We Have Arrived!

We have arrived and are settling in nicely!  Currently, Will is playing Legos, while listening to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," and Edy is reading.  It feels like home already.

We had an uneventful flight and first day here.  Jeff was kind enough to meet us at the airport and transport us by taxi to our apartment.  I thought it would take us a few days to unpack, and then remembered who I was and had most of it in drawers and hung-up before we left the apartment that afternoon to explore.

The first day we walked to the Tour Eiffel and had our first crepes.  Rookie mistakes in that Edy asked for too much Nutella on hers and I didn't ask for enough.  We then fell in to a deep sleep by 6 p.m. after some of us declared they weren't effected by the time change.

Tuesday was our first full day in Paris all together.  We did what all tourists do and went to Ikea and the Lego store.  We knew that in order for Will to be entertained in the apartment, we needed a scroll of paper for his drawings and a bin of Legos for endless hours of fun.  Edy was more than game to tag along knowing it would ensure hours of quiet reading time.  We then walked by Notre Dame and got as close as we could for our first Parisian family photo.  Finally, we ended the day at the American Library, where after we paid to join for the year, we walked out with a bag of books.

Yesterday was Jeff's first day of working in Paris.  He will be working from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Paris time, so the kids and I were on our own.  We went to check out the twice weekly open air market that is less than 100 yards from our apartment.  We were at first nervous about trying to buy anything but quickly overcame that when we saw the amazing fruit.  And boy, the guys who sell olives really know how to up-sell!  We came home with the most delicious olives and a lot less euros in our pockets.  We then went out to explore a nearby park and buy the kids some scooters.  Jeff asked me if I thought they would really use their scooters.  Let's just say we didn't take a train the rest of the day and we covered a lot of ground!

We feel like we are settling in nicely!  There are a lot less surprises here compared to all I felt we encountered the month prior to us leaving Minnesota.  The only big one so far is that "trundle" in France means an empty storage bin under a bed, not a second bed with a mattress, like I had assumed.  But don't worry if you plan to visit.  We will have it figured out before you come.  As I mentioned above, there is an Ikea...  

Finally, both Edy and Will are really embracing this experience.  Edy has already been out on her own to the grocery and Boulangerie to buy our daily baguette.  She is also enjoying the idea of a weekly trip to the flower market and arranging what we purchase.  And Will is quite the enthusiastic explorer! EVERYTHING is new and exciting to him.    

Tomorrow we have our first visitor!  Aunt Judy is already in France and taking the train up to see us in Paris.  We are excited to show her the apartment and walk around exploring even more with her.  Those that know Judy can appreciate that she already has tickets bought for multiple events and she is only staying 24 hours!  

We are looking forward to the year ahead and what adventures await.  In the meantime, we are most excited to get on some sort of sleep schedule that is more normal.  But if being awake until 1:00 a.m. and literally dragging ourselves out of bed at 9:30 a.m. is our only complaint, we will take it!

Until next time...
Betsy