out when she asked us first or second class. Griffin was helping us, and it wasn't her french that was the issue, but rather the fact that she's never purchased train tickets before and doesn't know what to ask. We realized that we are not only asking her to translate for us, but that we are asking her to perform tasks that she's never done in her native language. Anyways, we found the right line, but it was quite long and we had about 4 minutes to catch the train so that we would be at the station to meet Joyce (we had left all her contact info. at the apartment!). Griffin and I tried to navigate the ticket machine while Todd held our spot in line. Griff came to the rescue again, but this time it wasn't her french but basic problem solving skills (she located the english button and we sped through the process!) Long story short, not really, we met Joyce at the RER station; only about 4 minutes later than we planned.

We walked through the town square and stopped at the outdoor market to purchase some fresh fruit and flowers. We also went into a beautiful fromagerie (cheese shop) to buy Camembert and the patisserie for fresh baguettes. We had a wonderful lunch with Joyce. It was a typical french lunch with the following courses: starter - tomato, basil and mozzarella salad (Griff made this with Joyce's directions), poached salmon with mushrooms and zucchini, camembert, and a fruit tart for dessert. It was delicious food and stimulating conversation. Joyce was a wonderful host and it was nice to be in someone's home. We finished our time at St. Germain de Laye with a walk in the King's gardens, behind his chateau. It offered an amazing view of Paris.

When we returned home, we took a nap. It was a sultry evening so we decided to eat in with our french staples of bread, cheese, fruit and wine. Travel seemed to have finally caught up with Griffin, as she fell asleep at 8:00. We listened to the street music and chatted late into the evening.

The next morning, Wed., started early. We went out for chocolat au pain (chocolate croissants and coffee). We then headed off to the Musee Picasso. It was really interesting. The museum is designed so that his works are grouped by his phases in life. We had read about Picasso's life, which gave us more insight into his work. It is pretty amazing how prolific he was with art and women. He continued creating works of art until he died at 91. I hadn't realized how many different mediums he worked in. We were fairly familiar with his cubist works, but I hadn't seen many of his sculptures.

We just took a little break and are now heading off to Rue Cler. It is a pedestrian street filled with markets and shops. Looks like it's time to eat again!