Last Friday we picked up an new car.  We decided we needed a 2nd car as we found ourselves getting stuck with kids activities.  Chris leased a Citroen - a nice small car that we can easily park in Paris.  We then headed to Galeries Lafayette.  We did a bit of shopping and headed back to dinner in Saint Cloud at our favorite family restaurant- Le Girafon.  Saturday evening we left the kids with a sitter.  First we went to a photography exhibit at Maison Europeenne de la Photographie.  It was recommended by a friend of my sister.  The exhibit was by Sebastiao Salgado, a Brazilian photojournalist displaying 8 years of work from some of the most remote places in the world.  It was quite crowded and we had to wait 25 minutes in line - but well worth it.  It was a beautiful display of photos- I have never seen anything quite like it.  We then went to a restaurant called Les Bouquinistes in the 6th. What a lovely place and the food was excellent. It was also by far the best service we have had to date.  When it came to dessert, Chris asked our server to choose 3 items.  He came back with a chocolate masterpiece for me, a fruit dish for Chris and an egg the size of an ostrich egg for my sister.  It was quite a display as he cracked it open with a tap of a spoon and ice cream with candied figs and nuts slid out.  It was quite remarkable.  Sunday- Chris headed back to the US again....while Sandra and I took the kids to Jardin du Luxembourg.  The kids were also very excited as their elf on the shelf made it to France.  Luciana has been especially cute trying to find him every morning.

our new Citroen

Enjoying cafes at the Galeries Lafayette

Dinner at Le Girafon

Sandra's cracked egg

Hotel DeVille

Jardin du Luxembourg

feeding the pigeons at the park

My sister left on Monday and our routines returned.  The kids have the option to play an instrument at school.   I asked Olivia if she wanted to play something- rather than a simple "no thanks", her response was quite funny!  She said she could not play an instrument because she would have to stop all other activities to dedicate herself to be the best that she could be.  Then- if she tried her best and didn't make the band, she would have no back up talent and be forced to play her instrument alone at the metro stops for the rest of her life.  It all came out so easily, I couldn't help but laugh.

I have been going to the gym more now that I have some free time.  The women in my exercise class wear full make-up, hair done and dangling earrings.  Today topped it off as a woman came with all the mentioned along with a scarf and a cashmere sweater.  As we did jumping jacks, she was constantly swinging her scarf around her neck...it all looked quite foolish from my perspective but maybe this is normal???  Then as I headed to the locker room after class there was a man fixing a sink in the shower rooms.  No one seemed to care!  Am I a prude as I cautiously moved to a place as far from him as I could?! We also bought our Christmas tree. Alex and I went together and he asked for the biggest tree. Turns out the biggest tree is not as big as it would be in the states.  Trees here are short, wide and bare.  After seeing everything in Paris trim and elegant- its refreshing to see a frumpy tree!  We had a fun time decorating and Olivia got to place the star on the top.  After 7 years, she reluctantly said she is now going to pass this honor on to Alex next year.  Emilia quickly noted that if is the case, she wouldn't be able to put the star on until she was 14- so we are going to take turns for the next few years.

Thursday I hit a parked car in front of the little kids school. Alex was screaming in the car because Emilia was singing too loudly and I just wanted to park as quickly as possible. I scraped my side against its bumper. I waited to see if it was anyone from school but no one returned so I put a note using google translate with my number. Now this car was in pretty bad shape as is- so I took a photo of my damage and of course I had a few witnesses to prove I didn't do the rest! I mentioned this to a french friend and she said no one in France leaves their number- its almost expected to get bumped while parking. Well- I have not received a call yet! In the states, I would be dealing with insurance within hours.  I had another tour with my group from school. We went to the Louvre-specifically the French sculpture section. We spent two hours in a small section to which I have never even seen. It was really quite informative. It is truly amazing how much was recovered after the revolution destroyed so much- even if they are only fragments of history. I learned a lot but only am sharing a few stories in the photo captions.

Queens were sculpted with a dog at their feet to represent fidelity, while kings had a lion at their feet to represent strength and courage

Tomb of Phillipe Pot

Henry II- heart is buried in the top of the monument

Diana with a Stag.  Made to represent Henry II's mistress Diane as Diana, the Roman goddess

Statue of Louis XIII, his son Louis XIV and wife Anne on top of an arch filled with slaves.  This symbolic piece was  over the bridge where everyone walked - always reminding people not to revolt as their will be a future king and punishment for those who protest.  This remarkable piece happened to be in restoration during the revolution so it survived intact!

One of the 4 horseman once posted at the Parc du Marly (where Louis XIV once lived)

This is Captifs. It was given to Louis XIV as a gift representing the 4 defeated nations- they are displayed as these enormous slaves that were captured during the victorious Dutch war.  Originally this statues had an even larger figure of Louis XIV in the center but during the revolution the statue of the king was melted along with the chains of the slaves that were connecting each other. It is amazing how they used art to protest the times.

Napolean

“L'immortalite”. (1859) Our tour guide loved to point out that the Statue of Liberty is not even our original idea

Saturday was a busy day! Olivia had gymnastics- she has been moved up to practices with the older girls. She enjoys the challenge. They love helping her choreograph her routines. She will still compete with her age group but will practice the tougher skills. She is now working on her back handspring on the balance beam! The school had a holiday boutique as well. Along with a few purchases, they were holding a raffle with some pretty great prizes. Alex wanted the Samsung phone, Olivia wanted the phone, an ipad and other gadgets, and Emilia wanted the Monster High set. There were 2 dolls and a dress from a Disney movie called Frozen. We have not seen the film but Luciana was entranced with this display. Everyday after school for the entire week- she would stare at this item and I would give her a couple raffle tickets per day to enter. Well, on Saturday- it was quite sad yet adorable that she refused to move from the display rack. Holding her little hands over the entry box hoping no one else would try. Our 10 tickets were not enough and I had to pull her quickly before they gave the box to the winner. There were tears....I think Santa has to do some more shopping. Thank goodness Alex and Emilia were not with us as they went to hockey practice and open skate with a friend of Alex. Chris took the boys to the Paris St. Gemain soccer game- another victory! I took the older girls shopping and we all met up for dinner at a restaurant called L'Entrecote. It is in the 17th eme. They take no reservations so there is always a line before opening. You really need to get there before 6:45 if you want to ensure a seat at the first sitting. They only serve steak and frites- but are famous for their special sauce. The menu is for desserts only! The girls and I arrived in time and were seated- as we waited until 7:05 the owner came to our table and said we had to leave because our table was not full and people were waiting. I tried to explain that he was arriving any minute. I said he was parking the car. I called Chris because I knew she was not happy. Chris said 3 more minutes....well 5 minutes later, the woman was yelling at me and pulling my table out so we could leave! It was embarrassing as I couldn't communicate with her. As we gathered our jackets and were almost out the door, Chris came in and she let us back in. At that point I was not sure if I wanted to stay- how humiliating- but we did have a very delicious meal. Kids ate everything and the desserts were good as well. There was still a line outside as we left at 8:45. Sunday, Alex had another victorious hockey game and if his team continues to play well they will get to play during half time at a "minor league" game. Chris is finally here for a week and we have lots to get done before our next visitors Bonpapa and Laura arrive!