Day Twenty-Nine: Bon Voyage

We left the apartment bright and early this morning to catch our 10:30am flight. After showing 37 people our boarding passes and passports, we finally arrived at the gate, where we had the opportunity to reintegrate our French selves (learning about Charles De Gaulle):

With our American selves (Playstation):

Our travel vessel, the largest commercial jet currently flying:

Apparently size does matter; it took almost 90 minutes to load the plane with 500 passengers. But the on board entertainment was more than adequate to keep us entertained until take off:

Our favorite flight attendant hanging with Eliza:

 Samantha played a fancy version of battleship:

And after a full day of travel, we arrived home to a house that felt exceedingly American (thermostat had accidentally been changed to 50 degrees) as well as exceedingly French (small freezer in pantry stopped working and whole house smelled like old cheese).

Some of us were able to stay up until nightfall. Others passed out before 6:00pm:

I have said from the beginning, this trip was something I wanted to do and as a bonus, would be something the girls could enjoy. Much to my surprise, the girls embraced the adventure far more intensely than I could've imagined. And while at times I found myself worn out by living in the big city, the girls kept their energy up and always wanted to do more. I am incredibly grateful to my family for letting me drag them all to Paris. I truly believe my girls will treasure the experience we had together, and I feel proud to have given them such wonderful stories to share during the many, many summers at sleep away camp in the years to come.

Day Twenty-Eight: Day of Simple Pleasures

Kenny had promised to take the girls to their favorite place, Le Jardin d'Acclimatation, today. And since I love cleaning and packing, and strongly dislike amusement parks, I stayed home while the children went to play:

 Is it me or does the man in this photo look like he's plotting some kind of devious plan:

 He's still up to no good...

 Riding the train:

After the park, Kenny took the girls for their final meal of haute French cuisine. Their happy meal came with a toy that kept us all entertained for quite some time:

We happily spent the rest of the evening, our last in Paris, in the apartment, watching Disney Channel shows in French for the last time.

Day Twenty-Seven: Getting Dirty and Cleaning House

Yesterday, when Kenny discovered that one can take a tour of the sewers of Paris, his eyes lit up. Literally. So today, he opted to immerse himself and the girls in some sewage while I attempted to clean the apartment and get organized ahead of our departure.

On their way out:

 Metro:

 Just outside the sewers:

 From the same country that brought us Evian. The French are nothing if not contradictory:

 I can think of several instances on the metro when this outfit would've come in handy:

Kenny explained to me that this ball is rolled down the sewer in order to clean away the debris. Labyrinth anyone?

 The girls got to watch a dirty movie:

 Emerging into the fresh air:

 Chilling out at Les Berges:

 Free entertainment:

 A very cool little French dude:

Apparently, he is all of 7 years old:

We've seen many brides here in Paris and my ever knowledgeable husband explained to me that while it is very difficult to actually get married in Paris, many couples have their photographs done here:

 Not a bad idea...

After a quick rest at home, we all headed out to satisfy our falafel/chicken nugget craving:

 

Samantha is the consummate beer wench:

We were very happy to see our friends once again at the nearby playground. The girls quickly introduced them to the dangerous playground equipment that as a rule makes at least one child bleed and/or cry:

Eliza insisted that I join her on the death trap. Although this goes against my policy of playing with my children, I figured since it's one of our last nights in Paris, I could indulge her this once:

On the walk back through the Marais, we found Gene Simmons' house (he is a Jew, after all):

We were conned into buying them ice cream, yet again:

Oh dear...

We located another death trap on the grounds of Notre Dame:

 

While I took Ms. Sticky Fingers home for a bath, Samantha took Kenny to Notre Dame to see her favorite show:

Then she took him inside, sans flash, unfortunately:

 

The projection screen dates from the 15th century and doesn't detract in the least from the beauty of the church:

 Dirty and tired, Samantha truly looks like a lost soul in this shot:

After she had her own bath, we had a little American dance party and I forced some classics on the girl. We listened to Journey, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Creedence-- good prep for our return to the Motherland.