Some things I forgot to mention

I've realized that I've been rather lazy lately and I'm sorry. I guess life just feels so normal here now that I think things aren't really worth mentioning. But there have been a few things lately which shouldn't be overlooked.

First, our photographer friend Dave was in London for a night on a photo shoot and gave us a call. After checking his email, we took him to our favorite Turkish restaurant and then for drinks.

We also went fly fishing in a lake in South Cerney. After a few lessons, and a lot of grass fishing, we were set free in the stocked lake to try to catch some rainbow trout for dinner. Rather than using the standard fly fishing method, I had better luck using a slingshot method the guide taught me to fish in areas with a lot of overhanging trees. And I think I caught the biggest fish of the day.

Leo learned how to dress a fish (pull out it's insides and clean it). I also learned how to cook a whole trout, which was an interesting experience in itself, and which made for a delicious dinner and leftovers which are still in our freezer.

Finally, Leo and I took another trip to Paris. We just went for a weekend and stayed in our cousins' apartment in Vincennes (Thank you Bob and Barbara!). We had an amazing lunch in a dingy looking restaurant in Boulogne-Billancourt before going to the Albert Kahn Museum. The three other diners in the restaurant were all eating something out of big clay pots, so we decided we'd eat out of the big clay pots too. It turned out to be an amazing couscous meal with stewed vegetables, chicken, and sausage.
We wandered around Vincennes a bit and the wonderful market they have there on Sundays.
We also went to the Porte de Clignancourt, which I think is the largest flea market in Europe, filled with stalls selling shoes, clothing, antiques, furniture. We bought some paintings done by an Armenian artist who makes reproductions of illuminated manuscripts and Leo forced me, in my pathetic French, to purchase the paintings and try a bit of haggling...it was very sad, but we did get a good deal. This time in Paris was much more relaxed that our previous 2 trips. I guess since we've already seen the major site, we were able to take our time and see some less touristy areas.