Paris...on arrive...Summer #3 for Creed & Zelda

Oh, for the love of the gods... So, we left Austin yesterday - was it yesterday? - nope it was the day before! (Addendum to all parents with young children: at 0-5.5 yrs easy, peasy for the jet-lag, at 7.5yrs : "Mom, is it time for breakfast (at 6pm)", "Mom, Kidz Bob Dance Party! (at midnight)" ... We are getting there, slowly but surely. Austin to Atlanta was quite uneventful - despite the entire glass of spilled milk all over Zelda's pants soaked through to her seat. Super-traveler mom (moi!) had packed extra everything in our 500lb carry on bag. Atlanta to Paris was uneventful as well - we got our seats together from an extremely bitchy AirFrance desk attendant. They all felt it was necessary to explain to me that my original seats really WERE together - you know 2 behind, one in front. Sigh. But I ended up in the middle crunched between twins draped over their mom. No sleep for me. Manu picked us up at the airport and marveled at how little luggage I had packed this year. Really??? - even with Creed's Razor scooter topping out the big bag at 49lbs. DAY 1: Our appart is perfect - rue ste croix de la Bretonnerie - in the Marais. Each year, I try and rent within 6 blocks of the Pompidou. They remember the kids there and our exquisite, fearless nounou - that's our nanny - Marie-Lou aka Malou, knows exactly what they like. We also have our favorite boulangerie, pizzas, pharmacy, markets, etc... We just missed Gay Pride weekend, so not only are we in the oldest Jewish district of Paris, it's also gay central. We are famously next door to the Gay Choc, the bakery where they bake brioches in the shape of penises. Lots of colorful flags flying from the balconies on our street. Monday was spent moving in and then led by Creed, with the utmost confidence, through the streets to the Ile Saint-Louis. We walked along the Seine, with Zelda zipping down the cobblestone ramps and talking to the ducks and Creed analyzing the different styles of barges moving up the river. I kept reminding him that the further we walked, the further it was to walk back "home". Fatigué....so tired...I pulled them home and managed to stop by Mariage Frères for my stash of Marco Polo tea that starts my every morning. Crazy sleep patterns had us all in bed until noon today... DAY 2: When one stays in bed til noon, and Malou arrives at 14h - 2pm - these 2 hours involve eating, tidying up and trying to figure out the various appliances in this apartment. Lave-linge, lave-vaiselle, et four/micro-onde: washer, dishwasher, and convection oven/microwave combo - oh and I forgot the TV... Spent the afternoon at the London Showrooms for Men's Fashion Week to visit with Matthew Harding, the uber-talented partner in design and life of my dear friend, Levi Palmer. Through their line Palmer Harding (www.palmerharding.com), they create the absolutely most subtly, studied twists on the classic white shirt for women and for men. So smart, so talented...stocked around the world. Lots of errands, groceries for the house, Monoprix for basic essentials: trash bags and such. Dinner tonight: Elsa & Laurent with their children Evaluna & Vermeer, Manu, and Christian...wine, pizzas, salads, cheeses, taught them to make Salty Dogs with the grapefruit Vodka that I gifted them from Austin...and the dessert: macarons from the Pierre Hermé boutique that opened THIS morning only 1 block from our appart. Oh no... Faites dodo!! That means go to sleep kids, dammit! A demain...