A Nanny Morning and a Parisian Afternoon!

Nanny moment: I took the kids to the park this morning, and sure enough it was full of kids and mothers and/or 'nanny's sitting on the benches. I sat on one while the kids played and within 10 minutes Matthieu was throwing a fit because Ines was going faster on the merry-go-round than he wanted her to. He was screaming and causing a major scene. But cool me just approached the kids, trying to fix the situation. Matthieu clearly was not in "play nice and quiet mode" and continued to have a fit...so I eventually became embarrassed, as the other mothers and nannys were watching us, since Matthieu can get pretty loud. However, I just told Ines, "Ines, please go slower for Matthieu, he is screaming and it's embarrassing." I said it quite calmly, so she slowed down...but 10 minutes later Matt had another fit over something else just as unnecessary. SO I decided to relieve myself from any embarrassment and said "We're leaving" and I just grabbed my purse and began to walk away....when the 3 kids saw I was serious they quickly shut up and followed me. Good method, huh?

Parisian afternoon: Virginie came home just before 2pm, to give me the afternoon free. That was great because today is the 2nd day of real summer, nice weather! After having a great convo with Virginie about how happy we both are with the way things are going (like everyone adjusting, being comfortable and confident, happy and content), I went to my studio and got ready. I put on a summer dress and did my hair and makeup, grabbed my purse and a couple guide books and off I went! I took the train to St. Lazare, where I caught the metro to Chatelet. Smooth sailing! Then I walked along Rue de Rivoli, which is such a great street! Totally hip and city-like...less 'touristy' and more locals...a great amount of shops, expensive and medium priced. I passed 2 H&M's in about 3 blocks...I refrained from entering any shops today...I passed the Hotel de la Ville...an emormous old hotel. I just happened to get lucky by landing on this street and finding out a new great location for walking, people watching and shopping. My destination was la maison de Victor Hugo! I ended up walking up a quaint little street called Rue Pavee, and ohhh it was great. Tight, narrow street with flowers hanging out the windows and great shops along the street, like flowers, wine, silver and clothing. I found Les Places de Vosges, and #6 was Victor Hugo's house! I took pictures and almost started to cry (as I was raised on Les Miserables)...but instead of crying I called both my parents to tell them where I was! Inside the house it's a museum, which I intend to see but it's closed on Mondays. No biggie! Because there is PLENTY reason to return and it's so easy to get to...probably even this weekend I will go back! I continued to walk til I found a cafe with a martini for less than 4 Euros...then I continued to walk to La Bastille, took pictures, and found another cafe with a full menu. By this time it was 6pm, and instead of doing the French thing and eating dinner at 9pm, I decided to go for an early dinner. I ate at a cafe just on the corner by La Bastille, and for 15 Euros I ate steak, french fries, salad, and drank a glass of red Bordeaux. It was a huge plate of food, and 15 euro for that is NOT expensive, not the cheapest compared to just buying a sandwhich...but I was in the mood for more of an American style meal, and I haven't had a full meal like that since the beach...so what the heck?

Don't worry...the Parisian afternoon was topped off with an older French guy checking me out at the table next to me in the cafe, clearly trying to flirt with me but because of the obvious age difference I grabbed my cell phone to call my sister...he tried to make eye contact with me as he left the cafe, but I didn't respond. Sometimes, it's actually NICE to do that...recognize someone's flirting but not respond..and it's always a good idea to be observant of the creepy ones...this one wasn't bad, but not a true gentleman either. :)

2 notes: *It feels REALLY GREAT to go into the city taking just my purse, and wearing a cute outfit (making it clear I'm NOT a tourist, and just in for a few hours!) Haha. How crazy! I can say "Je suis americaine, mais j'habite a Bougival, j'habite a Paris! Je suis ici juste pour la journee!" I'm just here for the day, I live here...no I'm not just visiting.

*I also took in one of my 3 journals, and started to write in it today (thanks Auntie M). It will be the one I keep in my purse and take notes in! I wrote 2 pages today in the city just writing in French and making notes of what metro line I took, what street was the easiest to use to get to the place I went, cafes I liked, etc. It will be my travel journal and city journal!