This has been a month of birthdays!  Not only did Olivia and Alex celebrate their days but the kids had several parties to attend as well.  We have really been enjoying our time here.  We are trying to soak in as much as we can.  There is so much to do and see that you can spend every weekend either in Paris or a quick 1- 2 hour drive and see something new.  We need more time as these past 7 months have really flown by.  We had a mild winter- temps were around 50 and spring came early.  We have been enjoying sunny days in the 60s and 70s throughout the entire month.

We went to see a theatrical performance with another couple.  It was called "How to become Parisian in one hour-  by comedian Olivier Giraud. It was performed in English by a french man who had spend several years living in the US.  The audience was at least 50% french.  It was quite humorous as he explained how to shop, grab a taxi, ride a metro, dine, dance, etc the Parisian way.  Making fun of both Parisians and US- it was very entertaining!

Olivia had her gymnastics regional meet as well.  Another fantastic performance by the girls!  Top 4 teams advanced to the finals..and yes, they did it!  Finals are in June and the girls are preparing more difficult routines.  So proud of Olivia on her achievements!

Emilia attended her first french birthday party.  The card had a picture of an Indian on it.  I did not think much of it, but as Chris dropped her off, all the children were dressed as native American Indians. Emilia was not but she didn't seem to care as all the girls ran to greet her and started painting her face. Her french friends adore her- very affectionate!  She has another party today......

I know it was international news but Paris was experiencing some heavy pollution.  Speed limits were reduced for the weekend and public transportation was free.  For one day, only cars with license plates having a final odd number were allowed to drive in and around Paris.  Fortunately, we had the odd number but many people drove anyway and were greeted by hundreds of officers surrounding the city issuing tickets.  It lasted only one day and the city declared pollution levels acceptable.  In the mean time, many people were affected health wise.  As it has been sunny, no rain for weeks, pollution high and pollen counts high- many suffered allergies and asthma like symptoms....yes, it hit all of us!  I never thought I would be asking for rain in Paris!

With the election here, there have been many protests throughout the city.  I especially liked the one this past Friday, where the french farmers herded a  flock of sheep into the Louvre and they ran around under the glass pyramid.  No damage- no arrests!

I had another school parent tour- this time it was the Tour La Temple. The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris - which is now 3rd arris. It was built in the 12th century and parts of the fortress were used as the prison where Louis XVI was kept for some time and where his son died. The fortress was destroyed by Napoleon because he did not want royalists to have a place to mourn.  Today there only remains a plaque pictured below in front of the town hall.

Alex celebrated his 9th birthday.  We started the day with an eclair and gifts.  It was very cute to see his reaction to the boxing gloves.  A gift he has been asking for at least a month!  We also had an ice skating party with 16 of his friends- all boys! Best part was that they represented 9 different countries- USA, Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Korea, France, Russia, Romania and Spain.  All get along so well, it was really nice to see the international friendships!

A friend of mine and I decided to try a french spa.  It is called La Bulle de Sevres. It was recommended and had some great reviews.  As with any french service, we knew it was going to be unique!  We received a list of things to do in preparation- it was quite detailed so are curiosity was peaked!  We had the room to ourselves for 2.5 hours.  After a 5 minute introduction, we were on our own.  It was suppose to be a relaxing experience, however we spent so much time confused and laughing that we just chalked it up as a memorable experience. Here are the 3 devices we used.

Floating Cocoon- filled with magnesium salt water. Felt a bit tight with the top down.

The Alpha lounge was an acoustic chair intended to help insomnia.  I felt as if I were communicating with whales.

The Feng Shui spa had a steam bath, massagers,  aromatherapy all in one device that you could customize

Luciana also had friend birthday party.  The invitation had a princess on it.  This time I knew to dress her up.  She looked adorable but did not want to pose for a picture!  She also got a haircut- finally I can brush her hair without her complaining!

As it was Olivia's birthday/slumber party, Chris wanted no part of it.  So he took Alex and Emilia to a hotel in Versailles.  Nearby is the Zoo Thoiry. There is an African reserve drive, a bear park, small animals and a labyrinth.  Kids had a great time seeing some large animals up close.

Olivia celebrated her birthday Friday morning with gifts and hugs from her siblings.  On Saturday, we went to a french dessert class.  It was geared for kids and was in English.  Kids made 4 dishes- including one of my favorites- chocolate molten lava cake.  We ended the night with the girls sleeping over.  Needless to say I am exhausted today but it happens to be 72 and sunny in Paris so we are off to soak it in at Jardin du Acclimation.