Life in the 17th

We’ve rented apartments all over Paris it seems, but never in the 17th arr.  This apartment was the best, by far, of our rentals. Although we knew the area because our friends Kevin & Rachel lived there when we all lived in Paris, we had never really taken the time to explore it very much.

There are lots of parks, so we spent our first afternoon dodging rain drops at Park Periere.  (Missed you Rachel & Ava Lou!!)   They were moving so fast we never got a photo of them together!

So weird that Sophia is the big girl now.  She was the one climbing up on top of all of the trains & houses.  Crazy!!

Missing: One Tooth

Somewhere between Metz & Paris, Sophia lost a tooth. 

Luckily, she was in the car and was able to spit it out before she swallowed it, but it made for a very exciting entrance into Paris, and something to look forward to tonight…

I’m sure the tooth fairy (or tooth Mouse in France) pays very well in Paris.

The rest of Metz

Leaving the cathedral, we wandered down thru town to the river (mosel) and gave the girls some play time. (Troy loved this, kind of a no brainer huh?)

They found water, natrually, in the form of a fountain, that had created puddles of water on the grass.  Unfortunately we had forgotten her boots, so she was soaked, but at least she never managed to actually climb in the fountain base.  

Amazing Metz

After our many drives from Munich to Paris, we have decided that splitting up the drive on the way there is an easy way to make sure that everyone is happy.  We have tried many locations over the past couple years, but finally spent the night in Metz, and now we regret not being there sooner!

We entered the city in the late afternoon with sun pouring down on us, and blinding us by its reflection off the cathedral.  Gorgeous!

Walking into the Cathedral both Troy & I were stunned at the height of the nave, and the gorgeous windows around the entire church.   Some in better shape than others,

 

  but the more interesting part was the inclusion of modern stained glass.  As we were standing in the left transept, a set of windows caught my eye and I said to Troy – That looks like Marc Chagall’s work.  But there was no sign of who the artist was.

Behind the High Alter, however, was another series of windows, and a very long explanation of Marc Chagall’s work on various churches in France. (we had also seen some of his work in Reims.) As art alone it is stunning, I was blown away by it being in the cathedral.

And the outside was just as ornate.

Bribery, Munich style

Mondays are tough mornings in our house.  I’m not really a morning person & the bus comes at 8:08 exactly (it’s a bit like the Truman Show sometimes), but Mondays also have the added bonus of being garbage/recycling days. 

In our apartment house, garbage is stored in the courtyard, and bumped down & then back up 8 steps outside the door, up 5 more steps inside our wooden stairwell, before being bumped out  8 steps to the street.  Very loud on a monday when you don’t actually have to get up.

There are very particular rules about the size & shape of the recycle material.  All in all, not an easy process, and one that makes me want to just shove it all in the garbage & look the other way.  (except that my neighbors will come knocking on my door to instruct me in the “correct” way of doing things, and I really try to avoid any kind of interaction).

However, Troy & I have never thought of just bribing the garbage men. It worked too.

Good Morning Beograd

I had an hour as the sun came up to walk around Belgrade.  The locals call it Beograd (without the l), and the city can be quite beautiful.  I wandered through the old town and toured the Ottaman fortress overlooking the Danube and Sava rivers.

Playtime in the Sun (finally!)

We have posted so many snow play photos this year, and I am thrilled to say that the temperature increased 30 degrees over the last 5 days (Monday it was snowing), and tonight we were able to enjoy the evening sun at the park down the street.

All that vitamin D is really good for all of us! and the girls have so much fun together!

Running Around in Riga

Troy had a trip up to riga, Latvia this week, and was able to walk around the Old Town and capture a few of the amazing sights in this Baltic center.