Paris—Day 3

Today was/is Mardi Gras, and in Paris that means only two things: One, children in costume like it's American Halloween, and Two, tomorrow will be busy at the huge cathedrals. Needless to say, I'm glad we've hit the churches we really wanted to see before Ash Wednesday changes the simplicity and beauty of the Parisian churches. We hit St. Germain-des-Pres, where Descartes is buried, and St. Sulpice with its Fountain of the Four Bishops, which has beautiful Delacroix murals and which Dan Brown popularized in The Da Vinci Code. Most of what he wrote was false, by the way.

We also explored a little while at the Musée D'Orsay, which specializes in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. We reveled in the works of Degas, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Rodin, and so many others. It was a spectacular stroll through the transformed train station, and there was even a special artifact-based display on Gustav Mahler, the famed conductor.

We enjoyed a little Pierre Hermé in Luxembourg Gardens and had our photo taken at the Medici Fountain which was serene and beautiful, and surrounded by couples, including a little duck family around the back of the fountain in their own private pool. If you've never heard of Pierre Hermé, by the way, it's a good little Google moment wherein you can perhaps appreciate what amazing little pastries we experienced there. They are, perhaps, the best in Paris, and therefore the world. The best part is that we didn't have to wait in line as I'd feared.

The gardens were peaceful and full of real Parisians basking in today's warm rays, enjoying picnics, jogging, and leisurely strolling through. It is the largest Park in Paris, and truly a treat to wander through. There are so few tourists, and people all looked relaxed; we appreciated it very much. We did a little shopping at La Grand Epicerie, saw the haute couture boutiques on the South Bank of the River, and headed home for some afternoon rest. We got lost coming out of the metro station, but with a little brave exploration, we found that it was a great station exit, quite close to our apartment.

We ran out for some falafel at the famous L'As du Falafel, and it was Liz's first. We both enjoyed it immensely, and wandered over to the Picasso museum which was, of course, closed until next year for renovations. On the plus side, however, much of its contents is on tour around the world, so look for it visiting at a museum near you.

We made some nice mushroom three cheese pasta with tomato and roquette and enjoyed it with what was one year voted the best baguette in Paris. They hold a competition every year, so the prize constantly changes. I tell you what—that was an amazing baguette; I'm glad we got another for breakfast.

Today was a fresh 60˚, so we planned to return to the Eiffel Tower tonight. A friend of mine suggested that going up the tower often seems a let-down because when you look out at Paris, you can't see the Eiffel Tower. To counteract that tentative disappointment, we planned an evening trip so we could see the city lights at their best. It was spectacular, and I highly suggest it to anyone who might consider it! It was so glorious to gaze upon the city of lights from the highest point in the city, and sneak a kiss or two with the love of my life.

Paris—Day 2

And what a day it has been! We started the day with a croissant and pain au chocolat while Liz checked email and I blogged about yesterday. We checked out of our hotel, then began our leisurely walk toward our apartment to meet our landlord. We lugged our rolling suitcases behind us, and we didn't mind one bit as they clattered along, sometimes on concrete, sometimes on brick, sometimes on cobbles. It reminded me of a year ago as Justin, Jodi, Jaime, Liz and I wandered aimlessly through the streets of Shanghai hoping to find a hotel that would allow 5 foreigners for the night. We were glad to know where we were going and that a nice warm space would be there for us when we arrived.

We needed to buy a new flat iron for Liz after our faith in our voltage converter was rewarded with popping, crackling, melting, a little fear on my part, and some angry tears on Liz's part, so we stopped at BHV, one of the most unique megastores I've ever experienced, and marveled at seven floors of designer brands, clothing, parfum, art supplies, cookware, home electrics, electronics, and just about everything else you can imagine, including off-brands, store brands, and the best names in just about everything. It's what I think Saks Fifth Avenue would look like if it was acquired by WalMart, which , of course, it might be some day, which would be great, because I'd love to have a neighbourhood BHV.

We met our landlord, a wonderful woman named Laurence, and settled into our beautiful little apartment. You can see the interior and the courtyard here.

We then set out for a day of adventure. This was the coldest day of the week, which we had initially planned to spend at the Louvre, but we got a late start, so we'll plan that for another cold(-ish) day.

Instead of spending the day wandering leisurely through the great art of the world, we huddled together in a line along the North face of Notre Dame praying that the wind and the cold would not steal away our very souls. An hour and a half later, we ascended the spiral staircase of the North tower. It was narrow, and hundreds of steps, but we got not only exercise, but also beautiful views of the city in all directions. It was fun to see Paris laid out in every direction without the hindrance of six-story buildings. We could Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, The Eiffel Tower, and the Pantheon, and it made Paris feel rather small.

We also gazed upon the gargoyles that guard the Cathedral and had a nice private moment with the Grand Bell of the tower. We descended the opposite tower, and were relieved to feel the sun on our faces as we finally emerged at the bottom. We took a quick turn inside the great gothic cathedral, then set off for more adventure.

We headed South off the island and found ourselves at the Pantheon. We didn't pay the 8€ each admission to wander around inside, but we understand that it's the place where M. Foucault proved that the earth was revolving using his now famous pendulum, which is still there. We wandered toward Rue St. Michel, Liz bought a scarf that makes her look like a movie star, took some photos, wandered through the flower market, and checked out the Palace of Justice and L'Église-Saint Chappelle within its walls. We paused for photos on Pont St. Michel, then headed for home.

We stopped for a moment because we saw this awesome structure, Le Tour-St. Jacques, which is the remnants of a church that used to be on this site. It was a meeting place for pilgrims of all nationalities since the tenth century, and it has a statue of Pascal at the base. It was cool.

We popped home for a quick rest and foot rub, then headed to MORA, a cooking supply store not far from here to see about finding a crepe pan. Well, the good crepe pans are worth the €, but they are heavy, so I'll have to determine whether I'm able to get one home. I did grab a few little kitchen goodies, though. Interestingly, at the store, you go to one counter where they ring up your purchases, then hand you a receipt. You take the receipt to the register where you pay, then when you return to the first counter, your items are wrapped, bagged, and ready to go. Very efficient, and a great service, in my opinion.

We enjoyed dinner in, just a baguette with roast pork from the charcuterie, some stinky cheese, and roquette, which I think is similar to/the same as arugula. It was a good dinner, but definitely some new flavours for us; we were glad to have bread and pork to fall back on. Liz has a little work to do tonight, so we're in for the evening, and glad to be resting. Vacation should involve rest, no?

Paris—Nous sommes arrivés!

We made it! The day was extra long, with a leisurely afternoon at the Montreal airport, but if I’m going to be stuck in an International terminal, that’s a pretty good one to choose. The flight was full, uneventful, and we arrived in Paris around 8:30 in the morning. By the time we got our luggage and found our way into the city, it was coming on 11, so we dropped our luggage at the hotel, then set out so as not to miss a thing on our first day in Paris.

Our first purchase in Paris was our train tickets, of course, but our second was les macarons, a little meringue sandwich cookie that’s all the rage here and, well, everywhere else too. We both tried chocolate, and I ventured bravely with a rose flavoured one. Initial reaction? It tastes like perfume, but I think I could get used to it. They were like nothing I’ve ever had before, both taste and texture, and were an excellent introduction to culinary France. Liz tried to capture my “this is so good I could die” face, but every shot ended up looking like “this tastes like a toddler’s diaper,” so I’m not including them here. Apparently I need to work on my expressive faces.

Because we couldn’t check into our hotel until after 1, we wandered down Rue de Rivoli, and watched thousands of people running the Paris half-marathon. This is the third time I’ve been on vacation and run into a marathon: Rome, Madison, and now Paris. Perhaps I should stop watching and starting running the first mile and collapsing on the ladies serving water and bananas. We’ll see.

We hopped on the metro and headed for the Louvre, because we thought it would be a great way to spend a Sunday that wouldn’t require too much mental exertion on our part. Unfortunately, the first Sunday of the month is Free Admission to the Louvre day, and the half-kilometer line was not moving at an inviting pace. So, we took some photos, then headed to the Eiffel Tower.

By this time we were exhausted and realized that we didn’t really want to do anything but take a nap, so we opted not to go up the tower today, but we’ll definitely do it another day this week, perhaps even at night so we can see the City of Lights in all its splendor. I don’t think we’ll be taking the stairs, but you never know what might happen when you combine my thirst for adventure with Liz’s ever-present thrift.

Because we were on that side of town, we popped over to the Arc de Triomphe, then got on the train back to the hotel. We split a baguette sandwich with chicken, then settled in for a one hour power nap that turned into a glorious three hour (or more!) siesta and awoke refreshed and ready for evening adventure.

Of course, evening adventure consisted mostly of a leisurely dinner of les sandwichs at the same café where we bought our lunch, and a stroll down to Le Bastille, where there is no prison, because it was torn down in the revolution, but there is shiny new opera house and a monument to the citizens who died in the later revolts of 1830. Many of them are buried in a crypt below the monument, which now sits center in one of Paris’s massive traffic roundabouts.

So, there's day one. More tomorrow!

Swimming Lesson

Michael and Joshua have been taking swimming lessons for over a year now and love it. But poor Jacob has been left out because the homeschool class is for 6 and older. Some of the moms have talked about trying to put together a class for the younger kids but we haven't had enough interested to get the class going until now. So, now Jacob gets to take lessons right before the older boys' class. It is perfect timing and he gets to enjoy swimming with his friends. Here are some fun pics that I just had to post! Oh, and in case you didn't notice he looks just like all of his friends. It is the cutest thing ever!

On the first day Jacob jumped right off the diving board but went under pretty far, so he was a little more hesitant this time. Other than that he has loved it and will hopefully be a swimmer before we know it!

Garden Planning!

I can't believe it's that time already! Hope springs eternal, I suppose, and my hope is in a rich vegetable crop. We've ordered clean, manured fill and seeds, and I just have to pick up some local potatoes and onions when the time is right. Within a couple weeks, there will be seeds growing on shelves in my dining room, starting themselves toward a promising future in our fantastic garden! I used an online planner to plan out our space, and I loved it. It lets you drag to fill a space with vegetables, and then tells you how many of the plants will grow in that much space so you know exactly what yield to expect and how many seeds to buy. Then it compiles a seed list for you. It's a free trial, but I might spring for the yearly fee ($25) so it will save my plans from year to year and advise me on planting for next year (it will tell me how to rotate my crops to keep my soil healthy.) It also sends me emails about what should be planted when, so I got an email today telling me that my garlic chives can be started indoors within the next two weeks. Score! You can find it at GrowVeg. If you're a garden novice like me, you might just love it. Here's my spring garden plan. You can't really see them all, but there are small boxes of herbs on the left (14 types—YUM!) plus a box of leafy greens and radishes that will become broccoli, kale, and brussels sprouts in the fall, cabbages, cauliflower and tomatillos along the fence, eggplant, pole beans, peas, fennel, garlic, echinacea, TOMATOES!, peppers, carrots, parsnips, onions, zucchini, and potatoes. We're still on the fence (pun intended) about the strawberries along the front, but we'll see what happens.

It makes me feel so prepared. Now, all I have to do is build those 20 boxes . . .

All done!

So, Michael and I did the lasts of this today, and we're happy to not be shoveling right now and for the next few days. I have to record here that Michael was the true titan of snow removal for this storm. He shoveled Tuesday before we left for Peoria, helped me that afternoon, got us first thing Wednesday to tackle it, and was out again this morning before I was even out of bed to clear out what the plows left behind. On Tuesday he told the neighbour that, on a scale of 1 to 10, he likes shoveling about a 7. This morning he informed me that it's now more like a 4. I suppose too much of a good thing can influence your excitement.

Despite his waning affection, he never yielded. He started first, worked until he was exhausted, then asked for help to finish. He and I discussed this morning how difficult it was getting for him to get the snow over the mountainous drifts that only grew as we shoveled. Still, he shoveled on, carrying the icy blocks to the edge and lifting them over. How can a Dad hope for any more than that from or for his children in the work arena? I predict this one will be quite successful in whatever he chooses because he has learned to work hard and long.

Here's the evidence of his efforts.

Snowstorms, shovels, and neighbourhoods

Just for the record, it's not shoveling.

at all.

Shoveling is when you take your shiny shovel and push snow to the edge of the driveway, toss it up over the edge, and repeat until your cracked concrete shows its smiling face once again from house to street.

This was not like that.

at all.

This was using the world's largest spatula and carefully carving gigantic masses of snow cake that you carefully carry to the edge of the yard and feed to the constantly bloating, ever so ungrateful lawn and then turning around to grab the lower layer left behind because the spatula wasn't big enough and you weren't strong enough to get it all at once. I can now, with certainty, testify that our lawn has enjoyed its fill of snow cake.

Despite the inclement and unpleasant weather, I saw something in our neighbourhood I've never before observed: Our neighbours spoke to one another and to us! Michael helped Tim and Jill with their driveway yesterday so they could get their cars to the garage, and this afternoon I was able to help our new neighbour (NEW NEIGHBOURS!) Josh finish off his. I watched as Jill helped our across the street neighbour finish his drive, and marveled at the way this storm got us all out at the same time in a place where we could talk and laugh about the monumental task set before each of us.

After a few hours we're now all safe and warm and back inside where we should be, and according to the unplowed roads we'll be here for a good while yet.