Wind and dogs

It must really be springtime in Sunnyside: high school track season has begun, and both the wind and the dogs are on the move. We had more days with strong winds than not this week, which made track practice a blustery exercise in maintaining a positive core body temperature. Even though I was chilled at windy track practices, the actual temperatures were mild: high 50s to mid-60s. A side effect of the warmer weather is that dog owners leave their pets outside. More of my runs than not were invaded by dogs this week, which made me alternately scared and angry. Seriously, the dog situation out in our corner of the countryside is annoying at best, terrifying at worst. 

Le Tour Eiffel

We went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower: how could we not?

The lighting at the Trocadero is notoriously awful for photography in the morning, but we did it anyways because it was on our way to the Eiffel Tower. I had to edit this picture so the kids' faces were visible.

L'Arc de Triomphe

To finish off our massively packed Monday (still February 17th) in Paris, we climbed up the Arc de Triomphe for a spectacular night view of Paris!

Sacre Couer and the Louvre

Monday, February 17th continued: after Rose and I did our morning run to the Eiffel Tower, we all went to Sacre Coeur and the Louvre together!

Once we showered and ate breakfast [second breakfast for me], Jeff needed a nap so we relaxed for an hour before heading out to take the metro to Sacre Coeur around 11am. Stairs, stairs, stairs! Getting up the  Montmartre hill requires lots of stairs, starting with 180 stairs out of the metro station (no escalator). Next came the first set of five long flights of hillside stairs, followed by at least two more sets like that.

Together at Sacre Coeur.

Spring in February!

I'm briefly pausing France travel posts to stay current with the times: Spring came to Sunnyside this week, in February! After some seriously sloppy mucky wet weather, the rain let up and the air warmed up. We had one windy transitional day on Tuesday, and then POOF! Sunny calm 58 degree weather the rest of the week! I have seen enough spring weather around here to know that this golden week of beauty is no guarantee that we get to bypass the wild windy wet volatile seasonal transition that spring often is. That's what made this week all the more enjoyable: the ephemeral nature of such gorgeous weather so early in the season.

Rose's Eiffel Tower run

Monday, February 17th: Rose and I ran to the Eiffel Tower together! We ran 3/4 mile with Jeff from our apartment to the river, then he sped up and disappeared into the distance while Rose and I continued along the river together. I told Rose that the Eiffel Tower was 3.3 miles from our apartment, and she decided to throw caution to the wind and run all the way there, even though she knew it would be a stretch to run there and back again--over six miles total. I am always up for a boundary-pushing distance run, and Rose has run 6 miles once or twice before in her life, so we went for it!

Sunday in Versailles

On our second day in Paris, we left Paris and took a train to Versailles for church and chateau-ing.

On Sunday morning (Feb 16th) we left our Airbnb at 8am and took the train an hour out to Versailles. We went to church there at the biggest ward I've ever seen in France! The church building (its own separate church building, not rented rooms!) was a 1 mile walk from the train station. The overflow gym room behind the chapel was full by the end of sacrament meeting. And, a second large ward met in the building after our ward finished! There is a temple in Versailles after all, so it makes sense that there are two big wards there. 

My feet in la Ville de Versailles. I wore these brown leather boots walking all over the place and they were just about perfect for a winter urban adventure: waterproof in rain, comfy and warm enough for cold but not too warm for less cold, cute, versatile for church and everyday wear, and easy to slip on and off. I love multipurpose travel apparel!

Musée d'Orsay

Saturday, February 15th, continued: after we exited Notre Dame, we walked a few blocks over to the Latin Quarter for lunch. Jeff chose a restaurant that serves raclette, and he and Jay feasted on toasted cheese and potatoes. Rose and I got the 3 part menu du jour: Rose tried escargot (and loved it), boeuf bourguignon, and chocolate mousse. I had French onion soup, salmon and noodles, and tarte aux pommes. Amber took a break from local cuisine and ordered the kids meal: steak hache (a hamburger patty) with fries and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. I love French onion soup so much! They serve it with crusty slices of Emmentel cheese toasted baguette on top, and it warms every corner of both my heart and soul.

Notre Dame 2.0

The first thing I always want to do in Paris is go to Notre Dame Cathedral. So that's what I did! On our first morning in Paris on Saturday, February 15th, I waited till it was almost dawn (jet lag woke me up at 4:20am) and went on a sunrise run along the river Seine past Notre Dame. I love that building so much! I stayed kind of close and ran around the two little islands in the Seine (Notre Dame is on the bigger of the two islands) in hopes of hearing the bells of Notre Dame ring at 8am. For some reason, the bells did not ring that morning, so I swallowed my disappointment, admired the view one more time, and ran the one mile from Notre Dame back to our Airbnb. 

Notre Dame at sunrise during my run.

Valentine's Day: from Marseille to Paris

On Friday, February 14th, we took the train from Marseille to Paris. 

We checked out off our Airbnb at 10:04am (putting the keys back in the lock box attached to a bike rack around the corner) and rode the metro to the Marseille St. Charles Gare (train station). On my way through the barrier to get out of the metro station, the two barrier doors suddenly slid shut, giving me the truly French experience of being guillotined--it was a horizontal guillotine, but it was still totally a guillotine. Those doors slammed hard, one into each of my shoulders, and I had to really muscle my way out of them. It was made more difficult because I had my backpack on, so once I wriggled my shoulders out, my backpack got caught in the cross-chop. I even had a valid metro ticket and everything! Ridiculous! Hilarious! A sagittal guillotine chop in the metro. Hah!

Lettres Marseille

Always willing to sacrifice sleep for a good sunrise, I got up early in Marseille on Friday, February 14th, for a solo farewell to this quirky coastal city. It was an urban adventure-run up to the Hollywood-style les Lettres Marseille. The night before, I made a careful plan and broke down the segments of my adventure to get as accurate of a time estimate as possible. We had to check out of our Airbnb by 10am that morning, so I needed to be back from my run in time to shower, eat, and pack. I triple checked all of my travel segments until I was confident I would make it back in time. I offered to take any willing family members with me, but they all declined. Well, Jay and Rose said they would come if they were already awake when it was time to leave. Basically, they declined, haha. It was fine! I love a good solo run adventure!

Calanque Hike

Le Parque National des Calanques was just as stunning as I remembered it from when Jeff and I visited 6 years ago. We chose the day with the best weather forecast and hiked just over 5 miles round trip. This hike was the number one reason we chose Marseille as our second destination for this trip. The mild Mediterranean coast is my absolute favorite place to go during February, even though I've only been there at this time of year three times in my life. It's a gorgeous antidote to winter gloom back home.

Dans une calanque avec ma famille.