August 22, 2018: Paris in a Day
Six years ago my family and I spent some time in France, passing through Lyon and Paris on the way back to Colorado. While Ruth stayed behind at a conference in Montpellier, Arabelle, Bea, and I did Paris in a day. We saw many bones, ate much gelato, hiked many stairs, rode many trains and buses, and enjoyed being together, seeing new places, and using our second language in one of the world's capitals. I cherish my memories of this day. I felt like I was killing the fun Francophile dad role and thoroughly enjoyed the company of my kids. I had a memorable time. We confirmed in June that Arabelle and Bea have strong, positive memories, as well.
I went to Instagram for the first time in years to dig up a photo taken on that day that I haven't published on my blog before.
A child in a blue top making a peace sign in front of the Eiffel Tower and waxing moon.
We didn't go back to the Trocadero in June, assuming that it was closed for Olympics construction, but we did go back to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. Both Arabelle and Bea have been cultivating Spanish as a third language since 2018 and had a chance to use it on our recent visit. We encountered a Spanish kid of Bea's age who had been separated from her parents and kept her company until we could reach her mom on the phone. She had no phone of her own, but had memorized key numbers.