We tried to keep our usual schedule as much as possible for the last week- the kids and I play in the morning, lunch and nap, off to school and then to the playground after school, and back home. Cory was still completely obsessed with his airplane and airport...an activity that he can play on his own for a very long time. I have to steal a story from the dad's blog...so the kids REALLY like to play "traveling"...every single day we play some form of it. Cory starts out "mom, we have an airplane to catch at 8o'clock...let's go" (he calls Addy mom) and off they go. I am their taxi driver to the airport, check them in at the airport, am their flight attendant on the airplane, and then check them in at the hotel they are staying in when they arrive wherever they are going (the destination changes...recently it has been back to Barcelona). Literally, we play this game EVERY DAY. Since maybe 2 weeks in to Barcelona...obviously because travel has become such a big part of their lives. Well, they have recently gotten really into Peter Pan. They watched the movie a while ago and were afraid of Captain Hook, but after much convincing that Captain Hook isn't actually mean, he is only pretending..and seeing lots of billboards in the subway with him, they are finally over it and LOVE the movie. And the songs, and love that I can pretty much quote the whole movie to them. So their airplane game has turned into a mix of airport and Peter Pan...apparently Peter Pan and Captain Hook need to get to Barcelona at 8o'clock. Swords and all. It might be a "you have to be there" kind of story. :)
Moving on...the kids had their Halloween party at school on Friday- they don't do much for Halloween in Paris...in fact, the grocery store is full of Christmas stuff already...no Halloween and no Thanksgiving...we thought the stores at home bring Christmas in too early! I hauled their Halloween costumes with us on the train and got them dressed up at school with all their little friends...super cute! It was their last day of school so we had to do the goodbyes...which was harder than I anticipated. I have really gotten to know and like a few of the moms...so we all exchanged information and promised to keep in touch. Over the weekend I did a lot of wandering and admiring of the city...we had some nice weather- cold but clear...and I did a lot of walking. I went to a meetup "nightlife" group on Saturday. We went to a restaurant that is supposed to have the best crepes in Paris...I don't know if they were the best...but they were pretty darn delicious. And we drank mucho cider- which is traditionally what you drink with crepes, I guess. After the dinner we all (about ten people) went out to a pub and hung out, and then to a little jazz piano bar to listen to some tunes. It was really fun...met some great new people that I would totally be friends with if I was staying here. Oh well...depending on the election, I may move back. hehe.
Monday was a little bit tough...the kids didn't have school, most of their toys were packed away AND it was raining...so we were stuck inside with not a lot to do. There was a break in the rain for a little while, so we rushed out to the park to get a little bit of running in...and then got caught in a huge downpour. Some nice fellow let us into the entryway of an apartment building where we stood and played "Simon Says" until the rain stopped and then ran back home.
The cab came to pick us up for the airport at 5:45am. I offered to help with the whole airport checking in process...up until security when I couldn't go with them. There were some long lines, but luckily, due to the airport game...the kids are old pros and things went pretty much as smoothly as could be...considering the seven 50+lb bags of luggage, car seats, stroller, snacks, plane activities, etc we were lugging around. I warned the guys ahead of time that I'm not big on the dramatic goodbyes...that I'll visit sometime soon and we can skype...it really isn't any big deal. So we all hugged, said our big thanks...Addy was very sweet and nearly made me cry when she started crying and hugged me and said "I want you to come on the airplane to South Orange"...we waved, blew kisses, and then they were through the security gate.
Conveniently, my friends that were flying in, came in about half an hour after that...so I had a coffee and waited. It was nice to have an instant distraction and not have to think about going home to the empty apartment. So we came back, dropped luggage off and headed out to walk a little bit (before a nap was in order for all). I took them over to Notre Dame, over my favorite bridge as the sun was starting to go down...sigh, I am going to miss that. And we got caught in a little rain, so we ran into a brasserie and had a bowl of soup and some wine. Then headed back home for some yummy baguette, a few different delicious cheeses, apples, wine...sooo good. Again- sigh...I am going to miss that!!
So here I am...sitting on the couch in silence typing up my blog. I am very much looking forward to my travel time and then to returning home...and figuring out what to do with my life next- any ideas?!
Hope you are well...I'll be blogging (and emailing) along my travels (the rest of France, Istanbul, and Italy) so don't worry, just because I am now unemployed (ish) you will still get my stories.
Later...
