Les vacances avec la mamie B! Holidays with Granny B!

We were feeling a little homesick on Easter Sunday so it was great when mum called in the evening to say she'd booked flights to come over for a few days!  Her timing couldn't have been better as Paul had a conference and so I was really grateful for the company.  We've had a magic few days, despite the weather not being as warm as it's been lately (although mum kept reminding us that Greenock's far colder).  Max loved getting lots of cuddles from his grand-mere ('grandmother', but let's just stick to 'mamie' = 'granny'), so much so that he didn't want to go to bed at all!

Max showing off his latest tricks in the park

Brigid gets ready to storm the Bastille!

We went for a long walk down the canal on Thursday morning where they have morning markets close to Bastille.  We enjoyed a nosy around French boutiques in the Marais and had lunch beside a park.  Max then burned up some of his energy in the park before we ventured over to Victor Hugo's house in the beautiful Place des Vosges - Paris' oldest square.

Lunch in the Marais - Max just wants to get in to the park

Cheers!  Proper French espresso is required to keep up with Max!

And he's off!  Max has a go on the slide

On Friday mum treated us to a trip out to Fountainebleau, a beautiful town about one hour south of Paris.  It's renowned for its Renaissance chateau - one of France's largest royal residences set in beautiful grounds.  Teddy and Betty Hunter lived in Fountainebleau for a few years and Teddy had told us that it was worth a visit.  It was great to get out of Paris for the day and to see a bit more of France.  The train journey itself was good fun - we had our own wee cozy compartment so Max was able to jump around without annoying other passengers!

Mum on the big, comfy train from Gare de Lyon to Fountainebleau

Mum at the Chateau de Fontainebleau

We enjoyed a good walk around the grounds of the Chateau

Fontainebleau is surrounded by a 20,000 hectare forest - apparently one of the prettiest woods in the Ile de France.  This is the view in to the forest from the Chateau.

We had a leisurely morning today as Paul and I managed to sneak out for a drink last night once Max (finally!) settled down.  Mum and I strolled around the canal but the weather was Greenock-like and drizzly so of course we had to go into a cafe "for a wee cup of coffee".  In the afternoon we headed up to Montmartre and visited the Dali exhibition at the Espace Montmartre Salvador Dali.  This was really interesting - even although this exhibition doesn't have his most famous works (like Dali's Jesus or the clocks one), it does contain many of his preparatory sketches for these and other works as well as a good amount of explanatory text IN ENGLISH which I've found to be surprisingly rare in French museums - even the Louvre has very limited information in English.

Paul then met us at the Sacre-Coeur and mum took us for dinner to what has become our Montmartre restaurant of choice - Chez Eugene!  They're always willing to accommodate le poussette and they serve meals throughout the day so it's more convenient for eating the evening meal with Max.

Check out those gnashers!  Max welcomes another scoff at Chez Eugene!

Mum knocks back red wine and rum baba to steady her nerves before her Ryanair flight.  

Thanks for visiting, mum!