Hello again!

It’s been almost two months since I last posted anything, so I’ve got a lot to report back to you all. We’ve been busy! In an effort to be efficient, I am going to write (in chronological order) a brief description of the things we have been doing and then post a few pictures of each event. So here goes…

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June started on a high- day one was a trip to the French Open! Richard and I were very excited to head out to Roland Garros for the day. We limited by time because it took over an hour to clear security and we had to be back to pick the kids up from school, but it was still so enjoyable. We watched Wawrinka beat Dolgopolov and we saw a snippet of another match. The weather was hot- the first of many hot June days.

Waiting in the security line

Courtside

I don’t have a hat here in Paris so I improvised

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We headed to Bois de Vincennes on the 5th for a picnic lunch with my lovely Aussie friend Charisse and her family. Solomon, Richard and Thomas managed to kick the footy into the heads of the surrounding Parisians several times and once or twice into the middle of their picnic lunch. Karma for us was when one of their dogs licked all of our delicious roasted chicken. The afternoon ended with a drink and some crepes at a nearby restaurant. Delightful!

With Charisse

Sam and Millie with our kids knocking back the Orangina

Richard, Charisse, Thomas and the kids

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On the 8th June, Solomon and I went on an excursion to Musée d’Orsay. What a magnificent museum! It’s an old railway station built in about 1900. The kids were able to sit and sketch a couple of their favourite paintings from the exhibition which I thought was pretty cool.

On our way there

Monet’s water lilies

Solomon having a crack!

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We experienced our first Parisian BBQ dinner on Friday 9th June. We were invited by Pascal who is the father of Solomon’s classmate Anastasia. About a dozen other adults and their children were there too and everyone brought a plate or two of something to share. I made a cake and also a huge salad which I put in a massive saucepan because I didn’t have a bowl big enough. Richard was unimpressed that he had to carry the saucepan to and from the apartment through the crowded streets of Paris and on the metro! Pascale and his wife Anne-Claude were awesome hosts and the party continued in their apartment building’s courtyard until late. There was little difference between this BBQ and an Aussie BBQ apart from the ultra Parisian setting and the crepes at the end of the night. We all had so much fun that I forgot to take any pictures apart from this one of grubby and utterly exhausted Solomon on our way home.

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Fred, our lovely friend and quasi tour guide, took his family and ours on a bike ride on Sunday 11th June. We rode from the periphery of Paris near Parc de la Vilette right out of the city past Bobigny. It was really awesome! I loved watching how the scenery changed so quickly once we left the city. It was yet another fantastic activity that Fred has suggested and one that we most certainly will replicate during these summer holidays.

Bessie almost joined the Hare Krishna movement on our way home

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On the following Thursday, Solomon sold cakes at the entrance of the school to raise money for their extra-curricular activities (I hope they sold lots of cakes because I am keen to go on some more excursions!). The lady next to him in this picture is the school principal and the one to the right of the picture is his classroom teacher.

Richard and I were also witness to a Maths award presentation at the school. Bessie and Solomon participated in a competition called Le Kangourou des Mathematiques and both of our little kangaroos did so well, especially Solomon. Later that month, he was praised by his teacher for scoring the top mark in the class on two occasions for a grammar quiz where he had to conjugate some verbs.

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On Saturday 17th June, we had a delightful afternoon and evening with Lana, Solomon’s classmate from Camberwell Primary, and her brother Maxim and mum and dad Aneta and Lucas. They had flown from Melbourne to Paris the day before and bravely pushed through the jet lag to come and hang out with us. They met us at our apartment and the kids had a little play, then we headed out for burgers on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis because our apartment (being on the 5th and top floor) gets so very hot when the outside temperature exceeds 30 degrees. We all thoroughly enjoyed the evening (despite the bored looks on the kids’ faces in this picture… It was the only one I took!).

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The day after, we welcomed my brother in law Dave’s sister Di to stay with us for a couple of nights. She was a super guest and “great value” as Larni would say. She tolerated the heat like a champion and managed to defy the odds and actually get some sleep with the help of a couple of “weapons”- earplugs and a pedestal fan pointed at her head! I loved having someone to chat to and I probably chewed her ear off. We went for  several walks while she was here, went into some cute shops where Di impressed me with her French conversational skills and we also made a short trip to Luxembourg Gardens (while Bessie was at a birthday party) where Di listened to Solomon practice his book presentation for school. I had the great pleasure of meeting Di’s lovely son-in-law Eliki who lives in Bordeaux but happened to be in Paris for the day. We enjoyed an impromptu lunch up in the apartment with Eliki and Di’s Parisian friend Lynda and we managed to squeeze in a quick Skype call to the relatives back in Melbourne too!

Leaving the grassy patch in Luxembourg Gardens

Lynda, Eliki and me

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The day after Di left, we were graced with the presence of our lovely cousin Katharine (well, Richard’s cousin, but I like to claim her as my own too). The temperatures were soaring from the minute that she arrived in Paris which made our apartment almost unbearably hot (or utterly unbearable if you were to ask Richard). Thank goodness Katharine is family and knows her cousin well, because she could excuse Richard’s insanity due to sleep deprivation; at night, it wouldn’t have dropped below 30 degrees in our apartment and he barely slept a wink for days. On the second night Katharine was here, at 1am, Richard and I made the decision to get out of Paris for a few nights. So between 1am and 3am, we found accommodation and booked train tickets to the beach, announcing this to Katharine and the kids in the morning. What a surprise for the kids who were expecting to go to school! We quickly packed our bags and headed to Trouville-Sur-Mer which is on the north coast of France in Normandy. It was a delightful fishing village with glamorous buildings right on the beach. We had no doubts that our late night holiday planning had been successful especially for Katharine, who isn’t a huge fan of Paris even on a mild day!

When we returned to Paris, we spent some more quality time with the amazingly talented young Katharine and we all benefitted from her skills! The kids could practice their duets on the piano with her, Richard could swap gruelling tales of sitting the FRACP exams, Solomon was able to refine his book presentation with her (she speaks impeccable French), and I had a quick witted and genuine companion to hang out at “Fnac” with and laugh with as we roamed the streets of Paris. It was sad to see her go.

Dinner before a movie (another attempt to stay cool)

Trouville-Sur-Mer

Lunch at the beach house

Our accommodation was in the white block on the left behind the white gates

Frisbeeing

Meringues

Deciding what to eat for lunch

Starting the journey back to Paris

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On the last day of June, there was a fête at the kids’ school to celebrate the pending end of the school year. Bessie and her classmates made individual presentations called “Lanterne Magique” to their parents and siblings whereby they read aloud a story they had written and the teacher projected the matching images they’d drawn onto the wall for everyone to see. Bessie’s story on befriending a Beefeater in London was incredible! Later that evening I stayed on and did some face painting for the kids at the fête while Bessie and Kitty played games (including a death defying sack race out in the concrete courtyard- I couldn’t watch!) and danced with friends at the disco. Solomon and Richard headed home for a cup of tea.

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My utterly awesome friend Adriana and her darling daughter Abbey arrived in Paris in early July to hang out with us for a few days. Anyone who has ever met Adriana knows that she instantly fills the room with fun and laughter. To say that I loved having them stay is a complete understatement. I won’t write much (this blog is not as concise as I had imagined!) but I will just say that sharing my days and nights with Adriana and Abbey was a true delight for all five of us Blazés.

Abbey at “Woodies”- the café around the corner from us which serves the best coffee in Paris (most places are particularly bad for coffee)

Enjoying a cocktail on the banks of the Seine

A day out canoeing with Charisse, Millie and Sam. Adriana was captain!

If these pictures had a scent, this one would smell like strong urine

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We have also had a visit from Luke (our long time friend and drummer from Soul Contention) and his partner Carly which we loved! We ate way too many pastries and cakes from the local boulangerie and they kindly gave up a few hours of their precious time together in Paris to hang out with our whole family in our apartment which was much appreciated. We hope to catch up with Luke this weekend again when he returns to Paris.

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In other news, work is slow for Richard now that summer has kicked in and there are no more DBS patients until the end of August. He will spend some time on his research over the next month. I have been tutoring a young French girl in English which is fun but don’t tell the French authorities or else I will be kicked out of the country.

I have a few more pictures to attach in no particular order and then I’m done!

Next blog entry will include some pics from our time in Sancerre with Richard’s friends and their families.

Love to you all.

 

Walking home from school

Reading a book together at a local bar

Admiring the traffic on the way back home

View from our window at dusk

Richard took this on one of his runs

… and this (the same bridge as the one on our blog home page)

… and this

… and this!

One of our favourite lunches on Rue du Faubourg St Denis

Writing some Wagons parts for the new record

Waiting for the kids to finish school

Movies with Millie and Sam

Smoothies after the movie

Dinner with Charisse and family to celebrate Bessie’s birthday

After dinner

Another pic taken from our window

Taken at our picnic

At the local park

These next two pics are the cheese section of a local supermarket

A lady trying on shoes with her dog

My herb garden

Flora and Kitty

Bessie unwrapping gifts on the morning of her 8th birthday

Movies with Bessie’s school friend Joseph for her birthday

Mary J Blige on Bastille Day

The beautiful streets at dusk

Watching the Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower from the loft window