Notre-Dame, "Blanket" and the Louvre

Last night we ventured out to see Notre-Dame and Sainte Chapelle at around 4:30 - taking the Metro from Place Monge to Chatale. Being Paris and December, it was already quite dark by the time we arrive to the Ile de France. The overcast skies made the appreciation of stained glass less than ideal and we decided to pass on Sainte Chapelle.

Walking around the corner to Notre-Dame, we saw the plaza was still full of people (always seems to be the case) and the big Christmas tree was lit up and sparkling. Violet (in the Ergo) insisted on "walk around" so we let her down, but requiring that she "hold hands" (these are her go-to phrases when we are out and about). She ran right over the brass marker in front of the church, the spiritual center point of France where all distances are measured from (or so the book says) - she didn't even slow down. The interior of the church is as amazing as the exterior - the high vaults, the stone pillars, the second-story arcade, the expectation of Quasimodo. Even though most visitors are "tourists" and not people on a "pilgrimage", Notre-Dame is still the center of action - still draws people from around the world. I'm not Catholic, but I wanted to go there (again) and am glad I did. Permanence and change within history, architecture, the built work 0f man, time - Notre-Dame is a lot of things.

Dinner was at a Greek gyro place (Left Bank has many food options) - lamb, lettuce, tomato, and french fries...? We sat downstairs, below street level and Violet got to poke at the old stone walls. Even small food shops have amazing basements here.

We made it home, and Violet was in bed by 8:00pm, but that was just the beginning of her evening. She was up at 10pm (but stayed in bed) then started calling for "Mama" at 12:30. In and out of our bed once, back in the snuggle bed, I thought she was finally asleep.... no. She has started waking up calling out "blanket!" even though she has both in her bed with her (believe me, I packed them here). What she wants is me or Rachel to come straighten them - lying on one as a pillow, one on top pulled up to her chin. Only then does she settle down. We zip her back in and go back to our bed, only to have her roll around, get the blankets all bunched up, and call out again "blanket!" 10-20 minutes later. She did that 8 times last night over the course of 2 hours. She finally went to sleep at 2:30am, until we woke her at 8am. Ok, time for the day now. Time change is not easy.

But today we decided to tackle the Louvre - and it was well worth it. We had our breakfast of baguette with jam and nutella (plus two croissants because we're here) and yogurt and hit the Metro. By 9am (opening time) there was a 45 mintute line to get in - winding from Pei's glass pyramid all the way back to the Coure Carree. But Violet loved the time to run around unrestrained ("run, run, run!") - darting around the fountains and statues while one of us chased and the other protected our place in line.

Finally in, the central space is fabulous - the glass pyramid frames the surrounding Second Empire buildings with a geometric regularity. While certainly glass, the main aesthetic of the pyramid is actually the aluminum and cable supports behind the glass - a clean, ordered web of lines and angles that divides the ornate detailing of the buildings beyond. Nice work. As impressive as the art is the building complex of the Louvre itself - and this was more our focus, rather than drooling over endless Italian and french sculpture (which I could have done too). Walking the halls of Napoleon's apartments, admiring the ceilings, enjoying the views of Rue Rivoli - often with glass ceilings overhead, the modern touch. Oh yeah, we saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and many others too.

Now back at our "Paris Home" - only a few Metro stops away - and Violet is sleeping with her blankets. I hope they stay in good order for her.

Eiffel Tower

We made it there, eventually, and it was lovely.  Also, very muddy.  Violet didn't sleep well last night, so she was a wild little thing today, and went running all around in the mud.  We chased her all about the base of the tower, down the Champ-de-Mars and through the sycamore trees.  Eventually, on our walk to the Louvre, she fell asleep in the front pack.  

It really is quite challenging to tourist around with a toddler.  We are finding it is best to plan one activity for the morning, and another for the afternoon, with substantial snack-meals and a nap sandwiched in between.  To try to push through the day, squeezing in as many activities as possible is just a call for disaster, so we have to pick and choose what we're going to do very carefully.  

In general, though, our little traveler is doing quite well.  She calls this her "Paris Home" (opposed to "Seattle Home", and we tell her that "India Home" is coming soon).  We are really very proud of her. 

Rachel 

Arrival in Paris

We have just put Violet down for a nap, at 5:09am.... I mean 2:09pm Paris time. Our little girl is adjusting to the time change very well and has slept a lot since we landed. Except for a 3am pajama party (only lasted an hour) she slept from 9pm to 9am!

So to recap: We arrived in Paris yesterday...has it been two days? Tough to tell... The flight from Seattle to Paris was very rough. Violet cried harder during the first 1.5 hours than she has in a long time. The guy behind us requested a seat change - can't blame him. Eventually she settled in and the rest of the flight (7.5 hours) was ok. Landing in Paris, we had to take a bus to the terminal - standing on the tarmac, we began to remember what 30-degrees (Fahrenheit) felt like - snow was everywhere. We got our bags then were off to the RER train into Paris.

Looking quite like a traveling caravan, (I was rolling our two big suitcases, with a backpack on my back AND front, a giraffe and monkey hanging off the sides - Rachel with Violet in the Ergo) we squeezed through the turnstiles and train door and managed to find the right train. Our stop was "Notre Dame" - enough to get an architecture or history student excited. Up two flights of stairs (the escalator was too narrow, no elevator) we were on the Ile de France - staring right at the big Gothic Cathedral. We had arrived.

Not wanting to wait too long ( I mentioned the cold and my beast-of-burden baggage) we rolled our way to 4, Rue Navarre. Narrow side walks, various unmarked winding streets eventually turned into the address we wanted - a remarkable occurrence. We punched our code and the massive door to the street opened. The building "guardian" was not in her office, but we soon found her in the hallway. She informed us she was only here on the holidays (Monday, Dec. 27th?) and none of the keys were marked. So she gave me about 10 keys to try in the door - before coming up with the right one. We thanked her, loaded our bags inside and closed the door.

Such sweet relief after a day of travel - to have a comfortable, safe place to sit. The apartment is wonderful, and I have no doubt it will be a perfect 'home' for the next few days. Two rooms - kitchen/living and bedroom/study with a sliding wall in between. Oil heaters that work very well and large windows that look on to the inner court yard. Violet, desperate to "walk around" as she says, was soon padding along the wood floors and pointing out every thing that wasn't 'toddler proof.' Eventually we calmed her down and she went for a nap in her travel bed. The power of her bedtime routine is awe-inspiring. No matter where we are, a book, kisses goodnight, rocking with mama and bedtime music set her up for sleep.

With her down and Rachel napping too, I ventured out to find food. Feeling like a hunter-gathered I re-bundled myself and walked out to Rue Monge. I found a fabulous bakery, picked up a baguette and a panini sandwich - muttering and pointing just enough to get my point across. Then I spotted a grocery store just down the street - jackpot! I loaded up on yogurt, pasta, eggs, red wine, Nutella, butter, cheese ... perfect. We would venture back out to this grocery once more to finish off dinner supplies. Having a kitchen is such an advantage for us when we travel - makes so much more possible. We all had sausage pasta with tomato sauce and corn for dinner; not distinctly French cuisine, but good food in France - what ever you want to call that.

This morning, we all slept in. Breakfast was baguette with nutella & jam, french press coffee, and yogurt. We then walked up to Sufflot's Pantheon - a neoclassical "question mark" of a building. It was started as a church, but after the French revolution is was completed as more of a "final resting place" famous French people like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, J. J. Roussou, Marie Curie. Violet like the big plaza out front - she can coax smiles out of just about anyone.

From the Pantheon, down to a market at Place Montage for cheese, sausage and vegetables then back to the bakery for another baguette and a "tartellete framboise" for Rachel. From a butcher on Rue Montage we got a rotisserie chicken and potatoes. Needless to say we have just finished a fantastic lunch.

So now the afternoon awaits - most likely a trip back to Notre Dame (without the pack-mule appearance). So much to see - enjoying it all.

--tyler

The Count Down

Slowly every day we are going through our check-points.  Dinner with the family.  Tax meeting.  Dentist appointment.  Our to-do list is finally beginning to shrink, and our suitcases are beginning to fill out.  We just finished watching the enormously long and confusing BBC History of India. 

Here is a fun fact:  13 million people live in the city of Delhi (the city we are flying into).  Just to put that into perspective, only 6.7 million live in the entire state of Washington.  

We are to the point now where we are tired of talking about it and preparing for it.  We're ready to go. 

Oh gee, it's GHEE!

Tyler and I have discovered a fabulous little Indian grocery store near the university where they sell many of the hard to find ingredients that all of our Indian recipes call for.  Now hear you me--- yes, you can make Indian food without these few key things, which we have done many times, but we have always felt that the flavor just wasn't quite there.
Our favorite discovery?  GHEE!

Ghee is something that you can easily make.  It basically (I think) is butter reduced to a pure oil form.  What that means is that it's pretty shelf stable, and more importantly, VERY rich and flavorful.  It's like condensed butter;  essence of butter;  eau de toilette butter.  You use it as you would use any other oil-- olive oil or vegetable oil--  you just spoon a tablespoon in the bottom of the pan before you fry your onions.  And, it is bliss.
Here is a picture of our lovely Ghee, along with a few other beautiful discoveries....