Kelsey est à Paris!

Yep, Kelsey's in Paris!  She arrived Sunday morning, and we immediately set out to explore Paris!  First stop was Montmartre, where we visited the Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, the "I love you" wall, and Starbucks (always a treat).  Then we went to the Marais, ate falafels, and walked around my favorite narrow streets in Paris.  We set home early this day so that Kelsey could rest up and begin adjusting to the time difference, which meant homemade pasta for dinner!

"I Love You" written (supposedly) in every language of the world...

Cute little passage we came across in between the Ile St. Louis and Le Marais

Moulin Rouge!

Monday we decided to hit the stores.  Because this was the last day of Les Soldes, and we were going out for my friends birthday that night, it was the perfect day for some always relaxing shopping.  We went back to the Marais to hit up my favorites, and ended up with some great, cheap finds!  We visited Notre Dame, and took a walk around the Latin Quarter, before grabbing a crepe and heading home to prepare for the night's festivities!  My new French friend Alex turned 23 Monday night, so we met him and some other friends at our favorite standby, The Great Canadian Pub, for some fun and a few drinks.  The French sure know how to party...2 bars and 7 hours later, we finally made it home at 6 am!  Unfortunately I couldn't keep up, and I was so tired by the time that we made it to the second bar that I was like a walking zombie!  Overall it was a great night, and I'm so glad that Kelsey got to have a fun night out and meet my new friends! 

In front of the Notre Dame, we asked a guy to take our pic with the church in it, instead he hands us this sign and completely excludes the church...ok...

Our "French face" picture, aka no smile....and yes, that is a stain on my shirt, someone spilled their beer on me almost immediately upon arriving :(

So happy to have Kelsey in Paris!!

It just happened to be Valentine's Day, not a shabby way to spend it if I do say so myself!

Tuesday, as you can imagine, turned out to be a bust.  Arriving home at 6 am doesn't really allow for a normal sleeping schedule, so after falling asleep at 6:30 am, we awoke again at 2:30 pm.  A quick breakfast later and we found ourselves back in bed for the day.  The combo of jetlag and late nights didn't mix well with Kelsey, so she went back to bed until about 5 pm!  Eventually we pried ourselves out of bed in time to take a quick walk around the canal, stop in to my favorite French restaurant for a delicious dinner (warm goat cheese salad, salmon for me, chicken for Kelsey, and a chocolate lave cake for dessert, yummm)!  We called it an early night this night so that we could wake up early Wednesday and make up for our lost time!

Wednesday, our plan worked.  We were up and out in time for a late breakfast/early lunch at my new favorite neighborhood juice bar.  Yummy Pad Thai salad with a mixed fruit smoothie was the perfect start to our day!  We met up with Jaimie and headed over to the Champs Elysees for more shopping and sightseeing.  Luckily the only purchases here were some well-deserved macarons from the famous LaDuree!  We decided to climb the 300+ stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and take in the wonderful views of the city, and make up for our lack of movement the previous day!  Unfortunately this day was cut short because of work.  I had to go out to Chaveney, a town on the outskirts of Paris, to pick up the kiddos who were staying at Grandma's house all week!  I ended up bringing home Alice and her 5 year old cousin Leonie, and Lucien stayed to play with his older cousins for the night.  We came home and had a fun girls night with breakfast for dinner and Peter Pan!  Then Kelsey and I invaded Ally's house with Jaimie to make dinner and watch a movie.  Because Jaimie is essentially homeless, and Ally and her au pair family are on a ski vacation, their house has become Jaimie's house for the week.  We made a delicious, home-made zucchini quiche, followed by camembert cheese and baguette...tres francais!  We decided to watch The Shining because Kelsey and I had never seen it, but I was soon the only one watching as the other girls passed out, so I sat their with chills all over my body for the 2 hour duration of the movie...weirddd movie!  We ended up staying the night at Ally's so we wouldn't have to walk home at 1 am!

CHI Omega...on the Champs Elysees

Alice and Leonie on the train back to Paris

Thursday, today!  We woke up too too early so that I could make it home in time to work at 9 am!  Spent the day occupying the little girls, watching Star Wars, making lunch/snacks, and then setting out for an adventure.  We took the girls to the Champ du Mars (the park below the Eiffel Tower) for a puppet show, pony rides, carousel rides, and some fun play time at the park.  They had a great time, and minus the freezing temperatures, Kelsey and I enjoyed ourselves as well.  We made our way over to the girls' Great-Grandparents' house just next to the Eiffel Tower to meet Valerie at 6 pm and transfer kids.  During the walk there, Alice was complaining of a tummy ache, but we just assumed it was because she was playing so hard...if only.  After carrying her, kissing her to make her feel better, and having her breathe all over me, the tummy ache still wouldn't go away, and I find out tonight that soon after I left, she spewed her brains all over Grandma's carpet.  WONDERFUL!  One day before my long-awaited, 10 day vacation in Italy, Alice gets the stomach flu, and I am stuck cleaning up her barf from 8 am till 6 pm tomorrow.  Please please pray Kelsey and I don't catch the flu!!  What a way to ruin a vacation....

Me, Kelsey, Alice, and Leonie in front of Le Tour Eiffel!

Pony rides under the Eiffel Tower

However, on the topic of Italy, only 1 day left!!  Kelsey and I head to the airport bright and early Saturday morning for our first destination: Rome!!  We will be in Rome for 3 days, Florence for 2 days, and Venice for 4 days!  Not only that, but we will be arriving in Venice just in time for Carnival, so the hunt for a mask has begun!!  We are so excited for our adventure because it will be the first time to Italy for the both of us!  So, if anyone has any must-see places (or must-eat restaurants) in any of the cities, please comment and let us know!!  Look for my next blog in the beginning of March to spill all the wonderful details of our fabulous vacation, but in the meantime, pray for our safety!!  Love you all!
 Ciao!