It never snows in paris, part deux......

Christmas in Paris means not being able to go anywhere.  The RER A is still on strike. The French cannot drive in the snow.

I do admire our post woman.  Thursday I was thinking that the poste would not be delivered due to the weather.  Especially since our recycling was not picked up on  Wednesday and our trash had not yet been picked up on Thursday.  Much to my surprise I spied our post woman, on her bike(the traditional French method of postal delivery), delivering our mail. She was riding her bike while wrapped in a very large parka and scarves with a very small slit through which one could barely see her eyes.

Left a little after 0900 this morning to drop off Samuel at the HG and was amazed to see a line of cars(about 10 cars/trucks) slowly moving along the avenue gambetta at about 10 KPH.  A car was driving that slowly along a major access to the quai.  The road was wet from Thursday's snow and it had started snowing about 10 minutes before we left but there was absolutely no excuse to be going that slow.

On Thursday, Samuel and I drove to the city centre after he woke from his nap in the afternoon.  It had stopped snowing around 1100 and the roads were not snow packed, just wet.  As we pulled out of our street we ended up behind an old woman who was driving slowly but stopped for every curve in the road and almost stopped for every car coming from the other direction.  Very, very frustrating.  There were just enough cars coming from the other direction that we were unable to pass.

When we did return home on Thursday it was quite beautiful at the house.  If you look at the picture posted yesterday the little tree in the left of the picture is adorned with christmas lights.  When we returned on Thursday we turned on the lights on the tree and stood in the living room watching the lights twinkle in the darkening night and shining off the snow sitting on the branches of the tree.  Even Samuel stood still for a few seconds and marvelled at the sight.

It never snows in Paris.........

The view from our living room this morning.  The snow is still falling. Tried to leave at 0930 this morning to drive to the city centre to do some shopping.  Made it around the corner to the butcher.  Traffic was backed up before I could even get to the quai.  Turned around and came home.  Samuel was cute dressed in his wellington boots for the first time.  Unfortunately they are too big and it is difficult for him to walk in them.  Samuel did enjoy standing outside and feeling the sensation of the snow falling on his face.  Tremendous grin followed.

Samuel in his Christmas sweater.  Sorry for the stains but it is evidence that he is indeed now eating(sometimes) solid food.

HG Noel party

Today was the Christmas party at Samuel's HG.  We stayed for about 40 minutes.  Was able to have quick, short conversations.  Was easier to converse in French with the two helpers that speak some English.

Samuel was the only child wearing clothes that were Christmas related.  But his sweater was tasteful.  Gray with 6 penguins wearing Santa hats standing in the shape of a Christmas tree.  A few of the helpers were wearing Santa hats.

We have had difficulty finding a Christmas outfit for Samuel this year.  Julia even looked for one when she was in London and was unable to find there.

Samuel is definitely a mini-me. When we were at the HG for the party Samuel spent most of his time hovering around me being an unusually shy Samuel.  However, he did approach a very fashionably French women.  She was dressed in skin tight black jeans, knee high red boots with a skin tight grey sweater.  Samuel approached her, charmed her, put his arms in the air requesting a hug and when she put her arms out to pick him up, he ran away and hid between my legs.

Christmas in Paris(Or the French hate Father Christmas(Santa Claus))

Wednesday- The online english language support group that we belong to had arranged for a Santa Claus to be available for pictures this afternoon.  Usually pretty easy to get to.  Just a short walk from the Franklin Roosevelt metro stop on the 1 line.

Well, since last Friday the RER line that runs through Chatou has been on strike (Greve in French).  There has been limited service between 0730-0930 and 1430-1830.  Other times there are no trains running.  Of course this is only on the spur of the line that runs through Chatou, the rest of the RER A line is still running at normal.

So we are left with the following options-Take a cab, the bus or drive.  Driving would be a challenge as the only way to get there is to dive the champs d'elysse and navigate the etoile at the arc d'triomphe.  Not sure if I am ready to do that on a Wednesday afternoon and then try to find a place to park.

The malls here in France do not have Santas.  A few of the amusement/play parks that are open have a Santa but none of them are convienent to our location.  We are still exploring options but it appears that we may not have a picture with Santa and Samuel for this Christmas.

A great morning......

Sunday morning in Chatou. Woke up at 0800.  Went for another run.  So glad to have the path just outside our garden.   This morning it was quite chilly, 0 c(31 f) and the fog/mist was just beginning to lift off the river as I started my run.  Next time I go for a run I may take leftover baguette as the ducks are still on the river and their quacking adds a new sound to my run.

After the run I took a walk to the city centre and it started to snow just as I turned the corner.  Yes, I know, I have been told that it never snows in Paris.  It was warm enough where the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground but it was very serene to walk through the quiet Sunday morning streets with snow lightly swirling through the sky.

When I returned home it was time for a pain au chocolat and a mug of chocolat chaud.  With Julia still in London I took the liberty of having my Sunday morning breakfast in bed.  it was very relaxing to lay in the bed, reading a book, eating a pain au chocolat, drinking a chocolat chaud and watching the river slowly flow by.  My life is good!

It has ben quite awhile since I felt his relaxed.  It was a relief on Saturday night to sit on the couch wrapping birthday and Christmas presents and not have to worry about whether Samuel could reach the scissors and wrapping paper.

I miss Samuel and Julia terribly but I did not realize how long it had been since I have had a break from the daily routine of raising a very active and inquisitive toddler.

-Dave