Dec
30
Noel a Paris
by Sofia - in Random
Our Christmas in Paris was short but very sweet. We left there on a morning flight on the 23rd and were already back on the 26th in the afternoon. But we did have 3 amazing days roaming through the streets of this amazing city. My husband and I wanted to do what the girls wanted to do and make it extra memorable for them. So we took time to stop at all the lovely carrousels and to admire the lovely little Christmas displays on the windows of the little boutiques. Cotton Candy was very excited to visit all the shops with little toys or children´s shoes, especially the ones with sparkly little glitter ballerinas in them. So we looked and sighed and ate omelettes in a brasserie for lunch and then we looked some more. Walking around slowly and just taking our time.
The girls stayed at my parents apartment for the duration of the little holiday and we stayed at a hotel 2 minutes walk away. So on the first night my dad cooked for the girls and we went out for dinner with my brother. There is this legendary restaurant in Paris called Relais Entrecôte that takes no reservations and serves only one dish ( but has an extensive dessert menu). The place is known for it´s portion of entrecôte served with a secret green sauce ( we detected parsley and anchovies but could not put our finger on the rest) and the most amazing crispy fries. As a starter everyone gets a green salad with walnuts on it. The experience was very interesting and we had fun although the boys were not really that convinced about the food. By the time we left there was already a very very long line outside the restaurant.
The next morning we headed over to my parents place but did a little stop at a boulangerie to pick up some fresh croissants, almond croissants, pain au chocolate and a baguette first. Pain au chocolat or chocolate filled croissants was one of the things Cotton Candy had talked about to her sister ever since her last trip to Paris. Apparently it tastes more magical there. A little different compared to our regular Christmas eve´s morning as we usually start the day with milk or coffee and some freshly baked saffron buns and continue with rice pudding for lunch. That day we went to see the enchanting Bonpoint store and also spotted my other favourite Paris spot for children ( well babies really) Bonnichon had opened a new shop across the street! How exciting. Now I only need a baby. When I was first pregnant with Cotton Candy I travelled there to choose all cute things for her like crib bumpers and a very classic navy pram and little things like cashmere baby booties, hand embroidered snuggles etc. If you are expecting a little one then I highly recommend a visit here. The collection is just perfect ( but their web site is very out of date as it shows only one shop location, but the owner told us they have opened a few other new shops in Paris too. This one is on rue de Tournon close to the Luxembourg garden). From there we wanted to go to a few other favourite shops and crossed the place Saint-Sulpice. And what did we see? A beautiful old fashioned carrousel and the best thing… it was free of charge but unlike the one we had in Helsinki there were no lines and the girls got to take a few rounds in a row. I would not miss my opportunity to ride on a carrousel either so I hopped on too. Just absolutely perfect!
Dec
29
Välipäiviä
by Sofia - in Random
Pariisin joulu oli juuri niin taianomainen kuin osasimme odottaakin. Matkalaukkumme tosin jäivät takaisin tullessa muutamaksi ylimääräiseksi päiväksi tekemään matkaa kotiin ( huonoa tuuria!) ja matkalaukussa oli myös johto jolla saan siirrettyä kuvia kameralta koneelle, joten Pariisista muutama tunnelmakuva ja vähän mietteitä, kunhan ehdin katsoa ne ajan kanssa läpi.
Kuulisin kuitenkin mielelläni millaista joulua vietitte? Lumi ehti juuri sataa maahan ennen kuin lähdimme reissuun ja oli ihana laskeutua Suomeen kun puut ja maa olivat kauttaaltaan valkoiset. Ilmasta käsin se näyttää niin kauniilta. Muutamana päivänä olemmekin viettäneet aikaa lähinnä pulkkamäessä. Onneksi pukki oli myös unohtanut yhden lahjan tänne Suomeen, koska kaikki lahjatkin olivat tietenkin matkalaukuissa. Se avattiin sitten vielä eilen aamulla ( kun se yllättäen löytyin mamman vaatehuoneesta). Nyt onneksi muutkin lahjat ovat kotona ja matkalaukut odottelevat purkamista. Meillä ei tosin kukaan saa ihan hirmuisen montaa lahjaa mutta muutaman suloisen jutun kuitenkin. Yhden isonkin lahjan tytöt saivat meiltä, mutta se annettiin jo ennen reissuun lähtöä. Ainakin sen kuvaan sopivan hetken tullessa tänne blogiin. Tänään kuitenkin vain kuva joulupipareista joita leivoimme jo ennen matkalle lähtöä ja muutama muu kuva tämän joulun ajalta…
Dec
23
Rauhallista joulua!
by Sofia - in Random
Wishing you a very merry Christmas! We are on the plain headed towards one of my all time favourite cities in the world to join the rest of our family in Paris. I have spent many Christmases there and it´s just such a lovely city at this time of the year. We will enjoy strolling down the streets and the girls are looking forward to a breakfast of pain au chocolat and saying bonjour and merci to anyone who is willing to listen. A fancy dinner in a restaurant for the Christmas eve and a cozy dinner at my parents place for Christmas day. Maybe a carrousel ride for the girls in a beautifully lit park or a turn on the inside ice-skating ring at the gorgeous Grand Palais ( they serve vin chaud for adults too!) We will just take it slow and enjoy this time with the closest people in our lives. I hope you get to do that as well!
Kaunista, rauhallista ja tunnelmallista joulua! Me olemme parhaillaan matkalla Pariisiin viettämään joulua perheen kanssa ja nauttimaan maailman kauneimman kaupungin joulutunnelmasta. Toivottavasti sinunkin joulusi on täynnä valoa ja tunnelmaa ja rakkautta. ♥ ♥ ♥
