Martina et Kate sont ici! - Martina and Kate are here!

Kate, Max and Martina in the Jardin du Luxembourg

We've just enjoyed a brilliant weekend with Martina and Kate!  They arrived on Friday afternoon and it was just great to see them.  Kate is 6 months older than Max and so it was hilarious to watch them together.  Martina and I enjoyed wandering around and having a proper blether, not having had the chance to do so face-to-face for nearly a year and a half!

Max may have out-grown his bath, but he'll still allow his big cousin to join him for some splashing fun!

The lovely weather held out until today so we made the most of it and walked across most of Paris yesterday!  Martina and I walked down to the Jeu de Paume Gallery at Concord yesterday to see an exhibition of photographs by Robert Frank, a documentary photographer famous for his black and white images of Paris.  I know you'll think from the cracking display of photos on this blog that I've spent many years studying the art of photography, but I'm actually completely ignorant so a lot of the photos were probably wasted on us.  We both preferred his images of Americans, many of which made you wonder what the subjects were thinking about.  The exhibition of Parisian photos was far more depressing than romantic.  He had a recurring theme of flowers in his photos of Paris.  Sounds nice, but black and white photos of flowers is strangely unsettling.  Max and Kate agreed and ordered us out to find somewhere nice to eat.

Angelina's a very posh salon de the on the Rue de Rivoli, just beside the Louvre.  It's a majestic big place, founded in 1903 (and I don't think that the decor's been updated since then!) and famous for its selection of cakes and hot chocolate.  I've always been too intimated to go in with Max and it is usually filled with chic old Parisian ladies.  With my big sister with me, I felt a lot more bolshy and we pushed our way in with our two prams, just looking for a coffee and a place to feed the weans!  We were promptly escorted past all of the diners to what was effectively the 'back shop' of the cafe.  It was hilarious!  We were placed in a large, empty room with a few tables which weren't even set.  It meant that it was a lot more relaxing for us, particularly since both babies quite like to try feeding themselves and make a complete mess at meal times.  

Angelina's - the service wasn't tres jolie, but at least the babies are fed!

We then wandered around the left bank down to the Jardin du Luxembourg for the babies to have a play.  It's another of Paris' great big parks and has a sand-pit area designated for small children.  The park was really busy as the weather was terrific for March.  We walked all the way home from the park in the late afternoon and had another wee 'run-around' in the park beside us before tea as the babies had spent a lot of time in the buggies.  Kate loved the wee slide and both babies had a great time.

This morning we went to Mass in the wee chapel serving the hospital close to us.  Hopital St Louis is Paris' oldest hospital and the church is falling apart but still beautiful.  We then wandered up to Montmartre for lunch and to the Sacre-Coeur.  

Kate, Martina and Paul ready to tuck into lunch in Chez Eugene in Montmartre

Say 'fromage'!  Martina, Kate, Max and I beside the Sacre-Coeur

Cream-crackered.  The babies demonstrate the new Parisian slanty-hat style and enjoy their afternoon naps after some sight-seeing.

PEEK-A-BOO!!  I'm thrilled to learn that peek-a-boo is going to remain hilarious for at least another 6 months!!

Kate getting ready to head for her flight home.  

Max definitely enjoyed having his cousin over and it was great for us to see them together.  Thank you so much for visiting!