I picked the kids up straight from school and we left directly from the train station;
We were able to have lunch in Belleville with Sophie and company that Saturday before they left for London. It was nice of them to haul in. Daniel was totally late. He took his car/tank to Belleville and then attempted to actually park it on a market day. I'm so beyond lecturing him on the beauties of Paris' public transport system but his family, as well as Sophie, were quick to remind him. Highly entertaining for his family living there once they heard the story!
Otherwise, it was what we call, the Family Vortex. Between his sister, uncle and cousins, we're kind of booked. The food is great but all those exotic restaurants (we don't have in Strasbourg) beckoning me on and... Oh I'll stop complaining... At least I got my "fix" the first day. Sophie, Dith and I would eat at the President in Belleville 13 years ago when I first moved to Paris.
The first evening was a bit of a wash-out. We ate at my sister-in-laws'. The son, aged 17, did not come home for dinner. He's one of those Good Kids who doesn't just run off, making it even more worrisome. There was a flurry of phone calls. Turns out, he says he told his mother he was going out. She didn't hear him or forgot then he was in a disco without a network so he couldn't be reached on his cell. They found this out right after we left. My girls, during dinner, declared that they "didn't like" her lasagne. She made it the French way with cream, which they aren't used to. We had a little discussion about politeness at other people's houses, like the fact that pushing food away and declaring they didn't like it was rude.
Sunday we were ALL DAY at his uncle's. Don't get me wrong. Nice house. I actually like his uncle and aunt. Nice people. But it was...ALL DAY.
Here are my girls with their cousin Yona, who is 16 months old. What a cutie! She's actually crying in the shot, after Talia picked her up but the photo is still cute.
Talia gets points for patience here;
Ronnie's with Yona's sister, Ilan (yes, the cousins were also given Israeli names so it's not just my kids!) Ronnie's so sweet with little ones. It warms the heart. Even when Ilan follows him like a puppy. Ilan apparently is always asking about him. When is Ronnie coming back? kind of thing...
Monday, I escaped. Daniel was headed to Rouen in Normandy. Going to Normandy didn't float my boat so I nixed his plans of taking the whole family. I abhor Normany and Brittany; cold, sad beach, it's just not California. Honestly, New Jersey has better beaches! I have never gotten over a really long vacation we had at La Baule once. I can just never go back there and I'd be happy.
I told Daniel to drop Ronnie off at the hotel. I stayed at the Novotel Gare de Lyon, which is near The Family, but to save money, we split, with me and the girls and Ronnie and Daniel staying at his uncle's. Daniel wanted me to book in Vincennes itself. Ugh! The burbs. No thanks! Actually, Novotel, as souless as it is, had a swimming pool (which we never used) and it very kid-friendly. I could see complaints about my girls at some stuffy old place, ages from everything. Daniel has a frequent-whatever for the Novotel chain so he gets a deal.
The uncle is too old to have three loud children running around the house (not to mention the strain on the plumbing) but it worked out. Actually, one cousin has an extra apartment right in the middle of Vinciennes, which would be ideal for all of us. I'll bug Daniel to stay there next time! Nice place, close to the Metro (compensating for being outside of Paris itself) and... I get to eat breakfast in my jammies! My pet peeve about staying in a hotel.
Of course, Daniel managed to talk Ronnie into coming with him. Dragged the poor boy around. He didn't get to see Julia's girls and got to sit in on a business meeting. Goodie! But at least Daniel didn't have to drive into Paris. His excuse was "Ronnie said he gets sick on Ferris Wheels". We didn't even end up doing that!
But we were in Paris on a nice day! I had this great idea to do the Ferris Wheel but it wont be set up for another couple of weeks (I really looked carefully at the dates, didn't I??) I met up with Julia, who had not only her girls but her parents, who were very nice. Her 87 year old dad did great with all the walking (with a few rests). We hung out in the Jardin de Tuileries where the kids did the trampolines and rode ponies. They were good sports about my Ferris Wheel miscalculation.
I didn't take any pictures of Talia on the tramboline. Too terrified with her cast!
She also didn't want to do the pony.
These are Julia's daughters, Fay turning around and Lucy on the right.
What was funny was that we met Julia and her gang at 2pm. She mentions "Oh we rushed here after having fallafels in rue de Rosiers (the Jewish quarter). Ha! Guess who else was at a nearby restaurant having the same thing! We actually have a lot in common so it wasn't all that surprising (including yid backgrounds and politics). We're kind of on the same wave length.
One thing we did debate was whether to submit to the girls' wishes and get Cotton Candy. I actually don't find it that evil. In fact, I like Cotton Candy myself and take bits from the kids. It's pure sugar, which is why Julia hates it and I figure it has no fat or starch (thus filling tummies for the next meal). You just have a sugar-crazed child (the medical jury is still out on that one but us moms swear it's true).
Now I'm all out of order. Here are photos from earlier in the day, at Place des Vosges;
The rest of the time was made up with shopping and more relative-visiting.
By the way, for any Strasbourgoise who are reading, I parked at Gare Wodli and it was super easy. I paid 35 Euros for the week and had the car when we arrived. Beats trying to deal with the cabs!
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