Today Was the Bomb

Today was the bomb. Literally. We started off our day at the Hotel des Invalides, and there are cannon everywhere. Despite Warren being super interested in cannons a few months ago when we read about the Independence Day celebration in "Farmer Boy"--for weeks he asked me about shooting them and if he could make one, he used his food to design one yesterday--we couldn't get him to take a picture with one. So, we created some envy and had Andy take a picture with one.

It worked.

Avery, of course, would not be left out. This cannon has angels decorating it that you might be able to see, and Avery definitely fits in as a cherub.

Abigail loved climbing on a row of about 10 cannons and then "riding" them, as she called it.

Warren was pretending to be a cannonball here. Of note, all the cannons had their own name. Some had animal faces or other decoration. It reminded me of how some WWII planes had paintings on them--or am I just imagining that? The cannons also have an arrow pointing, I assume, which end to load and fire from. It would seem that should be obvious, but I suppose it was a predecessor to the safety warnings that are plastered on everything now.Avery is doing really well with all the different walking surfaces here; cobblestone like this is really tricky though, and she fell flat soon after we let her walk around. But she learned. Here she is confidently striding along.
Made in China? (just kidding--I have no idea what it says)

Even though the French don't have yards, they still love nature and it's beauties. I appreciate how they take the smallest area, like this window, and fill it with flowers. Little displays like this are on every building; I especially liked how this window had flowers on the sides too, not just the front. I might try this at home.The next two are sentimental; as we passed this statue in the road I said, "That looks like Washington." So I checked the name--it was. So I got a picture of me and G. Washington in Paris together.

{oops--I accidentally deleted this picture and I'm not going to take the time to add it back in. Just imagine! You all know what G. Washington looks like. He was on a horse.}

Once a Westwood Warrior, always a WW Warrior. This one is for you, Sarah. I was even wearing an orange shirt.Avery and I play in front of the Eiffel Tower. Also, a small glimpse of Spring treasures in Paris.

This park is just down from the Eiffel Tower. Avery went down the slide all by herself and was so proud.All day long, Abigail and Warren had been begging for icecream. If Avery could talk, I'm sure she would've joined in. But Andy and I refuse to spend 3.50 euros per cone. That's like $5.25. Multiply that by 5 and that is really expensive icecream. Anyway, we stopped by a supermarket, bought these really yummy icecream bars for 3 euros and ate them on the luscious lawn. It was heaven.
After we ate, the kids had renewed energy and we played for a long time on the grass before finishing our walk back to the metro. Andy is so good at making the kids laugh, especially when one of them starts getting cranky or sad. I really appreciate that.
Total steps today: 18,583 (about 6.5 miles)
French words I learned: pendant (during); meme (even, same); pieton (pedestrian)

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Another sunny day in Paris, so we headed off to Parc Monceau on foot, just before lunch. It is a big, beautiful park, with wide walking/jogging paths and big grassy areas; a children's play area and neat statues and old ruins all over the place. I thought this bridge was so picturesque, but you can't see the kids very well. Warren is the red shirt on the right, and Abigail is somewhere on the bridge.

We like watching ducks, wherever we go. The girls loved to be out of the stroller; after this, Avery pushed the empty stroller around for awhile.

The sandbox was even more entertaining than the ducks. Good thing I bought sand toys this week and that we brought them along. The kids made castles and cakes for at least an hour. Abigail would mix up the "ingredients" in a pail then carry it over to the slide to "bake." They got stressed out when other kids play with their toys--every kid wants our sand truck--but are getting better about sharing. Warren always asks me, "Mom, how do you say, 'This is ours.'?"

This picture does not do justice to this fabulous tree. The next picture shows one of it's quirks.

After eating lunch (bread from a local boulangerie, cheese, apples, salami) playing and meandering around Parc Monceau for several hours, we set off another walking tour card and passed the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. I would've liked to see the inside, but Avery was asleep and there was no way I was going to wake her up. So we contented ourselves walking around the exterior.This whole street was a street market; now both of the girls were asleep. Warren and I enjoyed sampling small pieces of pineapple and canteloupe. I wish I could say I spent my last 2 euros here, but I didn't.
I spent them here, at the street candy market we passed shortly afterwards. Warren was so amazed, and he had been such a good helper and traveller, so we went back and bought him a little bag. He ate each piece so slowly in little bites--it was sweet to see.
We headed for the Arc de Troimphe next; well, I thought I was, but I was actually walking the wrong way on the street. I figured that out after maybe a half-mile, maybe more, maybe less. We met up there at a small children's park, and then picked up some dinner to eat at the park. Usually when we eat, we do as the Parisians do and eat on the benches, but the 6-inch grass was so cool and inviting, we sat down like tacky Americans and ate on the grass.
Doesn't Avery light up when she knows her picture is being taken? We walked home with Andy--yeah! he can push the stroller--and added about 20 minutes to our journey by missing a street, but oh well. It added to my step count. As we walked into our yard, Abigail said, "That was a great day." I'm glad they don't resent me dragging them around.
Total steps today: 28,497 (my pedometer estimates that at 9.88 miles, based on the stride-length I entered; definitely passes my record from yesterday)
French word: poussez (push; it's on doors) Hey, maybe that's why a stroller is called a poussette.

The Sunshine Made Me Brave...

Today was going to be a day where we stayed close to home, but then I woke up and the sun was shining and somehow it made me brave. It's like that hymn, "There is sunshine in my soul today." Funny, because Abigail actually sang that at some point in our travels today. Anyway, by the time I finally fixed the shutter on my camer--it wouldn't open earlier--the sun was hidden behind the clouds, but believe me, it was glorious almost all day, and when the sun shines in Paris, you have to go outside and live it up.
I felt brave enough to take the kids on the Metro--all by myself. I put my ticket in my jeans so it would be easily accessible and practiced asking "Will you help me with the door of the metro?" (Later, I realized I remembered incorrectly and actually asked, "Would you like to help me with the door of the metro?" Oh well, the nice lady got the point.) On our metro line, the doors must be unlatched, and doing that, then hoisting the stroller up the 6 inches onto the train and making sure Warren gets on, all before the doors close automatically is a bit nerve-racking. But, it worked well to have someone else get the door. Once on, I felt a huge wave of relief and I was actually excited for our day out. We didn't have to transfer, so our only other obstacles were the 2 stairways up to the street. Thankfully, the city is full of people who offer their assistance, and a nice couple helped me up both of them. If I weren't so busy carrying the stroller up the stairs with 2 kids in it, I would take a picture. :)
Once on the street, we took a walk mapped out by a walking tour set of cards I have. We started at the Concorde metro station and headed up around Place de Madeleine, which is a church and also the name of the area. This is Paris gourmet food shopping at it's finest. We didn't go into any of them--I'm not sure we would've all been welcome, stroller, 3 kids--but we saw shops dedicated exclusively to honey, mustard and vinegar, and of course, chocolate. They looked fabulous. We also passed a lot of great clothing shops and some posh-looking toy stores. I'd love to go in them, without the kids. Maybe for their birthdays in May...Oh, I saw a store that looked like it was all things made of origami, but I didn't pass it on the way back. If I go back, I'm going in there, kids or no kids. That would be fascinating.
In the midst of all this fabulous food we stopped at a park and ate our fruit snacks, cheese crackers and beef jerky, all pilfered from our 72 hour kits back home. Yum.
After our walking route was finished, we walked to the apartment of the Shirtliff's--the people who had us over for dinner on Sunday. I had called her that morning before I left to ask if we could visit like she had offered on Sunday. When we got off the elevator at the 4th floor, we were greeted by the aroma of chocolate chip cookies, hot out of the oven. It was beautiful. Elaine had made them just for us. We ate as many as we wanted, along with apples, orange juice, fruit snacks and peanut butter on french bread and it was wonderful. Then we watched "Monsters Inc." It was great to have a place to unwind; Avery especially enjoyed being out of the stroller and running around on the rugs. I think it's the only place with carpeting/rugs that we've been in. It is so great to have a grandma away from home. She invited us back for lunch next week when they get back from Engand, and also will come visit us, since her yarn store is near by our neighborhood.

This is the park and church directly across the street from the Shirtliff's apartment. Paris is a city of contrasts--this picture illustrates that. I love that there are parks everywhere here! So do the kids. It is ideal for breaks from the long walks. We played for a bit, then set out on the long walk down St. Germain des Pres Blvd. to Andy's school, Ecole Polytechnique.

This is in the park/courtyard of the church, St. Germain de Pres. Abigail fell asleep on our walk here, but Warren enjoyed playing on the fallen stones that are arranged in the center of the grassy space. You can see that the park is kind of made up of these fallen pieces. While we were there, a nice older gentelman came up to return my map the kids had dropped and asked if I was the "child's helper." Seeing my confused look, he asked embarassedly, "Oh! You are the mother of all three!?" I replied yes, and we had a great time visiting. His English was pretty good. He thought I looked so young that I couldn't be the mother of the 3 kids; I didn't tell him that I'm only 25, anyway.
He has 3 sons, all grown and he lives in the French Alps. I told him that we were here for 3 months while Andy studies at Ecole Polytechnique; he was impressed by this and was happy to tell me that his father had studied there also. It must have been years ago, because he was at least 70. He said, "You're children are magnificent." I think people here really like their blond hair and blue eyes. We chatted some more and then he asked if he could take a picture so he could "show my wife my mishap." He pronounced "mishap" with the "sh" like the "sh" in ship, so I didn't understand at first. Then I realized he meant mistaking me for a nanny of 3 kids. After taking our picture, he offered to take one with our camera. These are the photos.

Nothing that different from the last one, except you get a better view of my scarf (yeah for scarves) and Avery dipping her binky in the cheese we pilfered from the Shirtliff's, La Vache Qui Rit. She was pretty hungry and really enjoyed eating the cream cheese-like stuff right off her binky. After this, we walked a bit further to Andy's school and met him, along with the 2 professors he is working with, Dr.'s Balinski and Laraki. They are delightful. I'm so glad he is working with such nice people. We visited for a while, then rode the metro home. We picked up 2 long baguette sandwiches at a boulangerie on the way home for dinner and ate in our garden area. It was a great day.
Total steps: 17,300 (a record, thus far)
French phrase to remember: "Pourriez-vous m'aider avec la porte du metro?"

From the beginning...

This is out of order, but I'm putting it in anyway. This is the first few days of our trip to France. I have some pictures, but it is late and I have to figure out how to do that here, so, I'm just going to go ahead and post. It's long, so consider yourself warned. I wrote all this on the 18th, and it covers the 14th-18th.
18 avril 2008
I've been without my journal for the duration of our trip thus, far, so I'll update until this point.
Day 1:
After 4 hours of sleep, I awoke at 5:30 am to get ready to go to the airport. Après quatres heures de dormir,je me reveille à cinq heures trente me prépare aller à l'aeroport. I really thought, "If I had a choice between going to France right now or going back to sleep, I would choose sleep." But considering we'd already bought $4000+ of airline tickets, that wasn't really an option. I felt sick to my stomach--whether it was the 4 desserts I'd eaten the night before or nervousness I'll never know--so when we picked up Gordon at 6:15 to take us to the airport, Andy got me a bowl of Mini-wheats, since the Poptarts my kids were eating looked unpalatable. I felt much better after eating them.
At the airport, we unloaded our mountains of luggage on to 2 carts, packed the kids in our triple stroller, said goodbye to Gordon and headed for baggage check and security. The line wasn't very long, but when we did get to the counter, it took over 30 minutes to get tags printed for our bags. I don't know why. The kids did really well just sitting there, which felt like a good omen. When we finally got done there, we dropped our bags of for screening and headed for security. I told the kids, "Security is the best part of the airport because it's the part of the trip where you get to eat fruitsnacks in line!" So we busted into our snack reserve--more on this later--and ate fruit snacks all through the line, which moved along at a nice pace. The stroller negotiated the twists and turns of security really well. We made it through without any glitches and set out for our gate.
We boarded our plane and we had our first chance of many to ask people to accomodate us: our seats were spread out in 4 sections on the plane. 2 in one aisle, 1 in the aisle opposite, 1 in the aisle in front of the 2 and 1 more several aisles up in the emergency exit row. Hmm--imagine: Bekah and Avery, Warren across the aisle, Abigail in front of me and Andy in the exit row, since kids can't sit there. Well, Andy asked the lady in the aisle seat in front of us if she would trade him seats. She replied, "Only if that seat reclines." She went to check. It didn't. At this point she decided that not trading him seats pretty much made her the Wicked Witch of the West and said, "Well, I'll be nice and trade." Now we had 2 and 2 behind eachother, still, that left one seat all alone across the aisle. Warren was sitting in it. This nice, elderly couple was sitting across the aisle from eachother between me and Warren. As they became aware of our situation, the grandmother volunteered to trade Warren's middle seat--which was next to her husband--for her aisle seat next to me. So we finally had 2 rows on the same side of the plane. It was so nice of both people to trade us, but funny how I'm still a little bitter about the first lady just because her manner of trading was so unlike the nice grandma-lady's was. I'm sure theres a lesson in people skills available there for me.
So the plane ride to Atlanta went really well. Our kids loved trading seats and opening the wrapped-up toys and games in each of their backpacks--thank you Laura for the idea, and Molly for the wrapping paper left from Christmas. I really think that our performance on the plane makes us eligble for parents of the year :) Abigail got really nervous during take-off and landing: she almost shook she was so tense, but beside that, our ride was pretty uneventful. We got to Atlanta, got some food at the airport that didn't include crackers, processed cheese or high-fructose corn syrup and boarded our next plane to Paris. We sat in the very front row of the center section of the plane and the row behind it. The movie screen was RIGHT in front of us, which would've been great if my kids would've liked the movies. Unfortunately, they didn't and the screen mainly kept them awake. Avery was especially hard to get to sleep, but eventually we did. Before our plane took off, I was a little concerned to hear Andy talking to our French landlord--who is in LA right now--about whether or not something was "okay" with her and if we could still get in the house tomorrow. I figured no one could be that unkind and put it out of my mind.
Day 2:
About 4 hours into the flight the kids were all asleep, and so was I, after watching 2 movies. I awoke though, when the 3rd one started and couldn't fall asleep again. So on the entire flight, I got about 30 minutes of sleep. They were bringing breakfast around at what was about 6:30 am Paris time and I thought, "You're kidding--my day is just starting?" Still, I forced it down, washed my face with the handy wipey they provide, put my makeup on and decided I could do this. At this point, I asked Andy if we were going to be able to go to our house. He said no and explained because our landlord had not given us her apartment number in LA, UPS had been unable to deliver our deposit check to her the previous day, and had not attempted again that day. They would deliver the next day and she refused to let us enter until she had the check in her hands. And to think I thought I'd already met the Wicked Witch. I spent the rest of the flight trying not to cry. At least the lady I sat by commented on how well-behaved our children were; she said her 4 yr. old grandson would have never sat like Warren. We landed, woke up our kids and waited until everyone was off the plane to get our multitude of things off.
Charles de Gaulle airport is beautiful, and empty at 7:30 am, which made it easy to get around. Still, couldn't it be designed so that instead of having to take 1 elevator up and then 4 separate ones down just to get to the baggage level, we could just take one? Luckily, although the elevators are much smaller than the US, the stroller fit with no room to spare on either end. I could squeeeze in along with it, but Andy always had to take the next one with all our carry-on baggage. We got the the baggage carousel; it was easy to find ours, since we were the only people there and ours was the only baggage left. Andy called the pick-up service we had reserved and we went to meet them at the appointed spot. It was a long wait, but we didn't have anywhere to go--literally--so it wasn't a big deal, except that it was cold. Unseasonably cold. I found the kids jackets and kept busy practicing my french on a nice woman who was concerened that I didn't have a jacket.
Our van came with one other passenger--a nice British lady--and we set off to find a hotel. The kid
were quiet and calm, and the ride was uneventful except that Avery launched vomit the color of cheese crackers all over herself and the seat in front of us. Yeah for diaper wipes! We were told there were no decent hotels in the 18th arrondissment where our apartment was, but our driver knew of a good one in a close arrondissment where the kids would stay for free. We got there. It was full. So were the next 2 hotels we tried. Finally, the fourth had rooms and we left our friendly driver for our the unknown. It was 11 am, so we couldn't check in yet. I was exhausted, so we walked the mall next to our hotel very slowly until noon. We bought the kids some icecream--their only request once they heard we weren't going home yet--and then went to our hotel.
The next part of our journey is pretty depressing, so if you're not up for it, skip to the next day. I'm actually glad to be writing this a few days after the fact, because I was a wreck that day. Keep in mind I slept 30 minutes on the plane, 4 hours the night before, and 6 the night before that. I had eaten a diet of mainly beef jerkey, fruitsnacks, orange juice and airplane food. Before we left we had been super-stressed about how we would get to our place with our 3 kids, 8 checked bags, 5 carry-ons, triple stroller and carseat. Once we had reserved a transport though, we were feeling pretty good. Now we had to figure out another way to get us to our place--again. And vans don't run cheap. Nor do hotel rooms, even little, tiny ones that have one double bed with a twin bunk bed over the top of them and are hot and stuffy. And we were told we had to have 2. When we got to our room, I collapsed on the bed and cried and cried and cried. Andy needed to use the internet signal in the lobby, so he went down and I let the kids run crazy around the room around me while I lay on the bed in a daze. At some point, Andy came back and said he'd talked to our landlord's friend--Jullien--who lives here in Paris and was responsible for giving us the key. He said he'd let us in anyway--what a saint. But there was the insurmountable and expensive task of getting us there. If we left now, the hotel said we could cancel both of our rooms. I said, "Okay, let's go," but then burst into tears--again--of exhaustion. It became apparent to Andy I couldn't go anywhere and I couldn't be of any help at that moment. He still needed to go meet Jullien and deposit our rent money into our landlady's bank account. He volunteered to take Warren with him, plus 2 large suitcases. He figured it would make us more mobile later. I felt bad because I knew Warren was tired, to say nothing of Andy, but he told me not to worry, so I was selfish and didn't. They left to take the Metro and I put Avery, Abigail and myself down for a nap. Despite it being freezing outside, our room was hot and stuffy since it faced the afternoon sun. The AC didn't work. We still slept. At some point we woke up and it felt like it had been a long time. I couldn't reach Andy on the cell phone and I felt pretty scared. I felt awful when I thought of him and Warren dragging 2 suitcases around on the Metro. Finally, we connected via phone and he said he was on the way back to the hotel.
They got back, and their trip sounded every bit as hard as I imagined, but at least it was over. We were still going to try to get to our house that evening. So we packed everything up, stuffed the stroller bin as full of gear as we could and left the hotel. We got as far as the bus stop when I realized we were somehow all supposed to get on the bus: stroller, bags, kids, carseat. And we had still left some of our gear behind that Andy would have to come back and get tomorrow. I started crying again. Poor Andy. Somehow his companion-candidate for "Parent of the Year" got left on the plane and traded in for a fourth child. We realized that riding the bus, transferring to the Metro and then walking the half-mile or so to our house (including the huge flight of stairs to get out of the Metro) was probably out of our reach on a good day, and pretty much impossible and next to suicide on a day like this. So we turned around and walked the 50 yards back to our hotel, and spent the night in our hotel room. We ate the snacks I pilfered from our 72 hour kits back home for dinner--thanks mom for the tuna and crackers and especially the applesauce--and went to bed. It was a long night after a long day and if it sounds depressing, you're right. It was. I even remember telling Andy, in complete seriousness, that I wanted to go back home. And I did. If I could have, I'd have gotten on a plane and left Paris behind. It was that bad.
Day 3:
Everything looks better in the light of a new day; not tons better, but at least I wasn't lobbying for a return-flight anymore. We woke up at 10 and needed to figure out a way to our house and be checked out by 11. We did and met our blue taxi van at 11. The driver was nice. Yeah for nice people. Our stroller barely fit, but in the end we were all in and on our way. The city still didn't look friendly, and watching the meter on the taxi go up wasn't helping any. Our street looked especially trashy and run-down (not in a cute way) when we arrived at our gate, which was...the entrance to a parking garage. "I live in a parking garage. Great." That's what I was thinking. We got through our gate, rolled our gear down the cobblestone for about 30 meters and there on the right was our gate. It looked just like it had in pictures, so at least that wasn't a surprise. We unlocked the door and my first impressions were:
1. It looks a little better than in pictures.
2. It looks more open than in pictures (don't get any big ideas though: it is still very small!)
3. The piano was for real.
4. Why does everyone in France smoke!? Oh well, I've smelled much worse, and 2 days later, I'm used to the faint lingering smell.
I smiled for real for the first time since we got off the plane.
I unpacked while Andy took the kids to the park, and then the girls and I napped while Warren and Andy went back to the park. I felt much better after all that.

17 avril 2008, jeudi
Today I went to the park for the first time; it's a great park, with an upper level for older kids and a lower level for small children. The toys are fun and inviting, it's clean, the kids love it, and it's very close to our house. What a blessing that testifies to Heavenly Father knowing our needs, even when we don't know what to ask for.
Total steps today: 4,613 (Still a little terrified)
French words I learned: tobogan: slide (noun); poussette: stroller; assi: Sit down!; l'escalier: stairway
18 avril 2008, vendredi
We took out a walk using one of my guidebook walks up to Sacre Couer today. I think it was a turning point for me to realize that thoughts in my mind are generally scarier than the reality that plays out when I go out with the kids. It wasn't always easy, but it was mostly very enjoyable. We had 4 staircases to navigate with the stroller, and so many people helped us. Nothing reaffirms the kindness that is out there than a stranger helping me.
Total steps today: 10,119 (I'm feeling braver today!)
French words I learned: yeux: eyes; complet: whole (on bread, it means whole grain)

21 avril 2008

Today we stayed close to home--after 3 days of touring Paris by Metro and on foot, I figured the kids needed a day off. They played all morning while I rearranged/organized/cleaned. Our place is small--just about the size of our living room at home--and it's kind of run-down. Still, it looked better and felt better after I cleared off a lot of the surfaces we had just been piling stuff up on. Truly, the kids can make messes faster than I can pick up after them when they are playing, but that's okay, there isn't that much to mess up.
We went to the park this afternoon and Warren was so proud that he climbed to the very top of the rope-climbing-web. He kept calling down to me, "Mom--are you so proud of me?" Avery, Abigail and I blew bubbles that we had brought from Mesa. When we were at home in Mesa, I told Abigail we were bringing bubbles to blow in the park, and after that, she changed her mind and decided she wanted to go to France. So, we pretty much fulfilled her expectations for France as blew bubbles in the park. If only they hadn't spilled 2/3 of them in the first 5 minutes...Oh well, they sell bubbles in Paris, right?
We walked around the neighborhood a bit. I found another supermarket and bought some basics we needed and Avery gave up on me while we were in the long line and screamed and cried. We were quite the site, with the 3 kids in the stroller in the grocery store. There aren't carts that can hold kids here, just baskets to carry or pull, so usually I go shopping without the kids. After today, I am committed to shopping alone.
I bought a scarf, so now I look French--except for my 3 blond kids--and I am warmer. I tried to make crepes for dinner--I've made them in the states lots of times before--but I used the recipe on the bag of flour I got here and they were a disaster. In the end, we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches instead of ham and cheese crepes.
After the girls were in bed tonight, I took a sanity walk all by myself. It was nice to be alone and to navigate corners, curbs and steps so easily. I didn't speak to anyone, so I probably looked just like any other Parisien going home for the night. It was nice to blend in.
Tonight, our friend got us the password to his friend's internet network so now I have access to the outside world! It was fun to read my emails and hear what is happening with the people back home. I will start practicing my online French program again, now.
Total steps today: 9,319
French words: marche: start; arret: stop; (hence, the A & M on our space heaters here)