A weekend in Paris

My mum and dad came to visit us last weekend, which was fun. We got to experience four people living in our little flat (which is not as bad as you might think!), and see some parts of Paris that we hadn't seen before.

All four of us at the Sacre Coeur basilica in Montmartre.

They brought with them several goodies for us, such as Tunnock's Caramel Wafers, and a camera which Talia bought me as a gift. (It was easier to get it posted to my parents' house than to here.) There was also a copy of the newspaper Le Figaro. I've been reading the free newspaper Direct Matin, which I can get on the metro, and I can understand most articles fairly well. However, Le Figaro is apparently written for a more discerning audience (one that actually pays for their news, I suppose), and the language is a lot more impenetrable. My language skills still have a long way to go, it seems.

Foremost among the gifts was a gargantuan quilt my mum made for us. It is very large (sized for a king-sized bed) with various designs - one side for Talia and the other side for me. I'm not doing a very good job of explaining it, and I don't have a photo (yet!), so you'll just have to trust me that it's really amazing. And super warm! Which will come in handy as it has been getting colder and colder here in Paris, it was only about 8C yesterday (that's 46F for you Americans).

The visit was quite lovely. We went to some famous sights, and some not-so-famous sites. We were able to catch a string quartet performance in the middle of our sightseeing, which was a pleasant break in quite elegant surroundings.

Apparently this big pointy antenna is quite famous?
I forget what it's called.

The Quatuor Arod (Arod Quartet) playing in the Hôtel des Invalides. Yes, that is a Hyacinthe Rigaud painting of the sun-king, Louis XIV, in the background.

We also took a trip to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, one of Paris's larger (yet less touristy) public parks. It's a hilly area, and much more like a natural space than some of Paris's more Victorian parks (I'm looking at you, Jardin du Luxembourg). There are trees, waterfalls, and a little lake with an island. On the island is the Temple de la Sibylle, a miniature replica of a Roman temple. I don't know why they built it, but it certainly lends the area a subdued neoclassical elegance. This is one park I am looking forward to returning to!

One of the waterfalls at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

The Temple de la Sibylle.

Being in the position of "locals" showing my parents around Paris was interesting. It was a gentle reminder to me and Talia that we do actually know a lot about how to get around here, what to do, what not to do, and so on, despite our occasional feelings of inadequacy or overwhelmedness. Paris is big, and living in a foreign country is (still) scary, but we're getting the hang of it.

More generally, it was great to have my parents come to visit for the weekend, and it's so much easier for them to come over than when we lived in the US. I was remarking the other day how strange it is to see them so often, and also for so short periods. When we lived in the USA, we would see them for one or two weeks at a time, once a year. Now, the visits are much shorter, but much more frequent. And who could refuse a weekend in Paris?