Paris with Kids – Part II

In Part I, I wrote about the many joys of being in Paris with children.  While the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum were obvious highlights, the quiet strolls through the parks, sipping hot chocolate, and just relaxing in general weren’t bad either.

The thrill of Friday night was the Christmas Market along the Champs-Élysées.  This is a spectacular market that forms every year and a stroll along the stalls is somehow both exciting and relaxing at the same time.  This was followed by a couple spins around the famous Ferris Wheel of Paris, which gave us stunning views of the lights of Paris.

On Saturday, we were off to check out a kick-ass playground and the Guignol puppet show in the Luxemburg Gardens.  Sherry and I have always enjoyed watching children play here and were really looking forward to watching children we knew having a blast.  After paying a nominal fee, we spend the next 90 minutes with huge smiles on our faces because the kids had even bigger smiles on theirs.

At last, the bell announcing the start of the Guignol puppet show began to ring so it was off the theater.  Watching the kids watch the show, which was of course in French, convinced me of two things.  Certain things are funny, like being scared by a big hairy spider in an old château, in any language and that the true universal language has got be the laughter of children.

As the day winded down, we ate lunch in a Brasserie, shopped in the Latin Quarter, made the requisite stop at Shakespeare and Company, visited Notre Dame, and made a side trip to get the best ice cream in the world.  The day ended with a 2-hour dinner complete with view of the Eiffel Tower followed by watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle from the Trocadero, which is our favorite vantage point and where the whole adventure started.

The last part is traditional for Sherry and I and it’s how we end every trip to Paris.  What made this trip truly special was enjoying one of favorite places in the world with some of our favorite people in the world.

As for the kids, they never ceased to amaze us.  Their energy, wide-eyed bewilderment, and their laughter added a whole new dimension to this trip.  But mostly, they simply got it!  They understood what hanging out in Paris was all about and that was truly special for us.

À bientôt

Paris with Kids – Part 1

During our most recent trip to Paris, Sherry and I got to see the city from a whole new perspective.  We got the opportunity to explore the City of Lights with kids since our very good friends were joining us for a few days.  So, the stars of today’s post are Abby, who is 10, and 5-year old Graeme.

Let me just say right off that the kids were awesome!!!  They rode the Metro and buses.  They played in the parks.  The toured the Louvre Museum. They sat through 2-hour dinners. But mostly, they did what kids do best, which is live life on a whole different level and that made this trip very special for Sherry and I.

One of the first things we did was go to the Trocadero, which has the best views of the Eiffel Tower in the entire city.  After a few photos and lots of excited comments, we went down the the base.  As the adults were looking up and discussing the what it would be like to live in the area, the kids were trying to catch drops of water (condensation from fog) that were falling from the second level.  Leave it to kids to turn a 122-year old, 990 foot iron tower into a game.

Next up was Notre Dame, where there many more awestruck looks and comments.  On the way, we discovered the best way to get around with kids was by going through the parks.  This allowed the big kids (us adults) to stroll and chat while the real kids ran around, chased each other, and acted like, well, kids.

The next day, the family went to the Louvre Museum and we got to hear all about it at dinner.  Abby and Graeme were simply amazed.  You could tell they were truly soaking in that they were in Paris, in the Louvre and seeing such beautiful pieces of art.  They had also purchased pencils and sketch pads to start creating their own works of art.  At dinner, Abby asked why the Mona Lisa is the most popular painting in the world.  I just love that inquisitive side of kids.

The trip also included shopping at the Christmas markets, playing in Luxembourg Gardens, catching the Guignol puppet show, and going back to the Eiffel Tower at night, but I’ll save the rest of the tale for my next post. 

À bientôt

Back in Paris

Sherry and I have spend the last week back in Paris.  This is the 5th trip where we’ve rented an apartment in the same general area and to be honest, it’s start to feel like coming home.

Our Paris vacations are actually very hard to explain to most people.  They always want to know what we do while we’re here.  They ask if we went so such and such museum and we say no!  Then they’ll ask if we went to see certain monuments and we once again say no.  So, what do we do in Paris?

The answer to that is as simple as it is complicated.  The short answer is that we simply hang out in Paris.  The longer, and more reflective response, is we try and capture some of the essence of living day to day in the City of Lights.

That means we shop for food and other essentials.  We cook.  We explore parts of the city without tourist sites to see what’s there.  We run errands that take us to new parts of the city.  We visit our favorite bistros and cafés while also finding new haunts.  We sip wine and café crèmes while watching a city in constant motion.  And, when we come in November, we do the majority of our holiday gift shopping.

Without a plan, we also loose track of time.  There are many days we have to calculate what day of the week it is.  We loose track because when we’re here, it doesn’t really matter.  There are also many discussions at breakfast that start with the question: “Well, what are we going to do today?”

As much as we love Paris, we decided to take a break after this trip.  There are other parts of France yet to be explored.  There’s also Italy, Spain, Greece and other countries we would like to see.  However, we will be back as this city captures our hearts and souls like no other.

À bientôt

A Perfect Day in France

I feel I should start by admitting that’s been a while since I posted to either of my blogs.  Let’s just say that life and starting a cycling team have taken up quite a bit of my time.  However, Sherry and I are back in France and I can’t think of a better time get going again.

Sherry and I left for France on 11/11/11 for a week in Provence followed by a week in Paris.  Overall, the trip was pretty routine.  An 11-hour flight to Paris followed by a 3-hour TGV ride to Avignon.  We like to spend the night in Avignon so we can be a little fresher on our drive into the Luberon, in this case to the village of Ménerbes.

On Sunday morning we awoke ready to start our day.  This was probably helped along by a lovely evening in Avignon with lots of great food and wine for dinner.  We took a taxi back to the TGV station to pick up the rental car and a few quick minutes later I was re-acquainting myself with the art of French driving.

The plan was to go straight to the Sunday market at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.  This is by far our favorite Provençal market  as it meanders through the town and along the Sorgue river.  The day was made even nicer with stunningly beautiful weather and the fact that we were shopping like locals.  After many hours of buying local vegetables, cheeses, ham, olives, gifts for friends and drinking the occasional coffee, it was time for our next destination.

The guy at the rental car agency suggested we go see Fountaine-de-Vaucluse.  This is where the Sorgue River literally comes out of a cave at the base of a cliff.  We visited there in 2007 but due to the recent heavy rains it was supposed to be spectacular.  However, when we arrived it seemed that every French person in the region had the same idea so we decided to go back another day.

As we left the village, we saw a sign for Gordes.  This may be our favorite village in Provence so we headed that way for lunch.  We tempered our excitement by saying if it was also crazy full of people then we would save it for another day as well.

Fortunately, we found a place to park with no problems and the village was pretty empty.  After a short stroll, we had a lovely lunch at the restaurant that is featured in the movie A Good Year.  After a bit more relaxing and photo-snapping it was time to head to Ménerbes and check-in to the house were we would spend the next 6 nights.

So, there you have it.  Our first full day in France and we’ve already been to our favorite market and village under the bluest skies we’ve ever seen.  I can’t wait to see what comes next.

À bientôt

Celebrating 25 Years

Two days ago, Sherry and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  It has been an amazing adventure filled with love and laughter and a genuine feeling that we would rather spend time with each other then anyone else.  That was true on our wedding day and it remains true today.

So, you might think I would write about the secrets to a long marriage or how lucky I am to be married to such a remarkable woman.  I could recount hundreds of stories about our lives together.  But, I’m not.  Instead, I’m going to write about our dinner that night because I think it says a lot about why we are so happy together.

We chose the Glen Ellen Inn for dinner.  It had been a while since we were there however, we always seem to pick them for romantic occasions so they seemed like the perfect choice.  We were wrong.

Upon arrival, the special romantic table we were promised was nowhere to be found.  Although we brought wine for dinner I wanted to start with glasses of champagne but a quick look at the wine list changed my mind.  Meanwhile, Sherry was looking at the menu with a funny look on her face and when I looked I immediately knew why.  It was mostly sandwiches and salads.

Being happily married for 25-years has us on the same page on most issues and on that night we both knew this is not what we wanted.  So, I stepped outside, made a few calls, and came back to let her know we were on our way to Estate.

Our experience at Estate was everything we were looking for on this special night.  The food and service were outstanding.  Plus, when they discovered it was our 25th anniversary, they created a special dessert, which they offered as their treat.  It was one of the best anniversary meals we’ve experienced (which deserves it’s own blog).

So there you have it!  It was a shaky start but a glorious finish and that perhaps bests describes our marriage.  I think all marriages start of a little shaky as you learn to live and love as a couple.  But for us, this period passed very quickly and it’s been smooth sailing ever since as we work our way to our own glorious finish many years from now.

Au revoir!

Sunflowers

I was at a work event on Tuesday that was part of the Farmer’s Market. As I was leaving, I noticed a booth selling sunflowers so I bought a bunch for Sherry. Needless to say, there were big kisses, and big husband points, when I got home.

Actually, maybe I do need to say. You see, Sherry loves sunflowers! She always tries to have at least one vase filled with them in the house at all times. One of her favorite moments in every Tour de France is when the peloton is cycling through the sunflowers fields of Provence.  A few years ago we were lucky enough to be in Provence at end of the season and she got to stroll around among them with a big smile.

What is it about sunflowers that make people smile? Is it because they look like they’re smiling at you? Or is it the beautiful hues of yellow and gold?  Maybe they remind us of sunshine and that’s what makes us smile. Of course, they have the word sun in their name and I am sure that also helps.

I think it’s the name.  It just sounds happy.  However, that may only be true in English.  While you would think the French name would be la fleur du soleil it’s actually tournesol, which isn’t as nice in my book.   The same is true in Spanish where the name is girasol and not la flor del sol.

In the end, I guess the “why” they make us smile doesn't really matter and we should just accept the fact as one of life’s little pleasures.

Au revoir!

Two weeks of positive vibes

In the back of my mind, I knew it had been a while since I updated this blog.  Don’t get me wrong, there are have been many, many things that were blog-worthy, I just haven’t had the time to write about them.  Then I noticed that “a while” turned into two months so it’s time to get caught up.

The most significant event in the past few weeks was returning for my second year at WCMS (you can read about my first year and the program here).  I met my classmates last year and we formed instant friendships.  While we developed our professional skills, we were also building bonds that, for many of us, will last a lifetime.

Since last year we have all stayed in touch by telephone, email, texts and Facebook, but for two weeks in July we get to hang out face-to-face.  You know what means, right?  Lots of laughs, late nights, story telling, reminiscing, and just the “occasional” drink to keep things going.  All of this is set against the backdrop of college life complete with living in dorms, eating cafeteria food, and studying for exams. 

Second to only Sherry (my lovely wife), these people are collectively one of the most positive influences in my life today.  They will never truly know how much they mean to me and how they’ve helped me during those tough times we all experience.  When I’m feeling a little down, I only need to reminisce about our times together and I immediately have a smile on my face. 

I can only hope that everyone gets to experience something so positive at some point in their lives.

Au revoir!