Au revoir, France

Goodbye, France? Au contraire, we're excited to report that, not only have we and some of our belongings made it safely to France, Cleo has said her first French word--unprompted. On day two, during a more than three-hour shopping trip to IKEA (from enjoying the cheap Swedish eats at the cafeteria to squeezing all the boxes into our car), Cleo did exactly what language-absorbing children do: After watching a French kid playing peek-a-boo, saying "au revoir” for the a-boo part, Cleo did likewise. You heard it here first: Cleo speaks French.

It's been a tough two days on our bodies, as we've tried to stay awake and eat when we should to speed the adjustment. But it's been anything but tough on our spirits. Our new house is amazing. It's exactly--exactly--what we were looking for. Our vision for other aspects of our life here, from the feel of the town of Orgeval to the transportation connections, has also come true. We’ll share more about our house and initial impressions--to nudge those of you on the fence over whether to visit and take advantage of the free hotel--later. Here come a few photos.