In adding these photos I'm seeing a theme.. water, water everywhere.
I don't think I went looking ..but the beaches are so beautiful that it felt like the best reward. After all we are voluntarily displaced Aussies.
Cape Hatteras and Carolina Beach, kite surfing, and sand dunes.
The lake at Blue Jay County Park
And introducing Parker the bobbed tail cat: tree climber, mouse catcher and enamored of squirrels, which she will never, ever meet in this lifetime. How fast are they?

I would like to say.. Welcome to the next chapter.
To any one reading or wondering, who is this woman ?
Bievenue! Only.. we are Not in Paris anymore(see previous posts)
( I  might feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ, "Toto, we're not in Kansas"
Same sense of dislocation is my point here in case I got this quote wrong)

I am now relocated - my family of three kids aged 6,8 and 10 (et moi) from Paris, France to Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Just enough South for plenty of iced tea and not too many mosquitoes. Leaving behind baguettes and crazy motorbikes and dogs in Burberry sweaters...to look out for copperhead snakes and a green mist of pollen that coats houses and cars.
So last summer I unpacked myself, the  kids, 250 boxes, found the supermarket, forgot to water the Douglas Firs ( lost them).. got a cat! Registered children in school, soccer, ballet, the Y and located the nearest posh mall.. you got it, important stuff.

Admired my neighbors' beautiful yards. Admired some more. Felt very grateful to previous owners for leaving me yard that will not disgrace neighborhood due to lack of ongoing beautifying.
Awesome churches, wonderful beaches, acres of forest and lakes. Whole Foods and Farmers Markets. So much to see...speaking English. A novelty which those of us who lived in foreign lands should never take for granted. Like Target.

Missed Paris very badly. Forgot how to speak French anyhow but we kept on missing all its cobblestoned, historical, creative, frustrating, incredible charm. Sigh. Think we imagine we'd get back on a plane after summer, when the novelty of Target and the pool wore off.

It's taken awhile. Now I have all these great photos and a fondness for iced tea ( and Californian wines, but not, I am sorry to say, Grits).I survived the pollen and met great  new friends. And a whole lot of growing up is still going on. I think it might be therapeutic to share it the journey.

In May we visited Monet's house and gardens at Giverny. In a word, beautiful.

These photos say to me, in the midst of grocery shopping, bike riding and getting the car towed because of 2 flat tires( nothing changes wherever you live), we are absorbing some indefinable french je ne sais quoi.. perhaps only visible to the trained eye, but Im working on the training part.

Been a very long coffee break; dont be fooled -its all hard work experiencing summer in Paris!

Some highlights.. Parc Herouval, an hour's drive out of Paris, kids running barefoot and plenty of low key fun.

Chic cafe in Le Bon Marche ( exceptionally chic store..)

Jardin Du Luxembourg where we heard more English spoken than in 10 mths. Sad to say this made the children very happy.OK so we're not global just yet.

The summer fete at the Tuileries : big thank you to Amber for going on crazy rides with the kids while I stayed on the ground. Totally wimped out,I know, but gorgeous hot day with the Louvre a fabulous backdrop to fairy floss and screaming.

Fireworks on the skyline at La Defense- for several nights around Bastille Day the sky was exploding with riotous colour and booming sound.

I know it's Paris- architecture, shopping, style on every street corner( mostly) but the summer skies from my balcony are completely distracting.

I will point the camera elsewhere- Normandy next week - but it's too enticing for now.

Deauville, acres of beach with an endless selection of perfect shells.

Which made it home with most of the sand they were dug out of...
Harmon on the railing top level of the Eiffel Tower; loving that 9 ft high mesh. Perfect spring day for surveying the wonders of Paris.


The antidote to modern .. Chateau Vaux le Vicomte, nearly 400 years old, serene and gracious.

The kids dressed up in 18th century outfits while we skipped through history- excellent idea!

Some wonderful creations at La Defense: which is all about modern, so Im always a bit disconcerted when I venture into this extraordinary aspect of Paris.

Soaring steel structures - can't help the alliteration -and a firm grasp of the 21st century..

Finally took the tribe to the Eiffel Tower- on a glorious spring afternoon, skies clear and a spectacular view. Its so impressive, whether we were chasing pigeons underneath or gazing across Paris from the Summit.( I was grateful for the protective wiring, given the attempts made by the 5 yr old to "see" our house ..)

Successful Parisien experience achieved.

Though Im still wondering if the kids has as much fun eating soft serve ice cream and playing hopscotch in the park?