I officially became “the cool aunt in Paris” recently as my brother and sister in law welcomed their perfect baby into the world and after several weeks in the NICU she is home safely and we couldn’t be more thrilled, or more thankful to the wonderful National Health Service (the publicly funded healthcare system in England) who saved her life. This week there’s 20% off new paid subscriptions and all profits will be donated to NHS Charities Together, who provide funding for over 200 NHS charities across the UK; supporting hospitals, mental health, community and ambulance trusts.
The week started with a school outing to Parc de Sceaux which is a short ride on RER line B from central Paris and a world of its own, with ornamental fountains, a chateau, an orangerie and the most magical cherry blossom orchard which is very popular in spring. We were there for the wide open grass (not very easy to find in Paris) plus the playground and the kids had a great few hours running about while I chatted to the other parents, tu-ing and vous-ing the wrong people at the wrong time.
A friend I hadn’t seen from high school was in town so I showed her around the 6th, stopping for snacks and the butter tower at L’Avant-Comptoir du Marché, where the music reminded us exactly how long it’s been since we left school. We continued on for a stroll down to the Seine with a stop for gelato at Grom along the way, taking in golden hour on Pont des Arts before I showed her the real Paris landmarks (the firefighter’s boat and the best pharmacy for discounted skincare).
As school wraps up for the year the celebrations have begun and we took our places in the cour de l'école one morning for a little performance. There was also the kermesse (school fete) with face painting, retro games and a table laden with candy followed by a French style sausage sizzle with baguettes bien sûr. I gamely took the children past the second hand book stall where they didn’t seem to clock my tightened smile each time they exclaimed “wow we have this book at home” and we continued to participated in the circular life of books, bringing home armfuls (but gently avoiding any I’d donated 👍🏻).
On the way to get coffee I stumbled upon a brocante practically downstairs and immediately spied some beautiful plates to replace our chipped Ikea ones and sifted through the silver until the children got bored. Then it was off to a birthday party in the Jardin du Luxembourg where they exceeded their daily sugar intake, coming home happy and dusty to ignore the perfectly balanced dinner I presented on the brand new (to us) plates, in favour of baguette and cheese.
It’s hard to imagine a time when Monet, Renoir, Degas and Cézanne were not revered as artists but that time was 1874 when the first impressionist exhibition opened in Paris and was generally considered a flop. The Musée d’Orsay has recreated the perspective of the era in the current showing of Paris 1874, Inventing Impressionism (until July 14th) and I throughly enjoyed wandering through on Sunday morning before it got too crowded.
On Sunday afternoon we attended with pride my youngest daughter’s ballet performance and watched as she twirled and stomped around dressed as a flower, very happy she agreed to go on stage at all. We then set a trap for ourselves by getting the children ice-creams, which quickly dissolved into chaos and everyone arrived home covered in tears and chocolate.
We finished off the week by watching the election results, which are worrying and disappointing, but we will vote again next week and see what can be salvaged.
Have a great week,
- Emily
Cheese we’re eating this week:
Port Salut - a very mild, semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese with a distinctive orange rind that was originally made by Trappist monks after they returned to France following the French revolution.
Caprice des Dieux - which means "Whim of the Gods" is a soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese made from pasteurised milk. Its distinctive blue packaging can be found in almost every supermarket across France.
Époisses - an extremely fragrant cheese from Burgundy, made with pasteurised cow’s milk, which becomes so soft it can be served with a spoon.
All three cheeses were bought at our local supermarket.
Real Life Paris Photo
How many papas does it take to get a frisbee down from the tree?