Au Revoir Paris!

On our last day, we decided to celebrate our month in Paris by going to a creperie. Joe and I both got our first crepes and fell in love! I think it's maybe a good think that we didn't discover them until our last day because our pocket books and wastelines may have suffered a bit :)

Dan enjoyed a sucker and bites of our crepes and was quite a happy camper. He is very willing to pose for pictures these days....he always bursts out with "Cheeeeeeeeeez!"

One last cute pic of Dan in our bedroom here in Paris. He loves this book and loves the fact that it is warm enough to run around in a diaper!

I don't quite know how to sum up our time here. It has truly been a blessing and we've loved getting to spend so much time in Paris. We've developed routines and feel like we have really gotten to know "our area" here. We head out tomorrow and fly back to Scotland. We will be there for a night and then head straight on to Kiltarlity to start our time there. We are so excited to get settled and see the cottage that will be our home! We'll post pictures soon!

Saturday Morning Rest...

We went inside the Louvre the first weekend we were here, but we took a trip back to the grounds yesterday morning.


We had a nice relaxing morning in the gardens of the Palace Royale. We found some great reclining chairs in front of the fountain and took it easy.

Dan caught on and chose a chair for pure relaxation. Not without his stick, of course!

Meet our Flatmates!

Here we are! This month we have shared a three-bedroom apartment with two other families. It really has worked out great! From the left and on around the table there is Amber, Paul, Emily, Jim, Jonah, Joe, and Dan. Ruby is missed in this picture. She is the precious 4 month old daughter of Amber and Paul. We have had "house dinners" once a week since we've been here and really enjoyed them. This was our night to cook and we had a great time.

Alot of time has been spent in the morning and before bedtime in this spot. We love the main room in the flat and the boys have their own spot to play.

Happy boys!

Many, many hugs have been shared this month between Dan and Jonah. So sweet!

Spectacular!

Our first official family pic in Paris! Joe found another great spot to veiw the Eiffel Tower and we had such a good time. This view really is the best we have seen to appreicate the Tower. There was so much going on in this square atop the beautiful gardens. We watched some dancers and Dan joined right in. This little boy loves music!

Look closely and you'll spot Dan in the bottom left of the picture.

We brought along a wonderful piece of autentic french "Quatre-Qua" (I have no clue how to spell this...pronounced katra-kah). We thought Margot and all of the Miltenbergers would be disappointed if we passed this one up. It was actually very different than the Miltenberger recipe. It was a tall piece of moist cake. The flavors were similar and extremely delicious!

I made it to the Opera House! Joe watched Dan while I went to tour around (Thank you Joe!). I was really excited about seeing the inside and it did not disappoint. I took a few pictures but they all turned out too dark, so this is my proof that I made it!

A piece of our everyday life...

Saint Denis! This has been our favorite street in Paris and it is right by our house. It is full of life and all kinds of shops, restaurants, bakeries, etc. Part of what makes it so fun is that it includes goods from many different nationalities. You can find Kurdish sandwiches, Indian naan, French bakeries, beautiful fruit markets, and the list goes on and on. We've loved trying and experiencing so many different things. I think this street will hold many of our favorite memories during our time here.

This is one of our favorite bakeries on Saint Denis. We go there often for bread and, of course, pasteries! We've had our fair share of baguette sandwiches! When in Paris.....

This is the main entrance to the Catholic Institute where he has gone daily for French classes. It's in a great area of the city and very near Luxembourg Gardens. The classes have been great and Joe has made so much progress with his french. He will be the first to tell you that he has fallen in love with Paris and the french language!

This is the back of Joe's Institute (he said he plans to sign on and add more info about this later :)

Paris Park Fun

We wandered into this ride the other day and Dan got to ride for the first time! It's an understatement to say that he enjoyed it. He LOVED it! This ride went round and round and up and down. How much fun can an almost 2 year-old have.

Dan is in the background with his car way up, up, up!

Yesterday, Dan and I went back to the Pompidou area and played by this crazy fountain for a whilel. Dan loves fountains and he even made a new friend (one that happened to be playing with a ball :)

Another park adventure included lots of water! Dan used this new toy to spray water all over himself and Daddy :) We've had some fairly hot days here, so this was a fun break from the afternoon heat.

Watermelon is a special treat for us here in Paris. The produce markets near our apartment are amazing! We've loved getting fresh fruit and veggies and on this particular day we took our watermelon to a nearby park and ate to our hearts' content.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame does not disappoint! I am in awe of all that this cathedral includes.

Last weekend we were very excited to get to sit in on a service inside Notre Dame. The cathedral was packed and we felt so blessed to get to experience the cathedral in this way.

We visited the Place des Vosges the other day. It is the oldest planned square in Paris. It was built in the early 1600s and was a fun place to go. The inner square was full of people relaxing, sunbathing, and kids running around. We walked around the outside of the square (see picture below) and then played a bit in the center.

Sacre-Coeur

The area of Sacre-Coeur contains the highest point in Paris as well as an amazing view of the city. We climbed up the streets and arrived at this point. Beautiful!

This is Sacre-Coeur Basilica on top of the highest point in Paris.

At the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the basilica, we found slides and a carousel awaiting us. There are parks for kids all over the city! We're loving it!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Out and About

What is a trip to Paris without a visit and a picture of the Eiffel Tower! Here it is!

We learned about this large department store, Printemps, and the fact that it has a great view of the city from the top (thank you Jason L.!) We thought the outside was very impressive and enjoyed taking the journy to see the view.

Here is the view from the top of the Printemps. You can see the Pantheon in the distance. It's not the best picture, but it give you an idea of the city.

This is Pompidou Square. The Pompidou is a very unique building in its own right. It resembles a large hamster cage and contains a wonderful art museum. We had a small picnic outside and enjoyed all of the people as well as a spontaneous puppet show.

An outing with Mommy!

Our last post contained a picture of the Jardin de Luxembourg here in Paris. We went there with friends and played in the VERY large playground with the kids. A couple of days ago, Dan and I decided to go on our own while Daddy was in class. We had such a great time. The park is one of the largest, if not the largest, in Paris and has so much to enjoy. We have already been back on our own a second time and I imagine will make several more trips in the mornings before we leave Paris. It's beaufiful!

Our self portrait!

This is the beautiful, large fountain in the middle of the park. We watched the ducks and threw rocks into the water for quite some time.

The grounds have so much! In one spot we found large sandboxes and kiddie pools. There were lots of other kids Dan's age, so I put Dan in his swimsuit and he had a blast! (He's the one bending over in a blue swimsuit).

Dan continues to love balls. When we saw the tennis courts and the tennis ball going back and forth, he had to take a look :)

Welcome to Paris!

Our time in Paris has been wonderful so far. Joe is loving learning French (and getting quite good at his pronunciation :). We are having a blast exploring the city. Thus far we have been to the Louvre, Notre Dame, Jardin de Luxembourg, Jardin de Plantes, Arc de Triomphe, Opera House, Pantheon.....the list goes on! We hope to get deeper looks into many of these spots. Dan has been such a trooper. He is loving all of the parks throughout the city and we have several close to our apartment that he loves. The first two pictures below are of the entrance to our apartment. We are off of a quiet street and love walking through this courtyard to go up to our temporary home. Our bedroom window is right above the archway.

Last Days in St. Andrews

During our last few days in St. Andrews, we tried to make the most of our time. We visited friends, visited favorite spots, and treasured all the memories we have made. The day before we left, Dan and I went to the beach to meet up with other St. Andrews moms and kiddos. Later in the day we went to town for a local festival. Dan got a blue balloon and loved the jazz music in the center of town. We had a great time enjoying our last day in this special way. We made our way from St. Andrews to Paris the next day, but this is not goodbye to Scotland!!!





This video was taken at the park behind our house. We made our way there just about every day and it has given us so much joy. We will definitely miss this park!