The Payoff

Paris has made us very clumsy.  In five weeks, we have broken one wine glass, one drinking glass, and one bowl - and the apartment only came with four bowls.  I blame August for the bowl.  A few weeks ago, we had a hot day.  Really hot. Makes-you-understand-why-Parisians-don't-stay-here-in-August hot.  Makes-you-wish-your-neighbors-couldn't-see-through-your-windows-so-you-could-walk-around-in-your-underwear hot. It is also possible that our short time here has turned us into hot weather wimps, as it was regularly 90+ degrees (yes, that's Fahrenheit) in DC.  But Paris heat is exacerbated by the total lack of air conditioning.

We live on the fifth floor.  And we love that we are on the top floor, we can see the sky, etc.  But on this day, we remembered that heat rises.  Baby Oil had to be put to sleep in our bed, because our room was a few degrees cooler than his room, and the poor tyke was soaking wet with sweat after just a few minutes of sleeping crying in his crib.  Anyway, so I was doing dishes, and I was cranky and sweaty and hot, and I dropped a bowl.  Definitely August's fault.

However, the heat did not stop us from having a pretty great weekend. The highlight of our adventures in the 18th and the 9th was the discovery of Flunch.  Yes.  Flunch.  Flunch is a cafeteria-style lunch place.  But French cafeteria-style, which makes all the difference. There's a cheese tray.  And wine is encouraged:

Don't want salad bar? Try the seafood stew with fresh mussels.

An exciting discovery, courtesy of our new friends Noah & Elizabeth, is that if you have a baby in a stroller, you get into the garden of the Rodin Museum for free.  And your husband only pays 1 euro.  This is the cheapest deal in Paris!  The garden of the Rodin Museum holds a number of his works, including the Gates of Hell and the Thinker.   Also, its pretty.  And shady.

There better be a big lock to go with that big key.

In real life, not through my iPhone, the flowers are colorful, and that's the Eiffel Tower in the back.

Great parenting moment - Baby Oil with bottle in front of The Thinker

The day got even better with our sighting of an unending stream of roller bladers by the Pont Alexandre III.

And people silly enough to wait in a line, in the heat, simply to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch on the Champs-Elysees.

We also saw pretty things, like these statues on Pont Alexandre III.

And then we came home, to break dishes. And sweat. Eventually, finally, blissfully, the sun went down and we realized the payoff to getting through a hot Paris day in August.  Sitting on our balcony, in the cool air of dusk, with Mr. Oil eating leftover nectarine pie out of the pan and me eating ice cream out of the container, gazing over the rooftops of the 8th arrondissement and noticing for the first time the beautifully intricate sculptures on the building across the street, we looked at each other and said, "We live in Paris!"  And in that moment, I did understand why Paris is so romanticized, and so romantic.  So I probably shouldn't complain about the heat because after all, I live in Paris.