Paris

I had grand plans to document our long weekend in Paris, but with being sick and Christmas approaching, time has simply gotten away from me.  Instead, I'll keep it simple and just share ten things I want to remember about our trip to Paris.  Mark left on Monday to attend a conference and I left Wednesday night to meet him on Thursday.  Lyla stayed in New York with her Bammie and Pa and didn't miss us a wink.

1. We did a bunch of touristy stuff we would never do it New York.  We would never go near Saks in December but went to see the department store holiday windows (they love Mamma Mia there).  We would never go to St. Patrick's during the holidays, but we went to Notre Dame.  We would never shop on Fifth Avenue, but we found ourselves on Faubourg several times (Chanel stores in Paris are almost as ubiquitous as Gap stores in the U.S.

2. People in Paris use "ooh la la" in their everyday conversation.  We were having lunch at a little cafe when a woman came in and sat at the table next to us.  She started talking to us in French (I think about how cold it was because she was kind of hugging herself and rubbing her arms) and at the end of her sentence said "ooh la la."  Fabulous.

3. Outdoor cafes and markets are open and busy even in the winter.  I was amazed by all the people sitting outside at restaurants and all the outdoor markets that were open in December.  Every restaurant had those outdoor heat lamps and often times the outdoor seating area was more crowded than the indoor seating area. And it was COLD.  We eventually realized that the reason for this is that you can smoke if you are sitting outside.  I hate to generalize, but I will -- everyone smokes in Paris.

4. You can never eat enough Croque Monsieur.

5. Next time we go, I want to stay at a hotel near the D'Orsay (7th Arrondissement).  I loved the cute streets and boutiques in that area.

6. Paris is a great walking city.  In one day, we walked from our hotel on Hausmann, down to Les Halles, across to Notre Dame, through the Latin Quarter, along St. Germain, across the Seine, through the Tuleries, past the Louvre, across Vendome, and back along Fabourge.  I'm impressed with myself for remembering all these neighborhoods/streets.  I did no planning before the trip (which is unusual for me) and we just winged it all weekend.
7. My favorite street we stumbled upon was Rue Montorgueil.  It was all open markets -- butcher, fish, chocolate, pastries, cheese, etc.  And I actually saw women walking with baguettes in brown paper bags.  So French!

8. I could never justify buying Christian Louboutins in the U.S., but in Paris, it doesn't seem so bad.

9. Riding the Ferris Wheel is touristy but worth it.  The view of the city is awesome.

10. We went to La Relais de Venice (known as L'Entrecote) one night.  We waited on line for about 30 minutes before we got a table.  There is no menu -- they only serve steak frites.  The only question is how you want your steak cooked.  Regulars write down the temperature and their drink order on the brown paper tablecloths so the waitress can put the order in right away.  And when you are done, they serve you ANOTHER portion of steak frites.  Ooh la la!

I am speechless...literally

Mark and I just got back from a long weekend in Paris and my only souvenir (other than a fabulous pair of shoes) is a severe case of laryngitis.  I can't speak above a whisper and even that is strenuous.  Lyla was initially confused and now she thinks it's the cool new way to talk so she too is whispering.  She is taking very good care of me and we are snuggling in bed and catching up on all the Housewives and Top Chef episodes we missed.  Meanwhile, Mark is enjoying the silence :)

Nino

Mark's very good friend Nino, who grew up with him in Cleveland and now lives in NYC, came over last week to watch LeBron return to Cleveland in the Cavs-Heat game. Lyla is usually pretty skeptical around men, but she warmed right up to Nino. She plopped herself down in her little chair right next to him and didn't move for awhile. What a flirt!

Latkes & Nutcrackers

Last week, the New York Ballet gave a free 1 hour performance of the Nutcracker at the World Financial Center. I asked Eileen and Aunt Phyllis if they wanted to go with us and it turned out Michael and Danielle were still in town, so we all planned to go together with the kids. It was the first night of Hanukkah so Eileen invited us over before the show to light the menorah and eat some latkes.

Dennis was an excellent candle lighter. (Lyla and Dylan are in the background jumping in baby John's crib)




It was great to have time with Hailey and John before they went back to Florida. Hailey loves her little brother.


Before the ballet, there was a lighting ceremony. Every year, the World Financial Center decorates with 100,000 lights. The place went from this:


To this:


The ballet was great. We started out sitting on the steps way in the back and progressively worked are way up until we were right in front of the stage. We lost a couple of the kids on the way -- Dennis found a toy store with Legos and Hailey wanted to do whatever Dennis was doing - so by the end of the show it was me, Eileen, Dylan and Lyla. They were adorable dancing in the aisles and imitating the ballerinas.










When the ballerinas did this...


...Lyla did this


We are so fortunate to live in this great city where Lyla has so many opportunities. Where else can you make last minute plans to see a free performance of the ballet just a few minutes from home?

Christmas Kickoff

We officially started our holiday season with the South Street Seaport tree lighting. We were kind of cooped up inside all day so I rallied the troops and we headed down to the Seaport for the lighting ceremony.

It was a pretty cold night and we were all bundled up. Lyla was trying to figure out if she liked her new mittens. It is her first set of mittens with a thumb and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.


Drinking with her gloves was a challenge.


Waiting with her dad.








In all honesty, the pre-lighting entertainment was brutal. We hit our breaking point before the tree was lit and decided to bail and go out to dinner down the block. We went to Cowgirl Seahorse, which is literally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. I had been wanting to go for awhile to check it out as a possible location for Lyla's 2nd birthday party. Lyla approved of the french fries, so I think we have found a place.


On our way home after dinner, we got to see the lit tree.






Lyla trying to sneak past the gates to get closer to the tree.


Let the shopping begin!

Water Taxi on our way to IKEA!

Art Class

Mark and I were both home from work the day before Thanksgiving so we took Lyla to an art class at the Children's Museum of the Arts. It's a nice little space where Lyla can get messy and I don't have to clean it up :) Full disclosure: I have never let Lyla paint because I dread the mess she will make on my white leather couches (which seemed so stylish and chic pre-Lyla).

She got to color, paint, play with dough and make a little craft...all with a little help from me. Mark was astonished when I wanted to take home her artwork. "Are you kidding me? Why are we bringing these home? You made them, not Lyla". We did take most of them home and I ended up throwing them out...

She was a little skeptical of the flubber. She doesn't like stuff that gets stuck to her hands.

Working on her self portrait.

She was a very serious painter with a really cute little apron.




Pretty colors, but here is where my fear lies. M-E-S-S-Y


At the end of the class, there was music and story time. This is not music and story time. This is the ball pit next door to music and story time, where Lyla insisted on going during music and story time.


But when she heard they were handing out drums, she got back in the mix.


We walked home after class and stopped at Landmarc for lunch. Lyla was a perfect doll the entire lunch. In other words, she slept through the whole thing. Mark and I even got to sit and have coffee after lunch!  Now that is something to thankful for!