American Mom in London: March 2013

Two posts in one week! A new record!

After returning from the US on the morning of March 8th, we were up at 5:00am to head to London St. Pancras Station to catch the Eurostar to Paris the morning of March 9th. My birthday is March 10th, and I wanted to spend it somewhere fun so planned a quick weekend trip to Paris. I wasn't thinking about the potential jet lag when I booked the trip. Colin and I were both up until about 2:30am which meant we had less than three hours of sleep when we headed to the train station. This trip was probably not my greatest idea, but you only turn 33 once :) I actually think being outside and busy helped with our jet lag. We have been back on our normal schedule since early this week while it took much longer to get over the jet lag when we returned from Christmas in the US.

This was my third trip to Paris, and we did a lot of the same things I have done on previous trips, but the city never gets old. There is something magical about it. Although, traveling to Paris with a child is definitely a different experience. Rather than dining at fancy French cafes and bistros, we ate at such places as the Hippopotamus Grill. Good thing they still serve wonderful French wines there! Colin's highlights were a boat cruise on the Seine and a ride on the carousel under the Eiffel Tower. We returned to London the next evening. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun. Here are some pictures.

Can't complain about a birthday spent in Paris.

Colin and David outside the Louvre. I have been in before and was overwhelmed. We decided it best to skip it on this trip with a toddler although we did go to the Musee D'Orsay while Colin was napping.

Colin would not leave this statue in the Tuileries Garden alone.

This view never gets old. That being said, I am glad we live in London rather than Paris. London isn't as beautiful as Paris but is a much more livable city.

Riding the Paris metro made me appreciate London's tube. The tube is by no means handicap accessible making it a huge hassle with a stroller, but it was nothing in comparison to the metro which was next to impossible to navigate with a stroller and extremely crowded.

Arc d' Triomphe. After we took this picture, we commented on how any other kids we have will find these pictures of Colin some day in front of all these monuments in European cities and feel really shafted that the most exciting pictures of them are in front of places like the Lambeau Field and at the Wisconsin Dells!

I don't know why we bother trying to take family pictures. Colin aways refuses to cooperate.

Colin loved the boat cruise down the Seine. He is obsessed with boats these days.

I love the Eiffel Tower at night.

We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower on a cold and cloudy morning. It was still worth it though.

Colin faking a smile and hoping we could leave the cold Eiffel Tower soon.

Carousel below the Eiffel Tower. No surprise that Colin choose the "choo choo" to ride on.

Nutella crepes. These really should be a staple of any diet.

Notre Dame. Colin spent a lot of time catching up on sleep as we checked out the Paris sights.

This blog has been silent for a few months now. There really hasn't been much to write. After the fun of traveling back to the US to see both of our families for Christmas, we came back to gloomy and rainy London. January and February were both long and boring months. I can see how it would be easy to get depressed in London in the winter. It rained practically every day and the sun didn't shine for months. On the few occasions when it wasn't rainy, it was too muddy to do anything outside. A couple of times, I decided we just needed to get out of the house so put on our rain boots and headed to the park. Colin always managed to take a spill and get covered in mud from head to toe making going on these outings more of a hassle than what they were worth. My other plan was to use these boring months to get into shape. However, by the time I got myself and Colin dressed, walked the half mile to the bus stop, got on a bus (which likely meant waiting as a few passed us by that were either too crowded or already had the maximum of two strollers on board), got off the bus and walked to the gym, dropped Colin off at the gym daycare (which usually resulted in a meltdown and him grabbing onto my leg and begging me not to leave), working out for an hour, and then doing the reverse journey home, it was just too much work to do more than a few times a week. Oh how I miss just hopping in a car and driving to your destination. Colin also seemed to be sick every other week making the winter longer. So much for my theory that he would get sick less this year since he was no longer in regular daycare. I think I could make the walk to his doctor's office in my sleep. Colin's favorite words this winter became "Show" and "George" (after Curious George) which just illustrates how often I had to revert to TV to keep my sanity.

This is also the time of the year that David works crazy hours at work. In order to escape the endless days as a temporary single mom, I booked plane tickets for Colin and I to travel to Wisconsin to visit my family at the end of February. I would also get to meet my new nephew Griffin Thomas Hartel who was born on February 23rd. When I booked these tickets back in August, I imagined a two year old Colin to be a calm, well-behaved traveler. Apparently, I hadn't been around very many two year old boys in the past. The days leading up to this flight were filled with increased anticipation. How was I going to survive a nine hour flight with a little boy who can't sit still for more than two minutes? Not to mention that the logistics of getting two large suitcases, two carry-ons, a car seat, and a toddler through the airport seemed impossible. We survived (not without a few glares from fellow passengers) and made it back to Wisconsin. I truly believe this would not be possible without the creation of the iPad. I really should send Apple a thank-you letter.

We had a great time in Wisconsin. Two weeks is the longest I have been back since college. It was great to have time to just relax and spend time with my family without having to rush places like at Christmas. My nephew Griffin was born the morning after our flight landed. Perfect timing! Colin and I got to go see him at the hospital later that day and got to spend lots of time with him during our time in Wisconsin. Colin turned two right before we left so we celebrated his birthday again with my family. We were sad to head back to London but very happy to see David. We missed him!! David's busy season is pretty much over now (the perk of him being in an audit group here rather than tax with an April 15th deadline) and spring has almost arrived so the end is in sight. We even got to take a trip to Paris over my birthday weekend. More on that to come. Here are a few pictures from our winter and trip to Wisconsin.