Kernovich Abroad: Paris

We got back from Paris last night. What a great trip! Tyler and I went out early on Thursday to stay with my friend Jenny at her apartment that she rented for a week. I was a little nervous about traveling with Tyler by myself but figured we were definitely up for it so we headed off to the Eurostar train. The Eurostar is a high speed train that goes in a tunnel under the English channel. You can get from London to Paris in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Besides a couple little hiccups, the journey was a success. Thankfully the Eurostar staff is very helpful and helped me with my baggage and stroller while I boarded with my huge, squirmy baby. We arrived in Paris in the evening and set out to walk around the cute village that Jenny was staying in. It was the Ile-Saint-Louis and on the small island right across from Notre Dame. The location was incredible and really felt like old world Paris with narrow streets and little cafes and shops. We had a lovely dinner outside at a cafe and then came back to the apartment to put Tyler to bed while Jenny and I had a bottle (or two) of Bordeaux on her balcony. Paris was cold but we snuggled in with some candles and blankets and had a blast catching up. Friday we got up and had the most amazing crepes I have ever had. For those of you that know, I'm a huge fan of crepes and unfortunately having them in Paris may have ruined them for me anywhere else. Tyler enjoyed my egg, cheese, and ham crepe as well. Since we were in no particular hurry, we ate late and just decided to spend the day shopping (and eating) around the Ile-Saint-Louis. It was wonderful! We stopped for lunch and had delicious French Onion soup. The French do not have high chairs so luckily Tyler loves French bread so much that we could eat in peace while he chowed on pieces of bread while sitting on my lap. We decided to get more crepes for dinner and I put Tyler to bed while Jenny ran out for the crepes and more Bordeaux. Our dinner crepe was tuna, egg, and cheese and was as delicious as my breakfast crepe. We had another evening on the balcony and JJ joined us when his night train arrived.

Saturday we had another lovely breakfast. One of the best things about Paris is the breakfast I think! Then we headed off for Versailles. None of us had ever been there and Jenny had read about the gardens there that sounded cool so we took the 1/2 hour train ride there. The palace was stunning. It was apparently the vacation home of King Louis XIV. There was the biggest garden there that I had ever seen. We wondered around it for about an hour while Tyler slept. This kid has slept through some of the most beautiful parks in the world now! We took the train back to Paris and stopped at the Eiffel Tower. At the Eiffel Tower we took lots of great pictures and it was getting dark so the lights came on. It was a beautiful setting. We wanted to keep walking so we walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Ile-Saint-Louis which is actually quite far. It was beautiful to see Paris at night. We walked to the Louvre and saw that lit up and kept gazing back at the Eiffel Tower as well. Tyler took another late evening snooze so that we could all go to dinner together. JJ and I didn't want to impose on Jenny another night so we got a hotel Saturday night. I wanted to get it as close to Jenny as I could. Most hotels were booked but there was a strange hotel inside of a hospital that had decent rates. It was the strangest thing - you walk into the hospital with all the doctors and patients, etc and there is a small section that is a hotel. There were even stretchers right before the entrance to the hotel. It was weird, but it was clean and not expensive so that was our choice! After checking in and we headed off to dinner. We stumbled upon what looked like a small cafe. When we walked in we saw that it went way far back and was packed. It was an adorable place. It was a fixed price menu and was kind of a cross between family and buffet style. They brought out a huge basket full of fresh vegetables that you could eat. The thing that still makes me laugh is that when we first got to the table there was another party right next to us sharing the long table. Their basket of vegetables was right next to us since we were sharing a table so Jenny thought it was for the full table and started cutting off pieces from their basket. When they delivered the basket of our own, we couldn't stop laughing at what those people thought when Jenny was eating from their basket. Most likely "Stupid Americans!" After the veggies there was a station with couscous and dips and olives. The waiter asked your choice of meat and they did meat kebobs cooked right off the grill (they offered an omelet for Jenny). And the house wine was in casks and was included in the fixed price. There were two guys playing guitars and singing who would travel around the restaurant. Until then Tyler had been pretty active on JJ's lap but when the men came over he was mesmerized by the music and just stood on JJ's lap clapping and laughing and dancing. All the other tables thought it was cute and for about 15 minutes JJ actually got to eat. It was a great dinner but soon all the dancing caught up with Tyler and he was tired so JJ took him back to the hotel while Jenny and I continued our night out (I have the best husband, right?). Jenny and I had a blast and continued chatting and drinking our wine. We met a few interesting Parisians and then called it a night pretty late.

The next morning we got up and took our train back to London. It was a wonderful weekend and we are excited to go back to Paris soon. It has also been great to reconnect with old friends. I hadn't spent a full week with Jenny in years so it was so nice to see her again. With my girlfriends from Oxford, although we may not see each other much anymore, when we do it falls right back into place. Her trip came at a great time and I'm so glad that she came! Now we are having lunch one more time tomorrow when she travels through London to take her flight home to Washington DC.

Back here in London we are really starting to make a home for ourselves. We are almost fully unpacked and Tyler seems to enjoy it here. The turkey for Thursday is ordered and I'm making a full Thanksgiving dinner for our little family. Thanks to Auntie Sue and Sarah, I have my recipes ready and am actually a little excited to put dinner together! Wish me luck. We will miss family as this is the first Thanksgiving away from family, ever but hopefully we will get a chance to Skype or chat with nearly everyone. Lots of pictures to share today! Oh and I think I changed the settings so that anyone can comment on the blog now, not just those with gmail, but let me know if not. I'm still learning!