Paris report
Well, I'm so far behind at this point that catching up seems daunting - so I thought I would break the summer down into separate posts to make it more manageable. I'll start with our fabulous trip to Paris!
10+ hour flights with a toddler are definitely not a breeze, but Theodore really rose to the challenge. He slept half the flight there (an overnight) and at least took a nap on the way back. We had direct flights and bought him his own seat - best money we ever spent.
Our apartment was in a great location in Le Marais, near many great shops, restaurants, parks, and the Metro. The four flights of stairs (no elevator) were a challenge, but the apartment had two floors, was bright and airy, and extremely spacious. We were all very comfortable there for our stay. Theodore certainly had no complaints!
Billy worked for most of the vacation from the Paris office, though he would usually go in a little later so that we could all leave the house together (aka he could help me with Teddy + stairs), and he would leave quite early to meet us at the park and go to dinner. We did do some "big" tourist outings on weekends and one weekday morning: we saw Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and spent an hour and a half at the Louvre (not bad with a toddler in tow!) During the week Theodore and I would go do one touristy and/or kid-friendly activity in the morning, come home for nap, and then usually go to the park in the afternoon. There were several beautiful, fun parks close to our apartment, which was wonderful. As morning outings we went to a small zoo, the Tuileries, the science museum, Place des Vosges, the Middle Ages museum, etc.
While it took a few days to settle in because of the time change, Theodore really had a fabulous time. Paris is a toddler's delight! There were lots of cars, motorcycles, dogs, frites and pain au chocolat, and best of all, birds. He chased the pigeons in the park every day, and could do so for an hour or more at a time! It was great fun to watch him laugh and run, and as a bonus, it really improved his footwork and agility - Jyoti, his physical therapist, was blown away by the advancement in his skills when we got back.
We also had the pleasure of a nice visit from Billy's sister, Theodore's Auntie Diana. She stayed with us for the second week we were there, and Theodore really enjoyed her company. She helped us manage that hour and a half at the Louvre in particular, and also babysat one night so Billy and I could have a date night! Much appreciated, and it was really nice to spend time with her.
Billy also had his first night alone with Theodore - I went to London for one night to visit a friend. I was gone for just about 24 hours, and everything went very well back in Paris. Big thumbs up to Billy for that!
Overall it was pretty much the perfect vacation - we lived like locals, did some touring, and tried to take it easy (though we got tons of exercise!) It was hard to come home at the end!
I'll finish up with two videos and a slideshow from Paris. Next time, I'll do the trip to Toronto Theodore and I took, and hopefully also do stats/general updates.
Bird chasing champion:
Flamingo rock out:
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