A Winter of Visitors

As we settled into the new year and our new routine we were able to look forward to a number of visitors coming our way in January and February.  It started with my friend April who was in London for work and decided to take the Eurostar over for a quick 24 hour visit before heading back to SF.  Her only request was for some cheese, bread, wine and croissants and we delivered on all of those (while getting out for a few walks in the neighborhood).

A week or so after April’s visit we had a visit from our friend Matt.  For as much as he’s traveled, and that’s quite a bit, he had never been to Paris.  So he spent a week with us and got out to discover Paris and get a good feel for the city and what it has to offer.  During that time, Louis was here again for work so we got in a couple of good dinners with him as well.  We tried this Moroccan place called 404 that’s just a block away from our apartment and it was delicious!  Josephine was a perfect angel and slept the entire time.  And the boys even made it out to a bar to watch the Super Bowl live (starting at 12:30am here).  It was the same place we all watched the Niners last year.  Josephine and I had our own girls night back at home.  it was a great visit and we're so glad Matt finally got to see a city we love so much!

Lastly, my cousin Nicole came to visit right after Matt left.  She wanted to of course see the new baby and get a chance to explore Paris a bit more.  Nate, Nicole and I had come here a few years back when she visited us in Zurich but that was just a quick weekend trip.  She now had a whole week to hang out with us and see more of Paris.  Josephine and I tagged along on a few of the things she did like going on the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde for a great view of Paris, walking through the Tuilieres Garden and along the river near our house.  The Saturday that she was here, all of us took a day trip to Champagne.  This was the first time Josephine had been outside of Paris which means it was the first time we had taken her on a train for an all day trip.  We were kind of testing the waters on how it would be to travel with her.  And in the meantime, Nicole got to see a different part of France, taste some amazing champagne and we got to meet up with our friend Rachel and her boyfriend Alexis.  Josephine was again a perfect angel on the trip.  She slept on the train, when she was awake she happily sat in our laps and smiled at the French women that just adored her and then slept some more.  All in all a great day!  Nicole then had a few more days left before she too had to head back home.

Our winter has been quite fun with all of the friendly faces we got to see.  And now the weather is turning spring-like with temperatures in the 60s and we are crossing our fingers that it’s going to stick and winter is done.  Bring on spring and summer in Paris!!

View from ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde