Paris Day 1

Our flight to Paris was at 7 am on Friday August 24. We woke up at 3:45 am to get ready and took a taxi to the airport. I have to say the second time around was easier than the packing and getting ready for Edinburg. There is a lot of planning involved when you have a baby and forget about just bringing a little backpack as your suitcase. Connor definitely has more things in the suitcase than both of us combined. Even still, we fit everything in two carry on rolling suitcases that were Aer Lingus approved.

We arrived at the airport pretty early...so early that our gate wasn't even assigned yet! We had time to eat breakfast and take it easy. The flight to Paris was around 1.5 hours and we arrived around 10 am Paris time. Paris is 1 hour ahead of Dublin. Connor was sleepy during the plane ride in and slept most of the way.
 

Beautiful welcome sign at Paris airport

 We took the Roissy Bus from the airport to the opera house ( that's the only stop) for a cheap way into the city. The bus ride was around 45 minutes. If you have never been to Paris, do not book a hotel near the airport no matter how cheap. It is not a nice area and is far away from the city so you would spend a lot getting to and from the city from the hotel. We arrived at the opera house and decided to walk to our hotel in the St. Germain area.

 

Paris Opera House

 It was a little bit of a far walk and we had to cross the river, but it was great for sightseeing and getting acclimated to the city. Paris is just a beautiful city and lovely to walk around and look at. The weather was warm and a nice change from Dublin.  I didn't realize how much I missed the warm weather!  When I was packing it was confusing to think that I could just wear a t shirt and pants and probably be ok. 


Walking by the Louvre Museum

    

Connor and I in front of the Louvre Museum

 Our hotel was a cute little thing and you would walk right by if you didn't know it was there.  Everything was small, the lobby, the elevator, the stairs, our room...  Here's a picture of our room.

Where I'm standing while taking the picture was the other side of the room.  It was tiny.  The receptionist insisted that we get a baby crib even though we said we didn't need one.  So, they got us a bigger room than we originally booked so it could fit the crib.  I am curious how much smaller the other room was!  It was definitely cozy. 

After refreshing and unpacking in the hotel, we ate at a creperie next door to our hotel.  It was cute, the price was reasonable, and the service was great.  Our hotel was right next to a bunch of cafes and restaurants so it was really convinient.



That big glass window on the left is our hotel. The bright yellow restaurant was the creperie.

  After lunch, we walked to Île de la Cité to see the Notre Dame cathedral.  There were a lot of tourist and the line to get into the cathedral was too long for us to wait in.  Michael and I have already been to Paris and have seen all the touristy sights so it was ok not to see everything again.  We wanted this trip to be a relaxing trip in Paris.



Ahh, Notre Dame

 Because Connor was napping in his buggy we kept walking to the other island, Ile Saint Louis, and went by the river.  It was very peaceful sitting by the Seine and looking at Notre Dame. 



Michael and Connor next to the Seine



Once Connor woke up we went to the little park behind Notre Dame to let him play. 






He looks like a big boy in this picture, not a little baby :-(

  Afterwards, we went to a nearby metro station and bought 3 day passes.  We rode the metro to the Montmarte area and walked to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. Unfortunately when we reached the top it started to rain.  We went to sit at a cafe nearby and got charged a ridiculous amount for two coffees but atleast we were dry and warm. 



Sacre Coeur




Having fun in the metro station

 We then went to the Latin Quarter for some food and went to bed after a very long day!

Fighting Irish

We've been so busy since Paris with work and also having friends from London staying with us since Thursday and going to the Notre Dame vs. Navy American College Football Game at Aviva Stadium in Dublin today.  My husband's company had a big event for clients going to the Notre Dame vs. Navy Game on Thursday night with dinner, Irish music, dancing, and of course Guinness and Irish Coffee. They were also generous in giving tickets to their American employees (which is how we got tickets). It was a lot of fun but made for a tiring Friday.  We got a sitter for Connor on game day as he would have been bored during the game and would not have wanted to sit still. Today we went to a pub before the game and walked to Aviva stadium from our apartment.  The stadium was amazing and beautiful.  We had great seats and were close to the field. The news said there were approximately 35,000 Americans in Dublin for the game.  That is more than the amount of Americans that came for the Olympics in London.  The game was good, but not a nail biter.  Notre Dame beat Navy 50 -10. 

The weather was perfect for the game, sunny with little clouds.  Afterwards a group of us went to another pub and walked around until we found a Thai place close by. 

I'm really glad I was able to experience this football game in Dublin.  It is the first time that a US college football game has been aired from Dublin.  Hopefully the tradition continues and there will be another game played here again! 

Next time I write, I'll write more about our Paris trip!

Beautiful Aviva stadium

Magical Paris

We had such a wonderful time in Paris. It was warm and beautiful. I didn't realize I missed the warm weather so much. We had a great 3 days and I did not want to come back. There is a lot to write about and I'm too tired right now. But wanted to post that we are now safely back from our Paris adventure.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.



Having fun at the Eiffel



Connor in front of the Eiffel



Connor and I on the banks of the Seine behind Notre Dame



This and that

I don't think I wrote much about my baby sitter search but I did find two good websites with listing of available baby sitters in the area: rollercoaster.ie and gumtree.ie.  I wrote to a few and interviewed two people and used one this Saturday.  I'm really happy that I found a good baby sitter for Connor and now Michael and I have the option of going out to places that we couldn't bring a baby to (ie. pubs, out with friends later than 8 pm, etc) and having date nights again once in a while. 

On Saturday night we went to a friend's apartment for a dinner party.  Our hostess, another couple and us all came to Dublin at the same time from the US and we know each other through my husband's company.  Even before we came to Dublin, all the girls were writing to each other and sharing tips about clothes and shipping.  It was great to catch up and see how everyone was doing after a month of being in Dublin. Our hostess also planned a beer tasting of 10 different types of beers and we all had sheets to rate them.  It was a lot of fun and I learned that I really like Red Ales.  I'm so glad we have friends who are going through the same things as us over here.

On Sunday we did a few touristy things and ate an Irish breakfast at a place called "The Bank" which was inside a former victorian style bank.  We also went to Dublin Castle and to the Chester Beatty museum which is on the castle grounds.  The museum was free and had a lot of interesting illustrated books and manuscripts. 

It was a good weekend and now I can't wait until our Paris trip! We just booked our hotel in the St. Germain area. Friday just can't come any faster!

Planning our next trip

We booked a trip to Paris, France for next weekend!  I love Paris and it will be even more special bringing Connor there.  Michael and I are both taking next Friday off work and flying to Paris on Friday morning.  We come back on Sunday so it will be a short trip but a nice little break. 

My work week has been extra busy and overwhelming again.  I get the distinct feeling that everyone wants to pawn off the jobs they don't want to do on me.  I definitely have to prove myself again and while I thought these next 2 years of work would be breezy, it is starting to not look that way. 

But enough of work talk...  Paris in a week! 

Here is a picture of the last time Michael and I went to Paris in 2007.  It is my most favorite trip that we have taken together. 

Sleeping In

Connor let us sleep in both days this weekend which was very strange, unexpected, and somewhat delightful.  I think he might have been a little under the weather so I don't know if this will be a normal occurence on the weekends. The sleeping in threw us off our schedule a little bit but I think I could have slept in the whole day.  I don't feel like I've truly had enough sleep since Connor was born. 

We did a lot of laundry this weekend.  Our washer and dryer are smaller that what we are used to in the States so its takes a lot more loads to do the same size of laundry.  Starting work and the trip to Edinburgh put me behind in the laundry department and we were trying to catch up this weekend.  We're not quite there as now we also have to hang our clothes to dry (small dryer that won't work if the load is too heavy) and that takes around 2 days to dry. Atleast we do have a seperate washer and dryer as I have heard the washer/dryer in one combo is really bad for drying. 

Something I do like is that I have a double oven.  I have been using that a lot when I prepare our dinners.  When I have two things to bake for two different temperatures, I have compartments for both.  Its great.  I don't have a microwave and surprisingly, I am doing ok without it. 

On Saturday, we went to the Temple Bar food market which I expected would be like a farmers market back home with fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods for a good price.  I was disappointed when I got to the food market.  It is in a small area and did not have that many stalls.  The stalls that were there were mainly food stands.  The baked goods seemed overpriced and there were not any fruit/veggie stands.  It seemed like it was only there for the tourists, not really for locals.  We walked around for 15 minutes and left. 

We also took a train to Kildare from the Heuston Station.  It was a 45 train ride through the country.  Kildare is known for their horses and there is a big horse race there every year. They also have an Outlet Mall!  Michael needed some work shirts and I just wanted to see it.  Connor liked the train ride and behaved very well.  It was a nice train and had tables, wifi, and electrical outlets through out.  When we arrived at Kildare, there was a complementary shuttle to the outlets.  The outlet was smaller than the ones back home which I expected and the stores were pretty posh.  I missed my Ann Taylor and Loft stores.  I didn't recognize a lot of the names of the stores but they were nice but not really my style.  I did buy a really nice wallet at Ted Bakers which I could actually see myself wearing some of their clothes.  There was a playground at the mall that we let Connor play in.  There were also old ruins next to the outlet, which was pretty cool.  Only in Europe!

On Sunday we woke up late and then went out to do some shopping at Jervis near O'Connell street.  We also ate at a Chinese buffet which was similar to the buffets at home.  After shopping and some more laundry we went to Merrion Square with Connor and let him run wild.  Ofcourse he found some stairs and wanted to go up and down the stairs for a long time.  All in all, it was very nice weekend with my family.  Here are some pictures:



Connor on the train to Kildare



Michael and Connor on train





Statues at the Kildare Outlet Mall



Ruins at the Kildare Outlet Mall





Action shot on the stairs at the playground





Small things



Connor in the park today - He loved the stairs behind him

 I'm starting to feel more comfortable at work and am starting to settle into a routine. A few things I really love about my office is that they provide a variety of fruit (apples, bananas, pears, kiwis, oranges, to name a few), fresh milk, bowls, plates, cups, silverware, coffee and tea every day.  A person comes in a few times a day to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and restock the clean tableware.  I brought a box of cereal to store in the cupboard and eat that every morning.  Its really nice that they provide all of those things for us and it is easier for me to eat breakfast in the morning. 

My Company also lets its employees take a half day on Friday during the summer months if they have worked all their required hours. So, for the two Fridays I have been at work, I have been leaving around 2 pm.  Both Fridays have been gorgeous and sunny so its been a nice treat.  

There was a happy hour that I went to yesterday and it was a lot of fun.  I met a few more work people and all the skeletons in the closet about our office definitely came out last night.  I left around 11pm and I was one of the first ones to leave.  It was still packed and in full swing when I left. I guess these things go on until 4 AM sometimes. 

I have been eating lunch in the Iveagh Gardens next to my office a few times.  It is a beautiful park and reminds me of the parks in Paris because it has stone paths, fountains, a rose garden, and statues. 

I am happy that it is Friday.  We are going to check out the Temple Bar farmer's market and the Kildare Outlet this weekend.  And hopefully relax a little too. 

Here are some pictures of Connor in a park next to his creche with stairs - he is obsessed with going up and down stairs right now and pictures of the park next to my office.  Unfortunately, it was an overcast day when I took these.



Connor walking in the park



Iveagh Gardens - too bad its overcast. Today there were throngs of people because it was so sunny. There is a waterfall all the way in the back.



One of many fountains in Iveagh Gardens