The roads of Bordeaux wine country

After spending a lovely afternoon in St. Emilion, site-seeing and of course wine tasting, I took a short clip of the surrounding area. One just can't help falling in love with the vineyards under the sun!

Papa et Philippe

This video is not for the faint of heart....you will laugh hysterically at the sight of my very own dad and cousin dancing to a tango!! I still sit here and watch this over and over, and I still laugh so hard tears roll down my cheeks. Ahhhh yes, what a family!

Colantonio Reunion 2008

Europe 2008

August 2008 will now forever be implanted in my mind as a most memorable trip back to Europe. After a year in the making, the family reunion in Bordeaux was indeed a success! To keep things from getting too long I'll just be enumerating each day and what I and/or the family got to doing. So here goes -

Sat. August 9 - Hopped on to my flight from LAX to CDG, with a layover in Philadephia.

Sun. August10 - I arrived in CDG, checked in to hotel, and got right to walking around Paris to re-familiarize myself with my home away from home. I walked from my hotel, Hotel des Allies, in the 5th by the Pantheon all the way to the Arc de Triomphe and back. Needless to say I slept well!

Mon. August 11th - Shopping Day! But first I started out the day by taking a run through the streets and through Les Jardins de Luxembourg. Then I headed over to Boulevard Haussman and shopped to my little heart's content. I went from store to store - Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Citadium, H&M, and Zara amongst many many others. I had lunch at the restaurant in Printemps under the stained glass dome! It was fantastic.

Tues. August 12th - I took a vacation day and allowed myself to sleep in. Oooops, I slept in until noon so therefore just walked around the city all day and relaxed for a long time in the Jardins de Luxembourg.

Wed. August 13th - Took another jog, same as on Monday. Then had to pack and catch my train from Gare de Montparnasse to Bordeaux- St. Jean. I was greeted at the train station at St. Jean by Patrick! It was such a wonderful surprise! We reached the house and it was great seeing everyone again and catching up. I got to pick out the room that I would sleep in, over in Francis' "work in progress" house. It'll look wonderful once it's done with the pool and all!!! Can't wait to see the finished product. We all had dinner, and it was really a great welcoming!

Thurs. August 14th - Went shopping in the morning with Carla for a while, then helped out at the house with some of the preparing of lunch. After a while went out with Francis and Enzo to find new shoes for the boy!!! Once we returned it was time for Zio Mario and Zio Peppino to pick "les Americains" up from the train station. Once they arrived we had lunch and just had a great afternoon catching up!

Fri. August 15th - Went out on a morning run with Arnaud. It was a great crisp refreshing morning to do so, and we ran from the house to the church in Cadaujac, the town next door. The rest of the day was relaxing- just preparing for the party the next day, starting the food, decorating the banquet tent.

Sat. August 16th - PARTY TIME!!! I got up early and helped with all the hors d'oeuvres and setting up. The guests started arriving around noon or so, and then the festivities began. We all took tons and tons of pictures, for posterity yes. And we had a Mechoui set up for the meal. It went beautifully. Better than anyone could have ever wished for. There was great food, great atmosphere, and dancing. We could never have asked for more!!! The party lasted through the night until we all just collapsed in our beds.

Sun. August 17th - "The Day After". As you can imagine, everyone was very tired and just putzed around the house all day. Every one was busy cleaning up, but finally games were played all day to recuperate for the following day. Some serious Bocce was being played, alongside some fun ping pong! Dinner was leftovers of course. There was so much more lamb and pork left, we could still feed all the mouths. Fabrice and Julien left in the afternoon since Fabrice need to be home for work the next day.

Mon. August 18th - The troops headed out to St. Emilion in the morning in time to do lunch and sitesee. The group split up so as everyone could do what they wanted. Dad, Patrick, Beatrice and I headed over to a winery and visited an enormous wine cellar with room after room of wine lining the walls. There we got to do some wine tasting ourselves. It was such a great time!That night was bittersweet. I had decided to leave with my family and continue on to Belgium with my mom and grandma, which meant that we would all be leaving Bordeaux at 7 am to catch the train back to Paris. Therefore, dinner that night was the our last supper. It's so hard to say goodbye to family. You are all so important to me, it's hard to be so far away!

Tues. August 19th - Dad, mom, grandma, Arnaud, Jessica, Isabella and I took the TGV to CDG in the morning. We finally arrived to the hotel and had lunch there. Then, Arnaud, Jessica and I took the RER to the city and I showed them both around quite a bit. We had dinner in an italian restaurant, Cafe Roma, on the Champs Elysee. It was a fun night, even after getting caught in the deluge in my rainbows!!

Wed. August 20th - We headed out early, dad, Arnaud, Jessica and Isabella went to the airport while mom, grandma and I went to the train station to head to Belgium. We arrived in Vise after not entirely legally riding the train there. Well, we paid our way, just we didn't know that the train we bought tickets for actually continued on directly to Vise. (we had only paid up to Liege-Guillemins). So mom and I concocted a plan for when the men came by again to chec out tickets so we stayed on for the next 2 exits after Liege. I'm such a bad influence aren't ??

Thurs. August 21st - All day we just ran errands and got to hang out. I set up the computer over at the apartment at Evegnee-Tignee. I won't even start telling you all about the SPIDERS everywhere. I'll just leave it at mom and grandma trying to kill them all and me standing in middle of the living room shaking and trembling and wanting so hard to burst out in tears. The rest of the day we were all itchy and felt as though we were covered in them. And as you can imagine, me with my acute arachnophobia, it was not a pretty site.

Fri. August 22nd - Had dinner with mom's side of the family with Oncle Jean, Maggie, Jean, Mammy, and mom.

Sat. August 23rd - Hung out most of the day. Then we went to visit Yola for a while. I then packed my bags ready to be picked up at 4:45 am by the shuttle the next morning.

Sun. August 24th - The shuttle picked me up at 4:45 am as planned and brought me to the train station in Liege. Then I had to switch trains in Bruxelles to head to CDG. From there I caught my plane at CDG airport, had a layover in Philadelphia and finally arrived in LA at about 9 pm.

So there you have it! A run down of each day while off in Europe. It is trips like these that really make me realize what family is. Eventhough we only get together every couple years, when we all see each other it is as if not time has lapsed!!! That's what family is all about isn't it?

Some quick Numbers:

Total Family members: 29
Total people at the party: 60
Amount of RED wine we drank: 50 liters
Amount of coffee drank: 5 kilos
Amount of pasta we ate: 8 kilos

Like Mommy : Like Kitty

Java Brigitte, what a silly kitty. I guess you could say she takes after her mom (ME!). Thanks to my mom for getting these priceless photos of the "little Java baby". She's gotten so much bigger from her days of clinging on for dear life hanging off the toilet bowl. Now, she's into playing with plastic bags. At least she has good taste to play with a Target bag! She knows a good store when she sees the logo. I've taught here well, have I not?

So below is the unraveling of the events of Java getting stuck in the handle of a Target baggy. Just wait until she does her "Super Cat" impression. I hope one of these days we can capture that. Picture this: a cat with a bag held around her head, running down a long hallway, with the bag flailing like a cape! Yes, it has been done, now if only she would do it on cue!

Just the beginning-

slowly getting warmed up

Where are those big eyes of yours Java?

oop, there we go, I see you!

wrestling the bag - I'm thinking Java has won the fight

This one is prob my favorite, capturing the moment

Thanks mom for the fun pictures!!!! Bet the two of you are having fun at the house playing, while I'm not there!!!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Happy Birthday Christine!!!

To celebrate the end of Christine's 22 years, and to ring in year 23, we were so kindly invited to partake in a dinner and dessert. We all met down at Salt Creek to have a picnic of Pick Up Stix and wine.

The parents enjoying the food and drinks

After the meal Christine had a kite she recently bought. It was an EXTREMELY windy night which was perfect for kite flying. Well, we did get it up on the first try, but it also ripped after its first flight.

Christine and I

After we couldn't really get the kite up in the air, our dads decided to partake in the activity.




Never in this lifetime had I thought I would see my dad and godfather try to fly a kite :-)



After many attempts, we thought what was missing was a tail. From the nearby palm trees, Dan broke off a branch that had a hook at the end. It was perfect to attach to the kite, but unfortunately it was too heavy.

*Nice try*

Our dads: nice enough to carry the picnic basket back to the car...

After the picnic, we all headed over to The Melting Pot for dessert. Christine ordered the large dark chocolate fondue, and a small Banana Dolce de Leche fondue.

Cindy Christine and Dan

Dad me and Mom

the group!

It was a really fun evening, eating chocolate and lots of dippers and enjoying a fine Port. Christine - I hope you had a wonderful time last night celebrating, and there is only more to come!

The confusion must span across cultures...

~~~~~~~

Ah les hommes!!!!!!!!

*C'est si compliqué !!!

*Les hommes gentils sont laids.
*Les hommes beaux ne sont pas gentils.
*Les hommes beaux et gentils sont gays.
*Les hommes beaux, gentils et hétérosexuels sont mariés.
*Les hommes qui ne sont pas beaux, mais sont gentils n'ont pas d'argent.

*Les hommes qui ne sont pas très beaux, mais qui sont gentils et ont de
l'argent pensent que nous sommes uniquement intéressées par LEUR ARGENT.
*Les hommes beaux qui n'ont pas d'argent sont uniquement intéressés par
LE NOTRE.
*Les hommes beaux qui ne sont pas très gentils, mais (malgré tout)
hétérosexuels, ne nous trouvent pas suffisamment belles.
*Les hommes (malgré tout) gentils, hétérosexuels, qui ont de l'argent et
qui nous trouvent belles, sont des porcs.
*Les hommes (malgré tout) beaux, (malgré tout) gentils qui ont un peu
d'argent (et grâce au ciel sont hétérosexuels) sont timides et NE FONT
JAMAIS LE PREMIER PAS.
*Les hommes qui ne font jamais le premier pas ne s'intéressent plus du
tout à nous dès lors que nous prenons l'initiative de faire le premier pas.

**Alors, je pose la question .... Y A T'IL QUELQU'UN SUR CETTE FOUTUE TERRE
QUI ARRIVE A COMPRENDRE LES HOMMES ????**

~~~

Sheesh, MEN!!!!

*It’s so complicated!!

*Nice men are ugly.
*Good looking men are not nice.
*Nice, good looking men are gay.
*Good looking, nice, heterosexual men are married.
*Men that are not good looking, but that are nice do not have money.

*Men that are not very good looking, but are nice and have money think we are only interested in their money.
*Men that are good looking that do not have money, are only interested in our money.
*Men that are good looking, but are not very nice, and are (nevertheless) heterosexual, do not find us pretty enough.
*Men that are (nevertheless) nice, heterosexual, who have money, and who think we are pretty, are pigs.
*Men that are (nevertheless) good looking, (generally) nice and that have some money (and thankfully heterosexual) are shy and NEVER PULL THE FIRST MOVE.
*Men who never pull the first move no longer show interest in us if we take the initiate to pull the first move.

**Therefore, I ask, is there anyone on this goddamn earth that understands men??

Everyone Has His/Her Own POV...

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure – right from Day One! – that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was g@y! Can’t you people see the plain truth? That’s why they call it the ‘other side.’ Yes, my friends, that chicken is g@y. And if you eat that chicken, you will become g@y, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like ‘the other side.’ That chicken should not be crossing the road. It’s as plain and as simple as that.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra…#@&&^(C%..........reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?