Pizza delivery in Paris

We finally broke down.  Sunday was Julia's last day in Paris before leaving for 4 days in Cincinnati with P & G.  We had plans to go out for pizza for lunch after church but it was raining when we left the church and even though we had an umbrella we decided that the walk was too long to the pizza parlor so we came home and had a typical Parisian lunch of meat, cheese and bread.  We had hoped to go to our favorite restaurant for dinner but Samuel did not cooperate when he refused to eat during his evening meal.   He took 3 ounces of milk and then pushed the bottle away and started to cry when the solid food was presented.  Just did not feel that it was appropriate to take him to a restaurant when he was not eating.  So Julia had the idea of googling for food delivery in Paris and we discovered a couple of pizzerias that deliver.  The pizza was good(not enough sauce for my taste, but I am American) but it was not warm when delivered so we had to use the oven to warm up.  The pizza was also expensive(welcome to Paris).  20 Euros for 2 medium pizzas.

We did go to the American Cathedral(which we have joined as members) on Sunday for the children's Christmas pageant.  Christmas 2010 Samuel will be a sheep.   It was very typical of Christmas pageants with a few hams stealing the show, a few kids refusing to participate. Overall a very heartwarming experience.  The pageant included songs in English, French, and Spanish as the congregation is very diverse.

-Dave

New address

We have had many requests for our new address recently and we realize that we have not sent an official change of address notice to everyone.

New address:

109 Avenue Charles de Gaulle

92200, Neuilly-sur-Seine

France

Life in Paris

I have been reviewing the blog today and noticed that it has been awhile since my last rant about hating Parisians.  Maybe it is the weather that is forcing fewer people to be on the streets and in the stores.  Or maybe I am finally adjusting to life in Paris.  I think I have finally come to the realization that my nice, safe, secure life in Cincinnati is gone forever.

I am hoping that once the holidays are over that Samuel and I will be able to get out more and start getting to know other parts of Paris.  The Louvre offers a friend of the louvre program where for 50E Samuel and I will be able to bypass queues and enter the Louvre as many times as we like.  It also provides discounts to other museums in Paris  Looking forward to using this quite often in the new year.  

I will resume french lessons after the 1st of the year, with Samuel's cooperation.  I can communicate on a very rudimentary level but I am unable to hold a conversation. 

-Dave

Christmas in Paris

Our 40 Euro Christmas tree.  Very much missed the opportunity to cut our own tree as we were able to do in the states.  Not the same as buying from a florist and carrying the tree home along the city streets.
Stockings hung by the fire with care.  Yes, Samuel's stocking will be full.  The other stockings are for the cats.  No, they are not spoiled.

Interesting that we do not see Christmas lights decorating the windows of other apartments. The village of Neuilly has placed very nice trees along the side streets.  Some businesses have decorations(Most notably the McDonald's across the street).

Samuel had his follow-up flu shot yesterday.  He cried for about 10 seconds then was asleep before we got on the bus for the ride home.  Samuel is doing reasonably well with solid foods. He is not enthusiastically opening his mouth but he does eventually open.   It does take about 30 minutes to complete his solid food feeds.

It snowed heavily on Tuesday(9/12).  No accumulation near our apartment due to the heat of the buildings and the streets.  Julia has told me that it never snows in Paris and it has snowed twice since our arrival in July. :)

Julia will be in Cincinnati next week(monday-thursday) on business.  She returns Friday morning and we take the train to London for Christmas.  Thanks to our friend Denise in Cincinnati who has graciously volunteered to be a package depot that we can have our US christmas presents shipped so that Julia can bring them back on the plane.

For anyone interested in visiting after the new year.  There appears to be a very interesting Warhol/Miro exhibit at the Musee du'Luxembourg through February 22nd.

-Dave

Samuel bath time

Samuel taking his last bath with the sling in his tub.  He is a big boy now and we no longer will be using the sling.
Mummy and Samuel on their way to the bath.
Samuel pulling mummy's hair.  I love my son!

Thanksgiving in Paris

Dave, Samuel, Grandma & Grandpa in the hall of mirrors at Versailles
Grandma and Grandpa on the river seine cruise with Notre Dame in the background.
Julia, Dave and Samuel(in his new snowsuit) on the Champs d'elysees.

Thanksgiving in Paris was quite interesting.  Our turkey was 7.3k(approximately 18 lbs.)  Quite a large turkey.  We were worried that it would not fit in our oven.  With a little encouragement it just did.

Samuel's grandparents visited for 8 days.  The weather again did not cooperate.  No snow but a lot of rain and cold temperatures.

We were able to visit Versailles.  The experience was tainted by the presence of exhibits by the "artist" Jeff Koon.  Call me old fashioned but I did not go to Versailles to see modern "art".  To call what this individual does art is an insult to the drawings I did as a 4 year old.  One example.  There was a piece that was a red plastic toy lobster suspended from the ceiling on a red chain.  Laughable.  Rant off.

This was my first Thanksgiving that I can remember not watching American football.  Suspect I will have to get used to the experience.

Brought all of our Christmas items up from the cave tonight.  We plan on going to the Neuilly Christmas market on Saturday to purchase french tree lights and whatever else they have that we like.  Christmas trees are already out on the streets.   Most of them appear to be wrapped.  We will have to be patient and find one that is not wrapped so we can inspect to ensure that it is indeed a good tree.

Not a lot new to report.  We are all winding down from an eventful 11 days of having family visiting. Samuel was difficult to get to sleep the last few nights.  Overstimulated during the day meant not wanting to sleep at night.  The last 2 nights he has gone to sleep much easier.

-Dave

The cousins meet.....

This is Samuel's cousin Eila feeding him his bottle

Julia, James, Eila and Samuel taken while they were skyping Grandma Moya.

The cousins.  Color coordinated wardrobes?

Julia's brother James, his wife Astrid and their 6 year old daughter Eila visited over the weekend.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate.  Snow actually was falling on Saturday, No accumulation but snow did fall from the sky.

The weather did break long enough for Eila and Samuel to go to the Bois de Bologne and feed day old baguette to the ducks.  James and Julia called it a social science experiment.