(photo above) Al and Noah, the two principal authors of this blog (so far), and Bryn, refusing to be silly. We'll get a shot of Shelly and Tristan in soon.

Food. You've heard about French food, right? We haven't been eating in any three-star restaurants yet, but everyday food is worth mentioning. Al is especially fond of green olives stuffed with anchovy paste, and also rhubarb yogurt. The kids eat mounds of bread and croissants (the inspiration for our blog title, "pain au chocolate," is a sort-of croissant with strips of chocolate inside), but a favorite is crepes - with Nutella for Bryn, Al and Noah, and strawberry jam for Tristan.
Nutella - that chocolate spread made from hazel nuts - is fabulous and it's not expensive here. So we're considering it to have the same nutritional value as peanut butter (which is expensive and also scarce).