A Birthday in Paris

Bonjour!

So, it's been a while, and we're long overdue for a post. We're in Paris, and it's March 4th, the day after my birthday.

Needless to say, a birthday in Paris is a good thing -- especially when you divide up your "mini-tours" of the Louvre with stops at cafes, wonderful shops (with lots of shopping for me, the birthday girl), an English-book bookstore with a great selection of books, and a good restaurant. A Parisian woman even told me yesterday that "vous parlez francais tres bien" (not really true and part of her successful effort to sell me stuff, but nice to hear nonetheless). But maybe I didn't really need that second glass of wine last night.... March 4th is not as much fun as March 3rd.

We're staying in an apartment in a lively section of the city, which is great because it means that we can have a break from eating out (and a break from paying too much to eat out) and cook some meals in our apartment. We've done a lot of sightseeing -- and the kids have actually been getting into the museums. Thanks to the Percy Jackson books, Tommy was particularly interested in the Greek antiquities at the Louvre (at one point, he told us not to rush him because he "wasn't finished," as he walked around with the media guide, studying the sculptures). We've climbed to the second stage of the Eiffel Tower, spent a lot of time at the Pompidou Center, and did a very thorough tour of the outside of Notre Dame (which took nearly an hour before we bailed. I'm sure the tour of the inside of the church was just as good, but the kids had had enough, so a quick trip inside had to suffice).

Before Paris, we had an eventful trip to Brugge (another story for another day, but you can ask Bob about our run-in with the psychotic restaurant man), a quiet stay in Groningen, Holland (where it rained a lot, and Bob gave a talk), a lovely stay in Amsterdam (a close rival to Paris for my affections -- but maybe that's because I found a cool coat to buy there -- more shopping! -- and found the Anne Frank museum even more moving/affecting than I imagined), and a surprisingly enjoyable trip to Brussels (we didn't know it was such a pretty city -- if you go, be sure to visit the Music/Instruments Museum, where you can hear recordings of many of the 7000 instruments that they have collected from around the world -- instruments dating back many hundreds of years).

We're all well, and plan to see a bit more of Paris, including a trip to Versailles tomorrow, before we return to Rabat on Saturday.

A bientot,

Kim

The photos: Kim shopping in Amsterdam, and then Kim after shopping in Paris, by the Louvre. Bob and Tommy by the Arc de Triomphe. Anna goofing around in a cafe after drinking a full cup of Italian hot chocolate.