no escape

{Eva getting at least a measure of comfort from snuggling in Daddy's arms.}

There seems to be no escape for the Olivier household from sickness. It followed us to France, where there isn't even any carpet in our apartment! Eva has had a bad cough and a fever, and took a turn for the worse yesterday. She was inconsolable, and it was obvious she needed medical attention. Thanks heavens for S.O.S. Medecin! You call, and they send a doctor right over to your home. The doctor arrived in about 10 minutes! We were so glad we called, since she ended up having bronchitis and a throat infection of some kind (it was a little unclear). At any rate, she is on antibiotics now and feeling much better already. She slept through the night last night and didn't wake up until 9:15! Now that's a miracle.

{I'm not sure the before photo really conveys the desperate state of his hair.}

Marc took Max out to get his haircut yesterday. Yes, the King of Paris managed to locate the elusive salon. It turns out, it was tiny, not exclusively a children's salon, didn't have the name anywhere, and was hidden by scaffolding. But still. That whole escapade made me so mad! But the desired result was achieved (wig removal, as Kristi put it) and now Max has cute hair again. Whew. Marc said that Max was smiling the whole time, so obviously it gets to him as well.

{Oh, yes! So much better!!}

After Eva was all taken care of, she and Marc were both ready for a nap. I took the boys to the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum, for a little mother/sons outing. As soon as we got to the museum, Lucas started complaining that he didn't feel well and thought he might throw up... Max looked the way I felt -- totally exasperated.


We hung out at the funky fountain for awhile, which seemed to make him feel worse, because there was "a bad smell". Then we watched some street performers. I don't think the boys remember seeing anything like it before, and they were quite entranced.

{a puppeteer, in full regalia}

{A blindfolded painter. This was actually quite impressive. He had full-on choreography he would perform each time he had to dip his brush to get more paint. When his performance was finished, he was angry that the crowd had not given him more money and was muttering about how it took him 10 years to perfect his act!}

Finally, Lucas said he thought he would be alright to go inside the museum (baby steps!), much to our relief. I was pleased to discover that the children got free admission. We were disappointed to learn that the children's discovery section was closed until the 19th, but now they want to go back again when they can explore some more. They loved what we saw of the museum (only one floor), and even Lucas, who was very reluctant to go in the first place, was rushing from one artwork to the next, imploring me to come check out each cool new thing. Success!

{Max said he'd like to live in a house like this. Yikes! Talk about a recipe for a migraine!}

{I found this sculpture so fascinating: a woman embracing one man while kissing another. Who are they? What does it mean?}

{This installation was right up my alley. I mean, really -- what's cooler than words?}

{We practically had to drag Lucas away from this one.}

{What I really enjoy about this museum is the contrast between the modern and the ultra-classical of the city beyond. If I had to choose, I'd choose the classical, but I'm happy to see the juxtaposition.}

But this was, unquestionably, my favorite sight of the day. Max bending close to Lucas on the escalator. Was he trying to hear what Lucas was saying? Or explaining something to him? I couldn't hear their conversation, but I am going to hold this image -- of two brothers who are great friends -- close to my heart.