Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Lillian carved her owl all by herself.  She was very determined.

Sylvia came up with the idea for 3 eyes all by herself

 This kind family invited us over so that they could give the girls special Halloween goody bags and teach us how to make caramel apples.

Yummy, sticky treats

Thanks, friends!

Halloween preparations

These girls are not too happy to be here and to be missing trick or treating.  We are doing everything in our power to make it a Happy Halloween.  Sugar helps make us happy.

The girls and I made and decorated Halloween cookies.  Later, we had an old friend over for coffee.  Lucia was the English teacher who did an exchange with my high school French class.  She stayed with my family and my parents have stayed in touch.  It was great to see her and funny to see pictures of her grown son who was five when they stayed with us.

We also went to the American Library for their party.  There were lots of people there looking for a Halloween celebration.

Reading Cat
Thanks again for the costumes, Mémé!

Happy Witch

Last week's Friday pastries

Crazy Witch

 

serious froster

 My masterpiece

 

The girls are on school break, so yesterday we headed to Musée D'Orsay.  I wanted the girls to see the L'Impressionism et la Mode exhibition that I had seen. 

Lillian is standing in front of a huge snail shell.  It is part of a temporary modern art display around Paris.  http://www.fiac.com/?lg=en

I swear a snail comes out of this shell sometimes.  I was running early last Sunday morning and I looked up from a distance and saw a snail body.  When I got up close, it had disappeared.  There is a hatch at the top where it looks like something could emerge.  I am still unsure if I actually saw this, or that it was just very early in the morning and that I was not yet quite awake.



My camera was too slow to catch this one in action.  She jumped all the way across the garden, we walked across the Seine and over to the Musée D'Orsay.  Once again, there was a huge line and I was very happy to use my season pass to jump the queue.  The girls like the show.

 

Picnic of croque mosieur and Halloween cookies on a bridge

Musée D'Orsay is in the background



More Fiac art in the Place Vendome

In person, it was very clear that this was a little girl's head made out of letters.  The title was a girl's name.  It made me think of some readers I know.

Parc Montsouris field trip with Lil

Last week I accompanied Lillian's class on a field trip to Parc Montsouris.  The permission slip mentioned "orientation" and I was not really sure what to expect.  We were lucky to have a beautiful day.  There were lots of parents and we loaded the entire class on the metro.  The girls all wanted to know if I knew ABBA.  Why?  They like the songs and they are in English, I guess.

The park is lovely and there were many school groups and map professionals in place to begin.  Our professional was wearing leg warmers!

 

 She passed out the maps and explained to the kids the objective of the activity.  The kids needed to find  21 lamp posts marked on the map and write down the numbers on the lamp post.  Because we are in France, they could NOT walk on the grass. 

The French like rules and they are particular about the grass.  Now there are many "Pelouse au repos" signs.  The city even has a reminder on the website to remind people that it is their obligation to stay off the grass so that it will be lovely next year. http://www.paris.fr/loisirs/parcs-jardins-squares/horaires-fonctionnement-reglementation/la-qualite-des-pelouses-c-est-aussi-votre-affaire/rub_7481_stand_23766_port_17279

We recently outfitted ourselves for the public swimming pools.  We all need swim caps.  When I was at the store, I explained that my handsome husband was bald and I asked if he, too, needed a swim cap.  Of course, a rule is a rule.  Men must also wear Speedo style suits or slightly longer tight shorts.  When I have asked about this, I am told it is about hygiene.  I need to stop having this conversation because it leaves me feeling like a dirty foreigner.
When I told the mother of one of Lillian's classmates that I was told I needed to buy a swim cap for my husband, she said, "Well, of course, a rule is a rule."  Moving here has really helped me see myself as a rebel.
More on hygiene in Paris pools here: http://www.paris.fr/accueil/sport/a-la-piscine-c-est-du-propre/rub_9631_actu_104890_port_23699

If any kids had a map like mine with 2 fourteens on it, they were probably very confused.  Lillian said that it was fun for about the first 3.  I was just glad that the sun was shining and that it wasn't raining like it had most of the week.  I am sure that the kids would have been expected to find all 21 even if the weather had been miserable. 

These kids are tired out!  We made it back just in time to pick up Sylvia at 4:30.



October field trips for grown ups

October is quickly coming to an end and I feel the need to tie up my loose ends and photos.  Let's see if I can turn these into a coherent post--at least as coherent as most.

After my cooking class, I decided that I would finally make it to all of the cookware and baking shops I had been dreaming of visiting since we moved here.  We started at Mora where Lori and I both picked up coupe-pate, which we were sure we needed to have on hand after taking out croissant baking course.  I managed to talk myself out of several pricier implements before leaving the store.  Next we stopped at E. Dehillerin.

 

 Here you can buy pots large enough to cook...anything.  I stopped myself from buying a French-style rolling pin, but now I am sure that was a mistake.

At Mora, we found these brides and any baking supply you could possibly need.

We finished up with a trip to G. Detou where I picked up enough red sugar to decorate dozens of Christmas cookies.

 Les Halles is nearby and is under construction.  It is a huge underground mall that was created in 1971 when the wholesale food market was moved from this location to outside of Paris. 

We stopped in at Saint Eustache where Louis XIV received communion and Mozart's mother is buried.  It is no secret that Paris is full of amazing churches and pastries.

Eclairs

Yuck.

I had the opportunity to go to a soccer game with a team of 14 year old girls and I was thrilled.  We went to see the French and British women's teams play.  I am not sure they were their first teams and I didn't care.  It was a lot of fun and the crowd was very involved.  My only complaint was the smoking.  My pure Utah lungs can't handle the non-stop smoke.  The whole experience was quite hilarious because Lori and I accompanied her daughter's team and were loaded into the back of a car like 14 year old girls.  The ride across town at night took forever because, of course, we had to stop at McDonald's (McDo) for food.  It took me back to being 14 and having no control.  I was very pleased to be invited and hope that there will be an earlier game so that I can take my girls.
Each time one of the players shanked the ball over the crossbar or missed the corner of the net, I could hear my dad yelling, "Head down!" or "Left foot!"  And, of course, when they made a goal, his favorite, "Beautiful!!!"

Our Argentinian Friends

 Our Argentinian friends flew home to Buenos Aires today.  We will miss them   Sylvia will miss Catalina who was her best friend at school.  I will miss Daniela who was my only friend at school.  I will also miss practicing my French because we communicate in some sort of beautiful French/ Esperanto.  She speaks no English and my Spanish is weak.  Sergio, Daniela, and Catalina were wonderful friends to us and invited us into their home many times.  We are grateful for them and wish them well in their new life back home.

 

The Argentinian Buddy Bear

 

Much Love to our Argentinian Friends!

Quest for Pumpkins (citrouilles, pas potirons)

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working on my squash vocabulary.  I spent a long time trying to locate a butternut squash.  I had a lot of ridiculous conversations at the grocery store describing it and drawing its shape in the air.  When I looked it up in the dictionary, it said "une courge musquée."  I spent a couple of days trying this out on people and not getting the response I wanted.  When I was at the outside market last Saturday, I found a butternut squash and victoriously bought it.  As the woman weighed it for me I asked, "What is this called anyway?"  I didn't understand her the first time, but when she repeated I heard, "une courge butternut."  Only, of course it didn't sound at all like when I say butternut.  I asked her what une courge musquée was and she pointed me towards some sort of turban squash.  At some point my head is going to be filled with useful vocabulary.  Right now, I've got squash vocabulary--at least it is seasonal.

The girls have been talking about missing Halloween since we arrived.  I was sure that I could score a pumpkin in Paris if I put my mind to it.  I kept asking for "un citrouille," and I kept being shown the squash in the photo above.  This is actually, if you believe me, un poitiron; it is the city cousin to the citrouille.  Finally when they understood that un poitiron would not do, they told me I would have to go to the country.  According to the anglophone parent website you could find pumpkins at some garden centers in Paris for a price.  

Lori to the rescue--she is picking strawberries!
She has a car and she understands why children might want a pumpkin at the end of October.  Online I found a farm that claimed to have pumpkins just 20 minutes outside of Paris near Versailles.  Ferme de Gally provided what it promised and more.  It is an old, quaint farm turned into a marketing machine.  This was the end of the season and so the selection was not fantastic, but during the real growing season they seem to grow everything you could possibly want.  There is also a very old farm house, farm building; garden center, cafe, gift shop, food store...  The place is huge.  The gift shop was overpriced and seemed to have as much Country French made in China as French Country made in France.  Three Ottawa girls in Paris enjoyed a lovely lunch and a beautiful sunny day in the country.  I will keep this on my list for places to vist next spring.



Beautiful Pumpkins
I had thought ahead and took my shopping trolley to Lori's house.  Thank goodness I did because these beauties are very heavy.  The Paris metro is not handicap friendly and there are lots of stairs.  I got a good workout getting these two home.  It was worth it because the girls were thrilled.  The door hanger is Vintage LeBlanc.  Pierre's mum sent us a fantastic Halloween package complete with costumes for the girls.  I think she should go into business putting together holiday packages for expats. 

Autumn Still Life

Garden Center ready for Toussaint

Halloween Readers

The girls are now on a two week break for Toussaint!  Tomorrow is the big Halloween party at the American Library.

United Buddy Bears

Last weekend we walked down to the Champs de Mars, the park near the Eiffel Tower, to check out the United Buddy Bears.  Each country that is part of the United Nations has a bear decorated by an artist from that country.  The bears travel around spreading peace, love, and friendship.  The Buddy Bears are only in Paris for about a month.  It was fun to watch all of the tourists find their bear.

 

Friendly Canadians
We were surprised by the Canadian Buddy Bear.  We thought he might be red and white. 
For the record, I am Canadian, too.

American Buddy Bear
Because the Statue of Liberty was made by a Frenchman, there seem to be little Statues of Liberty everywhere.  We found one on an island in the Seine, two at the Musée des Art et Métiers, and one at Musée D'Orsay (it used to be in the Jardin du Luxembourg), and a torch near the Pont d'Iena.  The torch has become a memorial to Princess Diana because the deadly car crash was in the tunnel just below the monument.

The weather here has been very changeable.  Our Buddy Bear day was beautiful.  We enjoyed wandering around the Champs de Mars and playing at the playground there.

Cronkhite Unis!

Nick, Ernestos, Pierre, and I all met at the fabulous Cronkhite Graduate Center.  By the time I arrived, Pierre was a resident advisor and had scored an enormous room.  I met Nick and Ernestos one of the first days on campus.  The last time I saw Nick is when I married Cher Pierre over 10 years ago.  Ernestos drove a big company car from Chicago to Milwaukee to visit me and Baby Lillian about 8 years ago.

 

Mission Crepes!

We headed down to Marché President Wilson for some breakfast crepes.

The Thinkers

Pierre and Sylvia went home for some R and R and the rest of us walked in the rain to Musée Rodin.  We managed to run through most of the sculpture garden before the rain turned into a downpour.

The Parthenon and a Cypriot Ern

 

The museum is in an amazing old mansion.  I have visited this museum before, but I hadn't learn that it had been a convent that was then turned into a house where artists could rent rooms.  Rodin rented a room and then rooms here, as did many notable painters, writers, dancers, etc.  I don't have any great photos of the gardens or exterior because of the rain.

Ernestos suggested that we get tickets to the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Grand Palais.  I was so glad that we went; it is one of my favorite exhibits of all time.  I had only really seen his top five most popular prints before the exhibit and I didn't love all of them.  I was surprised by the variety.  Who knew he did etchings and watercolors (in New Mexico!)?  Hopper visited Paris three different times and spoke French.  I read all about Hopper on wikipedia before going and bored my friends with fascinating tidbits about his life.

We capped off the rainy weekend with a visit to Musée D'Orsay.  My photo doesn't really show you just how many people were waiting in the rain.  The line zigzagged forever!  I flashed my annual pass and was able to whisk my friends right into the side entrance.  

Thanks for coming!  I hope we make it to see you both!  Come back soon!