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.

Tour de France

Today was the final day of the Tour de France at champs-elysee (http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html). Our goal was to be in the vicinity when the bike race ended and say we'd been there. First off, since it was a beautiful cloudless day, we decided to go to the beach. I'm thinking beach along the ocean or man-made beach along a lake or the river. Well, there was sand and river, but not sand next to the river. There was an area of sand for people to play in. Then a long pathway for people to walk on, fence, then a stone walkway, and then the river. And no one was swimming in the river either. Nor did it look like you would want to swim in it. But it was a nice riverwalk. There were little fountains with drinakable water, a few cafes to get something to eat or drink. The first thing we did was play petonque or bocce ball. Actually, John and the kids played. I watched, took pictures, read some of a book, and ate a sandwich.

Then we kept walking in search of a beach and it didn't look like it was going to happen. We found this one kid's play area with sand and this obstacle climbing course. I signed Asia and Zach up to get in but didn't see any signs saying that they had to wait for the next group of kids to go in, so I told them to take their shoes off and go in. They got yelled at by the instructor in there and Asia wouldn't go back in after that, even if it's the right time. Difficulty with the language again. We kept walking and found a swimming pool. We couldn't go in right then because it was for kids 10 and up. In 1/2 an hour would be 10 and under's swimming time. Luckily we made it in time. I was worried we wouldn't get in because people were lining up outside. Only adults with swim suits who are accompanying kids can go in. No picture-taking is allowed. When you walk in, you have to take off your shoes and wade through a little pool of water to wash your feet. Then you have to wear a swim cap. They had convenient machines there that sell not only swim caps, but goggles and speedo's. So yes, men had to wear speedo's. No loose swim trunks. Everyone had to shower before going in to the pool and there were a few more foot washing basins before you got in the pool. But hey, it's free! And way to keep it clean. There were at least 4 life-guards. It was pretty nice actually. Very refreshing. Afterwards, we changed and then took the train to the Champs-Elysee area to catch the end of the tour de france. http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html. We did see some of the bikers go by especially since we were near the Arc de Triomphe which is where the cyclists go around before they get to the finish line. I couldn't tell who we were looking at though.

The kids couldn't see over the crowd, so Asia was on John's shoulders, and John was holding Zach. Poor kids almost broke John's back.

Who won the race? Overall - Alberto Contador from Spain, Andy Schleck from Luxembourg, and Lance Armstrong from US.

day 9 in Paris

I had the whole day off today. It's been nice to just wake up whenever, make a nice cup of decaf coffee, and read. Then eventually the kids get up and they get ready. Zach will have a croissant with some chocolate in the middle. John will have his croissant. I might have some of a baguette with tomatoes or mustard. I don't like sweet stuff for breakfast so much. And lately Asia has been making her own scrambled eggs. She loves to cook. She'll crack her own egg (and often with no shell getting in the bowl), and mix it. Then I'll turn on the stove and put oil in the pan. She might help me spread the oil over the pan. Then she'll pour in the egg, put in some goat cheese, and then stir the eggs herself. I'll just stay in the kitchen and watch that she doesn't burn herself. Then I'll scoop the egg into her bowl and she'll season it with salt and pepper. It's very cute. I think it helps that this apartment is smaller than our house so everyone is basically within the vicinity of one another, so Asia is more independant. For a snack before dinner, she followed Zach and got her own bowl of cereal with milk. John, Zach, and I were in the master bedroom/office, so she wanted to eat with us, but at least she got it all by herself. Hopefully the kids bring these habits back home.

Yesterday, we found a neat little restaurant to eat in. The original one we planned on going didn't open til 8 PM and it was 7 PM. We didn't want to wait an hour. We tried to go back today at 8 PM and it was reservation only. Eventually we'll make it in there and it better be worth the effort! So back to the other restaurant. I never get the names of the restaurants because I usually forget them unless I get a business card from them or go there again or if it's simple enough. I do remember what they look like though so we can try to go again. This place was designed more like a coffee house and had live music that starts after 9 PM. The kids especially liked the comfy chairs. That's one of their perks in the restaurants these days. Asia will ask, "Mom, can I sit by you on the comfy side?" This is because a few of the places we've eaten in would have a table with a bench on one side that has padded seats and the other side would be two hard chairs.

Here's a picture of one of the salmon appetizers we got.

Today we went to the Luxembourg gardens. First we took a train to Leon de Bruxxelles (http://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/) where they're supposed to have really good mussels, and they did. John said we came here during our honeymoon - actually twice - once with his friend Mike and then again on our own. I don't remember it, but the restaurant reminded me of the good mussels place in downtown Toronto.

Afterward, we took the Metro train to the Luxembourg gardens with a pitstop to a pharmacy to get hydrocortisone because the kids are getting eaten by mosquitoes or something. It started raining again during this time, but luckily I brought my umbrella. The rain was off and on. Even while we were at the playground at the gardens, it started pouring. Zach and Asia were one of the last sets of kids who ran to the sheltered area. Crazy Americans. Earlier in the morning, we had also gone to a flea market and I bought 3 shirts for a euro each and a shirt and shorts for Zach for 5 euros. Asia really wanted this porcelain slipper but it was 6 euros. The seller was going to give it to her for 5 but she only had 2 euro's. We gave Asia and Zach 2 euro's each that they could spend in the market. Zach bought 2 transformer like toys. Asia decided to save hers since we said next time we go to the market, we'd give her another 2 euro's. So anyway, the 2 long-sleeved shirts I bought at the market for the kids came in handy at the park during the rain. I was freezing, on the other hand. The kids mainly played on two structures in the playground. One was this really talk teepee as seen below. I think it was strategically built so that if a kid fell from the top, they'd hit all these other ropes that it's made of and not get seriously hurt. At least, I'd hope.
For dinner, we returned to our neighborhood and ate at Royal Voltaire. The duck foie gras with fig jam was delicious. John got oeuf mayonnaise, which we'd seen as an appetizer quite often and wondered if it was really just an egg with mayonnaise. Well, it was though the mayonnaise was more like a mustard-mayonnaise sauce. For the kids, we got them penne, but it was with this cream alfredo sauce that they don't like so they didn't finish it. John got blanquette de veau - a veal dish with a slight cream white sauce and rice. He loved it. I got what was called beef on a board, and it was literally a steak and fries on a slate board. For dessert, the kids had vanilla ice cream (I thought less sugar and caffeine for them, Asia didn't appreciate it but she ate it), chocolate mousse for me, and tiramisu for John.

day 7 morning

This morning, John went to the department store to buy swimming suits for himself and Zach since apparently men aren't supposed to wear swim trunks. They have to wear speedo's. Hmm.. should be interesting. He didn't find a pair thought that were cheap enough. 100 US dollars for a pair of speedo's! Come on! He's going to find the Paris equivalent of K-mart and try shopping there. So while he was shopping, I took the kids for a little walk to lunch before I had to go to work. We stopped at this little ride that is by our house. The kids have been wanting to go on it even though all it does is go round and round. I guess they're not too old for it. Plus they use their imagination. I didn't see Zach pretend shooting anybody, so that's good.

We also took some pictures in the downstairs lobby of the apartment building. Asia is really into these fashion poses that she saw on America's Next Top Model on tv back home. It's rare to get a cute little girl pose from her. I thought this first shot grabs the future personalities of my kids. Can you picture them in 10 years, in their teens, and looking similar to this? Zach has this quirky pensive look - like here I am - like it or leave it, I suppose, but stay happy because I'm smarter than you. Asia has this look like I'm the hottest thing since sliced bread and you better acknowledge it or I'm going to be in your face. I think we're in trouble.

This one better depicts my goofy kids at their current age. Whew! Bottle it up because it'll never be back.

day 7 dinner in the south

Tonight we had dinner at Les Enfants du Sud. It's just around the corner from our apartment. This is our 2nd time eating here. The first time, the owner or manager served us and he could speak English and was really friendly - genuinely. He was there a little today, but we had a different waiter. It was off and on raining too - pouring. Luckily we didn't choose the tables outside that had no covers. Most of the people who were eating outside under the awnings had to move inside. These 6 guys that were there moved inside and kept having to go back outside to smoke. All six at once each time. It was kinda funny. Girls go in pairs to the bathroom. Guys smoke together. Here's the menu. Today we had the gambas which are giant prawn/shrimp and the special of the day, trout. It was a whole little trout on the plate and wasn't bad. We also had two appetizers - terrine du chef - I think it was duck pate with a few pickles and os a moelle which was pretty good. It's basically these bones and you eat the marrow inside it with toasted baguette slices. You get this little spoon and you scoop out the marrow and put it on the bread with some sea salt. Very good. Probably not the healthiest. I should have taken a picture of it because it's definitely not something you'd see every day in Pittsburgh. Or ever.

Here's a picture of the dessert menu. We had the tiramisu which was served in a little glass and the mi-cuit du chocolat et son coeur croquant which was chocolate molten cake with this little hazlenut candy in the middle. The kids devoured it! John and I managed to grab a few spoonfuls. Zach and Asia scraped every little bit of dessert that they could off the plate and cups that it came in. They would have licked the dishes clean if they could have. At least they had the knowledge not to do that.

Our apartment

Here are more pictures of the apartment we're staying in.



This is how the kids have redecorated the living room. I sure hope the owner doesn't mind his furniture used to make forts, clubhouses, and stores. Zach has also claimed it for his bedroom on account of Asia's snoring being too loud.

The little kitchen equipped with a dishwasher, fridge, and a washing machine. We've done at least 4 loads so far. The nice thing about this apartment actually being lived in is that it is equipped with almost everything you would need. I've even figured out how to use his Italian coffee machine. It's so much better than the drip style. And only makes one cup which is perfect for me. I think I'm going to have to buy one. I even had to look up the instructions on how to use it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_(coffee_pot).

We brought Zach's violin so he can practice and in hopes of having him take some lessons while he's here, but the lessons haven't happened yet. He does actually volunteer to practice so that he can get some time on the computer and his practices actually sound good.

The bathroom. I haven't figured out how we're supposed to use the bidet thing. Notice that the toilet is not in this room. It's in its own little room, which makes it a little more cumbersome when we have to keep reminding Asia to wash her hands after she uses the toilet since the sink is in a different room.

Asia's room. Isn't she a cutie?


The kids playing the computer - nickjr.com. Asia's wearing her little cap which is all you can see of her. Zach's helping her play a game.

Paris day 6

I skipped yesterday because it was uneventful and not one that I really want to remember. John's lack of sleep and my hormonal nature (PMS) didn't mesh. heh heh. Anyway, we ate at a bad pizza place for dinner, thought it had the cleanest kitchen and restroom I've seen yet. Maybe because it was new. Or maybe the building was newer too. What is amazing is that the Tagliaterre Carbonara - Spaghetti Carbonara - that I mistakenly ordered because I thought it was a red sauce - didn't kill me. I took two Lactaid pills just in case. I think this should be the diary of a Lactose-intolerant Asian American Woman in Paris. Yeah. It would not be fun to read.

We did go to a market yesterday, walking quickly to get there before it closes, but I think it must stay open a little later on Sunday. When we went on Thursday, they were all packed up by 12:30. Makes sense though that they'd stay open later on Sunday. Most of the stalls were all of food. It was pretty amazing. I wish I could have bought some of the meat or fish but I wasn't sure what was what and how long we'd be out before we went home. One of these days. I did get some Japanese rice snack mix and cashews. I also bought a shirt for Asia and a really cute leopard cap. Zach got a soccer ball.

Later that day, we went to a park. The kids liked this one ride where you sit together and they'd swing it back and forth until the back hit the ground and Zach would cry out in discomfort. Then they'd do it again. I also took a picture of a really pretty tree. I have no idea what it is but it has really feathery leaves. I finished my book - Girl, Interrupted.

Today, Asia and I went to a soup restaurant while John and Zach went to a sports store to get some Ping-Pong equipment. Asia and I love soup. We get it from my dad. He loves soup too. Anyway, this place only serves 5 or 6 soups a day. Today's selection was a carrot soup, lentil, zucchini, cold tomato, and gazpacho. Asia had the lentil and I had the cold tomato. The lentil was really good. I also took some carrot soup to go.

Afterwards as we were walking back, we met up with John and Zach walking back from the sports store. We returned to our apartment since I had planned on working a half-day. And what a crazy half-day it was. Very hectic. Here's what the kids did with John while I was at work:

I finished my third book - a good year - by Peter Mayle. I liked it because it had a lot of references to French wines and cooking. Apparently it was made into a movie with Russel Crowe. I can't see it being that interesting of a movie though. Tonight we had dinner at Le Pause Cafe. It was recommended by the owner but the thing is I forgot to write down what he recommended at the restaurant so we weren't impressed. Apparently it's the place to go for lunch and the daily seafood plate is the thing to get. Oh well.

Paris day 4

Today was a less eventful day, mainly because I got some bad Chinese food or something and had to stay in bed and near a bathroom for a few hours. Not the puking sort, but just as worse. Or maybe it was something else since John ate the same thing as I did but less quantities. Anyway you never know what it is. But I was fine by dinner time and we went to place called something like Les Enfants de la Sud. It was a nice locale place and the waiter was really nice and spoke English. We had an appetizer of terrine - like a pate loaf. Really good here and something I think I'm going to have more often. Then we ordered three main entrees - St. Jacques scallops with noodles (looked home-made), steak with fries for Zach, and lamb chops with scalloped potatoes. Zach ended up liking the lamb more than the steak. The steak had this great crust of sea salt (fleur de sel) on the top. The scallops were delicious. Another great meal.
The kids kept themselves busy this evening by rearranging all the furniture to make it into a store. Then they played with model clay for a bit and also did some Sudoku puzzles. I'm reading "Girl, Interrupted" as well as a collaboration of short stories written by former Peace Corp members - a book I picked up in a thrift store in Goshen.

paris day 3

We're still not on the right time schedule. John and I were up maybe after 10 AM. The kids were up after noon. The goal is to eventually get up in time to go to one of the free markets somewhere. They're usually over by noon.
John got crepes for breakfast. Zach ate most of his since it had chocolate in it. Asia didn't go for it as much. She's like me, not great with sweet stuff for breakfast. She ended up eating the one that John got for me since it had cheese in it and I wasn't about to risk having cheese for breakfast, even if I took a Lactaid pill or two. I already was having decaf coffee with Splenda which sometimes works funny with me - even if it was decaf without sugar. So I made some instant noodles that the apartment owner had stocked in the pantry. They were pretty bad, but a little soy sauce and hot sauce, and it was edible. I also had some baguette with spicy Mustard. After breakfast, we walked to the 3rd and 4th districs (we're staying in the 11th) so we could do some "real people" shopping. Supposedly. This book said that's where the real people shop, not the millionaires. It's like how when we lived in Chicago, we didn't shop on the Magnificent Mile - Michagan Avenue - which is where the more expensive stores were. We went to malls like Old Orchard or Water Tower or the new Target they built in the Roosevelt/Halstead area. So anyway, we took a long walk that was quite chilly. It was supposed to rain today as well. We ended up in this park square called La Place de Vosges. It's surrounded by these brick mansions. Victor Hugo lived in one of them. And one of the King Henry's was beheaded in the park. We had also visited this park during our honeymoon. John's friend Mike had taken us to the park and told us a bunch of history about the park. So that was a nice deja-vu. It was past lunch time, so Zach and I sat on a park bench. I read, he drew a cartoon. John and Asia went in search for food. They came back with fresh strawberries and two types of pasta. That was devoured pretty quickly and then the kids played for a bit in a deep sandbox in the park. It was starting to get grayer, so we decided to leave the park and start looking for some stores. That way if it rained, we could at least find shelter. We ended up missing one of the rain showers while we were in a toy store. Asia found this mechanical rabbit that she wants. I took a picture of it in case I get it for her birthday. It had American packaging anyway. She's been talking about wanting a real rabbit. Everytime she sees one in our backyard or someone else's yard, she wants to catch it and keep it. See older posts about the little baby bunny that Asia did manage to catch one summer. So anyway, this mechanical bunny made some yipping noise and jumped. Very cute. Very annoying. But better than a real rabbit anyday. I told Asia that when she has her own house, she can have whatever pets she wants. She plans on having one or two or three dogs, a rabbit, and a bird. Good luck to her future husband! So at the toy store, John bought this game that consists of a plastic blue shark that has his mouth open and you take turns pushing down one of his teeth til his mouth comes crashing down on your finger. When I played the game with the kids tonight, for some reason, I was the one that kept getting my finger eaten. It never failed. We also let the kids pick one thing that cost 1 euro - Zach got a glider (just like he always gets at Chuck E Cheese) and Asia got a chinese fan. I think the fan will come in handy when we're in a restaurant with no A/C. Unless this cool weather keeps up.
We also took a break in a little bistro where the kids had hot chocolate, John had a beer, and I had a decaf in this cute mini yellow mug. It's just so French. The hot chocolate wasn't what I expected. I remember going to a restaurant with John and Mike before and getting this decadent mini pitcher of melted chocolate to pour in your milk. Now that's real hot chocolate. Unfortunately, they'd have to have soy milk or something now if I want to enjoy it. Paris is NOT for the lactose-intolerant. Argh. I will have to go into lactose-detox when I get home. Ha. John and I brought at least 3 boxes of Lactaid pills with us on this trip, plus some stomach ease tea, and ginger candy. Anything to help the digestive system of the lactose-intolerant.
We visited a mall on our way home since we need an adapter for my work phone. I got some clothes for Asia as well that was on sale. They had some really fashionable stuff that Asia liked but with the Euro to dollar conversion, weren't that cheap. Asia fell in love with this patent leather black jacket. Eeks the girl has expensive taste.
For dinner, we went to this place that had high ratings in TripAdviser.com - Bistrot de L'Ouelette. The service was really great. The head waiter or owner or manager could speak English so we didn't have to flounder trying to interpret the French culinary terms that are not in my dictionaries on my Palm Treo. They also had English menu's obviously due to high tourist traffic. We got there right at 7 Pm when they opened and looking in, saw that the staff seemed to be still sampling the night's menu. We waited a few minutes and then went in. Luckily since we went so early, we didn't need a reservation. During the course of our meal, we heard plenty of diners get turned away and one lucky diner group was told to come back in 1/2 an hour (which is around when we would be done). Guess that's where still being on the American timezone helps. We're early eaters.
The actual dinner was okay. One of the appetizers we got was a foiegras with figs and sour cherry tomatoes with dark bread. I really liked it. John didn't. Another appetizer was a fish called mullet that came with a flaky crust (like one layer of puff pastry) and carmelized onions. It was okay. Asia really liked it and ate most of it. And the last appetizer was this same flaky crust but made into a sandwich with really cream goat cheese and herbs. That was really good and everyone liked it. We got to main entrees - a sea bass with ratatouille and the classic cassoulet - white bean stew with duck meat. They both were good but not fantastic. The dessert was really good though. We had to pre-order it since they said it takes some time to make. It was a flaky pastry with apples inside served with a side of rum-ice. Yum. And the kids shared a dish of raspberry, strawberry, and green apple sorbet. Of course, afterwards, they said they wanted to go to Ben & Jerry's (we had passed one on the walk to the restaurant). I told them what they had was much healthier.
The walk home was a little difficult. First, we could see gray clouds moving in. Second, it was windy and chilly and the kids were wearing T-shirts and shorts because their jeans hadn't been washed from a day at the beach in Toronto over the weekend. Third, everyone had to go to the bathroom and really wanted to wait til we got to the apartment. Parisian restaurant bathrooms are pretty nasty. The ones I've been to so far are usually unisex and thus only one toilet. They put all this nice decor in the restaurant, but forget about the bathroom. Funny. Kinda like Asian restaurants in the US.
Okay another night in Paris. It's 2:20 AM in Paris. Hmm...... guess I should be in bed.

Paris day number 2

It's so nice to wake up in the morning and not have to do anything. I could have gone back to sleep except my back was killing me. Darn strange beds. So after showering and the usual thing, I read a book over a cup of tea. John went out to the market and bought some croissants, little donut holes for the kids, and then on a second trip, juice, a baguette, and some mustard (my request). I get tired of sweet things for breakfast, so some bread with spicy mustard hits the spot. After reading for an hour or so, it seemed that the kids weren't about to wake up, so I decided it'd be a great opportunity to grab a nap. Forget about trying to get on Paris time (6 hours ahead of Pittsburgh). If the kids were going to sleep this long, they were going to stay up late, and thus, I needed my nap now or you'd have one cranky mama. Thus a 3 hour nap. By the time I woke up, the kids had also woken and we were ready for lunch. First we tried to get to the end of the Bastille Market. Unfortunately it was mostly being packed up when we got there. Looked like it would have been a great flea market. The kids almost got hats but after John reminded me of the fare exchange, these 8 euro hats weren't that great of a bargain after all. We walked around and found a nice restaurant that with our first taste of good French food. I ordered a duck confit which I thought would be like a carmalized duck. It wasn't that sweet but was definitely good. Came with some awesome broiled potatoes. Asia had gazpacho which she didn't like so she shared our food. Zach had chicken on a skewer with rice. John had pasta with some great breaded veal. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=rue+sedaine,+paris,+france&sll=48.856667,2.350987&sspn=0.131241,0.295601&g=paris,+france&ie=UTF8&ll=48.85568,2.371502&spn=0.016405,0.03695&z=15&layer=c&cbll=48.855711,2.371656&panoid=clgMOLsSIE3rj5IqPW5ZAw&cbp=12,119.34,,1,3.35

It's the Cafe L'industrie. The place was packed. I have to get in my mind that restaurants here don't open til around 12 and close at 2 or 2:30 for lunch. Then they don't open again til around 7 for dinner. I'm used to finding a restaurant somewhere that's always open at some point. The US way I suppose. Convenience at any time.

After lunch, we went on a hunt for ice cream. The kids were hot. Most of these restaurants aren't air-conditioned. That must be why everyone eats out on the patio. I thought it was to people-watch. I think it's because it's cooler outside with the airflow. We ended stopping at a grocery store and bought some ice cream bars there along with some other food items (sorbet for me and John). Then back to the apartment to eat our dessert. After an hour or so of rest, we went to a park and to find a SIM card for my cell phone. John found a park that had basketball courts - http://www.paris-walking-tours.com/squaredelapetiteroquette.html. When we entered the park, I saw lots of people sitting in the shade on the park benches. All the benches in this area were full of people talking, some with kids, some without. It's around a fountain that probably cooled people off. Then we kept walking and found the basketball court - of course, where there was no shade. There was already a soccer game going on in the main basketball court. In the two side basketball half-courts were more kids playing soccer. Obviously basketball was not the main sport there. Ha! John stayed with Zach to help him make some friends and play basketball while Asia and I wandered on to find the playground. The playground had a bunch of kids there! Quite popular, I would say. There was huge climbing structure with 2 squiggly metal slides that looked like machine hose. Then two smaller structures, all on a sand surface. Asia had a great time even though she didn't play with anyone. Then we went back to see how Zach was doing and offer him some water from Asia's water bottle. Eventually what happened was that Zach played with two boys and a girl with their soccer ball. He had a time playing with them because of the language barrier. One of the boys was more socially aggressive and quite a joker so he kept talking to Zach in French and expecting a reply back. Some times I wasn't sure if he was being mean and making fun of Zach or not but an older girl (maybe in her early teens) was also there and she was keeping the younger boy in line. Eventually Asia joined them to play soccer and then the kids had to go. While this was happening, John had a soccer game going with about 10 other kids - all boys and 1 girl. Zach joined them eventually. It was hilarious to watch them play. Zach and John's team had the smaller kids and they were actually doing well, not just because John was their goalie but because some of them were really good - especially the girl. I think her name was Sasha. She's this little blonde girl and she's tough! The good thing was that even if the smaller team was winning, the bigger boys just treated it as a game and laughed it off. They all also had this habit that if the other team scored, the opposite team had to jump up and hit the top of their goal post. Not sure what that was all about.

We were at the park until around 7:30. Before we left, Asia and I were reading a Clifford the Big Red Dog book and the kids came over to take a look. They took turns trying to read the book, but since we had to go, we actually ended up giving the book to the kids. It was just a book we got at Half-Price Books anyway and we were planning on leaving it here in France.

Another interesting thing about the park is that they have these park officials who watch the kids areas. Earlier, one was standing at the end of one of the slides to make sure kids got down fine and none went up the slide the wrong way. Then later, they were standing near their office, I think, but they were telling kids nearby that they couldn't play with the water fountain for the sandbox, only to drink. At first the little kids there thought you weren't supposed to use the fountain at all so when we approached it, they told us not to use it. Then the park official told the kids that it was okay to use for drinking, just not for playing in.

We then went to a restaurant, still in the 11th district. We were trying to find this good restaurant (according to a book from the man who owns the apartment) on a street called Faidherbe. But it wasn't there. Another bar/restaurant called Balthazar was there. So we went in anyway and got a really nice waiter who spoke English. We got steak frites for Zach and Asia to share, but he said it's hard to split the steak so he gave them both servings and only charged us for one. I got beef tartare because that's supposed to be traditional. It's basically raw ground hamburger with some chopped up vegies and spices. It looked like a raw hamburger patty but actually tasted really good. And the broiled potatoes were awesome. John had what looked like Shepherd's pie. It had a really strange name - something like Palmaterie. I'll have to look it up later. It was all really good but amazing enough to say, the portions were too big. John said that Parisians don't do doggie bags, so we didn't bring home any of the leftovers, not that there was much anyway. All in all, a great meal day. That's what I'm for - the meals. ha! If I have good food, the vacation is a success.

Arrived in France

We arrived in France today. We first drove to Toronto on Saturday and spent a few days with Shirley and family. The kids met a girl named Amanda who taught them French. They fell in love with her and didn't want to leave her, even if we were going to Paris. On Tuesday night, we took an IcelandAir flight at 9 PM to Reykjavik Iceland. Then we had about an hour layover and flew to Paris, arriving at around 1 PM Paris time. The kids were able to sleep most of the flight and got some great kid snacks - sandwich, chocolate, drink, chips - and headsets for free. Us adults got drinks, if we were awake when the drink cart rolled by. I was worried about Zach having another episode since we'd have to wake him up at around 2 AM our time for the layover, but he was fine and slept another 3 hours on the trip from Iceland to Paris.
Finding our way around Paris at first was a little daunting. Trying to find the train station, lugging our luggage up and down the stairs, trying to keep the kids from knocking into people around them. Once on the train, things were going smoothly, even after a transfer, but before our last transfer, Zach left his backpack at the last stop on the floor. He was zipping it up after getting a snack and didn't think about picking it up afterwards. So since it was only 3 stops away, John went back to get the backpack. It turns out the police thought it was a bomb and had to get other police in and shutdown the station. John, who doesn't speak French, had to explain that it was his son's backpack and also didn't even have his passport with him since I had them all. The kids and I were sitting at the other train station anxiously waiting to see if he returns with the backpack. He did. My hero! The main thing in there was Zach's meds. To Zach, his favorite webkinz were in the backpack.
We finally made it to the apartment we're staying in. It's a cute apartment. Would be even nicer if there wasn't construction going on that has pretty much closed the balcony patio. But we did get a huge discount because of it. Today, we had chinese take-out, went to a grocery store to get juice and milk and beer, and ate an earlier snack (since they weren't serving dinner @ 4:30 yet) at a brasserie.

Bienvenue a France!

another episode

Poor Z had another episode last week. We knew it was coming because he wasn't getting enough sleep or eating right. The drive to Goshen didn't help because he went to bed a little late, then we woke him up to move him to his grandfather's room where we were staying and I kept the light on for too long waiting for John to come up to go to sleep. So early in the morning, he had an episode. He had migraines for the next 3 hours. At around 11 AM, he woke up and said he felt better and he was hungry. That's always a good sign. He just popped up from bed with such a good attitude. He was looking forward to playing with his cousins. He was a little upset that they already started playing street hockey without him. It took him a few more hours to recuperate and then next thing you know, he's outside playing with his cousins. We're trying to be more diligent to make sure he gets his sleep even when we're travelling and in Paris in the next week.