our alsatian adventure

Paris Trip

Seth and I decided to take a quick trip to Paris last week. It was a four day weekend so we were able to take the TGV up from Basel on Thursday and shoot back on Sunday...

 

We left Basel just before lunch and were sitting in our rented Parisian apartment by mid-afternoon...

 

We stayed right near my original apartment in Paris - in the 5th arr. - right at the bottom of Rue Mouffetard. It was a cozy little spot with a view over the St. Medard church, two cafes and a fountain...

 

 

There was also a good view up rue Mouffetard - a bit noisy with the market starting early in the AM and stragglers out at night until 2 or 3AM...

 

After settling in and buying a few groceries to stash in the kitchen (major advantage over a hotel...) we were off and up rue Moufettard. First purchase - a beret for Seth. He has always wanted to walk through Paris with a beret....so for 4 euros we made the dream come true.

 

Then it was off to see the sights -

The Pantheon...

Notre Dame...

 

The next day we were up early to see the Eiffel Tower - Seth has always wanted to see it - and gasped when he walked around the corner and caught sight of it...

 

I was a bit shocked by the lines...but we waited for an hour and a half and made it to the top (which had been closed by the time we got down due to the high number of visitors)

 

 

Then after a lunch break and a rest in the apartment we were off the Jardin des Plantes for a quick walk and a crepe. Then we tried North African food for dinner - Seth like the mint tea best. And finally a late evening trip up the Arc de Triomphe.

 

This gave us a great view of the Eiffel Tower...

 

Of course every single day started with a coffee and hot chocolate...

Either at the bar -

 

Or sitting outside -

Seth made it his quest to meet as many dogs as possible...

 

The highlight of the trip was probably playing in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Seth climbed in the playground...

 

And loved chasing his rented boat around the Octagonal Lake...

 

Then there was the relaxing and people watching...

 

 

By day four we were pretty tired out - it was a busy long weekend with lots of exploring and eating different types of food...plus staying up late. But we had a wonderful time in Paris. All of the pictures from the trip are on flickr.

I shall return

Just over 10 years ago I moved to Paris. Can it be that long ago? It was early May 1999. It seems like a world away. And although it wasn't easy - and wasn't what I expected - I knew that I'd return to Europe to live...and here we are. But I haven't been back to Paris since Emily and I left our apartment in late 1999 (hmm..anyone confused...living with another woman while married???) Although the program  I signed up for wasn't exactly as advertised Emily and I had a good time and will always have the experience of living in Paris.

This time I am going with Seth and staying right in the 5th arr. right near my first apartment. I had a good luck/bad luck situation when I lived there - great neighborhood - horrible accomodations!! I was rescued by Emily and moved to the 16th arr. into a wonderful place for the remainder of the year. She was also able to leave some luggage behind at her old place... Anyway. It will be fun to show Seth the city. I am so much more comfortable with this trip compared to our 'boys trip' last spring when we went to London. I know Paris - plus we are taking the train and staying in a one bedroom apartment. So easy.... I can't wait to see his reaction when he gets there!

Happy Birthday

The blog is now 3 years old! Imagine that - three years ago we started this to keep track of our move to Switzerland. Things have been quiet lately - maybe a combination of being settled and busy. It is amazing how much life has changed for us in so many ways... I wonder what things will be like three years from now. I'll be over 40 and the Seth will be 9 and Fiona will be nearly 7...

Luck of the Irish

Seth came storming in the house the other day - DAD! DAD!!!! I FOUND A FOUR LEAF CLOVER!!

You see - here they don't use any pesticides or chemicals to kill "weeds" - so our yard is full of clover, dandelions, wild flower, etc... Nice to look and and fun for the kids but OH so bad for the allergies. That is another story.

So I checked it out - it was in fact a four leaf clover - he was so excited. He ran back outside with his friend happy as could be. I went out a few minutes later and my neighbor said she asked him what he was going to wish for. Seth said - just for everyone around the world to be happy and get along. That was it.

I went to get the clover from him so we could press it in a book or something only to learn that he had throw the clover back into the grass so someone else could find it... I like these rare selfless moments.

Oh, how times have changed...

So, I was reading Fiona a bedtime story tonight, Nurse Nancy (1st printing, 1952).  Actually, she wanted to read it to me.  So she started with the front cover, pointed to the girl and said, "This is Dr....Suess."  Then pointed to the boy and said "And this is the nurse."  Once she opened the book, the story pretty much went like this: 

"Dr. Seuss went to school for a really long time and then she became a doctor.  She didn't have anything to do, then the boys came in and one got a cut.  Dr. Seuss needed to clean it and put him to bed.  Then the Mommy hugged Dr. Seuss and told she was the best Dr. in the whole world."  The end.

I just had to laugh since in 1952, the thought of the girl being the "best doctor in the world" would probably have not even occurred to any girl reading this story.  Times really have changed.  :-)

Holidays

We are in the heart of holiday season here. Today is May Day - we have the day off. We have a couple more long weekends coming up this month. And of course who could forget the 5 day Easter weekend...Great news for us as we celebrated Easter on Easter Monday (we traveled on Easter Sunday) The kids had the annual egg hunt in the back yard.

 

 

 

 

Of course it wasn't too hard to find the eggs this year - just Seth and Fiona were hear for the egg hunt. This year seemed to be filled with Easter celebrations - school just wouldn't stop. We made Easter bonets, boiled eggs, hunted for eggs, rolled eggs, etc...  The kids enjoyed it. Well - Seth did. Not sure what Fiona thought of the egg hunt at school. She found it a bit overwhelming - and being the smallest in the class her egg take wasn't so great.

It is also birthday season - the kids seem to have more friends with birthdays in the spring.

One recent party featured ponies...

Fiona seems happy enough - odd considering the smallest cat will cause her to hide and scream and cry... She is not an animal lover.

Then the pony moved:

 

She got down REAL quick. Animals are for eating not riding or playing with. That is her mentality. When Fiona is hungry she will often see an animal like a cow or rabbit and say - let's just tear the skin off and eat it!!! True carnivore

Seth liked the ride - he has done it before and he doesn't fear animals. It is so strange what certain children fear. Fiona fears animals and when we leave her unexpectedly - she also stays close to us when we are in public. If she knows she is going to be without us separation is fine - play dates without me are not a problem. Seth on the other hand doesn't really mind when we disappear or he walks away from us in public - always has. BUT he has such anxiety leading up to separating from us - he is better now but at 3.5 years old it was nearly impossible.

We have also had time for some relaxation at the salon this spring...

 

And playing with friends...this is Fiona with Evie and her wonderful hat!

 

The garden is coming along...

 

 

The allergies have been quite severe this year as well - for me anyway. My eyes were red, puffy and watering for about 3 weeks - after numerous trips to the doctor and several medications things seem to be under control... The weather has been wild - going from cold in March to super-warm and now to rainly and cool with a bit of sun here and there. The kids (especially Fiona) are insisting on wearing summer clothes now.

The kids are getting geared up for summer - a week in Ireland with grandparents and then a week in France with friends...plus soccer camp for Seth and then 2 weeks of kids camp for both Seth and Fiona.