Paris, je t'aime.

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Our apartment was located in a really perfect location for exploring Paris, right in the heart of the Latin Quarter, with a metro stop about 100 meters from our front door. The bedroom was back from the front room on Rue Monge, so it was nice and quiet, dark, and cool, just perfect for Fifi naptimes. Having a kitchen when traveling with a toddler in a foreign land, I have determined, is ESSENTIAL. We quickly settled into a routine of eggs and toast and milk and yogurt made for La Bamba in the morning, with Hank popping down to the awesome coffee shop for cafe au lait for us. There was usually some crusty baguette to gnaw on as well. Mornings were time for La Feef and I to go on a short "adventure", as we called them, to a park and a cafe, then back to the apartment so she could nap. After nap, the whole famdamly would head out to explore for several hours, and then we would get the bird back to the apartment for bedtime. Our apartment hosts had told me that they were big fans of the cinema, and they had lots of movies for us to watch after Fifi had gone to bed - I caught up on quite a few old Woody Allen flicks in the evening, which was really nice.

The first morning, we left Hank highly caffeinated and hard at work on the slightly rickety dining room table. Fifi and I meandered our way down the streets and found a park with a giant old tree and lovely flowers, only to emerge around a corner to see Notre Dame right across the way from us. So we headed over to check it out and saw a line of tourists literally all the way across the plaza in front of the church. Not going in today! We hit the Notre Dame gardens instead, where Fifi was fascinated by the man feeding the birds from his hand. In fact, I actually kind of had to drag her away from this spectacle. After playing hard all morning, Fea and I found a little cafe with an empty corner in the back, perfect for occasionally unruly toddlers. I ordered us an omelette and after a first tentative bite, I ended up getting about three bites while La Feef devoured the rest. Our waiter was a hilarious, crusty, slightly stooped and shuffling older gentleman, who barely opened his mouth to speak, but he ended up cracking at smile at Fifi when she said "Bye bye!"

After Fifi (and Tracy) napped, we dragged Hank away from the computer and went for a stroll through the Latin Quarter, checking out the ponts and exploring the side streets. We decided to take home homemade raviolis from an Italian market across the street (four kinds - ricotta and basil, spicy tomato, eggplant, and....PRUNE!) and made an amazing meal with raviolis and sauce and a fatty pork sausage, with leftover chevre and baguette. That night we watched Woody Allen's "Hollywood Endings" with the windows wide open onto the streets of Paris. Tres magnifique.

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