I've been pretty lazy about blogging lately, but it's not all because I'm a notorious procrastinator. Recently, Guillaume and I have had some very nice company come through our little auberge in Long Beach, which has been (happily) occupying my time off.
Guillaume's friend from school, JB, came 2 weekends ago by way of the Pacific Coast Hwy from Berkeley, where he's also doing an internship. He brought his sister along who was visiting from France, and they pretty much lived like beach-bums during their stay here. I got to see Santa Monica and its beaches for the first time, which I had mixed feelings about. The beach is pretty crappy, with people's litter all over with a bunch of snot-nosed, dirty-diapered kids running wild, but Santa Monica, especially the Promenade, is seriously nice. It's definitely a place I could find myself wandering to occasionally. We discovered Cafe Crepe, a hidden treasure of an eatery there, too...it's the best little Frenchy cafe we've found in the LA area so far, and it's cheap, too!! We've taken 4 French people there (not including Gui), and they've all raved about how great it is! So, besides Santa Monica, we took them to our fave beach, Huntington Beach and got to see the place during a surf competition. I also got super-duper sun-burned while there (pics below), and I'm still peeling from that burn.

Last weekend, we had another pair of visitors, our friend Ber's little sis Steph (and by little, I mean super tall and gorgeous) and her beau, Yves. I'd met Steph in France last summer during my first visit with the kids, but we otherwise didn't know eachother. Their stay turned out to be so much fun...we really enjoyed having them around and it was even cooler that they brought video and pictures from their earlier trip to Texas. It was good (albeit a little sad) to see everyone back home hanging out (and little Oak is soo big!!!), and we got to hear some stories about their visit and what they'd been up to while they were there. We all got (re-)acquainted over a few pints of Foster's, Shiner, Fat Tire and Strongbow at one of our little Irish pubs in Belmont Shore. I finally got to visit the Getty Museum, which was absolutely awesome; the Manet was cool, but I was much more impressed with the Zoopsia exhibit and the museum itself. I'll definitely recommend it to everyone who visits the LA area! Unfortunately, while we were having lunch there Steph came across a nasty bay leaf in her turkey chilli, which nearly killed her (no joke). Luckily, Yves swooped in with the heimlich maneuver and saved the day. But, seriously, she gave us a scare and afterwards, I thought of how Bertrand would never talk to me again if something had actually happened to her! We made sure she chewed her food thoroughly thereafter, and spent the rest of our time on the beaches of Malibu and walking around my favorite place in Venice Beach - the canals. We really enjoyed having them here, and they treated us to a nice dinner at one of our favorite places in Long Beach.
So, a jam-packed last few weeks and now Gui and I are ready to chill this weekend. We've got a lot of laundry to do, too.

Here are some pics of recent adventures with friends - new and old. Good times.


JB left his hat behind...look who's taking care of it now.


Walking....trying to be a photographer.


Our typical liquor store stop (for beer) on the way to HB.


Mom & Joe would be happy ... lots of fishing in SoCal.


A tourist in Santa Monica...there were tons of French peeps!


JB happy in the sun.


Time for a swim.


Santa Monica from the beach.


Santa Monica bridge to the pier.



Pier in Huntington Beach...that's a Ruby's Diner at the end...mmm...shakes.


A sponsor for the surfing competition at HB...so, free energy drinks for all!



HB from the beach....I love this beach.


Cute.



JB & his sis, Matilde.




A nice sunglass tan.


We're brown, man.


And, a little red.


Our dessert from Claim Jumper (we went here instead of the OC Fair which was charging an arm an a leg). I think we made a good choice. :)


Good thing we shared it (and brought it home to eat with Steph & Yves).


Yves & Steph arrived with gifts...flowers & champagne. I love French folks.


Straight to the beach. (Long Beach)


After a pitcher of Foster's and a Strongbow, we finally had dinner.


Mmmm...sweet crepe with lots of CREME ;) (Steph hates cream.)


Guillaume snapped this mid-blink, so I look trashed.


Too bad it wasn't true (I was driving). Hehe.


Yves & Guillaume - La Creperie, Long Beach.



Santa Monica...on the other side of the pier.


Santa Monica.


Santa Monica from PCH coming from Malibu. So nice.


Ah, our new spot when in Santa Monica.


THE best coffee in the world.


Striking a pose.

Looking at the wrong camera.


Looking at the wrong camera :)


We were all so tired at this point...I'm surprised Guillaume's so smiley.


Back to the car....




Guillaume under the pier in Malibu.


Malibu pier



Steph & Yves


Trying to get to the other side of the beach....


A little help, please? :)


Pfff...rocks, schmocks.


Malibu


Yay, we love having visitors!