Paris Plage

Just when we thought Paris couldn't get any better, we discovered Paris Plage. As a gesture of goodwill to those poor Parisians who are not able to leave the city in August (as most Parisians do), the city sets up a fantastic beach on the bank of the Seine for everyone to enjoy. They ship in tons and tons of sand, and set up palm trees, lounge chairs, boules courts, sprinklers, picnic tables, and a swimming pool, along a mile or so stretch of the right bank along the ile de la cite and the ile saint louis. There are snack shops for getting a cold drink or a crepe and a community paper-mache Carnival sculpture (the whole plage has a Brazilian theme) that everyone can help create.

We met Ella's friend Elena, from camp, and her mother and baby sister at the beach, and enjoyed it so much that we plan to go back tomorrow. For a city mouse/country mouse couple like us, it's the perfect way to spend a day - a quiet beach setting that you can walk to from our apartment.

When we had all had enough sun for the day, Jonah and Abe headed home for naps, and I took Ella to Bercy park for a children's flute workshop. Children's workshops are a common thing here. Organized by stores, museums, the city, etc., these workshops are usually free or low cost and are organized around various educational or enrichment themes. Although it was in French, Ella enjoyed the workshop a lot. The kids got to hear several different types of flutes and tried playing a few simple tunes themselves. And, if you've never heard 10 preschoolers play the flute at the same time, let me tell you that there is nothing quite like it :)

Jonah's impressive speaking skills continue to flourish. He was a bit disappointed to be left out of the flute workshop, so I explained that it's for older kids. He responded, "When I woah guy, I do this flute." ("woah" is his word for "big").