A Room With A View

Still running a day behind, but I am getting it done!
Yesterday morning (Monday, June 28th) began at 3:30 am for me. I had gone to bed around 1:30 after getting everything together for our flight. I decided to look at it as a little nap. :) Our driver was to come at 4:30 am, so we were all up and ready by then. At 4:40 I called and they had forgotten us! So, at 5:15, someone finally showed up. We were ready to say good-bye to Espana! (but mostly we were just cranky because we were all tired)
Our flight to Paris went smoothly. Everyone felt a little sick, but Dillon got the “first to vomit on the trip” award, poor kid. We had an Englishman as our driver in to Paris. He had written “Hayley, Dillon and Mali” on the welcome sign. The kids were thrilled to see their names - even spelled correctly. Andy was a lot of fun and just what we needed. He told us a lot about the city as we drove in.
Our apartment is fabulous! It is the smallest of the three, but by far the most beautiful. We are in the 4th district on the 7th and 8th floors. From our windows, we can see the Eiffel Tower, the Pompidu Museum, the Notre Dame, the Bastille, etc. We are one block away from the Place de Voges and Victor Hugo’s home. Best of all, we have air-conditioning!!!
We went out to lunch at the cafe right below our home. It was MAJOR culture shock since I no longer speak the language of the country. All those months of French cd’s escaped me instantly. Fortunately, our waitress was more than happy to speak English and translated the entire menu for us. After lunch, since we were all so tired, everyone took naps while Dave went out to explore and get some basic supplies.
We got all unpacked and settled in. It’s hard to believe we will be here for 6 weeks! Mali was getting a little bit restless and bored after she woke up. We definitely need to start a routine and planning our time so it doesn’t get away from us, so we had a family council tonight to figure out the next couple of days.
We had great dinner at home together. When the sun went down, and the Eiffel Tower lit up, I have to admit, I wept just a bit. It is so beautiful here! I cannot wait to get out and see this city. Around 10:30, Dave and I went out for a little walk. All of the street cafes were filled and there was so much energy.
We are happy to be here in our new (temporary) home.