Today started slowly with Erin and I doing some shopping near the apartment. We found an adorable toy shop and of course, had to buy toys for our little ones.
We walked to Point Zero and FORGOT TO MAKE OUR WISHES!
After, I took her to my favorite crepe place on the Left Bank – Creperie des Arts. I had the caramel and salt; she had chocolate.
Once we were full, we hopped on the RER C for the Eiffel Tower. I’ll say this, I never want to see that thing up close again. Too many pickpockets, con men, and sketchiness for my liking. Plus the plaza is under construction.
I did get these photos thought:
We then took a stroll along the river and headed home. We needed rest before the real part of the day started: Fete de la Musique. For those that don’t know, it’s a city-wide FREE music festival for the Summer solstice. There are street vendors selling beer and punch as well as food vendors and, of course, DJ’s, performers, and musicians. It’s incredible.
(Thanks to Erin for the video)
We ended up at Sacre Couer, drinking beer and watching the city of Paris stretched out before us. A perfect evening.
One of the things I love about prolonged stays in new locations is discovering off-the-path things. Today, exactly one week before I have to leave, I found what may be the best view of Paris I’ve ever seen. All in a place I’ve been to many, many times: Printemps.
Originally, we wanted to eat at under the dome, but the wait was over forty minutes. Luckily, the hostess told us about the Terrace Cafe. Because it’s located in the “Home” building of the Printemps complex, we’d never heard of it, but we trekked over to the other building and up to the ninth floor. Upon stepping off the escalator, Bug and I were disappointed. The Dome restaurant has sit down service and this was…a cafeteria?
Since we were all starving, we decided to give it a shot and took the boys out onto the terrace to find a seat.
WHOA.
The first thing I saw was this:
While it looks tiny in this picture, in person, it feels so close you can touch it.
Next was this:
The Opéra and Printemps famous dome.
There were also views of the Champs Élysées, Sacré Couer, the Panthéon, Musée d’Orsay, and a million other things. It was like being in the heart of Paris, with everything within reach. And the food was very good. Not as good as the Dome, but still tasty.
And for the outfit part of the day:
I love this city.
The Outfit:
Dress: GAP navy print dress with blouson sleeves (one of my favorite sleeve types).
7:30am – Wake up. The Fox has a follow-up doctors appointment to make sure his arm is healing properly.
8:15am – Bug and The Fox leave, the other two boys and I think about breakfast.
8:20am – I send the boys to the patisserie for torsade and pain au chocolate. None of which I can eat 😦
9am – Shower and get dressed.
9:30am – Work a little while the boys play.
10:45 – Bug and the Fox return with good news! His arm is healing perfectly and he can fly home next week!
12:00pm – Leave for lunch
12:30 -3:00 – Lunch and shopping. We had to buy a LARGE suitcase because we’ve completely replaced my wardrobe while here. There’s a chance we may have to buy another.
3:15 – BUSTED by the Paris Metro Police for fare jumping. Boone didn’t use his ticket to get into the Metro and upon exiting, there was a checkpoint. Even though we had unused, paid tickets, we were still fined 30 euro on the spot. HARSH.
3:45 – Home. Bug does a little work and then we hang out while the boys play.
5:00pm – Bug goes to the grocery store while I play with the boys and swear at my phone because my email isn’t working.
6:30pm – Dinner for the boys. Wine for mom and dad 😀
7:00pm – Bug and the boys play poker while I work a little more.
8:00pm – Boys to bed, dinner for the adults.
This may be my new favorite picture:
You know what’s better than being in Paris? Being in Paris with your favorite person 😀
Bug “surprised” me yesterday. I had a feeling he was going visit me, but until I actually saw him peeking in my window, with his suitcase in one hand and a HUGE box of chocolates in the other, I wasn’t sure I’d see him until at least mid-July or early August.
We spent most of yesterday walking around, talking, and snacking.
Today, we woke up late and set off on some work errands. But the BIG NEWS is….
Nightingale, book two in the Sensitives Series. Release date, September 25, 2012.
Thanks to Mundie Moms for hosting the cover reveal! Sarah Marino, my cover artist, did it again. I love, love, love how she kept a similar feel as Larkstorm while keeping the look unique. And it captures the darker tone of Nightingale beautifully.
One thing I have to address: I’ve received numerous emails and tweets asking what the correct release date is. Originally, the planned date was July 10th, but due to family and health issues, I was unable to finish edits in the time necessary to meet the production deadline. The new, FIRM date is September 25th.
Okay, so back to Paris. Bug and I spent the day shopping (he was determined to buy me a new handbag and shoes, but I ended up with other things) and wandering around. We climb to the top of Sacre Couer and watched a terribly awesome music performance that involved a guy with a guitar, his friend, a microphone, and jumbled English lyrics of one of Adele’s songs. Oh, and “beer guys” who kept trying to sell us cans from a twelve pack they carried around.
Bug and me at the top of Sacre Couer.
When we were done, I asked if we could talk a long walk back to my apartment. That was a hard. I’ve talked about it before, but my husband suffers from PTSD stemming from his accident. Loud noises startle him – and Paris is full of loud noises. It’s also full of scooters, another of his triggers. But we took our time, stopped when we needed, and eventually made it back to my place.
We decided to eat near the apartment and found a cute bistro. While it was charming, it was also empty at 10pm (it’s now 12:45am and the cafes are still packed), even though the place across the street was packed. We nervously decided to take a risk – either it was going to be awesome or we’d both die of food poisoning. Fortunately, it was insanely good.
Things I learned today: if you climb the stairs at the Abbesses Metro stop and Sacre Couer, you will never need to workout again; people in Paris never sleep or appear to have jobs; and finding department stores don’t have air conditioning.
dawnraemiller.wordpress.com 