Classes, meeting my partner, exhausted

1picture? 1 picture?! What happened? I danced ALL DAY LONG! The only photo I took was of some currants. Some girl at lunch was sharing them with everyone and they looked beautiful. I got to meet my dance partner Jordi finally. His English, though not perfect, was much better than my spanish or my catalan, so we had a tiny language barrier.

The dance was very fun with the Hot Sugar Band playing tunes (though I didn't love how most of their songs were very speedy). I stayed to see the Strictly finals but didn't stay for JnJ because I wanted to get home on the subway. I had 4 hours of dance classes today, and got to meet Patrick and Natasha (Andrew would've laughed)

Swingin' Paris is finally here!

 "Morning mom, ahem....I'm hungry so get up! Feed me! Pet me. Oh and pick up my poop!"

I love her. She's so sweet to me especially when Aaron is gone because she knows I'm the only one left.

 I went to french, then got lunch at the Smiths bakery, a place near the grocery store that is so cute and rustic. I got some tarte aux framboises. Delish!

 We went for a nice long walk in the park and I decided to make Trixie SIT with me, on the bench. Look at my little pup giving FACE! And she can even sit on the bench by herself. I am impressed. Girl had a big butt and still managed to make it work.

 I went to check out the "Clock" at Centre Pompidou, a movie that is in real time and is a 24 hour film with clips of real movies with clocks in the scenes. I wrote down my favorites and things I'm interested in seeing. I have a lot of movies to add to netflix now.

 Then it was off to Swingin' Paris, which was in the boonies for someone who lives in the middle of town. The equivalent is Kew Meadows perhaps. Yeah, imagine trying to get someone in Queens and the subway turns off after midnight and won't turn back on until 5 AM. Yep, that's where I was. It was a nice space and the band sounded great, but being isolated and no info on how to get back home was a little annoying. I was able to find a cab and split it with 3 others so my fare home was only 8 euros....

 The venue had a pro coiffeur. He was giving men haircuts and even massaging their necks. Pretty awesome!

They also had a jack and jill. I did NOT do well. Oh well, it's only my second one and I've been told that half of it is just continuing to compete and show your face. So I'm doing good by making my face known!

Au Revoir Aaron, enjoy Denmark!

Aaron left this morning for Copenhagen, so it's just me and Trixie for another weekend. Whatever shall we do?! First I ate some yummy Frenchy smily cookies. One even winked at me.

 I then went to Sephora to get some sale items. These cool nail art sets were super cheap so I bought them for my friends back home that I think would enjoy them. Feathers and metal beads! I also bought my sis some cheap geometric shapes that you glue to your nail and then paint over, which seems to go along great with her house music love. Hopefully she likes them.

 I've also been trying out all the eau de parfums and eau de toilettes in our apartment. Our host must be obsessed with scents because she has bottles everywhere. I've been using a little spray every day to see which scent I like the most. So far I've tried Coco by Chanel and J'adore by Christian Dior. I prefer Coco. I just learned the difference between parfum and toilette, parfum being more expensive and more concentrated. Even more so is perfume. The least of the 4 types of scents is cologne. Pretty cool. I HAVE noticed that when I spray on some coco parfum vs coco toilette, parfum lasts longer but is spicier smelling.

 Remember those macaroons? Yeah, we forgot to eat them last night so I got to enjoy them all on my own looking out the window. They were fabulous!

 I then took Trixie to Montmartre to meet up with Andrius to get lost and explore. We had no agenda. Trix was pretty beat from the walk last night but with Swingin' Paris this upcoming weekend, I want her good and tired so she won't require a lot of attention. She climbed all the way up the funicular stairs to get to Sacre Coeur. What an awesome pup!

 We found La Maison Rose. I didn't stop in for food or a drink, just walked by. It IS quite pretty but I'm still wondering how it landed on a must see list on buzz feed when all the other items were natural like cliffs, caves, and fields...

We came home, spent some time out of the sun, and then I headed to Quai Saint Bernard where they dance outdoors next to the Seine every Thursday in summer. I showed up and only got to stay for 30 minutes because it started raining. Since it takes place on slippery tiles, it was unsafe to continue. I didn't even get a good picture or even a selfie of me there, OR even sadder, a picture of the Seine with the dancers together. 

 I wrote Andrius and we decided to catch a movie....Xmen. I had no interest in seeing it before, but the idea of seeing a movie with anyone, any movie really, was exciting. And I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed myself. There was a bit of time travel as well as awesome action scenes and good humor moments. I had skipped 2 xmen movies and from what I've heard I didn't miss much, but this one was definitely a great addition to the franchise.

 When we left, we saw tons of police men and cars honking. People running up and down the street, flares, and Algerian flags. I thought "Algeria won their game in the world cup?!" There were even riot police (we were on the Champs Elysees) and everyone was carrying an Algerian flag. It was a little scary being around the police but I was happier with them there in case any ruckus happened. Andrius looked up the score and "no", they had LOST their game, but they had pulled through to the next round, a first for their country.

Since the commotion was bad, we walked to Concorde thinking we could take the subway, but they were closed, so I had to walk all the way from the Arc to Notre Dame where I could then ride a bike the remaining 5 minutes home. My legs are dying! Just looked it up on map my run....over 3 miles, aka 5K!

Les SOLDES!

I've been waiting almost a week for today. I went to french class, though I was very excited and distracted. Why? Because of the grande soldes! Woot! I was very prepared this year and even did as the Parisians do. I went looking for the things I wanted ahead of time. I tried them on and took pictures so that when the day arrived, I could just walk in and buy them, thus avoiding the lines. I was also able to buy some hair ties (I didn't bring that many so I've been dealing with hair on my neck...ugh) I saw these cheap earrings and it made me think of Kat.

I went all over Les Halles because it has all my fave stores (specifically Naf Naf) and is very central.  I passed by Hotel de Ville and they had a huge map on the ground showing old trenches and the forests where the wood came from. Interesting, but unfortunately, a lot of people were standing on top of the text explaining anything more.

I then went shopping near our house to look at the dress shop that I pass everytime I go grocery shopping. Even with the sales, the cheapest dress is still at least 150 euros. No thank you. Hortensia is in beautiful and in full bloom right now.

I went home and picked up Trixie to go meet Aaron at Gaite Lyrique. We then walked through our old neighborhood, down Rue de Bretagne. It was so nice to return to our old hood. In one year, it's really gone further with its yuppie feel. More lively, more cool stores, etc. The best part was that Trixie pulled us towards our old apartment and even "asked" us to let her in. Here she is, giving FACE and proud of herself for finding her way "home". 

We walked to Chez Imogene for dinner. Delicious! We shared a formule and had some delicious lardon salad! Everytime I come here, I am amazed at what a good value it is, and also how delicious and consistent the food is. I would make it a "must do" when visiting Paris.

Here I am with our chocolate crepe with chantilly. (Also, I am wearing a Naf Naf dress that I bought today!) I love that Trixie is allowed in Chez Imogene. It's very old France!

From Imogene, we then walked ALL THE WAY HOME! Trixie too! What a trooper. Our full walk was almost 4 miles today. We also stopped by Carette and I got 4 macaroons that I'll eat later on. So exciting that they were still open at 10 pm. It was nice to just be a family and walk together.

Saddest Cemetery EVER!

I woke up late and decided that I should do something new and interesting today. I looked up in my books and online for "interesting" or "unusual" Paris, and came upon a dog cemetery. I saw a couple of photos and it looked both interesting and intriguing, so off I went to the edge of Paris on the 13 line. (All these endeavors are sending me to the outskirts) When I waited for the 13 I noticed that there was only 1 line of tracks and a sign would tell you which direction the next train was going. Kind of neat.

No one in the article had mentioned that there was an admission fee so let me be the first to alert anyone that there is a small charge to enter the cemetery (3.50 euros). They give you a little map (which is only in French) so that you can find your favorite famous pups and other curious animals. 

Towards the front, you see this HUGE statue of a dog carrying a child from the trenches during the war. The inscription says "He saved the lives of 40 people and was killed by the 41st." Killed meaning that he died of exhaustion from carrying everyone, so not really as scary or as inhumane as I thought.

I cried a little bit in this cemetery. Something about loved animals that had gone made me sad. I saw lots of dog toys on tombstones. Lots of inscriptions that said "We'll never forget your bark" or "20 years of happiness." Truly sad. From what I could read, pet cemeteries are relatively new (after 19th century) because the role of animals had changed around that time. They went from being mangy dogs on streets to pets, and once the pet died, it was thrown into the Seine or into a pit. A king then thought it best to give a burial spot for the loved animals. How nice.

I saw this adorable cat grave. So sad. I was terrified because it was open on one side and had a coat inside (I am guessing the family left it for the cat) but I wasn't sure if it was covering something (perhaps a cat?!)

Rin Tin Tin is buried here as well. So cool! His grave says "Star of cinema". Who knew that he was French?!

I came home, showed Aaron the sad pictures, and then we ate a quick dinner before biking off to Theatre de Chatelet for Le Roi Et Moi. Our seats were SHIT! If you're in the 4th ring, there are 4 metal bars that block your view. The only hope you have of seeing anything is being in the front row of your section. Unfortunately, we were in the 2nd. I moved us to partial view, so we were bent over the whole night. It wasn't great and at times, Aaron just stood up because the sight lines were so bad.

It's a gorgeous theater and is really old so I think it was nice we went in, but had I known that we should've paid more money, I would've.

Here's curtain call. It was so nice to see the show and it did make me cry but Aaron was a little bored. He thinks it will last less than 3 months when it comes to broadway next year.

Finally, I've discovered Vintage! And cous cous....

 I had my morning french lesson with Nicholas and it was very frustrating but not in the way that I was frustrated at Lutece. Sometimes I think he assumes too much of me, that I can do more than I actually can. At one point I told him that I didn't understand the difference between 2 tenses, so he spent a good time talking out how they sound different and also how to use them. I felt better after that. After class, I went grocery shopping and picked up some new microwavable meals for Aaron. I know what you're thinking....you're in paris where the world's best food is. Why are you buying micro meals?! Well, we are trying to spend less on food this year and last year, we went out at every meal. It can get pricy. The other issue is that our kitchen was described as "seldom use the stove because the gas is not good." What it should have said is "stove doesn't work. Also, no microwave." Yes. Had I known that our kitchen was literally only a place to store cold things and clean plates, I might not have picked it. With our hot plate (it's actually a crepe maker), we can boil water. With the boiled water, we can emerge the microwavable meals in and 10 minutes later, we have a hot meal. It's not ideal, but it's better than starving or eating cold meals all the time.

I then  took the 4 all the way to the end of the line to the flea market area. I found a vintage store called Boutique Falbalas.....a REAL vintage store. Stuff that hasn't been worn in 100 years! And the best part is that it's decently priced. Some of the items are expensive, but with good reason. I spend well over an hour there, and they let me try anything on. 

It is so nice to find real vintage again. I was beginning to think the Parisians were stupid when it came to vetements ancienns! 

 I even found this amazing 30's bathing suit that I DIDN'T buy. I know! I have already thought it over and am returning next week to buy it tout suite! After vintage, I hurried home, dealt with Trix, and then biked over to ballet to have my first class this year with M. Casati. And he is as scary as ever. I think he yelled at people to start whole exercises over because someone was doing arms wrong at least 5 times. His pointe class (since it's Monday) is definitely really hard for me. It completely wiped me out.

I met up with Aaron for dinner....COUS COUS?! Are you kidding me?! He was very worried because I was not in a particularly talking mood when I arrived. I tried my best to have an open mind (last time he tried to get me to eat cous cous, he said that it's just like rice, and I tell you friends....if you want me to like something and you say it tastes like rice, it better be RICE, because nothing else tastes like rice.) I still wasn't a fan of cous cous in the end, but the meat and the veggies that came with it, I could eat. (He likes it because it's like stew, what a turkey) The first face he made was his "OMG NINTENDO 64" face. But deep down, I know that he was super excited and the blurry photo more clearly shows his true feelings over bringing me to a restaurant of a different type of cuisine.

Ponies, Playground, Palette Cleanser

 The kiddies were getting back on a train to Switzerland later in the day, so to tire them out a bit, we took them to the park where Aaron and I had seen an enormous playground. The kids saw some pony rides and for 5.5 euros, the 2 of them could both ride for a short time. Sydney was very afraid of the pony at first, saying she wanted off, so I started asking her questions like "can you ride Trixie like this?" She soon forgot that the pony was scary and started enjoying it. I asked her what the pony's name was to which she replied, "Pony." How creative, kid. Eventually, I did get her to agree that his name should be Chocolate Pony because he was dark. Soren then chimed in and said that HIS pony was Chocolate Pudding, but since his coloring was lighter, I suggested Caramel and he agreed that twas a better name. Towards the end of the ride, Caramel took a deuce and there was a roar of laughter. Nicole told me that Caramel taking a dump in the park will be the funniest part of the trip for days to come. Glad to know that mini horse shit can lift spirits so high.

 We arrived at the playground and it is SO big that you have to pay to get in. I liked that the price for a child was more than an adult. It's well maintained and has just about every type of jungle gym equipment. Seesaws, slides, ziplines, climbing structures, you name it. Will and Aaron played with Soren and it was very easy to tell that Will is just a big kid deep down. He even got his big butt stuck in this rocking sheep.

 After the playground, we returned to the apartment for lunch and then saw the kids off. Aaron and I biked to the Grand Palais, the museum where last year we roller skated and played video games. This year, the space was filled with an exhibit called "Strange City". And strange it was.

 I loved the placard before entering the exhibit. "No selfies." This should definitely be in other areas of the world, like the 9/11 memorial, or any other somber sight.

 The exhibit was really hot because we were pretty much standing in a giant, non air conditioned, green house. It took us less than 20 minutes to walk through. We were very close to the Champs Elysees, so we walked there to take a look around, and get some ice cream.

 I knew exactly where I wanted to go....Jeff de Bruges. I went here last year with Ericka and got a strawberry vanilla swirl. This year I was feeling more adventurous, so I opted for the (get this) "framboise pistache" swirl! Whoa! It was so good! Probably the best, most creamy pistachio ice cream I've ever had! No lies! Though, I will say that there was almost NO framboise ice cream in my cone.

 Look at me with my melty ice cream! This did not last long. Aaron's was caramel strawberry swirl which was too sweet in my opinion.

We said a quick hello to the Arc de Triumphe, then headed home to eat dinner. 

For after dinner fun, we saw Jersey Boys with the subtitles. They were pretty easy to read, and I understood most of them even though we were listening to the English and therefore relying on it. Reading the movie made me like it more, but this movie was work to watch. It dragged and the magic of the musical was gone. Ugh, such a shame.

Paris with kids and Fete de la Musique, what noise!

 We slept on the sofas last night and gave our friends with kids the bedroom. It's easier to let the children get a good night's sleep in a room with a door. We weren't used to being woken up so early though (7 AM) via talking/whining through the door. But I can understand being frustrated in a small room, not being allowed to leave the room until everyone in the house was awake. The men went out to forage for pastries (The best choquettes we've had so far) and then we went to the Natural History museum, another place I've never visited while in Paris. I had read that the gardens alone were reason enough to visit here.

Upon entry, I was amazed at how beautiful and hip this museum is. It is so soothing with its blue light and big open space. Aaron got instantly sleepy. We tried to read a sign about bottom feeders which took us about 5 minutes and we had to look up a few words, but all in all, I was super impressed that I could read it.

BTW, did you know that bottom feeders get their food from the upper layers of the sea? It falls down. It's something I've never really thought of, but it makes sense to me.

 We quickly headed with the kids to the children's wing of the museum. Some of the literature was easier for me to understand but it was easy to rely on English because this museum has 3 main languages and they're everywhere in this section. We all sat down to "vote" on bio food.

After the museum, we got some lunch, and if the museum wasn't tiring enough, we went to the zoo. I went there last year so I knew the layout, and we just followed where the kids wanted to go. I was pretty exhausted by this time.

 After returning home, we took Trix for a walk to the park and got some macarons at a tea house right across from the park entrance that we always go to. I think the place is called Dallyou. I was not impressed with the flavors, colors, or textures. I wouldn't buy them again.

 We started hearing bands in the park. Since it's Fete de la Musique, everyone who can blow a trombone or hit a cymbal is out with their instrument, drunk, and just playing whatever floats their boat. We saw this all girl brass band playing "The Kids Aren't All Right" by Offspring. My one complaint with this festival both years now is "why can't brass bands play in tune?!"

 We saw a few more bands on the way to our dinner (which was awesome burgers in the 6th) and overall, the bands in this district far surpass the bands we saw in the 11th last year. I didn't hear any swing/jazz, but we did hear a lot of rock. Also, why do bands insist on playing so close to one another?! It doesn't benefit anyone to be close. Your sounds clash, people can't clearly hear yours or their sound, and it's a mess.

We came home and while the kids were laid down for the night, Aaron, Will, and I went downstairs for a drink. We saw an old guy setting up some drums which worried us a little, seeing as they would be playing right outside our window. As we drank we noticed how many speakers were being set up, the lighting equipment. (How hard can these old guys rock?!) We went upstairs around 11 PM because we couldn't wait any longer (what a bummer). They started playing around 11:30 and I honestly don't know when they stopped because I fell asleep before then. The band had attracted tons of teenagers and bottle throwing drunkards.