I’ve been hoping and looking forward to some snow in Paris and I finally got it!!! About a week ago it snowed in Paris....a lot! Enough that the snow stuck to the ground to create a bit of a winter wonderland here. And we absolutely loved it!!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Winter Wonderland in Paris
I’ve been hoping and looking forward to some snow in Paris and I finally got it!!! About a week ago it snowed in Paris....a lot! Enough that the snow stuck to the ground to create a bit of a winter wonderland here. And we absolutely loved it!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
First visitors of 2013
Happy 2013! We were home for what always feels like a quick trip and had an amazing Christmas with family while also seeing a few friends. Then we headed back to Paris to bring in the new year here with our new friends. We celebrated at Robin and Dave’s place with a few other people and had a great time ringing in 2013.
We had just a quick week before my sister and her family came to visit. And when I say her family I mean her husband and 1.5 (Michelle) and 4 (Cecilia) year old daughters. It would definitely mean a house full but we were both excited to have all of them here! We figured that we tested the waters a bit back in November when Kristine and Aaron brought Ethan so we were a bit more prepared to now have two little ones in our home.
The family arrived on a Thursday and looked very excited to be off of a plane. Everyone was a bit tired and after lunch, they all took a nap. Well except for Cecilia who was wide awake and kept me company while I worked from home.
We kept it simple that evening with dinner from our favorite handmade noodle place just a block from our apartment. The next day John was off to London to visit a friend for the night and Nate and I were off to work. So Julie had the two girls for a day in Paris. From what I heard, it didn’t take them long to find the carousel set up near Hotel de Ville, just a 10 minute walk from our house, and which turned out to be a popular activity to return to throughout their stay. They did a little more exploring near the house and then it was happy hour time. As you’ve heard us say before, Nate and I love happy hour at our house. I mean, who doesn’t love some wine, cheese and baguette?
We decided to venture out for the evening and found a little brasserie in the Marais for dinner. It was perfect. Michelle was sleeping the entire time and Cecilia was so good! We only took a quick walk after dinner and then it was time to get the girls home so they could actually be mobile and warm. That’s right, did I mention that Julie and family are from the LA area and that it was probably no warmer than 45 degrees (and only getting colder) while they were here? They were not used to this cold weather, that’s for sure.
On Saturday Julie and I and the girls ventured to the Jardin des Plantes. I had never been here before and had read that it was a cool park with lots to do. This was also the first metro ride for both Michelle and Cecilia which they absolutely loved! Michelle loves trains and says “choo choo” when she sees one. It’s so adorable. So we grabbed some sandwiches and went to the park where we found a little playground. It became quite cold though and we were ready for an indoor activity. This jardin also has a children’s natural history museum which was perfect at the time. They have lots of real looking animals on display and we were able to kill a couple of hours here before heading home.
By this time John had returned and it was happy hour again at our house. We went out that night to a favorite little bistro in our neighborhood for dinner and then Julie and I and the girls came home while the boys had their night out. It happened to be during playoffs so they could catch the first game at a bar.
Sunday we decided was the day to go to the Eiffel Tower. John had never been to Paris before so we thought it would be good for him to check it out. Unfortunately we of course pick the one day to go to the Eiffel Tower that 340,000 people had gathered around it in protest of gay marriage. So our trip there was quick, we got our pictures, Cecilia had a carousel ride and we headed off to see the Arc de Triomphe and then back to Notre Dame for mass.
Monday Nate was back to work and I had both that day and Tuesday off to explore Paris with the Tannaci’s. This time we checked out the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne park. It’s like a mini little amusement park and was so charming!!! And since it’s the middle of winter it kind of felt like a ghost town. I think we were one of maybe 5 families there. It was a bit strange but kind of nice too. They have a section with carnival rides but it’s so much more than that. They have a little zoo, playgrounds, house of mirrors and more that we didn’t even get to explore. When we walked in we didn’t make it much further past the rides as Cecilia wanted to check out all of them. And did I mention it’s cold here? Since we were all starting to get numb fingers and toes we headed to an Angelina’s cafe they had in the jardin for some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. Seriously! Like pure melted chocolate. It was the perfect way to warm up. Before we knew it, they were closing up and it was time to meet Nate out at a cute French restaurant in the 6th for dinner. And then it was mine and Julie’s turn to have girls night out while the boys took the little ones home.
We were already at the last day of their trip which was going by way too quickly. It was a mellow one with a little bit of shopping and of course one more carousel ride for Cecilia. I think this was probably the coldest day of their trip and therefore it was hard to be outside too much.
We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and the house feels quite empty and quiet. Now we are enjoying some snow on the ground and some winter soldes (sales). It’s definitely winter time in Paris!
We had just a quick week before my sister and her family came to visit. And when I say her family I mean her husband and 1.5 (Michelle) and 4 (Cecilia) year old daughters. It would definitely mean a house full but we were both excited to have all of them here! We figured that we tested the waters a bit back in November when Kristine and Aaron brought Ethan so we were a bit more prepared to now have two little ones in our home.
The family arrived on a Thursday and looked very excited to be off of a plane. Everyone was a bit tired and after lunch, they all took a nap. Well except for Cecilia who was wide awake and kept me company while I worked from home.
We kept it simple that evening with dinner from our favorite handmade noodle place just a block from our apartment. The next day John was off to London to visit a friend for the night and Nate and I were off to work. So Julie had the two girls for a day in Paris. From what I heard, it didn’t take them long to find the carousel set up near Hotel de Ville, just a 10 minute walk from our house, and which turned out to be a popular activity to return to throughout their stay. They did a little more exploring near the house and then it was happy hour time. As you’ve heard us say before, Nate and I love happy hour at our house. I mean, who doesn’t love some wine, cheese and baguette?
On Saturday Julie and I and the girls ventured to the Jardin des Plantes. I had never been here before and had read that it was a cool park with lots to do. This was also the first metro ride for both Michelle and Cecilia which they absolutely loved! Michelle loves trains and says “choo choo” when she sees one. It’s so adorable. So we grabbed some sandwiches and went to the park where we found a little playground. It became quite cold though and we were ready for an indoor activity. This jardin also has a children’s natural history museum which was perfect at the time. They have lots of real looking animals on display and we were able to kill a couple of hours here before heading home.
By this time John had returned and it was happy hour again at our house. We went out that night to a favorite little bistro in our neighborhood for dinner and then Julie and I and the girls came home while the boys had their night out. It happened to be during playoffs so they could catch the first game at a bar.
Monday Nate was back to work and I had both that day and Tuesday off to explore Paris with the Tannaci’s. This time we checked out the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne park. It’s like a mini little amusement park and was so charming!!! And since it’s the middle of winter it kind of felt like a ghost town. I think we were one of maybe 5 families there. It was a bit strange but kind of nice too. They have a section with carnival rides but it’s so much more than that. They have a little zoo, playgrounds, house of mirrors and more that we didn’t even get to explore. When we walked in we didn’t make it much further past the rides as Cecilia wanted to check out all of them. And did I mention it’s cold here? Since we were all starting to get numb fingers and toes we headed to an Angelina’s cafe they had in the jardin for some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. Seriously! Like pure melted chocolate. It was the perfect way to warm up. Before we knew it, they were closing up and it was time to meet Nate out at a cute French restaurant in the 6th for dinner. And then it was mine and Julie’s turn to have girls night out while the boys took the little ones home.
We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and the house feels quite empty and quiet. Now we are enjoying some snow on the ground and some winter soldes (sales). It’s definitely winter time in Paris!
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