Things we won't & will miss about Paris...

We are almost ready to leave, so we decided to make a list of will and won't miss.

WE WON'T MISS: 

Josh: dog poop, crowded metro, my apartment, the accent on french words, pickpockets, the rain, rats, the homeless, homeworks, the teachers...

Isa: the waiters in the restaurant, the teachers, the bank, the drunks and the homeless all over the city, the dirt, the rain, the dry-cleaning close to home, the security doors in the metro, the stairs to our front door, the smell in the metro, the weirdos all over town, the hairsalons, our noisy neighbors, the dust on the furnitures, carrying luggages in the metro without elevators, the clercks in public offices, Orange telephone customer service...

WE WILL MISS: 

Josh: crepes, baguettes, pain au chocolat, the view from the Eiffel Tower, the museums, my friends,
casual conversations with people you just met, going to buy groceries across the street all by myself, staying at home while mom and dad are having dinner in a close by restaurant, macaroons...

Isa: the musicians in the metro, the fromagerie and the boulangerie at the corner of the street, picnic in the public parks with cheese and wine, the old buildings, the cabblestone, the health system, my friends, the moules frites, the escargots, the courtyard of our apartment, free museums for the kids, the ads , my colleagues, the monokini, the farmer market every other day, the English bookstore close to the school, my Monday morning coffe-breaks with the other moms, walking around the city at night without fear, not using a car, the poems, french books, the chocolate store, crepes, les baguettes aux cereals, my Navigo card, rock salt, my son talking in French, smoking in a bistro, concerts in churches...

14 Juillet ...it's time for celebrations in Paris

I've been dreaming of a pic-nic "en plein air" in a park, at sunset since the last couple of months...unfortunately the weather has been awful. So I almost gave up but then, on the 14 of July, this opportunity came up again and I was able to fulfill this little dream of mine.

Together with another couple of American friends, we packed some cheese, baguettes, delicatessen and of course wine and we went in the most unusual spot in Paris where too have pic-nic: south of Montparnasse , along the avenue Pasteur, there is a small green area, almost big as a tablecloth, on a steep slope on one side of the curb.

At first sight, you wouldn't think of this spot as a desirable place where to sit and eat on the grass while chatting....but, as usual, we were wrong. After a few minutes from our arrival, the place was packed with people waiting, as we were, to admire the fireworks.  The amount of spectators was close to a thousand, on the grass, on the curb but mostly in the middle of the street, which had been closed to traffic by 9:30 pm. When we arrived there, we understood why this place was so popular: the avenue Pasteur is in straight line pointing to the direction of the Tour Eiffel and this particular area is elevated with respect to the rest of the nearby buildings so that you can enjoy a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower !

The fireworks celebrating the "Prise de la Bastille" were spectacular and lasted more than half an hour , for Josh's greatest enjoyment.

 What a night!

Kids movie night

This Friday, after as many as 64 emails and various program changes, I was able to bring 11 kids to the movie theater to see "John Carter", the latest Disney movie. Initially Giuseppe was supposed to come with me, but as soon as he realized that the number of participants was large, he  brought up a lame excuse of a business dinner. Coward! Luckily three other mothers from the class (Xiaoqing, Patricia and Kim) came to my aid, otherwise I don't know how I could manage all this by myself. The movie, strictly speaking,  was a pain...2hrs and 20 minutes of sufferance! The best part arrived at the end of the film when, at 21:30, a horde of hungry boys literally projected themselves on the streets of Paris, running, chasing each other, strolling around with scooters, in the direction of the pizzeria Les Jardins Contini. I just tried to imagine the terrified faces of the waiters who were waiting for us! Not to mention the other customers of the restaurant who, all of a sudden, found themselves surrounded by screaming kids who were throwing pieces of baguette along the table. We, as responsible adults, made ​​some vain attempt to control the volume, then quickly surrendered to the evidence and ordered the wine. If the owners of the restaurant has accepted the reservation, they surely knew what they were going to get, right? Not our business.

To tell the truth, everything went for the best, thanks to the promptness of the waiter, who informed the young customers that the Coca-Cola was over. Only pizza, water and ... of course, chocolate ice cream. We were later joined by Megan, Mimi, Olga and Linda. 

Patricia, Mimi, Olga and Xiaoqing

At around 22:30, when we, the mothers, were calmly sipping our Limoncello, kindly offered by the restaurant, and chatting, guess what?  All the children, by mutual agreement, got up, slipped on  their jackets and said they were ready to go home! What about the endless times when we, parents, had to drag you out of a friend's house, begging you to come home? Was it this the right moment to become good responsible kids?

Birthday in Disneyland Paris

Am I totally irresponsible?

I'm here, at home. It's 6:14 pm, on a rainy Saturday evening, winds 60 km/hr, waiting for Josh to come back from Disneyland where he spent the day with some classmates to celebrate Anna's birthday party. 

I am wondering: are they going to bring him back home from that busy overcrowded place? Or is he going to get lost? 

This morning I took him to school, where he was supposed to meet all the others. Two adults ("the Braves" Sven and Tom) and a group of crazy wild and uncontrolled kids. It was fun to see them leaving in a black van, with dark glasses and the Diplomatic plate on it. But, hold on, where are the bodyguards?

Then I thought: Sven is the Ambassador of Estonia, he is used to have greater responsibilities than just looking after a bunch of kids, right? 

Here is them, before the trip.

 

Still waiting for the bell to ring.....

Update: it's 19:35 and Josh is at home. Everything is fine! And I can breath again.

 

The Americans are here!!!!!

Jackie, a dear friend that I met in L.A, with her three kids Marco, Michele and Francesca, just arrived in Paris for a very brief vacation. As usual, Maurizio was sick in the hotel.... They spent the entire day at Disneyland Paris and then, famished, they came to the appointment in Pigalle by 9.30 pm. We walked up on Montmartre and we ate at the Taverne de Montmartre...soup d'onion for the kids and pierrade for us! Soooooo delicious! I thought of Nico: he would have loved all that meat. And of course we thought about Etta: you really should have been there!

After dinner we went for a walk to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur where we spent some time looking at the panorama. It was dark..and fogghy :)

Then we realized what was going on around us: drug dealers, pot-smokers, drunks...Not exactly the right place to be around midnight with kids. We took the Funicular for the fastest escape route. Save!

Jackie went back to her hotel by taxi. Next time we'll meet in Rome. We went back home by Metro.

Of course, what does a 10 years old kid do at 1 am, in the Metro in Paris? Read....

First sleepover

Josh invited his new friend Owen home for a movie-sleepover. Owen is his class mate and he is really sweet and funny! Josh was truly excited. I was supposed to feed them and then take them to the movie to watch "Tin Tin". Coming back we would stop at the "Creperie" for some chocolate treat....well, it didn't go exactly as scheduled. 

Of course, as soon as the boys arrived at home, they started playing Lego and they totally forgot about the movie. They even decided to skip the crepe and keep playing. So it was pretty easy for me.

They had a huge Kung-Fu/Greco-Roman wrestling fight just before going to sleep, then bed time story and sweet dreams. I gave up my bed, since I didn't want Owen to wake up in the middle of the night and fall from the loft bed....With his big eyes and his curly hairs, the face of an angel and the voice of innocence, he told me: "Mrs Caire, you can't imagine how my dad is going to be mad at you if something happens to me.". No, honey, I don't want to think about it. Just sleep in my bed, I'll go on the loft bed...

Happy Birthday Josh - 10 wonderful years!

We love you. So much!
Mom & Dad


We organized his BDay party at the EXPLORADOME and all the kids had fun playing, jumping, making music, eating a ton of chocolate and drinking gallons of Coca Cola. The parents, meanwhile, were all busy visiting the nearby Musee d'Art Contemporain du Val de  Marn.