Faster than a speeding bullet! Now stop!

During our last couple of days in Paris, I think that Sarah and I began to secretly fret and worry a bit about our coming change of location. Partially because of how rough the move from Reykjavik to Paris was, and partially because of the feeling that there we are a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong. First we had to pack and get out of our apartment in a timely manner, then secure a taxi in a part of town not exactly swarming with them, get to the train station, find our train on time, board with the kids and luggage, get off at the right stop, get our rental car, drive to Arles, get in touch with the woman we were renting our apartment from and then actually find our apartment.

None of these things alone seemed especially challenging, but the unending string of them, combined with a few worrying random factors (not even sure if the woman renting to us knew we were coming on the right day... and wait, where is Arles from Avignon again?) was enough to cause some concern. Plus, at any point, one or both kids could mutiny, and the whole thing could come grinding to a halt. Here goes!

Luckily, the morning went as good as could be planned! Sarah gave the kids a pep talk in the morning that seemed to actually stick. Packing and cleaning the apartment went smoothly. Talking to a receptionist at a Best Western down the street, I was able to get a cab with little hassle. Furthermore, it was a van cab, so there was plenty of room for our collection of bags, car seats and children. We arrived at the station just in time. Found and boarded our train with reasonable effort and were off!

Now, planning the trip, I'd sort of thought that the kids would be excited about the train trip. And that they might geek out at both the experience in general, or the speed of the TGV train, at least. So, let's see how they responded...

They literally did this for the entire three hour trip. Occasionally, they'd ask for food or water. Or I'd make some half-hearted attempt to point out some sheep or what looked to be a distant passing castle. But, meh.

They seemed content, so Sarah and I were content to leave them be.

Unfortunately, everything went pear-shaped when we arrived at the Avignon station. Roused from their Word World stupor, the kids went into full on mutiny mode, claiming to be hungry, thirsty and tired at the same time, and then commenced to declare war on each other over who would get to carry a Gogo Kidz wheeled-car seat caddy. Defeated, a screaming Otto attempted to scale Sarah, who was already weighed down with a two packs and a car seat. Meanwhile, Stella declared the caddy too heavy to carry, dropped it and broke into vocal sobs. Somehow, despite this, we managed to all topple from the train into a crying, sweating pile of backpacks and car seats on the sweltering Avignon train station loading dock.

Recollecting ourselves, we made our way to Hertz and got the keys to our Renault Clio. (Picture to come, promise!) Then, Otto made one final attempt to torpedo our commute by losing his poop both figuratively and literally. Sarah took him, screaming again, to the restrooms to change him. Those ended up being pay restrooms. But, I believe taking sympathy on Sarah's situation, the women manning the restrooms let Sarah and the kids in, with the promise of later payment.

When I went by a short while later to pay them, and only had a 50 Euro note, they were less than  pleased.

Anyhow, shortly after being deposited in their car seats, first Otto, then Stella, crashed out... and it was off to Arles! Luckily, starting at the train station, there were signs that read "Arles," so getting too Arles was a breeze. And what did I think of driving our micro-mini Clio down winding Provincial roads?

Something about small cars and country roads just finds my happy place. Much like our week in Tasmania, I could drive like that unendingly.

Soon we arrived in Arles, where Sarah and I got to test our marriage by living the tired cliché of "male driver won't stop and ask for directions," but we'll just breeze over that... and the several dead end roads ...awkward trips the wrong way down narrow one way roads ...uncomfortable silences from the passenger seat ...and parking lots with no exit... and focus on arriving at our apartment after stopping for directions at the tourist information booth.

But, what an apartment it is! An ancient three story townhouse, with old stone walls, wood rafters, cute blue shutters and a roof deck overlooking the Rhone! Despite the inevitable fall one or both children is bound to take down the narrow marble staircases, it is a definite win!

And did I mention the rooftop deck?!

And, so what is my impression of Arles so far? It's definitely more "Otto-Speed." Less chaotic. Narrow streets with few to no cars for his parents to try to keep him from getting run over by. And, lots of quiet plazas and courtyard to run around in, most with jump-worthy cement posts. Let's take a quick visual tour shall we?

 This tiny courtyard, a block from our place, is already dubbed "Otto's Plaza." He runs straight there after we walk out or front door, and -upon arriving- declares "here it is!"

 A small street we ate dinner on our first night. This sort of shabby-chic look seems to be the towns defining charm.

 

 Stella and I headed down a narrow street. Pedestrian-friendly places like this are a welcome change from the crowded, narrow sidewalks and busy streets of Paris. 

 

Breakfast breads at the towns central plaza. At first I was eager to "go, go, go," but after watching Stella dance to the accordion player there, Sarah reminded me it was probably more important to let the kids have their time.

Anyhow, today was a quiet day. Partially to give the kids a chance to rest, and partial because I was feeling a bit ill this morning. Fermented shark, no problem. But, switch my diet to bread, cheese and rose wine... and apparently all bets are off. But, our plan tomorrow is to pile back into the Clio, hit the road a bit and hopefully find a nice village to explore and some nice wine to taste.

Small car, country roads and the promise of wine at the end? Sounds good to me!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Paris Edition

Tomorrow we pack up from our Montparnasse apartment and take the high-speed train south to Avignon, get in a car and re-settle for our last trip "chunk" in Arles in Provence.  And so, as we wrap up our time in Paris, it's always a good time to take stock.  We covered more ground than I might have expected and--yet--not nearly as much as I might have desired sans kids.

We markered in the routes we took around town.  Not bad, especially when you consider we were both carrying 20-30+ pounds for most of those blocks....

So, here it is.  The good, the bad and the ugly of travelling with a nearly-two-year-old and almost four-and-a-half-year-old in Paris, as exemplified over the past two days:

The Good:

Some fantastic moments with the kids in beautiful locations, usually those that most appealed to them:



Lunch at Luxembourg Gardens, Part II.  Yesterday, we decided we needed to slow our pace down and do something less ambitious and more kid-focused.  It was a hit to return to the playground and pond and have a picnic.

Watching the ducks.  You may have to enlarge the photo to appreciate the fact that Stella is hiding her lollipop out of view from the ducks....

 

Watching boule with Stella.

On our last full day in Paris, we decided to buy a day pass on the Batobus, a boat that makes 8 stops along the Seine that you can hop-on and hop-off.  Stella loved it once she got out on the back.

Stella and Tyler on the evening Batobus ride on the Seine.  I can now say seeing the Eiffel Tower from the water is my preferred vantage point.  [This was part of our daily routine in Paris--dinner at home, dessert and a final outing in the evening.  Sadly, as you'll see below, this started off more fun and devolved as the ride went on....]



Me and Otto, also early in the Batobus evening ride

Having good down-time in our apartment and watching the sibling love grow between Stella and Otto:

Stella occasionally asks Otto if he wants to sit on her lap;  occasionally, he's happy to oblige!

 

Stella the photographer--we occasionally let Stella man the camera, which thrills her and often amuses us with the results

Yes, you are indeed looking at a picture of Stella vacuuming.  With the post-croissant crumbs, it is a necessity, and both the kids love to help. 

I wish I could have a recording of Otto saying "Busytown" as you see this photo ("Ee-ee-ow!").  We read busytown, looking for Goldbug, Lowly, Dingo Dog and Officer Flossy many times a day.

OK, this should probably be categorized as "the bad" since Otto wacked his head while playing, but Stella playing nurse was just too cute.

For us adults, some of the sites and scenery was nothing to sneeze at:

Pont Alexandre (I think), right by Invalides, and very beautiful

 

In the Louvre

One of my favorite unexpected moments--we took the Batobus and got off near the Louvre with the intention of having a picnic lunch in the Tuileries.  We had nearly given up hope of finding something decent and not overpriced to eat when we happened upon a market off St. Honore, including this stall selling Senegalese food.  She was nice enough to give us forks, heat up our food, fry up some fresh samosas, and point us to some bathrooms.

The Bad:

Now I know it's a bit rich to complain when we're in Paris and on an extended vacation, but not every moment is fantastic.  The last few days, I admit to looking to Tyler and saying, "Let's promise to come back to Paris, just the two of us, when the kids are older."  So lest you think we're some kind of superhero travelling parents, know we struggle just as you might.

At the Tuileries--started off cute with Otto pointing up and shouting "statue" but when we saw me taking a picture turned into a grumpy face shouting "no!"

 

And we're now at the point on the Batobus evening grip when Stella is trying to climb up into my jacket, Otto is hanging off my arm, and this is after we've scolded them about fighting for possession of the same hand and generally making themselves unpleasant to be around.  This is also the point around which Tyler has to start threatening to take the one making the most ruckus off the boat and away from mommy to home via metro with daddy.  Oh, I feel tired just typing this and remembering the second half of the boat ride....  And that's not even mentioning my (unsuccessful) conversation with Stella about selflessness.  Sigh.

Last family photo in Paris.  Tyler had the temerity to pick Otto up since I had already lifted Stella...

The Ugly:

(Un?)fortunately, we don't tend to photograph the most ugly moments, like Tyler carrying Otto screaming for blocks up and across the bridge to the Metro station or Stella carrying on in the Metro when Otto gets a turn on my lap, but here's a small taste:

Trying to get a photo of Stella and Otto in front of the Eiffel Tower.  I guess we probably got in the way of more jumping....

Well, we can always thank goodness for inexpensive, good French wine for the bad and ugly moments that inevitably occur!  Once we ended up taking most our meals at home, Tyler would take whatever we bought, go to a wine store, show it to them and ask for something to pair for ~10 euro.  We got some delicious wines to drink!  (And today we got the rose in the afternoon and the Bordeaux as our post-boat reward.)

I believe in my first entry I thought we could have spent our whole vacation here.  Six days later, I think Paris was wonderful but also wore us out.  There are just *too* many wonderful things to do and see that we had a much harder time sticking to a kid-friendly pace, even when we knew better.  But we'll be back!  And the kids will be older.  And some day I'll be sad that they don't want to hang on me 24-7.  Right?

So, this happened...

Now that we are at our apartment in Paris, and settled into something that resembles are routine, Sarah and I have found ourselves in a situation where we have time every night to post an update here on Strange and Benevolent. Generally, we've been out with the kids every night until at least 10. But, by the time we get back they crash out nearly immediately, and we usually stay up another couple of hours, finish whatever bottle of wine we started earlier and try to relax and have some quiet time.

While we appreciate the quality time, a blog entry a day ends up stretching things a bit thin. Especially when we are mainly just visiting the major tourist sites. We definitely run the risk of the blog entries devolving into a string of "so, this happened" photos.

So, without further ado, this happened...

We finally went to the Eiffel Tower. (Didn't go up it, but the kids snacked on oranges and left over sandwiches directly under it.)

And, this happened...

Riding the carousel near the Eiffel Tower. (Probably Stella's favorite moment.)

And this happened...

Visiting the Louvre. Again, didn't go in, but wandered around outside, and took in the epic scale of the architecture and sculpture.

And, this happened..

Crossing Pont du Arts bridge. Couples write their names on locks and attach them to the railing. It's surprisingly affecting the countless, varied locks, each inscribed with a couples name.

And, this happened...

A simple, tasty meal of rotisserie chicken, asparagus, tomatoes, bread, cheese and wine, purchased at the nearby market street.

And, this happened...

Sunset visit to the Arc de Triomphe. (Note: Having a toddler scores you a ride on the elevator to the top, instead of having to hike countless steps, like most people.)

As you can imagine, we've been running around a lot. After taking our first hesitant metro rides yesterday, we have rapidly found ourselves downright abusing the system. The kids have become pro-metro riders, and I take an odd pride in the fact that they know how to feed their tickets into the turnstiles, collect their ticket on the other side and push their way through. So cosmopolitan! To show roughly how much we've  been riding, here's a photo of just some of our used stubs from the last two days...

If there is an odd man out right now, it's Otto. Obviously, this trip, and Paris specifically, was something Sarah and I wanted to do. And, Stella get's it. She's become a regular travel master. She may not appreciate everything that is going on around her, but there's a lot here for her to love. The grand parks and gardens. The ornamental architecture and art. The light. The fashion. Paris is definitely her kind of city. As evidenced here...

Stella, dancing in a palace courtyard, with her mom's fashionable scarf. (And check out here fashion statement in the Arc de Triomphe photo.)

But, Otto... poor Otto. Unfortunately, a lot of this is just not as interesting to a toddler. And, while we are trying to make concessions and figure out ways to engage him, and while we try to give him downtime at the apartment to rest and play, often his reaction to our adventures drifts somewhere between bewilderment and mild frustration. Including an epic meltdown at a macaroon restaurant this afternoon. So, what does Paris mean to Otto? Well, Paris is a great city to jump off things!

So, this happened...

Otto, jumping from a railing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 Otto jumps off a cement piling next to the carousel.

Otto jumps off a steel pillar it the Louvre.

Otto jumps from a step, on the Arc de Triomphe viewing area.

 

Well, we all travel for our own reasons.



Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame, the Metro and Ice Cream! Or, Day 1 in Paris

After getting to celebrate my birthday with Jody, we headed home.  We'd been trying to prepare Stella;  we had a 7:30 flight, which meant getting up and leaving the house around 4:40 to catch the bus to the airport.  (This was a time I was grateful for the long days--it was much more bearable since it was already daylight!)  So we did it, the kids expectedly initially unimpressed at being roused and taken out to the cold, bags in tow.

So Tyler saw me adding this and mentioned he already used it in his previous entry, but I'm using it again, because he looks at this and says "look how much stuff we have!" and I look at this and say, "Look how compactly we packed--we could walk over half a mile with the kids and stuff, no problem!"

And we experienced what felt like our first bad plane ride.  And realistically it wasn't *bad*, though there was a while there that we were "those people" with two crying kids, both insisting on being on my lap simultaneously.  We hadn't been able to take on the carseats for this flight, so the kids were much more fidgety and only Otto slept a little bit.

So we were relieved to land after about three hours. Fortunately for us while waited for baggage and Tyler tried to figure out how to call the company that we rented our apartment from, the kids found this little projected fish thing that they loved, burning off a little energy before we hopped into a cab.

Funny the stuff I'm grateful for in airports now--this captured the kids attention and burned off lots of energy--score!

And we did actually cab it.  We contemplated taking a bus in, but it was going to cost almost the same amount and be a lot more hassle.  We got an awesome woman driver who asked if we wanted the faster direct route or a more scenic route.  The kids had both crashed and we had a little time to kill, so we got to drive past the Arc de Triomphe, Invalides, down St. Germain de Pres and soak in some ambience.  And once we got to our place the rental guy wasn't there and it was a little confusing where it was (the address looked like a restaurant).  The driver asked the restaurant owner about it and confirmed that he was OK with us sitting in his closed restaurant while we waited, which, with two sleeping kids, our carseats and bags, was much appreciated.  Shortly after, the guy arrived with the keys and we got settled in.

The stairs to our apartment.  Not bad a couple times a day, but I wasn't too sad to sit with sleeping kids when all the bags got carried up....

Our home until Sunday--two bedrooms, which we're already thankful for.  It's not quite as well-stocked as our place in Reykjavik, but I think it will be a good home base.

At first I was worried that we would regret being further from the city center.  We're in Montparnasse, which was big with some artists in the early 20th century, but is just off the map that came with our guidebook.  It's in south Paris, just south of the Latin Quarter and St. Germain de Pres.  But so far, we've been pleased.  There's a great market street a few blocks away, a metro stop a few blocks away and I like being in a neighborhood that just feels lived in, not touristic.

We had crepes for dinner but had fruit, cheese and our first bottle of delicious French wine afterwards at home.  Yay for cheap good wine (especially after expensive OK beer in Iceland!).  And happy my rusty French allowed us to buy cheese, fruit, wine, and pasta for another night (though I keep falling back on Spanish, oddly enough)

Stella "reading" her "Paris with Kids" guide before bed.  Glad the kids have beds here and a bedroom.

Breakfast before heading out on our first full day.  Feels Parisian, with the big opening windows, ornate railings and pretty building across the way.

And now that we're here, Tyler and I both agreed that we could have spent our entire three week vacation here.  It is so beautiful and there is so much to do and we're on kid travel pace.  But we'll soak it in while we can.  I won't bore you with the blow by blow--but we've had a big and full first full day:  Luxemburg Gardens, lunch near the Pantheon and an evening jaunt out to the Seine, seeing Notre Dame and getting some Berthillon ice cream.  Stella seems to love it here, and Otto is loving the Metro rides (of which we had nine rides today, if you count all the transfers) and generally being out and about.  We'll see if we regret the pace tomorrow, but so far, c'est magnifique!

 

 

Enjoying Luxembourg Garden--we had to pay for the playground, but Stella and Otto were in heaven.

The palace in Luxembourg Gardens.  We even saw a few sailboats in the pond before we left.

How I spend a fair bit of my time, Otto insisting on holding my hand if I give in to Stella's pleas to get a turn with me.  Good times.

Around the corner from the Pantheon, with tired and hungry Stella

I love this about Paris--on a random side street and you see this massive old wall amidst the beautiful buildings.

 

After being out all late morning/early afternoon, we headed home, expecting the kids to nap (though I ended up being the only one sleeping).  One unexpected pleasure of this trip--watching Stella and Otto play more together!

Love the artsy Metro station entry ways.  And given our reliance on them today (two round trips, nine total trains) it seemed fitting!

Giant Stella conquers Notre Dame!  They had bleachers set up out front and signs up about the 850th anniversary of the church.  She seems to appreciate the sites and scenery--Otto was all about jumping off concrete barrier poles and watching for boats on the Seine.

The reward at the end of a long day--Berthillon ice cream:  pear sorbet for the kids, roasted pineapple and basil for Tyler and honey nougat for me.  Yum.

Last Metro ride for the day, and Otto crashes out (and Tyler can finally carry him)