Another piece of the puzzle

The pieces of the puzzle of our European trip are slowly falling into place - this morning I booked an apartment in Paris, right slap-bang in the middle of the city, 2 minutes' walk from the Notre Dam and the Ile de la Cité: these are literally around the corner! Out of a choice of three this 'loft apartment' was favoured by all involved. We decided to go for apartments rather than hotels as this would give us more freedom and independence and also allows for more family life than separate hotel rooms. (Also, they are way cheaper).

On Google Earth, I found this image of the street and the apartment, which is on the top floor of the building the lady is walking past. How exciting is that!

From the website: a few words about the apartment…

If Phileas Fogg rented an apartment in Paris, we imagine he would stay here. We think the character from the Jules Verne novel would like the mixture of exotic ornaments and artifacts. Here, you can travel around the world in much less than 80 days. Ok, maybe not around the world, but you can certainly get to the central Paris sights easily. Sartre and de Beauvoir used to argue over existentialism at Les Deux Magots, but we guarantee your stay in the 6th will be as sweet as a strawberry macaron.

St Germain des Prés is the upper-crust corner of the city, filled with chattering classes hanging out in sidewalk cafes. What could be more chi chi than Ladurée, the legendary local patisserie? Grab a box of sweet meats and a bottle of vin and head to the Jardin du Luxembourg for a très chic picnic by the lake.

Finally!

On the day that Obama won a second term, it was time for something ceremonial at home as well. After months of negotiation, I was finally able today to sign the publishing agreement establishing the partnership with our Chinese friends Qingdao Publishing Group and Professor Lianzhong Zhang. We will be producing a new graded readers series, consiting of - for starters - one hundred (!) 42-page illustrated books for Chinese students learning to read in English between 7/8 and 18 years of age. It's going to be a big project, potentially big (lots of Chinese out there) and an intense collaboration with all parties involved (including Niki, who is one of the writers on the project). DVDs, a magazine, animations will be explored in the future. I felt the signing, which couldn't happen in China with all parties there, deserved a pictorial commemoration at least - hence the photo which I also sent back to the Chinese (I know they are fond of pics).

Another achievement

And Yarrow, in the meantime, is having end-of-year tests at school. She started with singing, and the glowing report (20 out of 20, after she had claimed earlier she had "never performed so badly in her life"): "Lovely vocal tone ... Intonation is accurate. Stylistically sensitive with vocal maturity demonstrating outstanding technique." Say no more: sing on, Yarrow!

Passed

And yes, we have another driver in the house (well, on the roads): our own Tess, after having slogged away at racking up 120 or so hours with her parents as driver supervisors and herself as a learner driver, passed her Ps test in one go with flying colours (Hans: 'So what are those ticks on your form?' Driving examinator: 'Mate, nothing worth discussing, really: she did great.')

Great being something along the lines of 125 points out of 128. Tara! Worth a little celebration with Ongel, Grandpa, Bryony and our own little family with a specially baked P-cake!