Rainforest Discovery, Borneo

The past six weeks or so have been a crazy whirlwind of school ending, saying good-bye to good friends as they shift out of Delhi or away for the summer...and a little exploration of our own. We recently spent twelve days in Malaysia, a beautiful country. Our first stop was the Borneo side, so of course, we headed straight to the rainforest. Near Sepilok, in the state of Sabah, is the Rainforest Discovery Centre. A perfect spot for people like us with small kids who want to visit the forest but can't do any hardcore jungle treks.

 We opted for the canopy walk:

 Huge birds' nests:

 Dorian's first paddle boat:

Car shots...

Here are some recent photos I took while out and about. Funny, that they both involve auto rickshaws.

I love the heart Delhi on the back:

 Look closely, the auto driver is pushing the black taxi...with his foot:

Meanwhile, on the inside of the car, there's the boy who has "given up" naps:

first friends...

We used to live in a place that looked like this:

New Caledonia was an incredible place to live...life was simple but very good. We were married there and Dorian was born there. I met an amazing woman who had a little boy just days after Dorian was born. We met when our bellies were big and round. She was the cutest pregnant lady I'd ever seen and she'd come visit me as I was on bed rest. We became fast friends and met every day after our boys arrived to walk along the beach front and talk about, well, just about anything and everything.

Here is Dorian with his first friend at four weeks old:

The years have gone by and while our friends moved back to Paris a year after we left New Caledonia, we have moved twice. The highlight of our annual trips to Paris has always been seeing them. Now, on our most recent trip, the boys are so big and making paper airplanes:

Enjoying the metro:

Saying good-bye was harder this time around since they are moving back to New Caledonia this summer. We are so happy for them (and a little jealous), but most of all, we are so thankful for all our wonderful memories of our times together over the past years...seeing the boys grow together and, despite the distance, always picking up we're they left off.

To learn a bit more about New Caledonia, check out my friend's blog: Sojourn in the South Pacific. I can't wait to read about their new adventures!

love locks...

While walking with our friends from the Batobus to the Tuilleries Garden, we had to cross the river. We started walking across what seemed like a normal pedestrian bridge, the passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, but then we all stopped in amazement. Along one side of the bridge we saw this:

I had never seen this before and wondering about it I looked it up online. Apparently, in various cities across Europe and even a few in Asia, people have taken to putting locks on bridges as a symbol of their love.

ahoy there...

It is HOT in Delhi...and to keep cool I keep looking at our Paris photos. We spent a great day with our good friends who came from Belgium to spend the day with us. A day was not nearly enough time with them, but we are so thankful for it and loved every minute we spent with them.

We took them on the Batobus:

 This is the only moment during our seven days in Paris when the sun came out:

 We stopped at the Eiffel tower for a picnic lunch:

 Then walked through the Tuilleries Garden to the trampolines:

 And back to the train station:

 We had a great day and miss our friends so much!

carousels and satellites...

Over the years, we've developed sort of a routine during our visits to Paris--visiting with our favorite friends, going to our favorite shops, walking in the parks and riding the carousels.

The boys love the carousels and they rode a few but, we did go some place new: le Palais de la Découverte. It was a great place to escape the cold, rainy weather and D was so happy to see his favorite, a model of the Hubble Space telescope.

 And shuttles:

Arthur phone home...(sorry, couldn't resist!):

And the ball tracks:

A fun visit and perfect way to stay warm! We'll add it to our list of things to do next time.

chocolate and drawings...

We were recently in Paris for seven days and for seven days (except for a few hours one afternoon) it rained and was cold. I'm so used to, and much prefer, warmer climates that it was a bit difficult for me. But, we braved the weather and headed out each day. Our first excursion was to take the boys to Monmartre. I hadn't been in years and the boys had never been.

Just before conquering the steps...

After visiting Sacre Coeur, we dried off in a cafe on Place du Tertre. Dorian was inspired by the art scattered about the square...

Arthur loved the chocolate crepes....

And, I loved sitting there watching the boys being so happy.