Emilia celebrated her 7th birthday this week.  She asked for breakfast in bed and an i-Pad.   She got the breakfast in bed and a black leather jacket and scarf instead.  She has been wanting a black leather jacket because all the french wear them.  She fits in perfectly.

We continued to celebrate Emilia's birthday by going to Jardin des Plantes.  It is a large area that includes a zoo, the Mineralogy museum, the Palentology museum, the Entomology museum and the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution.  It is a wonderful place to spend an entire day.  We opted to go to the Grande Galerie and the zoo.  The Grande Galerie de l'Evolution is filled with life size models of animals.  What makes it so unique is the building and the arrangement of the animals- focusing on the diversity of the world. Inside the Galerie is the Galerie des Enfants.  This children's museum is designed to introduce environmental issues to children.  It is not only informative but very interactive for the kids. We then headed to the zoo where the kids enjoyed the red panda and the kangaroos the most.  We ended the evening celebrating Emilia's day with two cakes.

My parents wanted to go to the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte.  This is the castle where Chris proposed.  I had a babysitter stay with the 3 younger kids as they had already been there.  We opted for the club electric car to tour the grounds and I let Olivia drive a bit- she was thrilled!

Not too far from Vaux le Vicomte is a medieval castle called Chateau de Blandy-Les-Tours.  It is a military fortress that date backs to the 13th century.  It was fun to see something so old yet still preserved.

 

The Keep 

We went to Jardin de Luxembourg on Saturday.  Luciana is two for two at that playground for bathroom accidents.  She gets so excited that she can never get to me in time.  We spent most of the time at the fountain that is filled with wooden boats that you can rent.  The idea is to watch your boat and push it off with a stick when it reaches the edges.  Kids loved this and even Luciana would recognize her boat with the Brasilian flag and ran around waiting for the wind to blow it to an edge. We went out to dinner with my parents to a restaurant called Bon.  It is Asian cuisine with a french flare.  Not only was the food great but the decor in the restaurant is like nothing I have ever seen.  Definitely recommend- although a bit pricey.  We ended our weekend at the Parc de Saint-Cloud.  We visited the farm animals and took a nice long hike through the woods.

Alex and his China boat

Olivia and Luciana pushing off the edge

Luciana had to carry her heavy boat back to the vendor

Kids ordering their own ice cream

Enjoying the fall leaves

Dinner at Bon-There are 3 floors. Our floor had painted books on the walls and carpet that looked like hardwood floors

My parents are leaving for Chicago tomorrow.  The last three weeks went by so quickly.  So sad to see them leave.  Going to miss my kids bonding with the grandparents, the crowded dining table and the nightly card games with the kids.  They say that they might be back......