Spring

We had a little bit of sun today (see? in the top right corner of the picture!)
and some local treats to celebrate Jour du Macaron.
A little taste of Spring.
Enjoy!

In Rome with no Baedeker

I was thoroughly spoiled for my birthday. Not only did I get to spend the weekend in Rome with Keith and NO kids, but I got a very nice new lens for my camera. It was the perfect place to try it out and I came back with 254 photos. These are just a few of them...


Our hotel was right in the center of Rome, just a few streets from the Spanish Steps. This was our view of them from the roof terrace bar.

We began our weekend with a meal at Sora Margherita in the Jewish Ghetto, highly recommended by the hotel's concierge who secured us an impossible to get Friday night reservation. We would never have found this tiny restaurant by ourselves, although it must be in all the guide books as most of our fellow diners were tourists. It serves traditional Roman food at shared tables, un-romantically lit by fluorescent strip lights, which did at least help to keep us awake after a long day of travel! Our meal was good, but I wish we had been a bit more tuned into Italy and the food and language before we ate there. We weren't quite prepared yet for translating the handwritten Italian menu and as a result I think we missed out on the best dishes. Also don't order the litre of wine which comes in a carafe unless you want to feel like you are eighteen again. Although maybe that's the point of a 40th birthday celebration!


On our walk back from the restaurant to the hotel we started to soak up the atmosphere of the city, quite different to Paris, and without even trying came across the Pantheon. Nearly 2000 years old and still in use.


This was our first visit to Rome and we considered going on a guided tour on Saturday to make the most of our time there, but in the end decided just to set out walking and see what we found. Our obvious starting point was the Spanish Steps, very pretty in the morning sunshine.


Next, we window shopped our way along Rome's fanciest shopping streets until we reached the traffic roundabout that is the Altare della Patria (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). This monument was a surprise highlight of the weekend. More on that later.


The Roman Forum as seen from the top of the Altare della Patria. This was as close as we got on this visit. Something to come back for!


We did go into the Colosseum. As we hadn't planned our day, we just joined the back of the ticket queue to see how quickly it moved. Not too much of a wait late on a Saturday afternoon in February, but I think it would be foolhardy to try and visit in the summer without buying advance tickets.


Once inside our audio guide filled us in with all the gory details of the stadium's history and you can't help but be filled with a sense of the past as you walk up the same steps into the arena that the Romans did thousands of years ago.


After a bit more meandering in the vicinity of The Forum (otherwise known as getting lost!) we returned to the Colosseum just in time to see it bathed in the glow of the setting sun.


By this point we'd been on our feet for hours, so we grabbed a quick coffee then continued on with our mission to check off every site in Rome in a day. The Palazzo del Quirinale (former home of Popes, Kings and now the Italian President) looking quite lovely in the moonlight.

The last stop of the day before another romantic dinner was the Trevi Fountain. The camera is lying, this was where all the crowds were, we could barely move for tourists having their photo taken in front of the fountain and throwing in coins in the hopes of returning one day. Pretty much the same experience you get if you go to see the Mona Lisa in Paris!


Our long day of sightseeing ended with a beautiful view of St.Peter's Basilica. Our destination for the next day.


We chose Rome over any other European city for our getaway, mainly because we hoped to get a bit of sunshine to go with our culture. We were not disappointed. The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny for our whole visit which made it a pleasure to walk around and discover the city's delights.


What we hadn't counted on was the Pope resigning the week before we got there! The first Pope to do so for 600 years, Pope Benedict XVI had shocked the world with his surprise announcement. Quite by chance, we arrived at the Vatican City just as the Pope was delivering his first Angelus blessing since resigning.

Needless to say there was intense interest in the event with news crews from around the world joining the Catholic pilgrims to witness it.


The crowds were unbelievable. With thousands of people leaving just as we were arriving, we could do nothing but stand and watch or else get knocked over in the crush. We are not Catholic, but it did feel special to be present at this unprecedented moment in history.

The Vatican Museums were closed that Sunday (they are open for free on the last Sunday of every month) so the Sistine Chapel will have to wait for another visit, but St. Peter's Basilica was open for business as usual.




The church is immense and stunning but the humanity of Michelangelo's Pietà, the only work he ever signed, was my favourite.


Rome, we loved it so much more than we expected to. We never did throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, but I hope we will be back some day.



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This Moment. This time last week...

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment we want to pause, savor and remember. Joining in with Amanda and friends at SouleMama

Instagram mosaic created by India

Party in Paris

It was India's twelfth birthday this week. She wanted a simple celebration with a few friends. This is where we went. The ice rink in front of the Hôtel de Ville. An impressive backdrop for what was probably the easiest birthday party I've ever planned.


Seven girls and I set off into Paris on the train after school on Friday. I'd packed snack bags to keep them going until dinner and threw in a few party favours I'd picked up in Super U that morning. The masks were a surprise hit. The girls wore them on the train, in the metro and the whole time they were skating, much to the amusement of commuters and passers by!


The rink at the Hôtel de Ville is the last of the Holiday Season's temporary ice rinks in Paris to remain open. It costs just five euros to rent skates and the crowds have gone at this time of year. After dark, lights on the roof sparkle all night long.


It was a cold night but the girls were happy skating for an hour while I watched and worked on my night photography.


People come from all over the world to see the view from our local ice rink!


Once they we were done skating we warmed up with some street snacks, churros, nutella crêpes and the biggest Barbapapa (cotton candy) I've ever seen that was inhaled before I could get my camera out to snap a photo!


India has a pretty sophisticated bunch of friends, but they couldn't resist the carousel this night, especially as they got this beautiful double decker ride all to themselves.


After the fun at the Hôtel de Ville, we braved the metro once again to get to our dinner date at Chipotle. The beauty and cuisine of Paris is lost on these girls most of the time, what they really want is a good burrito and a Dr. Pepper. This was my first visit to the Paris Chipotle which opened last May and it was the perfect place to take these girls for a birthday dinner. The servers were patient while they slowly made their choices (in English) and then changed their mind. We had a big table tucked away upstairs all to ourselves and no one cared when the noise level rose - and rose!


It's not always (ever?) easy being a parent to a sixth grader. We are finding it a challenge as we navigate this path for the first time, but on this night the girls smiled and laughed and were polite and couldn't believe it when I said yes to all their requests for treats. For my birthday girl I was happy to indulge.


And the highlight of the party? Checking out the cool shoes on the last day of les soldes!

India was born on my 28th birthday so you can do the maths and figure out that this year's number was a big one for me! Not content with Paris on my doorstep, I'm getting on a plane in a few hours to spend the weekend with Keith in Rome. It's our first visit. If you have any must do's please let us know.

Bon weekend!

We love Mondays

The girls had a couple of extra days off school this weekend while the teachers did some Professional Development. They (the girls not the teachers!) decided this would be the perfect opportunity to go to Disneyland. They pooled their pocket money, did chores without complaining and convinced me there would be no queues on a wet February Monday. They were right. The waits were short, the rain stopped and everyone had a great time. We met up with some friends, so while they took the big girls on the scary rides, Florence and I hung out in Fantasyland. She doesn't watch the Disney Channel or know who the princesses are but she was beside herself with excitement to be there! And the best thing about Disneyland Paris? Nutella Crêpes!

Happy World Nutella Day!

Quoi de neuf ?*

* What's new?


This week, I met another blogger friend for real. Virginia and her friend Mary came to visit and we spent the afternoon in picturesque Marly le Roi where we found this vieille maison. Watch out for lots more photographs from the charming streets of Marly on Virginia's blog Paris Through my Lens.


I signed Florence up for Maternelle (French Kindergarten) which she will start in September. I had expected to have to deal with a mile of French red tape, especially as we don't have some of the required documents on the registration form - no Carnet de Santé or Livret de Famille, but my substitutions were deemed perfectly acceptable and the whole registration process took me less time than it took to buy our evening baguette. I can't help feeling that was too easy - we will see when I attend the compulsory parents meeting in June! I hope she likes it. She could do with a break from looking after her family of seven!


Sacré Coeur seen from the fifth floor of Le Marché Saint-Pierre
I had a wonderful day out all by myself shopping in the fabric markets of Montmartre and somehow managed to stumble into an excellent French bistro for lunch in a sea of tourist traps at the foot of Sacré Coeur.

I needed fabric for a dress I'm making for my niece's christening. Whilst searching the web for design inspiration I stumbled across this film at Baby Dior. Le sigh...

Not sure how long that link will last so here's another film for the Paris lovers. Check out the girl in black. Her dress. Her hair. Turns out India wasn't so far from a Dior outfit at THAT Bar Mitzvah after all!



And last but not least, I am thrilled that Jillian over at Jillian in Italy interviewed me for her A Kid's Life series. I found her gorgeous blog one time when we both linked up to Love the Place you Live at Design Mom. It turns out that as well as loving where we live, we also have a love of sewing, photography and twin girls in common! It was such a pleasure and very thought provoking to answer her questions so hop on over to see what I had to say about our life in France. You might find out something you didn't already know.

Bon Weekend!

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{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining in with Amanda and friends at SouleMama