We had crepes on Ile St. Louis,
bought treats from Maison Kayser,
and bid "Adieu" to my new favorite city.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Last Day in Paris
We ran along the Seine on Sunday morning, watched the city wake up, and then attended the international mass at Notre Dame. The difference between the regular masses and the international one? None. I thoroughly enjoyed the homily. The priest spoke in French, a language I do not understand, so I found nothing offensive.
We had crepes on Ile St. Louis,
bought treats from Maison Kayser,
and bid "Adieu" to my new favorite city.
We had crepes on Ile St. Louis,
bought treats from Maison Kayser,
and bid "Adieu" to my new favorite city.
Paris Weekend: Day 2
Instead of rushing to the sites, we lingered over breakfast at Maison Kayser, the "boulanger" known for superlative breads and pan au chocolat. The buttery quiche crust, the creamy cappuccino and flaky croissant redefined a good breakfast.Tickets for the Eiffel Tower sold out until early March. When we arrived at the monument, no lines prevented us from buying a ticket on site and just walking right up. We couldn't believe it.
The views from the top….
By the time we walked down, the line increased.
We walked to a cafe with the best tower views and enjoyed a three course lunch.
I realized at 7:00 pm the so-called best ice cream place, Berthillon on Ile St. Louis, closed at 8:00. So we had to eat dessert first. (And last, since I was full from the day.)
Friday, January 31, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
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.
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.
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