Visit from Great Aunt Claire and family

We had a visit from Milo's great aunt Claire and great uncle Jean-Marc and one of their daughters, Hélène, last Friday. They were passing through Paris on their way to Brittany for vacation. Claire was the last of grandpa Jean-Guy's sister's who hadn't met Milo yet, as they live a ways away in Grenoble in southeastern France, known as the 'capital of the Alps'. It's the leading scientific center in Europe, which besides the great skiing, is probably why Jean-Marc and Claire, who (as far as I can understand!) teaches and does molecular genetic research at a laboratory in Grenoble, chose to live there. Jean-Marc is a psychologist.

Hélène is 14 now, and is a very mature young lady, who seems to already have lots of good insights into people—and babys! I think she'd make a great psychologist like her dad.

We (actually everyone except me, I had to stay home and work) decided to have lunch at the courtyard park situated in the historic center of the Hôpital Saint Louis, just 5 minutes from our apartment. The site was first used in the 14th century to sequester victims of the plague, and the building around the courtyard was built 400 years ago.

Milo had some fussy moments, and Claire and Jean-Marc were quite attentive to their great nephew, offering a pinky to suck on (Milo still can't stand pacifiers) or a shoulder to burp on.