End of year in Europe (Bye 2009)

The entire P team from 7 to 95 wishes you an Happy New Year!


Slowly but surely the 2009 year is creeping out!
For us, this year will be a year to remenber since half of our wonderful trip took place since June!
That said,the last 2 weeks were very exciting as well!
Great time with family and friends, went to Spain and Switzerland for a couple of business meetings then went to Switzerland again to ski with dear friends Jean Claude and Pascal, then stopped in Geneva to visit our friend Daniel before stopping in La Cluzaz to visit family and friends (thank you Marie Claude and Jean Pierre)
Carol and I did our mountain get-away since the kids stayed home in France with Mamie Michele!(the kids were also experiencing a slight case of flu and did not feel too well)
Tonight we will take it easy once again enjoying delicious French food made by Mum!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, BEST WISHES AND PEACE TO THE WORLD!!




Afer consuming 1 ton of Nutella the kids got a free hat!
the chocolate may wire them a bit.....

Jean Claude and Colette's Chalet in the Diableret Switzerland....
A genuine piece of art!

Jean Claude, Pascal and Carol ready to attack the slopes

South of France

Having great time with our friends the Aresten family
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Snow and 6 months gone

Today we are celebrating 6 months since we left home!
The kids are enjoying the snow storms and the view from Mum's place!

Back in France!

Getting ready for Christmas while the snow is covering the French landscape!
We are very far from Morocco!

Last pictures from Morroco!

We went to Issaouirra for an Ocean experience, had great seafood and a bit of rain!
Then friends Rodolphe,Sofia and kids and Mickael showed up and we had more great time and food with friends.....and a thrilling last scooter ride in the Souks.....
Tonight final diner with our host Christine and Aziz who have been treating us like family....we had such a good time in a beautiful place!
Tomorrow Wednesday we will go back to Europe for couple weeks of family time in France before returning to US early January!(for couple weeks)

Luca and Aziz playing videogames

Luca has finally found the right size Nutella can!

Fresh lunch at the ocean

Issaouirra in the mist

Fort in Issaouirra

Argan oil goat!they climb the tree, eat the argan fruits (like olives) spit the seed.......and the oil is made out of the seed......tricky!

Eating at the outdoor market

Alec riding bike at midnight in the street of Marrakech

Diner at Rodolphe's Riad with our friends

More Pictures of Morroco

Maman and 2 boys finally met us after being delayed 1 day in Geneva due to a cancelled flight!
We have been discovering since!

Sharing a bridge with locals over the Ourika river

Camel riding

Everybody looks happy

Safran smelling at the farm.....Safran is rare and expensive!

Local pastries are among the best in he world...our opinion!

enjoying the Riad!

Wild fruits in the mountains

Look behind the boys in the valley....restaurant table everywhere!

Carol in front of the main square ready to drive thru

Dodging locals in the souk.....so much fun doing what is unthinkable outside of emerging countries

could not resist , we had to rent a scooter and tour the freeways of Marrackech

Eric’s Hammam! Scarier than diving with sharks…(no pictures on this one..Fortunately)

I Don’t know how this happened without thinking about it twice, but ,
I ended up alone in a semi seedy Hammam (Moroccan Massage parlor and steam bath).
My friendly 200 pound bath attendant invited me in the changing room and asked me to get in my swimming suit (meaning Speedo around here)!
Fortunately I had bought one a few days earlier since most Euro swimming pools do not allow surfing trunks for health reasons?????
While I was getting ready I was not without noticing that my bath guy was removing his clothes as well!
That said, we ended up face to face, me in my black speedo , him in his blue one!
First step was the shower where he supplied me a bunch of soap and even washed my hair!
Then things got serious, he asked me to lay down in the wash room and covered me with a pasty soap! He then proceeded to cook me up in the steam room!
Once I got drenched with sweat (the room was over 100 degrees) he came back with a second coating of soap! Another 10 minutes steaming while we talked about what guys in a steam room talk about….Girls and kids.
Out of the steam room he threw buckets of water at me to rinse me up and covered me with argyle this time, kind of like a mud fight!........Easy Speedo boy…easy!!!!!
More sweating in the steam room then the buckets again then the torture with a “sand Paper” like glove to clean up skin and remove the old one…. (exfoliating!)
This was amazing how much dead skin he removes, kind of gross too!
Back to the shower where he asked me to remove my swimsuit and here we went again for wash hair etc…….at that point I was docile and submissive….
He dried me up with a large towel and got me in the massage room, mint tea to relax then applied rose water on my face !
He dimmed the light, made me lay down on my stomach and started the massage with some exotic oil!
Here I was in a dark room in my birth suit listening to Mullahs calling people to prayer ( outside…..)
The massage went great and I was then released to the real world…..how fun was that!
Definitely not for everyone but sometime it is great to do things without knowing or thinking about it!

PS: this is a real story...........nothing but the truth!

Carol on Morocco………

Carol on Morocco………
We’ve all been asked numerous times which country is our favorite. Well, I can never say because I have loved all of them. Thailand and Vietnam are really high on the list, but Mongolia was so fascinating! But if I had to choose it would be Morocco. After only a day I felt so completely taken by this place! We are in a Riad (guest house) right in the middle of a Souk which is in the middle of a Medina in Marrakech. Time seems to have stood still here. It is so stimulating in every way and appeals to all senses. There are donkey carts hauling loads of mint, men in cloaks selling their wares, veiled women out working the souk or socializing with friends, there are young children zipping around on their bicycles. Its very lively and awakens all of your senses. I am so taken by the colors of the spice market and the beautiful hand embroidered dresses and scarves. This place is a feast for the eyes! The cuisine is tantalizing. Everywhere you can find the most amazing tagines and cous cous platters spiced with saffron, cumin and paprika and other spices we intend to discover! You can smell the spice and olives as you walk by the merchants who are very kind about educating you on all of the flavors. There seems to be a natural cure for everything! Sweetened Mint tea is the drink of choice here and it is truly a treat!! This place inspires me and if I was an artist, I would definitely live here! Like Eric, I also had the Hammam experience. He describes it so well! The funniest part for me is that the minute I walked in, the girl threw a huge bucket of water on me. It was so harsh but so funny!! A great experience.
Tomorrow, Eric’s mama and the kids join us for this great experience!!

Pictures from Marrakech

Marrakech here we are!

After a great evening with Daniel and Chantal we had a short night before leaving hotel at 5am for Airport!
The 3 hours flight was flawless and we were happy to find sunshine and heat again!
The boys stayed with my mum in France untill Thursday to allow us to have 3 days of honeymoon!
Bit tired so far since last week was brutal!
We are really enjoying the culture and people of this wonderfull city!
We had to understand the hawkwers mentality again but we are almost back in control!
We will relax the next few days


The boys with Justin after his Saturday victory

Our Riad in the medina of Marrakech

Me typing the blog

Nyon Switzerland

Enjoying the little town od Nyon Switzerland after great lunch with friends Guiseppe and Ursula!

Our old car

We reunited with our car that left the sunny skies of Florida for a new life in Switzerland with new owner Mat!
We miss her!

Justin won saturday

The victory table

Geneva sx

Talking race strategy with Justin!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Alec'first heavy metal concert

Combichrist and Rammstein tonight
Rock on!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Driving to Geneva

5 in a " bingo" on our way to Switzerland
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

"Maman" birthday

Today was my mum's birthday!
We had a great lunch with all the the boys (5 of us) then went out for dinner in the evening at an italian restaurant!
Good day!
Tomorrow we are moving to Geneva via a stop in Lyon to see grand ma and a Rammstein concert......rock on!

Flashback on Genova

A picture of the King of Genova with Paul Lindsey, Francesco and Ricky on left and the P team on the right!

Driving back from Italy

Alec Justin and Heath enjoying the view of one of the best switch back road in France !
Click on pix to expand to see road behind them!

Genova SX

Alec and friend Philippe in ITaly for SX watching race from the very cool Airoh helmet semi!
Justin Brayton and Josh Grant won the races with JB getting the overall!
Justin is going to stay with us in France untill Geneva SX!
We are going to have fun!