While I am thrilled that Chloe and Sophie are having a fantastic time in Ithaca, I am jealous that they get to enjoy wave pools, waterslides and gorges while I have to get up on a beautiful summer morning to go to the office.
Blueberries!
While I was trying to adjust back to life in the office (reentry sure is difficult), Chloe and Sophie were galavanting around upstate New York. Boy, I wish I was a carefree child again.
So Very Quiet
After barely enough time to recover from our jet lag, the girls are continuing their summer adventures with Grammy, who took them to Ithaca today for yet another vacation. Sophie will return next weekend; Chloe will stay on with my aunt and uncle for an additional week so that she can attend day camp at Cornell University.
Following 30+ days of non-stop togetherness, my husband and I suddenly find ourselves alone. It is eerily quiet in the house, much more so than during the girls’ previous trips without us. The fact that we spent so much time in one another’s company on a daily basis – for one month no less – makes Chloe’s and Sophie’s absence all the more glaring.
Home Sweet Sweltering Home
We’re home. In the span of approximately 10 hours, we went from not having enough clothing in unseasonably cool (read 60º and rainy) Paris to wearing too much clothing in unseasonably sweltering (read 106º and hazy) New Jersey. That’s got to be the most drastic temperature change I’ve ever experienced, with our ascent of Mont Blanc coming in a close second.
Au Revoir, Paris
Not to be outdone by yesterday’s adventure, I was determined to make our last day in Paris count. We were out and about for 10 hours. Below is the route we took today. Again, click on the link below to see the entire map. We walked about five miles.
The “Grands Magasins”…Ad Nauseum
How many people do you think would spend an entire day shopping in Paris, only to come home with absolutely nothing? If you answered “none,” you’re wrong. The correct response is actually two, now that Chloe and I have returned home from a day of failing to find things to buy – for her in particular. I saw a bag that I almost bought, but got cold feet. I may have to rectify that tomorrow.
Parc Asterix
In a continued effort to expose Chloe and Sophie to as much French culture (both popular and otherwise) as possible, we took the girls to the epitome of French amusement parks, Parc Asterix, today. We made a concerted effort to stay away from the amusement park that shall remain nameless, because when in Rome…or more accurately as far as the comic strip on which the park is based goes, when in Gaul, do as the Gauls do.
Why I Love Paris
Street jazz in the Marais, with hot sax and trumpet solos, and an 80-year old groupie.
Then and Now
The last time we visited Paris was during Christmas 2006. Sophie was 15 months old, and still babbling and wobbly on her feet. The photo below was taken at the Place des Vosges during her first trip to France.
France Miniature
Twenty years ago, some obsessive-compulsive French creative types decided that they would create a unique kind of park. A utopia for Lilliputians. A way for regular folks to feel what it would be like to be Gulliver. The result was France Miniature, a sprawling place that takes visitors on a meandering stroll across France and 116 of its most famous sites. At 1/30th the scale.