au revoir Mendenhalls

We are happy to report that the Mendenhalls survived Paris ..... and vice-versa. We had a wonderful visit with Mark and Mary (excuse-moi .... Mare) and they are today visiting the canals of Amsterdam. Highlights of the week included some of the must-do's (Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, Montmartre, Louvre, Tour Eiffel...) and a few cultural excursions. Along the lines of the latter, shopping at the Sunday market followed by a visit to the 7000-pipe organ of St. Sulpice was fun - especially when the shopping resulted in a late afternoon feast. St. Sulpice is an interesting cathedral for its art (Delacroix) and astronomy and da Vinci code references ("rose line"), but the highlight is being invited up into the organ to watch a master play for the Mass and afterwards. Here you see him sharing a laugh with a fellow keyboard player. An evening stroll through the Musee Rodin (free because of 1st Sunday in June!) and its gardens helped work off the excesses of the extended brunch. In fact, our intrepid travelers did much walking around Paris, and even at the labyrinth at the cathedral at Chartres.

With the departure of Mark & Mary, we have no more visitors scheduled.... and all of a sudden it looks like our time in Paris will wind down quickly. Kathleen has only 2 weeks left in school and Kevin goes on a quick (6-day) trip to the States. First, it's to UCLA for Ming-Chang's thesis defense and then returning to France via a 2-day meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. At LAX, Kevin will be picked up by Megan who will soon be home for the summer. Hey, someone has to go to work!

---- Check out the newly posted slide shows ----- and watch for more updates to come!