Nous faisons avec Papa John - Shopping with Papa John!

We were very pleased to see Papa John who arrived on Friday evening for a flying visit.  He brought with him a humidifier that we've been needing desperately as the air upstairs in the mezzanine is extremely dry and we've all been wakening with sore throats and stuffy noses.  Max got pretty poorly last week and came out in a rash all over his wee body.  I tried not to get too stressed, but 15 minutes on the internet looking at pictures of rashes and potential ailments had me promptly panicking.  I took him to a doctor, but her English was almost as bad as my French and I didn't feel much better when she dismissed l' eruption de boutons as being perfectly normal.  I managed to speak to Dr Macfarlane on the 'phone though, who quickly reassured me that rashes can be a normal consequence of a cold virus in babies.  Thanks, Martina!  I felt so lucky to have a doctor in the family.  His rash cleared up in a couple of days and we're all benefitting from a bit more moisture in the air at night.

Last week we headed to the Grand Palais in the Tulleries with John Mumma to see an art exhibition by Emil Nolde.  He was a German Expressionist and although Paul and I had never heard of him, we all really enjoyed the exhibition.  Paul wore Max in the baby carrier and he was quite happy just looking at all of the paintings and people wandering around.  Max enjoyed it too!

There was a party here at the Recollets to celebrate Obama's inauguration on Tuesday and the staff opened one of the large studio flats to show the inauguration.  There were also quite a few 'Obama parties' organised in clubs all over the city.  The French seem to suddenly be supportive of all things American - no pressure, Barak!

Pro-Obama posters along the canal - Obamamania hits France

Max can still 'work' the camera - even with a fever and a rash!

Max was on the mend by the weekend and we headed out with dad to the Marche aux Puces de St-Ouen.  It's the largest antique market in the world and an absolutely fascinating place.  It's just beyond the peripherique to the north of the city, so it's only half a dozen stops on the metro, but it's a completely different world.  It's made up of a load of different markets, each specialising in either furniture, jewellery, vintage clothing or paintings.  There's a whole load of rubbish there as you'd imagine, but still extremely interesting to look at.  We were there for a few hours and barely saw a fraction of the place - I'll definitely look forward to another trip there when the weather's a bit warmer.

After much deliberation, we decided against the headboard as a housewarming gift for Maryann and Brian ... Ryanair's baggage allowance is just too restrictive - unlucky, Marydoll!

Dad in his element searching for a bargain in the Puces Market.  Paul searches in vain for a pub.

Now these would look GREAT in the flat!  We can be just like the Beckhams!

Dad took us out for a lovely meal on Saturday night and we then settled Max down before Paul and I nipped out for a quick drink in a pub on the canal.  It was our first time getting out for a breather together in Paris without Max and it felt very strange.  We struggled to think of anything to talk about other than his Lordship!  On Sunday morning we took a trip out to the Eiffel Tower and then walked up to Porte Maillot to see dad off.  Thanks very much for coming over, Papa John!  

Out for dinner with dad on Saturday

La philosophie et les gateaux - Philosophy and cakes!

Paul considers whether Max could pass as another philosopher at the Sorbonne...

Paul gave a presentation on Monday at the Sorbonne to around 20 philosophers and was then taken out for dinner afterwards.  I'd wanted to try and sneak in at the back with Max to cheer him on, but Paul didn't think that'd be very professional!  It seemed to go down quite well though without us.  Meanwhile, Max was getting another set of jags at the doctor's and hardly even flinched, big brave soldier!  He's settled well back into his routine and has taken another growth spurt, outgrowing clothes that I just got for him at Christmas time!

Maryann's pal, Marianne Caldwell (now Fisher) was in Paris for work for a few days (she works at the IBM) and I met her for a few drinks on Wednesday at the Louvre.  She then treated me to a great Chinese meal which was very kind of her.  It was so nice to go out sans bebe!  On Thursday we all went for lunch to my friend Rachel's house.  Her husband, Fabien, is a musician and part-time teacher, so Paul enjoyed the company of non-philosophers for a change.  Max is now beginning to play with his wee pal Oscar (or at least grabbing any toy that Oscar is playing with).  It was a lovely afternoon - it's nice to be able to socialise over here with Max in a relaxed environment.

Saturday was Queenie's special birthday - happy birthday granny!  We celebrated it over here with a few vins!  On Saturday night I cooked a big curry and we had Paul's pal John and Paul's cousin, Neil, over for dinner.  Robbie Edmonstone was also in town again for work so he came too along with his pal Doug.  It wasn't long before the guitar and mandolin were out for a sing-song.  Unbelievably, Max slept through the racket that ensued.  They all went out at midnight to some pubs and clubs.  They were slightly delayed as (somehow) Neil's specs ended up on the metro line at Chatelet!  Fortunately, they didn't smash and a station assistant climbed down onto the line to retrieve them.  

Paul on the mandolin, John clapping, Robbie on guitar and Neil improvises with the coffee for percussion.  I wish I'd made a sound recording for the blog!

Doug adds some 'brush' sounds to Neil's percussion.

The feast of the Epiphany is celebrated here with a big cake!  The cake's called the galette des Rois (cake of the Kings).  It's a pastry cake with almonds and you have to be careful when you bite into your slice as there's a figurine of a king hidden within the cake.  If you find the king in your piece, you get to wear a paper crown and you're 'king' for the day.  We went to a Galette des Rois party here at the Recollets where I met a few other mums who've recently moved here with babies.  We also went to another Galette party at Rachel's which was slightly anglicised with some tasty mulled wine and mince pies.

Rachel (centre) and Fabien (cutting the Galette)

The galette des Rois - Paul worries that he might choke on a king

Again, it's another tradition that I think I'll adopt - January needs a few wee parties!  The health drive can commence this week!

Bienvenue, Martina, Alan, Ben, Eve & Kate!

There was a whole load of excitement in the run up to the return of the Macfarlanes from their year in Canada.  Where better to experience true hyper-excitement than at the Smithies' house!  An old bedsheet, some markers and a couple of garden canes and hey presto, you have yourselves a great 'Welcome Home' banner (along with an ink-stained table)!

Lucy, Austin and Anna put finishing touches to the banner the night before the return of their cousins.

Keep it straight - they'll be here any minute!  The minutes felt like hours at Glasgow airport!

Woo-hoo!  They're here!  You go grab your cases and we'll grab your kids.  Poor Kate didn't know what had happened; Irene had to risk being arrested as she headed back to Martina and Alan to calm her down!

No need for cheesy hugs - Ben and Austin just give each other the thumbs up!

Ladies together - Eve was delighted to see Lucy and Anna

Eve gives great hugs.  Not that she had much option here as I just grabbed her for a cuddle before heading back to France!

It was just fantastic to see the Macfarlanes all looking so well and well worth staying home for, although it was bittersweet for Paul and I to be seeing them for quick cuddles before heading back to Paris.  We'll hopefully get to see them again before too long.

Une Fete de Noel - A Christmas Party

On 28th December we went to Uncle Hugh's Christmas Party, which has become an annual day of food and fun at Uncle Hugh's place.  The delicious 3-course meal doesn't stop anyone from having a good old jump on the bouncy castle!

Who needs a bouncy castle?  Max demonstrates his jumping technique to papa John.

Chocolate cake?  What chocolate cake?  No, sorry, I haven't seen it anywhere!

Ronnie introduces Ross to the fold ... poor man.  Dad immediately loves him as he has less hair than him.

Veronica and Maryann discussing how to get the kids off the bouncy castle so that we can enjoy some freestyle jumping.

Brian tries in vain to remove some little people from the castle.  Notice Lucy's red face!

Thanks for a great day, Uncle Hugh!

Joyeux Noel - Merry Christmas!

So I'm finally updating the blog!  I made it back to Scotland with Max, despite the dodgy back, and was promptly sorted out by 'miracle man' John Cleat who clicked all the joints in my back and neck into their correct position.  Apparently I've one leg longer than the other which can cause back problems and also explains a lot of my pregnancy pains.  I'm feeling fine now, thanks, (if a little freakish) but Max had better start learning to crawl or walk soon as he's getting heavier by the minute.  

My dodgy back and mismatched legs didn't stop us from having a lovely Christmas!  It was good to be home early to catch up with people and enjoy all of the festivities in the run up to Christmas.  Max was a bit strange at first with all of the new faces and places and it meant that there was often a crying match every time I left the room.  It was exhausting!  By the time Paul arrived, he had settled in to his holiday residence at granny B's but then the boiler blew on Christmas day and we moved digs to the Smithies.  Poor granny B, papa John, Veronica & Jeep were frozen for nearly a week before it was fixed.  We then moved again to spend a few nights in Gourock with granny and granda, Ilona, Maura and Noah before going back to Greenock for the New Year.  Max will definitely have itchy feet!

Referee!  Christmas night at the Campbells' house - the boys battle it out on the wii.

Maura, Ilona, Max, Paul and Neil on Christmas night.  Max has had enough of the dressing as Santa carry-on.  This is shortly before the 'charades' game where Neil and his team impressed us all when they correctly guessed 'Nessun Dorma' in less than 5 seconds.  Great performances, if a little marred by the host's 'Giant Structures' entry as a 'famous' TV programme!

Mag, Max and Noah posing as Queenie gets to grips with her new digital camera!

Thank you so much to mum and dad, Clare & Chris, Queenie & John for putting up with us over the holiday season.  It was really lovely to be able to see everyone and for Max to get to know his cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents!

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