A Weekend in Paris: Day 1

Our friends the Eberts agreed to child share with us.  We insisted on taking their four kids (see future posts) to help us determine how many more we want.  In exchange - over much consternation and tears - we let them take Owen and Emily for two nights.  While we could not imagine having fun at the Louvre without their incessant talking, food requests, and complete inability to focus, we dragged ourselves to Paris for the weekend.

Dave and I took a four-hour train ride to Paris Est station a few weekends ago.  Dave could not leave Europe without seeing the Eiffel Tower in person.  I found a decent hotel for a great price in the Latin Corridor near the Notre Dame.  I did not actually believe the weekend would come together until I sat in my reserved seat cappuccino in hand.  While I read four books on food, art and the city in general, I only brought a loose agenda.  Sleep ranked as high as steak frittes on my must-do list.  After a smooth four hour ride, we navigated the Metro, Europe's best subway system.  Our hotel needed 20 more minutes.   We hit the bakery around the corner for my first Pain au Chocolat of the weekend.  I have no words….

I brought a list of Paris' top ten chocolate shops from my favorite pastry chef and blogger David Lebovitz.  This bakery made the list.  The Gods of Pleasure manipulated my booking.com page and directed me to a hotel right next to one of the Top Ten.  Dave was beside himself.

We made "Pierre Herme" a chic dessert shop our first destination.  I panicked upon seeing the quick moving line demanding immediate decisions.  I almost left, but my better half said "What??  We walked all this way.  You are getting something."

We walked over the love lock bridge to the Louvre.  Couples seal their love and toss the key in the river.

We followed Rick Steve's advice, visit Mona at dusk, and walked right into Europe's "oldest, biggest, greatest and second most crowded museum."  My art loving husband bee-lined to Da Vinci's famous piece.  We sped past, and overlooked, several centuries of sculpture and painting.  He wanted the "main event."  (Umm, this is not  the WWE.)  We debated the paintings location.  I argued Curators carefully placed this painting in its proper time along art history's line.  They did not tuck it away to "force" visitors to walk far.

Mona's smile drew Dave.  We spent most of our time absorbing this iconic piece.  I showed him my favorite French Baroque painting of Napoleon - essentially political adds on the late 1700's.  The Nike and Venus remained in renovation.

Despite my several month study of Parision restaurants, exhaustion sent us to one around the corner from our hotel.  We enjoyed a bottle of red wine - and thought of our friends from home.

Ski Lessons

On Saturday we arrived at the slopes by 8:00 am to guarantee parking and get the kids fitted for ski lessons.  Their camp lasted from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and included all the gear.

Dave and I decided to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather and a few hours sans kids.  The ski counselor, explaining she hiked fast so couldn't judge the difficulty,  recommended a trail ending at a "halfway house."  I thought, "We do P90X and I basically ran three half-marathons last summer - how hard could this hike be."  Umm.  Very.  We huffed and puffed for 50 min wondering where is the end.

The view from the top melted feelings of angst.  We drank cappuccino from an outdoor table overlooking Garmisch.

On our way down, we passed great-grandparents hiking up the hill.  Unbelievable.

We returned to watch the last hour of lessons.  Emily "just needed a hug from Saige."

The next day, the kids and I both took lessons.  The first hour, I thought my legs cannot do a pizza, wedge, triangle whatever the hell its called.  By lunch, I began planning for Park City in 2016.  Kelly, here we come.

Winter Paradise: Garmisch

The Noro virus visited us for Christmas this year.  It raced through Owen's school the week before his Christmas break.   When Dave retrieved him on December 18, he passed Colton, my friend Ashley's son, getting sick in the hall.  Despite the upcoming Kindergarten party, Dave and I planned to quarantine the kids.  Too late.  Owen got sick from 1 to 11 am.  He required us both to comfort and assure him.  Once he started on Gatorade and saltines, my thoughts switched to obsessing over who would be next.  I bleached any surface I could spray.   (I also quickly finished sandwiching and froze the Christmas cookies in case I went down.  Wouldn't want to lose an entire batch of spritzers.)  I continued to panic 48 hours later when Dave, Emily and I appeared fine.  I would have needed Prosaic had I lived during smallpox.

On Sunday, we drove halfway to Dusseldorf to visit with Courtney, Dave's cousin in from New York, when Emily threw up.  "I feel much better.  We don't need to turn around."  Never begin a three hour car ride with a child who refuses breakfast but insists she is fine.  "I just really wanted to go."

Christmas Eve, I spent the night sick which explains this sole picture from Christmas morning.  Santa brought Saige, her (expensive) dog, and a life size bear.

On the 26th, we left for paradise - I mean Garmisch, a Bavarian town surrounded by the Alps.  EVERYONE raved about this mountain resort that hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics.  I remained hopefully yet skeptical through the eight hour care ride - which should have been four.  Turns out Boxing Day is a popular for travel.  Instead of staying at Edelweiss, an American military resort,  we rented an apartment through Homeaway.  Clean, updated, and comfortable.  No lice, stray cats, or bed bugs.

Off to a late start the next day, I felt relief when we easily parked our car at the resort and enjoyed an all you can eat breakfast buffet.  (The kids did the eating - Dave and I limited our diet to toast.)  We gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows in awe of the surrounding mountains and peaceful atmosphere.  An hour later, we found the insane crowds at the ski slope.  After driving around for 30 min, we parked illegally while Dave signed the kids up for ski camp for the next day.  ("Where's Daddy?  Why can't We get out of the car?  STOP SINGING Emily.  STOP YELLING Owen.  It's not fair.")

Unlike for other trips, I left Rick Steve's at home.  I planned very little.  My manager suggested we see the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.  We found signs on the main road and followed them for 20 minutes to a parking lot.  Again, packed.  Our car spun out as we tried a snowy parking area.  Completely frustrated, we created a spot.  We decided to avoid the two hour line in the trams and instead took the train to the top.  45 minutes later, we arrived at what seemed like a movie set.  Colorful skiers speaking several languages, warm sun reflecting on the bluish snow, mittened hands grasping beer mugs, bright orange sleds moving down the slick hill.

We decided to rent sleds for the kids - despite neglecting to bring ski pants or water proof gloves.  Again, a 45 minute line  - absolutely no efficiency.

After one time down, "I'm hungry."

More sledding and then we braved the crowds to take the train back down.  Owen said, "Oh great, we are not going to get to go swimming," to which we laughed.  He screamed in frustration and the German family walking behind us laughed.  Universal.

A we walked to our car, Dave paused, "Look at this view.  One day, when you are sledding with your kids, you will think of our family together and how we went sledding in the Alps."

Christmas Cookie Making

Christmas always requires cookie making.  Despite a time crunch, I eeked out our family favorites - the Italian seven layer cookies, shortbread, sandwich spritzers, and world peace cookies.  The spritzers went quick leaving me with only a few to share at a cookie exchange with Matthew, Deborah, Bev, and Tim.   I arrived at the Eberts amazed at all of their fancy cookies - macaroons and buckeyes among the group.

The kids decorated there own cookies.

Just Because I Love this Fashion Icon

Christmas Concerts

Both schools held Christmas performances.  The First Grade sang several Christmas carols  and each class recited a poem.  For one song, three children, including Emily, had a small solo.  (She is on the left singing her verse.)  Of course, we arrived just in time to stand in the very back.

Emily could not see us and feared she lacked parents in the audience.

Owen's class took the public bus to the Consulate and sang three songs in two places.  Emily had started her three week winter break, so she came to watch.