We had orientation on Tuesday at the American School of Paris where Alex and Olivia are attending school.   Chris went to ASP when he was 8 years old and its great to see Alex follow in his dads footsteps.  We had a chance to meet the teachers and tour the school.   I am not used to seeing kindergarten through high school all at the same place.  I do love that their are so many ethnic backgrounds and languages being spoken.  Wednesday was their first day!  I was more nervous than the kids.  They are such troopers though- this is Olivia's fourth elementary school and Alex's third.  We walked to school which is a mere 5 minutes away.  Along with  math, language arts, reading, science and social studies, the kids will have one hour of French each day, 2.5 hours a week of art,  and 2 hours of music per week. They also get 30 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes of recess time.  The head of the school told us it takes 17 minutes for new students to connect with another child- I am happy to say that was the case with the kids. They came home happy and excited and Alex is already asking for a playdate!

We also went to tour  Emilia and Luciana's school.  They start school next week at a Bilingual Montessori school.  The hours are exactly the same as the older kids schools 8:30-3:30- so it will be challenging doing drop offs/pick ups when Chris is out of town. They will have classes all in French with one hour of English a week.  Emilia is excited because she says she is going to get straight A's in English class.  Chris and I are excited to see the two little ones immersed in French!  The director told us that it will only take 2 months before the girls are acclimated. We will need to continue French lessons for all when we return home.  Bonpapa and Bonemamman - if you are reading this, you are only allowed to speak to your grandchildren in French!  They asked whether we wanted to place Emilia in 1st or 2nd grade.  In Lake  Bluff- she is 1st grade but in France the birthday cut offs are later so she would be in 2nd grade here. They asked if she had learned multiplication and cursive yet -we said no....so we decided on 1st grade because apparently one learns these skills in the first grade in France! They said if she catches on quickly in French and math they will move her to 2nd grade. The school is nothing like we have at home.  Below is a picture of the back "building" where Luciana will have classes. Emilia will be in the front building and they will use the gym at the German school next door.

Of course we ended the first day by celebrating and getting nutella crepes at our favorite local creperie. I am looking forward to next week-when all kids are in school and gymnastics and hockey start as well. I have enrolled in several classes at the school in the month of September about "Living in Paris" and have joined a group of moms who take weekly tours of Paris.  Every other Thursday, the same guide will give us a tour from 10:30-12:30 followed by lunch.  Next week tour is Montmarte. I also plan on taking weekly french lessons that start at the end of September and Chris and I are hoping to take an activity together- perhaps tennis?  I am anxious for the routines to begin and then of course my parents are coming in October and we are planning another great vacation!

Just photos today....We had a great week in Brittany. Kids took a pottery class, went on a horseback ride along the beach, went net fishing for sea creatures every morning, saw ruins dating back to Neandrathal times and learned how to body surf.  Sunday we were supposed to go to day three of Rock the Seine.  It is the Lalapalooza of Paris...unfortunately it rained for 24 hours and we didn't go.  Instead we to made our first attempt at making chocolate eclairs...

Enjoying beignets

Alex cartwheel

Olivia backflip

Emilia now wants to take equestrian classes

Even goopy had a pony

Alex's pottery class mouse

Olivia's pottery class mouse

Emilia's pottery mouse

lots of caves around the beach

searching for fish and shrimp

searching for crabs

Luciana walking over thousands of mussels

First attempt at homemade eclairs

We are on vacation!   Much of Paris shuts down the last week of July through the last week of August.  In our town, my favorite fruit stand and boulangerie have been closed for weeks. We have only met our neighbors briefly as they were in town for two days in August in between two separate vacations.   So we decided to do what many Parisians do and that is go to Brittany.  It is on the northwest coast of France.  It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.  We rented a beach house in a town called Saint Nick for the week in hope to get some sun before two of the kids head off to school next week.  Chris arrived Saturday from the states and it was a 6 hour ride but well worth it.  We have a charming home just steps from Pentrez plage. Yesterday we spent the morning at the beach.  The beaches here are quite different in that they are smaller in length and are surrounded by farms. There are only a few streets of homes and then it is just miles of farmland until you reach another small town.

In the afternoon we went to a town called Camare sur-Mer.  It is filled with local artisians along the shore, medieval castles and prehistoric ruins along the beaches. Kids enjoyed chasing the waves.

Emilia at the shores of Camatre sur Mer.

That evening we went to a creperie called St. Come. They serve 580 different types of crepes! Olivia is pictured below with one of the house Nutella specials.  It is layered like a cake- new best crepe ever! We eat crepes so often that we are all becoming quite the connoisseurs. 

Crêperie St Come

Playing rock paper scissors to see who gets the biggest crepe

Best crepe!

Today we spent the morning at Peninsula le Labyrinthe in a town called Crozon.  It is a complex maze for children (and Chris and I were often stumped!) where you are guided by clues from a story to try and locate several flags. Kids had fun and Luciana insisted on leading several times- most of which ended up in dead ends. We then spent the remainder of the day at the beach at our home getting ready for the children's sand castle competition tomorrow.

A view of the labyrinthe

Takes the average person 1 hour to get through- Petrini-Poli kids did it in 35 minutes!

Luciana has become the caterpillar whisperer. She was playing outside the other day and discovered them in our bushes. She has built homes for them and feeds them oranges. She accidentally squishes most of them and today she even took one on the bus with her to camp. She couldn't leave it behind because as she says everyday "they really love me mommy".  Here  she is with at least 10 of her friends crawling on her- and yes, that is a big one on her neck!

Today was all about me! I ventured into Paris on my own as Chris is in Chicago and the kids are at camp. I drove into a familiar area, parked the car and took two metro lines to Rue de Rivoli. It is a street in central paris filled with shops. I found an English bookstore and while perusing I came across a section labeled British and American food. The British section was filled with teas, jam and crumpets. The American section had Fruit Loops, Pop Tarts and Marshmallow Fluff. I couldn't help but laugh and quickly purchased my books. I then took the advice of which I had written earlier ( but first I stopped at a cafe and had my cafe creme and croissant). I went back to the Jardin de Tulieries. As I was surrounded by beautiful gardens, amazing sculptures, the Lourve to my left and the Eiffel Tower within view to my right, I knew what to do. I sat down on a reclining green chair in front of a fountain, took off my shoes and began to read the Victor Hugo novel, Les Miserables. I ended my afternoon with a casual walk around - recognizing many streets from our nightly games of Paris monopoly. I grabbed a Nutella crepe along the way and what I thought was a perfect day ended a bit off. As I walked toward the metro, I passed over a grate on the sidewalk and had my Marilyn Monroe moment. Although mine wasn't nearly as glamorous as I exposed myself to southern France.  Regardless - what a glorious day in Paris!

Kids love the sports camp!   They love everything about it- the sports, coaches, food and even the bus ride because it has a TV.  Luciana was initially placed in her age group and she was the only girl with 4 boys.  However, by the end of the day- she was the only one who could hit the ball back in tennis and she moved up a level!

Wow!  I can't believe we have been here over one month!   I have learned a few important things...
1.  Always bring your own plastic bags to stores.  It costs money to buy bags to carry your groceries /goods home.
2.  Always have 1 Euro handy if you want to use a shopping cart.  They are all connected and you get your Euro back when you return your cart.
3.  Always have a 50 cent piece in case you need to use the public toilet
4.  When driving, make sure you stop plenty before the crosswalk.  Stoplights are right in front of crosswalk and at eye level so even if you go a tad too far you cant see the light when it turns.  I have had many quick reverses.
5.  The cafe protocol.  Sitting down at a cafe and ordering a cafe creme and croissant can cost  @7 euros depending on where you are.  That's way more than Starbucks!  If you go inside and order it yourself  at the cafe bar it will cost you @ 5 euros.  If you go to a bakery- it will cost you around 3 Euros.  There is a premium of getting served outside!
6.  We asked a Parisian how to spot a good restaurant.  He told us these things:
* never eat somewhere where you can see a tourist monument, etc
* never eat anywhere where you have to flip through a menu
* best restaurants have only 5 options for appetizers and entrees.  His argument was that too many options mean quality of food goes down and the plate of the day is always best.  It guarantees that the dish is fresh as the chef will have gone to the market that morning.
* the more cigarette buds outside the cafe- the better!

 Chris is in the USA this week so it gives the kids and I some time to reflect....Here are the things I miss (besides family and friends)
1.  My deep kitchen sink
2.  Garbage disposals
3. Air conditioning on those 90 degree days!
4. Large capacity washer and dryer
5. Mexican food

The kids miss:
1. macaroni and cheese
2. "normal" granola bars
3.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal- although they love the fact that there are toys in the cereal boxes here and I love the fact that there is significantly less sugar here.
4. gymnastics and hockey
5.  Abi's cheese empanadas
6. Emilia misses small door handles on the left side of the doors.  She doesn't like these "huge french handles in the middle of the door"

What I love:
1.  every grocery store has an entire aisled dedicated to chocolate
2.  Having wine for lunch and dinner
3.  Watching the kids bond with each other and become so adaptable
4.  Emilia and Luciana's school supply list requires a cloth apron for weekly pastry lessons
5.  Seeing Chris a lot more and having family dinner conversations
6.  Architecture in Paris- the limestone buildings and black ironwork balconies.
7.  All the walking!

Also as I have been driving now for over month, I have gotten quite comfortable with my skills.   Long gone are my hands on the 10 and 3 of the steering wheel.  I even honked at someone the other day. I thank my dad for all those years of his aggressive driving-it works for me in Paris!  I also noticed that I was jamming to the song "We built this city" in my minivan.  I hate that song. It was then I realized that there are no standards of American music in a foreign country- one is happy listening to anything in English!

We also started a chalkboard of things we want to do while we are here....here is what we have so far.....open to suggestions!!

The end of this week was all about the kids.  Thursday we went to Jardin de Luxembourg. It is the second largest public park in Paris.  The garden contains numerous statues, fountains and monuments. It is also a big feature in Les Miserables.  I plan on reading the novel now as I am a bit more familiar with its history.  We spent most of our time in the gardens at the playground.  It is the only playground I know of in which one has to pay to enter.  It is worth it as the kids enjoyed the different types of equipment.  Luciana also had a memorable moment.  She was climbing the tower seen below and said she had to go potty.  She couldn't get down quickly enough and had a steady "rainfall" below.  Luckily no one was below her at the time!

Where Luciana eventually had her accident a bit higher up

Golden ring carousel

Saturday we went to Jardin de Tuileries. It is located next to the Louvre. It is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy a good book.  As we were with all the kids, we did the opposite and went to the amusement park next to the gardens.  Kids enjoyed the rides- although they were quite expensive!  A unique ride was this "bubble" in which the kids went inside, were zipped up and air inflated the ball. The ball then is rolled into a pool of water.  Olivia and Alex had a great time.  Luciana went in and as soon as they filled her ball up - she screamed to get out!

Luciana getting ready

Alex and Olivia battling it out

Olivia and Alex on the swings- much higher than an I have ever seen!

Emilia and Luciana on the roller coaster car.  Of course we had to wait for the pink one.

Three kids jumping

We also went to a bridge in Paris called Pont des Arts. It is a "love lock bridge".  You write your name on a lock, lock it onto the bridge and throw the key into the Seine river- symbolizing an everlasting love.   We had our bright green lock with Petrini-Poli on one side and everyone's names on the other. Olivia attached it  to the bridge and Alex and Emilia threw the keys into the river.  Olivia told me that when she gets married she will return to Paris and attach another with her husbands name next to our family lock.  Already a romantic...

Me and Goopy at the bridge

Olivia locking the lock

Alex and Emilia throwing the keys

Our love lock!

I have prepared two french dishes this weekend- crepes with sausage, onions and potatoes and then the classic beef bourguignon. I am not a Ms. Julia Child however they were quite tasty. I have never had either dish so I do not know what it is supposed to look or taste like but everyone enjoyed it!

Chris is leaving tomorrow for the US-so the kids are going to a sports camp next week (M, W, F).  A bus comes directly to the house to pick them up and bring them home.   Parents are not allowed in the facility at all- quite a difference from many programs in the US where parents are often found hovering at the sporting practices. They will be getting lessons in golf, tennis and soccer and then they have free time in which their options include french lessons, crafts, go-karting, swimming, etc.... I hope they enjoy it.   No matter where we are, August is a tough month for me and the kids.They are fighting too much and I am anxious for them to get back to school!!!!

It has been  a very busy start to the week.  Monday we went to Notre Dame and then to the Musee Grevin- which is a wax museum.  While waiting in line to the church- there was the "bird man".  He was surrounded by birds- Luciana caught his attention and he took her and gave her some bread and brought the birds to her.  Surprisingly, she was not afraid as the birds ate from her hand and the 100 people in line were all amused!

Notre Dame

Luciana feeding the birds

We stopped for lunch and the kids enjoyed their baguettes!

We then went to the Musee Grevin and were amused by the hall of mirrors and the different wax figures.  Lots of photos here.

Putin

Obama

Alex and Ray Charles

Napoleon and the girls

Emilia and Charlemagne

Olivia and MJ

Me and Brad and George

Monday evening was my first disaster!  Everything happened at the same time as I was preparing dinner.  First the kitchen sing got clogged and the water started gushing out of the pipes under the sink. At the same time, the dishwasher started leaking from a hole in the water tube- so as I stood in one inch of water while putting bowls under the sink and cooking food on the stove- I panicked.  Of course at that moment Luciana begins to yell that the toilet was overflowing....that was of no surprise as she uses enough toilet paper to stuff a small teddy bear.  All of this happened with 5 minutes when Chris was on a very important call for work!  I really miss my Lake Bluff plumbing!

Tuesday we went to Montmarte. We were joined by a classmate of Emilia's. Montmarte is a must see in Paris.  We decided to hire a young guide to give us a tour from a Parisian perspective.  It was a great decision.  He taught us history, shared personal stories and was entertaining for the kids. We started at the Moulin Rouge as we headed up the hill toward the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur.  We stopped along the way where many impressionist painters were inspired and where Picasso's art studio was and where the two remaining windmills exist.  There is also a very tourist area where he refused to stop but we did on on our way back that is filled with the local artists selling their paintings or offering to paint your portrait.  We made it to the top of Montmarte where the Sacre-Coeur sits.  It has the best view of Paris as you can see the entire city- but according to our guide it is the best view because you can not see the Sacre-Coeur.  Apparently this "modern" building as it was built just over a century ago- is not appreciated amongst Parisians.  They are embarrassed at its architecture because they feel it doesn't make any sense. We skipped going inside as the kids were restless at this point.  We headed home and Olivia wanted to make dessert tonight.  In a house with no baking tins or utensils she managed to whip up a cake made up of nutella and eggs.  It was delicious!

Hot chocolate and croissants with friends

Picasso's studio.  Today it is owned by the government and waiting list is 7 years. It is still affordable for "starving artists"

Sacre-Coeur

Moulin Rouge