Lazy Day

Today we took a break from our usual pace and had a lazy Saturday. Abe took the kids to the playground in the morning to give Dara a chance to sleep in a bit. During this excursion, Ella mastered the playground climbing wall, which had been too challenging when we first arrived a couple of weeks ago. Afterwards we met some friends (Elena and her family from Ella's camp) in their park (Parc Monceau) for a picnic. The kids played on that playground, fed the ducks our leftover bread, rode the carousel, watched many wedding parties have their pictures taken (the park has gorgeous gardens and sculptures so is apparently a popular spot for wedding photos), and generally had a great time playing together. Interestingly, Parisian playgrounds, while wonderful, do not have swings. Some parks have swings that look like metal cages that you can buy a 1 Euro ticket to ride.

Both kids seem to be picking up French at a remarkable pace even though they are spending the majority of their time with us. They both seem to feel quite at home, and it's fun to watch Ella's confidence grow as she begins to master this environment (the language, the playgrounds, etc.). One change to their routine is that since France does not fortify their water with flouride or their milk with vitamin D, each evening the kids need to take supplements. They've adapted easily to this too, and already Ella reminds us if we forget.

Now it is evening and pretty soon the bicycles will come past the building. Saturday evenings the city closes several streets (including Richard Lenoir) to cars. Around 9:30 a huge group (a few hundred) cyclists go by. About 1/2 hour later, a comparable number of rollerbladers pass.