Our first day in Paris was like a dream… magic. We all were so happy to be out and about seeing this place that we longed to be in… There is so much depth, heart, and beauty in Paris… you never feel like you’re on the surface always within… Each corner you turn you wonder how old the steps below you are… how many people from long ago walked exactly there… how many kisses were shared, how many tears were shed… it’s haunting and lovely all at once.
When you visit a city you have never been, such as a dreamy city that most long to go to… you feel a bit nervous… like you don’t want to screw it up… did you find the perfect place? what if you get crap for your first meal? what if someone is so rude to you…? but then you have to sit back and breath and let go and let your positive wit guide you… yes of course things can go bad, you may never find a toilet and may have to resort to peeing on the side of someone’s entry way that is covered with ivy… but you just become adaptable and groove with it because if you don’t it can really funk your trip up… I am so amazed by how my family rocked France out… I think it was our attitude and positive nature and our “we’re going to have a damn fine time” tune about it all… It helps… things happen.. you take a deep breath and you roll with it! For the most part this trip was full of ripe fruit, flowers in bloom, happy faces, and unicorns leaping from roof to rooftop! I don’t ever want to forget these details that are burnt into my heart for my lifetime…
We like to travel… a lot… we don’t have many fancy things but a passport with a lot of stamps to me is more valuable… just our opinion… This year we have been to 6 countries so far… I think that may be good for now.. but it’s always been my passion… visiting and living other ways… seeing how others eat, walk, dance, love… I love showing our own girls just that… I love that my girls can speak two languages confidently and dabble in Spanish while in Mexico… French in France… they feel ok with it. I love that they know that there are different currencies. I love that they know how to be polite while in another country… the art of communicating and “winging it” while not understanding a damn thing… I love that about them so much. They make me laugh. I love when my husband can order an entire 3 course dinner for us in French and once our waiter leaves we ask… so what are we getting… and he says, “I have no idea, but just eat it… I think it’ll be ok.” We laugh about it and enjoy just the colors around us and being away and out of our element.
Montmontre has to be my favorite place in Paris… of anywhere maybe…? It’s real. The Parisians live here… they walk their dogs amongst these sidewalks… they say hello to the street workers… They rush to the boulangerie and once inside they sigh a breath of relief and smell the bread and ask for two baguettes and chat about the soccer match while exchanging euros. The fish market is tossing wet slimy fish to the cashier who’s hands are so weary and bloody and full of cuts… he wraps your fish in paper taping it shut with a scratchy tape, smiles and assures you it will be a tasty dinner. No one is hurried even though they are… when it comes to food… it’s sacred. Time stands still. The shop owners describe the tastes, giving samples while cupping your chin for any spare crumbs and looking you in the eye for an ok, yes. No one wears heals in Paris, only tourists. They walk fast, they know where they are going, they are so beautiful.
When we set out into our neighborhood of Montmartre we didn’t know where we were going… we just wanted to be. The girls stopped at each store… “Mamma look! Pappa Oh look they have this!” They smelled Paris, they breathed it, they loved it!
When traveling with children I can’t stress to you enough to always make sure you have snacks! For us baguettes were great! They fit into our side backpack pockets and we ripped bits off throughout the day! There is nothing worse then a kiddo or me who is hungry and desperate for a nice place to eat while desperately hungry! You may just pick a crap place and order too many things and spend way too much. So have a baguette handy, maybe a sausage too!
