Day Twelve: A Special Visit

When I was fifteen, I spent a summer living with a lovely French family near Lyon. During our last visit to France two years ago, we were lucky enough to spend a few days with my French parents. It was wonderful to see them after so many years and to be able to introduce them to my family. Today, we were lucky enough to spend the day with my French "sister" and her boyfriend, Frederick. We skipped the formal introductions and went right into playing games:

We left the apartment to take a stroll through the Marais. We stumbled upon a quaint market. Eliza played with some little puppets:

 We perused chicken corpses:

 Poulet pride:

 Oh, les fromages...

 We did some taste testing:

 Next it was off to our second favorite playground. The girls immediately put Frederick to work:

 

We raided the nearby falafel stand and made our own picnic with some of the best falafel I have ever had:

  Kenny has been replaced:

Next stop was Palais de la Decouverte. Like the Baltimore Science Center it has hands on exhibits that are fun for the kids; unlike the Science Center it was practically empty:

 Encouraging the girls to hypnotize themselves:

 It appears to be working:

After the Palais, we went back to the girls' favorite climbing wall near Invalides. This time was special, however, since maman got to enjoy some adult conversation and a beer:

We ended the day with some pizza and Chianti by candlelight:

Once the girls finished dinner and left us alone, we spent awhile reminiscing about my stay with her family, her stay with mine, and had a really incredible conversation about politics (American vs. French). Our countries truly are so similar, and it was fascinating to hear Frederick and Berengere's perspectives. After some Berthillon we bid them farewell. The day could not have been more perfect; the girls formed quite a bond with them both in such a short time. We hope to see them on our side of the pond soon.

Tomorrow night, Kenny returns. While it has certainly been difficult at times to be without him, not once has it been harder than I expected, and more often than not is has been easier. Actually, this time alone with the girls has been quite a gift. And so I look forward to bestowing upon him the same precious treasure of alone time with his daughters while I spend the next few days wandering the streets of Paris toute seule.