Month: March 2022

Mommy’s Birthday Weekend in Paris

Dalia had several travel targets as her birthday approached this Spring but between family considerations and the ongoing (but improving) pandemic, we decided on a few nights in Paris, a destination that never seems to disappoint.

Aleksander was coming out of another one of the seemingly continuous colds that he was picking up at daycare so our nerves were a bit on high as we took off. Landing in Paris though, even from another grand city like Rome, is something special every time and we quickly remembered how wondrous and vibrant the city is.

For the first time in our several visits to Paris, we decided to stay near the Eiffel Tower to give us somewhere amazing to walk by in the evenings if Aleksander fell asleep. Our hotel was right near the Cambronne metro and even though neither of us ever remember venturing in this direction, we were not disappointed by the restaurants, cafes, baguettes and croissants in our adopted quartier.

As always, we walked and walked, staying busy, keeping Aleksander entertained and taking in all the city has to offer. The Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysses, Sacre Coeur, Montmartre and even a first time visit to the Opera.

For Dalia’s birthday lunch proper, we reserved a table at Le Hibou, one of our favourite left bank restos and close to my favourite Parisian landmark, the Jardin Luxembourg. We reminisced as Aleksander napped, clinked our glasses to another year around the sun for Dalia, and of course reflected on our accumulated good fortune to be in such a beautiful place on a wonderful bright and warm Spring day.

We continued to meander through the city’s streets and alleyways, passing by the Louvre, Shakespeare and Company, and the Pantheon. Aleksander took his first ever carousel ride in the Jardin des Tuileries and we started to consider whether Paris is a place we could eventually target to live.

Our quick weekend visit started to wind down and we learned an absolutely invaluable piece of travel advice: do not buy bottles of water from hawkers, EVEN IN PARIS! We lost a good chunk of the quality of our last day to a terrible bug but remained grateful for this opportunity to visit the city and start the Springtime season off memorably.

Paris is always a good idea. And it was nice to be reminded of that fact, coming out of covid, living in our own fabulous European city, and being able to create another set of wonderful family memories. A la prochaine Paris!

Sunday in Rome’s Jewish Quarter

After a year living in a place, even a place as historic, busy and action-packed as Rome, it’s easy to sometimes feel like you’ve done and see it all. Of course, that’s not true and especially not true for us since most of our activities are during toddler friendly daytime hours. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful surprise to finally make it to the city’s Jewish quarter on an otherwise non-descript Sunday.

We had walked by the area countless times and, of course, heard about it ever since arriving, but we couldn’t ever manage to pinpoint the alleys leading to it from Piazza Venezia. We finally managed to follow the map directions and were not disappointed with this historic, vibrant and important part of the city.

The hi-light was the smashingly good meal in a city full of them. We started with Rome’s famous Carciofo alla Giudia, a deep fried and salted artichoke, washed it down with some wine and bookended that with the standard Roman pastas of carbonara and amatriciana. Aleksander snoozed while the restaurant filled up and we celebrated our new discovery and asked ourselves how we could have overlooked it for so long.

And, for once, we were too busy eating to take any pictures. So you’ll have to believe me and come taste the goodness yourself!