A vacation in California...

We were very lucky to have our wonderful French friend Xavier come and visit us recently. Our friendship began in Lyon where Mark and Xavier had a French/English language exchange. Mark wanted to improve his skills in French, and Xavier was preparing to live for a year in the USA, so it was a perfect combination! It quickly turned into an incredible friendship, and the rest is history. Xavier is now in his final month here in the USA, so it was amazing to see him and hear his thoughts on US culture and such. It's safe to say that for the first time since we left Lyon, we actually felt like we truly missed France. Now we're back to dreaming about being there again, maybe doing a sabbatical there one day... sigh...

Mark was sick, and so the backpacking trip he and Xavier had planned didn't happen. Instead, we explored places closer to home, which meant I got to join in on the fun. Xavier gave me permission to display his expert photography skills here on this blog, as most of the photos are from him (thank you, Xavier!). Take a look:

Half of the Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from Baker Beach

A ghostly bridge without an end...

The next few photos are from the famed California Coast, as seen from Highway 1.

I think this color blue is my favorite color...

Takes my breath away...



Inside a clam at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Evan loves fish now, and has been looking at photos of them every day since going to the aquarium!


...and the jelly fish, amazing!

Evan has watched this video sooooooo many times. It's great for self-hypnosis (argh)!


Xavier went whale watching and saw 22 blue whales! Lucky!!

I love this photo!


Mark chasing Evan at Muir Woods

I can't believe we live here!! France, San Francisco...so, so lucky! Having Xavier visit, we got to experience both places at the same time. What richness!