New Baby Sylvia!

Trains and blocks

Good entertainment for Orion, at our local used book store.

Our friends Bruce & Jeanne visited with their little boy Beckett, and we took a trip on the Essex steam train, up the Connecticut river valley.


Not long now for baby #2.

Our fascinated little boy.

A block structure built by Orion, stable but top-heavy.

An action shot of Orion attempting to lay the next block. You can imagine what happens next.

Languedoc and Provence

Here we are in Montpellier, where Dan had a dark matter conference. Montpellier is an elegant city, with lots of students and nightlife.

The central square in Montpellier, Place de la Comedie, also the location of Orion's favorite carousel.
In Provence, at l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, where Gabe and Dan went to a terrific outdoors antiques market. Gabe is chillin' his feet.

Artichoke flowers at the l'Ilse sur la Sorgue market

A lovely monastery near the house we rented in Provence. A bit earlier and we would have seen the fields of lavender, harvested a few days before we arrived.

Le pont d'Avignon (Sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse...)

Orion has persuaded Uncle Gabe to take him on the carousel.

A magnificent Roman Aqueduct, le Pont du Garde

Cliffs of ochre near the town of Roussillon

A view of Roussillon
Sunset from the back porch of our rental house, 2 km from the nearest town and surrounded by vineyards and orchards.

Orion and I climbed to the nearest village, Venasque, a quaint and pleasant town.

A few houses in Roussillon

On the way back to Barcelona, Orion and I stopped in Collioure, a spectacularly beautiful town near the Spanish border.


Orion had great fun at the pebble beach, throwing rocks into the water.