Ah.... Paris. We had a fantastic week with you so far.
And we had a fantastic day when we first ventured out on the Metro. We went to the Musee D'Orsay.
I challenged you both to a wonderful game to count how many butts you saw.
You both were inspired by this challenge to count statue butts; but you were also impressed with the art itself that we saw in the impressionist wing.
You sketched, you observed, you asked questions, you (also) counted art butts.
We went across the Seine and went to a giant park called the Tuileries. We got delicious, flower petal ice cream. You both and Molly played for ages in a very cool playground. We raced to get to the pay-for toilets on time (we made it!). We played some more.
We went to a yummy French dinner where, Aidan, after so long you Finally got to try escargot for the first time! You've been asking for years!
Aidan, you loved them so much and ate half the order.
Julia, you were brave and tried them.
Molly said she wanted to try one too and then we heard a deafening CRUNCH and she said, with a mouth full - as if it were full of sand - said "these are crunchy!"
And we said, "Molly, you ate the shell! You're supposed to eat the snail INSIDE the shell!"
And she said "EWWWWW! No!"
And we drank wine, and had fun, and then we headed down to the subway to go home.
You may ask why we don't have any pictures of any of these events. Well, this is the moment I got pickpocketed. They took my phone. And water bottle. And Ross' gum.
I was pretty upset. My photos! I even went and made a police report.
But, I recalled something I had been trying to tell you earlier in London, Aidan, when you threw your new (favorite) bouncy ball at a fly...that just so happened to be flying in front of a stream. And your bouncy ball went into the stream and was never seen again. You were pretty devastated. I tried to comfort you and tell you to not worry too much about the things that we've lost, and be happy for the things that we still had.
100 bad days make 100 good stories. 100 good stories make me interesting at parties.
And, even though I didn't let it go THAT easily, I was able to move on...thanks to both of you kids and your Mommy making sure I knew that it wasn't my fault and that it was okay.
And what Paris taketh away, it also giveth.
The next day, we continued our trek.
Now this one was a BIG adventure, and wound up being a bit of a butt-kicker too. But, we did it. We probably shouldn't have, because it was hot, y'all were spent, and public transportation is a joke...but we did it. We went to Versailles.
The gilded palace of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. The gold everywhere. The fancy pants rooms and poopers and fountains. The crowds of people. The crying children (including 3 / 4 of ours!)
Look...it was a WILD ride and I'm glad we went to Versailles. It was gorgeous. You guys learned at least a little.
But it was nice to be back in Paris, where we chillaxed for the afternoon...
...and ventured out again for flower petal gelato...
...and went back on a relatively cool evening- despite the heat wave- to the Places des Voges, where you kids had a blast playing in the sand pits and just..well...being kids while we parents relaxed.
It was a beautiful reminder of the pleasure of simple things like sand and ice cream and cousins and bare feet and water fountains.
...and a beautiful reminder to be thankful for the things we DO have.
Vive la France! Vive ma iPhone! Vive notre famille!
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