book club adventures

Yesterday we went to Montmartre. As Max said (when he was 6), Sacre-Coeur is pretty cool, but it's in a crappy neighborhood. That's just how I feel as well, but I like Sacre-Coeur enough that I'm willing to go there. Plus, I kind of enjoy the crappy neighborhood. It's not the kind that is scary in a crime sort of way, and it does have some cool shopping. Jill, however, would tell you otherwise. I think it was the combination of the heat, the crowds, and the sex shops lining the street on the way to the Moulin Rouge that just about did her in. She said she was questioning at that point whether or not she even liked Paris anymore! Yikes. I definitely regretted taking them on that expedition...

On the bright side, Amy had scouted out some cool fabric/notions stores and about half of us had a heyday looking at buttons, ribbons, trims, and fabrics, oh so pleasing:


Yesterday was also Eva's 2nd birthday. Since Marc and the boys are out of town (they took the students on a week-long trip), we didn't celebrate it yet. But it felt so strange to me, because all day long I was thinking about the fact that it was her birthday, as well as harking back to the day she was born (do all mothers do that on their childrens' birthdays?). We did take her on her first carousel ride...

and Jenn actually bought her a gift. Eva was ever so pleased with her new, very soft teddy bear.


Today, May Day, is a very big holiday in France. It is their Labor Day, and is one of only 3 or 4 holidays when most everything shuts down. The city has seemed at least twice as crowded since Sunday or so, and I can only assume that many people have traveled here for the holiday. We had to figure out somewhere we could go today, with all the museums being closed, and settled on Giverny (Monet's home and gardens). It seemed like a perfect plan, until we got there and realized that it must have reached out into the collective unconscious. Our 1/2 day trip turned into a full day excursion due to the extremely long lines.

(Collette was wise to bring a book.)

By the time we had taken two Metro rides, a 40-minute train ride, waited in line for an hour for the bus to take us from the train station to Giverny, and then waited in another line for over an hour just to buy a ticket to see the gardens, this is how we felt:


Fortunately, the gardens just don't disappoint. The grounds are so beautiful, and there is something wonderful about seeing the very pond with water lilies that Monet painted, as well as the Japanese bridge festooned with wisteria. All of the gorgeous flowers made us all want to go home and hire groundskeepers!



After touring the gardens, we found a bench in the shade to rest our weary feet. It took some convincing to get Jill and I to leave that comfy spot.


We then reversed the journey, minus the two hours of waiting, and collapsed when we got back to the apartment. We left this morning at 9:30 and didn't return until nearly 7:00 p.m. Needless to say, we were not all as chipper on the train ride home as when we left this morning!

Jenn worked her magic with Eva and managed to keep her entertained the whole way home. Apparently she is not only the baby-whisperer but the toddler-whisperer as well.

Eva only managed to nap for about 1/2 hour the whole day and really needed to go to bed. I really needed to ice my knee. So we stayed behind, and everyone else went out to dinner.

They just returned a few minutes ago. Jill smuggled me back 1/2 a cheeseburger wrapped in a napkin (it is frowned upon to ask for a doggie bag) and they brought me a beautiful pastry from the patisserie down the street. About 10 minutes after they walked in, they all put on jackets to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. There was a reprise of Jill's fake crying -- she does it for comic effect, but it expresses perfectly the weariness you feel at the end of a day like today. Hopefully the trek out there will be well worth the effort...