We welcomed our first visitor!! My mom came last Wednesday and we are just leaving Paris where she will fly out this afternoon. What fun to show someone France as a local! She was up for seeing all of the aspects of our life here and hopping in as an expat- she even went to French lessons with me! As we walked around I saw a few pretty shots of the main plaza in the center of town.
Place de Jaude
Another of Jaude
Mom's first night she was jet lagged but we were making her stay awake so she would sleep. We made her play Clue even brain- dead!
We took her to our curb market to get all of our favorite goodies.
Then we went to Henry's first soccer game where he knew no one and there were no English speakers. He hopped right in. What a trouper!!
We sat on the sidelines and watched - there are very few parents at sporting events. Very different than the US!
That night I had a girls birthday dinner so Mom had a date with the boys- don't they look sharp!
I took mom to our goodwill to look and found this bench! I was so excited to find this treasure!
Mom and Henry on the bus on our many trips back and forth to school each day.
We went out to lunch at what we had heard is a good hamburger place. I must say as a side note I really don't like the beef here in France and have only eaten beef 2/3 times in three months. It just tastes really strange to me. BUT I had been craving a hamburger so we gave this place a try. Um... Not my favorite. But we kept at it. A few nights later we went to a place that had just opened and calls itself an American Diner!
Ketchup and mustard on the table- unheard of here!
Do any of you Americans know what Heinz American sauce is because I've never seen it! Ha!
Elvis watched us eat dinner!
Gant was tired of the photo session which got prolonged by all of the French stopping to look in the window at "the typical American diner"!
Our hamburgers came out complete with PUMP cheese!! Think of the nachos at a baseball game- it was dripping off the burgers! Yuck. I was able to choke down one bite. Two burger places down. I decided I will just stick to fish and chicken and have a burger when I am back in the US! We sure had fun though!
Thursday Mom and I went to Paris. We planned a celebration weekend for her birthday! We arrived in Paris to some very crazy drivers- I even got hit and the driver just kept on driving. It was only a little crunch. Not worthy of slowing down, I suppose! Thankfully the car is fine and I navigated the Paris traffic with minimal stress. Maybe all the European driving gave me the experience to know it's dog-eat-dog in the cars here so you better pay CLOSE attention every moment!
The different wools and textures available in the throw department. Seriously?
The bottled water wall.
Soaps galore!
The next day we did a walking tour with a woman from Alabama who has lived in Paris for 40 years. It was very fun and informative. There is just so much to see!
Here we are in front of Deux Magots, apparently a favorite spot of Hemmingway.
I think we cropped our picture too much to see this gorgeous church behind us- oops!
In a textile district- even the window shopping was amazing.
In a quiet courtyard. There aren't many of these in Paris! It is a noisy place!
The Gien pottery store from the town of the same name. Some of the patterns are sold in the US- it was a feast for the eyes.
The boys joined us Friday night to celebrate the birthday girl! Don't think they would have enjoyed all of the shopping anyway!
For Mom's birthday lunch we went to the George V Hotel. It was absolutely breathtaking. I am pretty sure lunch is the closest I'll ever be to this hotel and what a privilege that was. It is absolutely magnificent- and we just ate at the terrace restaurant! They have a starred Michelin restaurant as well as a less formal spot- La Galerie, where we were.
Most of you know I am a teetotaler and the variety of drinks for us is not so fun. BUT this was the mother of all non- alcoholic drinks! I can still taste it- sooo delicious.
Called the Go Green...
Basil, lemongrass, elderflower, lime juice, cucumber, soda, and ginger beer.
UNREAL!
Paris and Honey- we love you and we will see you again soon!!! Thanks so much for the great memories!
