It's my birthday in Paris

I turned what... 2009-1971. That's how I have to figure out how old I am. I think after you're like 25, you start to forget your age until you hit a big round number like 30, 40, 50, etc. 65 is another biggie or is it 67 now for social security or retirement? Anyway so today I turned 38. Two more years til the big four oh. It's the end of the day in Paris. John is putting the kids to sleep. I got a voicemail from my sister with her singing happy birthday and an email. Also got an email from my brother and chatted with him last night. I'm signing on to Instant Messenger to see if my dad remembers but he's not online. Birthdays was my mom's thing. I miss her calling me up to wish me Happy Birthday. Oh, just checked my hotmail and there's a birthday message from my dad. Hooray!

John took me and the kids to a nice restaurant nearby for lunch.

You can see where we were sitting, right by the door. I'm not a fan of eating outside because of the cars driving by and the great view of the garbage cans. Some of the restaurants are a little farther from the street, so we might eat outside then. Asia also isn't a fan of eating outside. Unless it's specifically a picnic in a grassy area.

The place was called Maison Chardenoux. Here's a pic of some of the menu:

Here's Zach playing on John's cell phone. He now officially calls it WT - Waste Time. He'll signal a W and then a T with his fingers, meaning, "Dad, can I waste time?" It keeps him quiet at the restaurants. The appetizer here is the muskmelon balls, sauternes jelly and basil sorbet. It was really good. The basil sorbet was in this little shot glass and Asia eventually drank it all up.

This is the foie gras - duck liver with fig chutney. Very smooth and silky.
Another great appetizer was the panned squid with Espelette pimiento. The squid was fresh and not rubbery at all.

This is one of the main dishes - Casseroled codfish with fresh peas and country bacon. The country bacon was more like stewed ham and was really good.

This is the other main dish - stewed pork with potato puree.

After dinner we went to two parks that the kids don't go to as often. There was a group of Asia women there with there kids. They were speaking Mandarin and maybe Taiwanese. I couldn't always catch what they were saying, but one lady there was really animated and somewhat loud. I could tell that she was quite a character in a good way. Someone who'd keep you laughing and entertained. Afterwards, we went home. The kids played a little computer and I read. It was nice and relaxing. Asia even decided to do the dishes, though she used the hand soap instead of the dish soap. And she wiped down the counters.

The kids started to get bored, so we decided to do some painting. John had bought all these canvasses and paints in a Toronto dollar store thinking that he'd take the kids to the Eiffel tower area and other scenic areas so they could paint what they saw, but he confessed to me later that he wasn't sure how to even get them started if he did take them out to paint. I was the one who usually did craft stuff with the kids. Unfortunately, Asia got frustrated with her paintings and went into a crying fit. I explained to her that you could let the paint dry and then paint over it, but she didn't want to wait for the paint to dry. Plus I think she was hungry so she couldn't cooperate. You can see Zach's 2 paintings on this side - one of a snow-capped mountain and the other of a bug. The picture on the bottom is one I did of the view from the balcony.

Eventually Asia got out of her funk when John came back from the store and I asked her to go help her dad get the birthday dinner ready. Asia loves to help with things like that - decorating, setting the table, etc. She had made me a card earlier and it took her quite an effort to save it til lunchtime for me to read. She kept handing it to me earlier saying that I could read it now or at the restaurant but that it would be better if I waited til the restaurant.

John took this picture of the birthday dinner and cake. Great picture, n'est-ce pas?

Finally a good restaurant

The goal today was to get haircuts and go shopping. Zach and John have both had their hair cut already and both look pretty good. Asia needs a trim. I was thinking of getting something new. Every now and then, I like to go to a good salon and ask them what they think I should do with my hair. The hairdresser inevitably asks me about my lifestyle. After finding out that I'm a work-at-home mom who spends very little time on my hair and gets haircuts once every 6 months, I usually end up with a bob that if I really wanted to, I can curl under or out. I can't seem to get away from this haircut. So I thought, maybe I can go to some French hairdresser and not tell her about my occupation or lifestyle and see what happens. Of course, the risk is the language barrier. I could be trying to say, keep it chin-length, and they might think cut it as short as possible. I called one place nearby and made an appointment for 5:30 PM (I think) with dismay after hearing that no one there spoke French. They didn't even take my name down so I didn't feel too guilty about not showing up. I read some reviews from ex-Pats about a place that would take me some time on the Metro to get to, but both hairdressers speak English. I just didn't think it's worth the trip. I also found a place called Alternative that's in the area that I planned to go shopping in, so instead of calling, I decided to walk by it and see what clientele they had - like to make sure some lady doesn't come crying out of the shop or someone with a really bad hairstyle or find that only men get their hair cut there. The name worried me a bit too - Alternative. Would this be a place you go for a mohawk? Anyway, when Asia and I walked by during our shopping excursion, the place wasn't even there. It was a more expensive hairstyling salon. This is not the first time that a restaurant or store that I've wanted to go to has been renamed to a different restaurant or store. I wonder if it's just a change of management and still the same chef.
The good thing about the day is that John and Zach had gone out earlier to do some shopping for school clothes for Zach and we ended up meeting up unplanned. Asia and I were taking a break eating a late lunch at a restaurant when I looked out the window and saw John and Zach waiting to cross the street. So they joined us and we did some more shopping. It's a little daunting when you're not exactly sure what a sale sign says. Is that buy the first one and then get the second one for 1 Euro or is it that the second is 1 Euro off or what? Does the red smiley face card mean something different from the blue smiley face card on the sales item? Anyway, live and learn.
We also hit the jackpot on a really great restaurant. A lot of the places we've eaten so far have been fine, at least one good dish, but nothing really exciting. This time, we ran into a place called L'Ebauchoir on Rue de Cietaux. We first went to this one restaurant that looked really neat inside because it had all these different kinds of sofa's, but they only served sandwiches. Asia and I am not a fan of sandwiches for dinner, so we turned the corner and saw this other restaurant. It was 7 PM and the restaurant opened at 7:30, so I made a reservation and then we hung around the outside of the restaurant. John walked off to grab a snack and drink since he was starving. The kids recorded a video for another of their Harry, Buzzard and Goober shows. Their imaginary radio characters have been to the Pantheon, the cemetary, and the apartment. Now the rue Faubourg area. I haven't put the videos on Youtube or anything yet because they're pretty long but quite funny.
So the bill for L'Ebauchoir was quite expensive, but what you would expect for the service and quality of food. This is the first restaurant that refilled our water carafes without us asking. The waiter spoke great English and was very nice. He explained the menu for us since we couldn't figure out most of the menu. One pork dish that we ordered - when I looked it up, the definition was something like filthy pig. One of the tricks of the restaurant is that they give you a bottle of wine, if you want wine, and you pay for how much you drink. So of course, we drank the whole 21 dollar bottle - a 2005 Massereau Bordeaux. So here's an idea on the bill in euro's:
1 Tartare - a white fish - excellent - 11.00
1 Oeufs Poches - poached egg in mushroom sauce - also really good - 9.00
2 rascasse (rascasse a la plancha, legumes a l'huile d'olive de Provence citronee)- this was a white fish entree. John told the waiter that we haven't had any good fish yet and the waiter recommended that we try this dish. It was so good and I didn't even try it at first since John and the kids devoured it, so we ordered another one. The dish was 19 euro's each.
1 puree truffe (puree de pomme de terre aux brisures de truffe) - this was a potato puree with some truffles in it. delicious. Asia and I really liked it. 6.00
1 cote de cochon fermier cuite a basse temperature, peche rotie et miel de l'Ardeche (if I wrote it down right) - this was the pork boneless ribs with a roasted peach and side of mashed potatoes. the gravy was sweet brown and we ate it all and wanted more. 19.00
1 gauteau riz - I think the restaurant must be famous for this. It was called something like grandmother's recipe rice pudding and there was a replica of the dish on the wall as part of the decor. You get this 11 inch rectangular baking dish full of rice pudding that was caramelized and tasted somewhat like flan. We couldn't finish it and weren't even sure if we were supposed to eat the whole thing. I was thinking it was another one of those pay for how much you eat, but John said that'd be unsanitary. The whole dessert was only 6.50. It could have fed 6.
1 millefeuilles - this is a dish that the kids ate up. it had these small thin wafer cookies with caramel ice cream in them and caramel whipped cream.

So the total bill? A whopping 117 euro's which includes tax and tip. But it was all worth it.

Paris Tooth Fairy

Asia woke up this morning and noticed her tooth she lost last night was still under her pillow. John told her that the tooth fairy was still on Pittsburgh time so it was still night there. Asia got 2 Euros for that front tooth.

The thin French

I've been wondering how the French stay so thin. I know that the questions been asked before and is quite the cliche. I still have to wonder. Most of the dishes you get at the restaurants are really fatty or rich and then all the white bread. Can I ask for a wheat baguette and not be laughed at? It's even difficult to ask for rice or noodles instead of the sauted potatoes or french fried potatoes that accompany most dishes. Maybe that's not what Parisians really eat? Maybe it's the smoking or all the really strong coffee? Though I do see a lot of salads on menu's, cooked vegetables doesn't seem to be a French forte.

I'm sure it's all the walking. This is a big city. There's lots of traffic but mostly out of towners. Everyone walks or bikes. The city is built for that. I love how almost every block has these rental bikes that are automated. We haven't been able to use them though since our VISA cards don't have the smart chips needed. I'm thinking it's also the way the grocery stores are laid out. You don't drive your big mini-van or SUV up to the local grocery store and stock up on a month's worth of processed foods to store on your shelf. You get enough here that you can carry back with you if you're walking or on your bicycle or your scooter or your little rolling cart. All the grocery stores I've been to here have been really small. Not much selection. And good reason too since you can't get too much anyway. I think that's the secret. You go to the grocery store or market and get what you need that day which means fresh ingredients that may be cooked in duck fat or lots of butter, but don't have all the fattening chemicals in processed food. Is that the secret? Can I try it at home? Probably not.

PereLachaise Cemetary

Today we visited the Pere-Lachaise Cemetary. http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/p/Pere_Lachaise.htm

John's not feeling well - he has a bad cold or flu, so I took the kids out. First we went to the grocery store to get juice and lunch stuff. Asia picked out some hot dogs and strawberries. We can't get too much since we'd have to carry it all home. The kids are so much better now with walking long distance and carrying stuff. Not one complaint, though the grocery store is only 1/2 a block away or so. After lunch, we planned to go to the cemetary and have a snack there - the strawberries and drinks. When we got to the cemetary, we found one of the guard stations and asked for a map of the cemetary. Then I picked out a few people to find. The kids didn't know any of them. We picked 8 people to find but only found 4 of them before we ran out of time and energy. We found the graves for Rossini, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Ledru-Rollin. We wanted to find Ledru-Rollin only because the main street we live near is named after him. After awhile at the cemetary, Asia started to get spooked out. She wouldn't even drink her Orangina or yogurt drink in the cemetary. She thought if she stayed near there or breathed in the cemetary, she could die. She also didn't like the lack of color and the dirt. Zach had a great time. I had him find the different graves while Asia was the photographer. That helped some. The last grave we looked for was Jim Morrison's. It was a little more difficult to find because it's not right on the main paths like the other's. We walked by it at least once and circled the area around it. I only found it because I saw people going to it. We found a few grassy areas to take a break in. The last one was near the crematorium, I think. First we played hide and go seek. Asia and I had to find Zach. The problem is that he kept moving around when he saw us. I filmed the search but ended the film before we found Zach since it was taking too much space on the camera. It was supposed to be like one of those reality shows. At the end, Asia and Zach filmed one of their Harry, Buzzard, and Goober shows. It's starting to become a theme to record these reality spots. John started it with the kids where John is Harry, Asia is Goober, and Zach is Buzzard. I think it's supposed to be a spoof off of the cable show, ICarly. Anyway, the kids get really crazy when filming one of their shows. I have to figure out how to get them on the net, but they're kinda long. After we filmed the show at the cemetary, some guard on his motorbike started yelling at us that the cemetary was closing. Then he drove on further to yell at some other people. He was herding us back to the main entrance. That was kind of funny considering that they were yelling in French and most of the visitors were not French. I just knew that ferme was closed so that's enough for me. At first I thought they were yelling at us for filming or because the kids were too loud.

After the cemetary, we went to one of the local parks and the kids played at the playground and in the sand. Zach was using his empty plastic Orangina bottle to make some interesting percussion sounds off of the bench we were sitting on. He really has an ear for rhythm. Then it looked like it was going to rain and it was 7:30 PM anyway, so we headed off to find somewhere to eat. We were going to go to this one place nearby on Ledru-Rollin that had some great chocolate mousse but it was closed. So we went down Rue de la Roquette to a place we went to before that looked like a coffee house. They actually have a children's menu, though not the biggest choices - ham or a hamburger patty. Zach ate it though. Asia shared some pasta and scallops with me. Then we shared dessert - ice cream and a really good brownie.

Eiffel Tower

We finally made it to the Eiffel Tower. It's one of the only things that the kids have wanted to see in Paris since it so defines the city. My co-workers keep asking if I've seen it as well. During our honeymoon, we only saw the tower in passing on the train. I think we're also getting used to walking long distances since the kids did not complain at all about the long walk. We walked to the Pompidou Center and then took a train to the Eiffel Tower area. It helps that we stopped for lunch along the way and then ice cream later. There's this really great ice cream place by the Pompidou. I didn't realize til later that when you get an ice cream cone, they layer it so it looks like a rose. I just thought they were being artistic when they put an outside layer of a different flavor of ice cream. The kids like the tiramisu flavor and the various chocolate flavors. I like the biscotti flavor. We didn't actually go up the Eiffel Tower though the line didn't look as bad as I thought. John said that the wait was about 1/2 hour. Still a little much for the kids.