Paris: Day 2

Andi and I woke up Thursday morning feeling rested and ready to enjoy a full day in Paris. Somehow we both managed to sleep 13 straight hours, waking for the day at 10:00am! I can't remember the last time we slept so long. I'm sure the time change and jet lag had some to do with it. We hadn't slept the night before since we flew in on the red-eye.

Hungry and ready to get a jump-start on the day, we walked down the street in our Marais neighborhood in search of coffee and croissants. A small Parisian cafe on the corner looked perfect, so we found a table inside. 

Our street - Rue de Rosiers  

Andi ordered a cappuccino, I had an americano and we split a flaky croissant. We asked for two, actually, but our order was lost in translation. A guy seated at the table next to ordered cheesecake with (what I assume to be) a delicious strawberry sauce drizzled over top, and I couldn't help but think how much I enjoy being in a place where desserts are such an everyday part of life. Bread, coffee, chocolate, wine - my favorite things!

A friend of Andi's recommended a restaurant called Grand Coeur for lunch, so we decided to start walking toward that direction. After all, we'd started our day so late it was almost lunchtime! Paris is such a walkable city and since we've only been here once before six years ago, there's so much to take in. Last time we were in Paris in December, the weather was cold and rainy but this trip, the weather has been rather pleasant - around 45 degrees with sunshine. Obviously summertime would be ideal, but thankfully we're dressed appropriately so walking outdoors for hours isn't an issue. 

Grand Coeur turned out to be an excellent choice for lunch. The cozy restaurant situated within a courtyard was tucked away from the street-view hustle and bustle. We arrived around Noon and had no issue getting a table. Andi and I enjoyed wine and some of the tastiest food we'd eaten on our trip thus far. He ordered the lamb and I selected a steak with salad. We also shared a plate of scallops and every single bite was amazing.

 
Following lunch, Andi and I rode the Metro to Paris' Montmarte area. This area of Paris is famous for its artists and shops, and was on our list of places to get lost for the afternoon. We spent a few hours happily wandering the streets and stopped for espresso at a cafe in Saint George square. 

Later we met up with Natasha, a Parisian food and wine expert, we'd hired to take us on a secret tour of her favorite spots in neighborhood. Another couple from Venezuela and a woman from China were also part of our tour. Together, the six of us spent the early evening strolling along Rue des Martyrs, one of the best food streets in all of Paris.

Rue des Martyrs is named after Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, who is said to have loved food, wine and women. According to the legend Natasha shared with us at the beginning of the tour, Saint Denis was beheaded in the market square and somehow managed to walk several miles through Paris with blood dripping from his head carried in his hands. The blood trail along the streets sprouted the many great restaurants along the avenue.

Our first stop during the tour was to Chataignier, a dairy shop that's been in business for over 50 years. Natasha spent her childhood in the neighborhood and shared her memories of shopping at this very cheese shop for her family's cheese, eggs and milk. She shared information about the production of cheese this time of year as we sampled cheese with a wine pairing. Andi's favorite was the black truffle brie only produced this time of year.

Next, we walked a few doors down to a local jam shop called La Chambre aux Confitures. Nothing from the outside store front would have caused us to give this store a second look, but the second we stepped inside - oh my goodness! - the comfort and warmth were truly overwhelming. Tiny jars of jam were arranged on floor-to-ceiling shelves in a way that made it feel more like shopping for fancy perfumes than jam. Natasha invited us to take several sampling spoons as she passed around jars of some of her favorite local, fresh-made jams. Each taste was simply amazing! Our favorite was the champagne and strawberries. A traditional Parisian breakfast includes a fresh baguette with butter and jam, and now having sampled its vibrant flavor it's easy to see why.

 
The next shop we visited was that of Sebastien Gaudard, a highly-regarded pastry chef. We sampled chocolate eclairs as we wandered around his beautiful patisserie. It all felt very Parisian!

  
If that wasn't enough, our next stop was to Henri Le Roux, the chocolatier who famously invented the salted caramel. The chic elegance of this shop, with hundreds of perfectly square-sized chocolates displayed underneath a movable glass case, made it feel like we were shopping for diamonds in a jewelry store. We each sampled a few different pieces of chocolates infused with various spices before trying his delicious salted caramel chocolate.

For a more savory sampling, we visited a shop next door (which I sadly forgot the name of) for charcuterie. Natasha passed around samples of various cured meats to try with a pairing of red wine. I don't think we'd have noticed this store in passing, and never would have entered in to purchase anything. That's what made Natasha's food tour so fun - to see and experience things from a local perspective.  

  
Next, more desserts from a newcomer to the Parisian pastry scene, Laurent Favre-Mot. His pastries are viewed more "edgy" and less traditional by French food critics, according to Natasha. We sampled two different items there which were both decadent.

Our last stop was by Popelini, a modern-style bakery serving one of Paris' trendiest desserts - a cream puff filled with different flavored custard. Natasha called macaroons passe in France; the dessert Parisians bring to a dinner party now is choux a la creme. We each ordered one one and split it amongst the group. Oh my goodness, I'm not sure if it was the intense food como we'd reached by this point, but these little desserts were so sweet. Whoo!

Our small group wandered back to the Saint George metro station and said farewell. Andi and I both agreed Natasha's tour of the Rue des Martyrs one of our most enjoyable travel experiences. A definitely must when visiting Paris!

Now stuffed to the brim, Andi and I could've easily called it an early evening ... but we were in Paris! We had to make the most of our last evening there, so we bundled up and decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. Distance-wise, the Eiffel Tower was about 4 miles away from our rented apartment in the Marais neighborhood and our walk would lead us along the scenic Seine River. Our walk may have been one of my favorite memories of Paris this trip. Andi and I walked and talked and took in all the beautiful sights lit up at night.

Hotel de Ville

Seine riverfront

The Eiffel Tower from a distance

After visiting the Eiffel Tower, Andi and I concluded it's much more magnificent to view from afar. There's a secured entry and exit around the Eiffel Tower now which wasn't there when we visited six years ago. (That's a good thing, I suppose, given events in today's world.) But, it was honestly the only time in our two-day visit to Paris when I ever felt unsafe.

As we approached the entrance, a young man bust through the gate with a security guard chasing after him. She was shouting something at him in French, so I have no idea what he did wrong, but it left an uneasy feeling in both Andi and I's stomachs. Then, standing underneath the Eiffel Tower with metal gates closing us in all directions, I felt claustrophobic. As we left, peddlers selling tiny Eiffel Tower statues pestered us to buy their junk. It all felt ... yucky, and I far preferred our peaceful, romantic view along the Seine river.   

Andi and I rode the Metro back to the Marais neighborhood and grabbed a falafel to-go from L'au Du Fallafel outside our apartment building. It's surprising we were even hungry again after our food tour earlier, but we were. Our last night in Paris came to the perfect end over take-out and iTunes episodes of Mom.

Tomorrow - Belgium!

Paris: Day 1

Bonjour from Paris! A few weeks ago, Andi came across some inexpensive airline tickets to Europe and we wondered, "why not take advantage?" Sometimes traveling with a last-minute itinerary is the way to go.

Andi's mom, Janie, agreed to watch Tory and Aden for the first few days of our trip, so we kissed them good-bye Tuesday afternoon and headed to the airport. We flew direct from Minneapolis to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport overnight and arrived in Paris around 7:00am local time on December 7. I slept for a bit on the plane (well, as much as one can rest seated upright in an uncomfortable airline seat) but Andi wasn't able to fall asleep at all. We were both jet-lagged and exhausted by the time we arrived in Paris, but the hustle and bustle around us indicated everyone here was starting their day. It's mind-boggling really, how you can hop on an airplane in one place and wake up a few hours later in a place that's completely new and different.

Shortly after departing the airplane, Andi discovered his iPhone had reset at some point. He tried to reboot it, but it wouldn't register in a new network. So, our first order of business in Paris was to activate an international service plan on my cell phone so we'd have access to GPS maps and communication during our trip.

We quickly learned the city of Paris had issued an extreme smog alert given the current atmospheric conditions (basically, the dense cloud cover during the winter forces the smog to hang close to the ground) so all public transportation was free to use. Paris' mayor had also placed a ban on all automobiles with an odd-numbered license plate to limit the number of vehicle pollutants. I didn't find the air particularly difficult to breathe, but I did notice all the "smoke attacks" (aka: what Tory calls cigarettes) everywhere. Everyone in Paris seems to smoke cigarettes and Andi and I both found it hard to miss when walking around the city streets.

In an unrelated event, one of the main trains traveling to/from Paris to Charles de Gaulle airport had broken down the morning of our arrival, so there were reports of many travel delays. Fortunately, we didn't have any trouble in navigating our way to the city center. We rode the RER B train from the airport to the Saint Paul metro station in the Marais neighborhood of Paris, then walked to a neighboring cafe to refuel with coffee and a croissant. I could tell Andi was exhausted when he politely responded "gracias" to the server as he brought us our order - ha! A shower and a quick nap would've done wonders to pull ourselves together, but we couldn't check into the Airbnb apartment we'd rented until 3:00pm. Instead, we walked a few blocks through the neighborhood to Notre Dame.

One of the things I remember most about our trip to Paris five years ago was being wet and cold: two feelings I hate more than anything. We had a lovely time, of course, but I vividly remember laying my only pair of warm socks on a radiator vent to dry and being chilled to the bone the entire visit.

This trip, I was determined to be prepared. I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb in my warm ski jacket, stocking hat, and waterproof boots but I don't care. I'm warm and ready to explore the city of Paris. 

Our rented apartment was walking distance from Hotel de Ville - such a big and beautiful building!

Andi reached out to our Airbnb host and asked if we'd be able to drop our backpacks at the apartment, and fortunately it was ready for check-in. The apartment we'd rented was conveniently located on Rue des Rosiers, at the center of the Jewish quarter in the Marais district. The neighborhood felt very Parisian as we walked alongside people rushing off to work, or families walking their kids off to school. Our small studio apartment was on the second floor above the street-level restaurants and shops, and offered the perfect amount of space for the two of us. Andi and I collapsed on the bed and were asleep minutes after our heads hit the pillow. Fortunately, Andi set an alarm to wake us because 45 minutes later, we were up and on the move to meet our hired tour guide for the afternoon.

 

Andi arranged for a tour guide named Raphael to give us a "behind the scenes" view of Parisian neighborhoods. We'd toured Notre Dame, the Lourve, Arc de Thiomphe and the Eiffel Tower during our visit to Paris five years ago, so this time we were interested in seeing more local flavor. I know Paris is famous for its many museums, but honestly that's not our thing. We'd much rather wander through shops and markets, eat great food and people-watch from quaint cafes.

Raphael was unable to meet us, so she enlisted her friend and colleague named Michel who met us at our apartment. Michel was a 64-year-old Parisian with much pride for his city. He briskly walked us through neighboring streets as he filled our ears with information about the history and culture of the area. What an awesomely efficient way to get the lay of the land as we weaved through busy city Paris streets! Scheduling a walking tour on our first afternoon in Paris was the perfect timing, as it forced us to push through the jet lag and get out to explore the city.

Michel took us through many "passages" throughout the city - a covered alley connecting two busy streets with shops and restaurants inside. Some were nicer than others - like this one with beautiful wood exteriors and fancy home and clothing boutiques.
  

Four hours later, we said good-bye to Michel near Champs-Elysees, then ventured off on our own. It was truly a "pinch me I'm in Paris!" moment as the sunlight faded to dark and city lights glowed all around us. Andi and I stopped in the center of it all to send the kids a quick video detailing our day.

We walked a bit further to find a Christmas market along the famous Champs-Elysees. Andi and I strolled through the various shops for a while, then decided we wanted a little snack to tide us over dinner. There were so many wonderful sights and smells to choose from - chocolates, cheese, baguettes, meat, and more. Andi decided he wanted a raclette sandwich, and we watched as the lady stuffed ham into a baguette and then poured heaping piles of hot, melted raclette cheese over the bread. Oh my goodness, how in the world would we eat all that? Surprisingly, it was the perfect amount of deliciousness.

 
We walked through the Christmas Market a bit more, then navigated our way back to our rented apartment via the Metro. Andi and I had each walked 30,000 steps by 8 o'clock that evening, and were absolutely exhausted. We grabbed a quick dinner at Camille's, a typical French cafe, on the walk back to our apartment. Andi ordered steak frites and I had beef tartare with salad. My dinner looked (and tasted) like raw ground beef on a plate which was most definitely not what I'd envisioned when I selected it. No matter, all I really wanted was a glass of red wine and to go to bed.

 

I think Andi and I were asleep seconds after we arrived to our apartment, and slept like rocks that night. We didn't wake up again until 10:00am the next morning - 13 hours later! We both needed the sleep, and were rested and ready to tackle Day 2 in Paris.    

Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites

Enjoy the taste of pumpkin pie without the guilt! These pumpkin pie energy bites are sinfully good and a healthy alternative to the real stuff. I keep them in the freezer and pull one out whenever I need a sweet treat. 

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites

Ingredients: 

1 cup pitted dates

warm water

1/2 cup raw pecan halves (or pecan pieces)

1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, reserve small amount for garnish

2 tsp. pure maple syrup

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 pinch sea salt

Directions:

1. Place dates in a medium bowl; cover with water. Let soak for 10 minutes. Drain. Set aside. 

2. Place pecans in food processor; pulse until finely ground.

3. Add dates, pumpkin, coconut, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and salt; pulse until well mixed. Place in a medium bowl. 

Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes. 

4. Using clean hands, roll into Tbsp. size balls; roll in reserved coconut, if desired. 

5. Store, refrigerated, in an airtight container.

1 serving = 2 energy bites

21 Day Fix containers = 1 yellow container treat “swap”

Recipe source: FIXATE Cookbook

Teaching Kids About Election Day

Yesterday was Election Day 2016 in our town and across the United States. Campaign signs lined the streets, people wore "I Voted" stickers proudly, and news outlets swirled with election coverage.

Tory (at age 5) noted the significance of the day and began to ask questions about it. It seemed like a great opportunity to teach her the basic principles of democracy, so yesterday we spent the afternoon learning about the presidential election.

After a quick Google search, I found some great information on the PBS website with tips for helping kids understand the election. I decided Tory and I would make a ballot box and while we worked side-by-side, we'd talk about it.

"What does it mean to vote?" I asked her. Surprisingly, she knew the answer. "It's when everyone votes for who they want to be something. Whoever has the most votes, wins," she said simply. I suppose in her five-year-old mind an election is comparable to playing a game; the person with the most votes, wins.

"Who gets to vote? Can you become President one day? And, what does the President do anyway?" These questions brought up some great conversation between the two of us as we worked away on our craft project. I admit to not knowing all the answers (thanks, PBS, for the talking points!) so it was a nice way to refresh my own grown-up memory on the rules of the land.

After our ballot box was finished, Tory and I made campaign signs for each candidate and printed election ballots on pieces of paper. We talked about the 2016 candidates for President of the United States and I showed her pictures of each person. We also talked about the historic significance of this particular election -- the first woman was running for President of the United States!

Tory gathered up two Barbie dolls to represent each presidential candidate, and a few more to be "voters" in our pretend election. We each took turns filling out our paper ballots and placed them in the ballot box to be counted. Then, Tory read the results and I tallied them on a piece of paper. We counted the votes and in our living room election, Hillary Clinton was the winner.

Tory and I made our own homemade versions of "I Voted" stickers for she and Aden to wear proudly the rest of the evening. What a fun and educational afternoon learning about the election with my little preschooler.

This morning at breakfast, Tory asked me who won the election. "Donald Trump," I told her. She asked with a somber face, "Why didn't anyone vote for the girl?" (See, at age five, it's all about boys vs. girls...) Then, we had a nice discussion over breakfast about how people voted for both candidates but in the end, the person with the most votes wins. We're fortunate enough to live in a place where we're free to express our opinion through voting and more than anything that's the message I hoped Tory gained from our conversation. It's hard to believe Tory will be NINE the next time a presidential election rolls around; it seems so far away. 

21 Day Fix Meal Plan: Week of November 7-13

It's been a while since I shared one of my 21 Day Fix clean eating meal plans. Click HERE to download a copy of my meal plan for next week (November 7-13).

Note: I'm following the 21 Day Fix Eating Plan and fall into the 1,200-1,499 calorie bracket. Each person should individually determine their own calorie level when following this plan. The colors on my meal plan represents a different color-coded portion control container. If you'd like more information about this Eating Plan, or are interested in joining my free accountability group, email me directly at hcdickson@yahoo.com

Last week, my mother-in-law and I were talking about meal planning ruts. She feels like she's always making the same recipes, and I'm the opposite! I rarely make the same meal twice. I do go back to a few favorites (like the apple cinnamon overnight oats I ate for breakfast the entire month of October), but for me, half the fun of cooking is trying new foods and flavors. It's also one of my favorite parts of being a Beachbody Coach; I love sharing the healthy and delicious recipes I find with others.

On Tuesday, it's my turn to bring snack to the parent's room of Aden's ECFE class and it also happens to be Election Day. I thought create-your-own yogurt parfaits would be a fun, festive treat to take for everyone. Here's the simple recipe:

Healthy Red, White and Blue Yogurt Parfait
Serves: 1

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup mixed strawberries and blueberries, washed and trimmed
1 Tbsp. granola (I like Purely Elizabeth Original Ancient Grains, or make your own)
drizzle of raw honey

Directions:
1. Add half of the yogurt to the bottom of a cup, glass or mason jar.
2. Top with half of the strawberries and blueberries mixture.
3. Repeat with a second layer of yogurt and berries.
4. Sprinkle granola on top and drizzle with honey.

Yields: 1 serving
21 Day Fix: 1 serving = 1 red, 1 purple, 1/2 yellow and 1 tsp.

I made myself the same sweet treat poolside in Palm Springs last week, so I guess I do repeat recipes sometimes!

 

Halloween 2016

Halloween, and the days leading up to it, were pretty fun this year. When the calendar flipped to October, I started playing Curious George: A Halloween Boo-Fest for the kids on Netflx because it's one of my favorite holiday movies. Seriously, it's so cute! I just love Curious George and all the mischief he gets himself into because he reminds a lot of Aden. Ha!

This probably isn't parenting PC to admit, but the kids and I watched Halloween Boo-Fest a few dozen times over the month. Eh- don't worry, kids! TV won't rot your brains! Eventually, Aden started to act out a few scenes in the movie like the "Halloween Boo" song at the beginning of the show. He'd hide behind the sofa, then jumping out and shout "boo!" in an effort to scare us all. It was seriously so adorable.

Over the course of the month, Tory and Aden also changed their minds about Halloween costumes about a dozen times. Tory has a Halloween-themed Disney princess book we'd read together most nights, and the last line says something like "What will you dress up as for Halloween this year? A princess?" to which Tory would flatly respond, "Oh, definitely. I'm just not sure which one!"

Her top choices were Elsa from Frozen, Jasmine from Aladdan or Cinderella ... then one day, out of the blue, she came to me and said she wanted to be a witch for Halloween. I found a pointy witch hat in the Dollar Spot section at Target and some orange and black-striped socks. I wasn't about to invest more money on an outfit given the rate she changed her mind, so I paired the hat and socks with a Trick or Treat t-shirt and skirt she already had in her closet. It came together perfectly in the end.

I thought Aden might like to be a fisherman since he loved fishing at the lake this past summer, so I bought him a toy tackle box and fishing vest to use. I planned to make fishing lures to attach to his vest and find him a fishing hat and boots, but lost steam when we booked tickets to Palm Springs over Halloween. I knew the weather would be warm and I didn't want to travel with a bunch of props in my suitcase, so the few he did have had to be good enough.

Andi had a work event in Glamis, California the week before Halloween, so I decided to take the kids to Palm Springs about 1 1/2 hours away while he worked, and then Andi joined us in Palm Springs when his event wrapped up on October 30.  

On Halloween Day (our only day in Palm Springs with Andi), we decided to take the kids into Palm Springs proper for the day. (The house we stayed in that week was in Indio, CA, about 20 minutes outside of Palm Springs.)

Andi, our expert travel guide, was obviously back in the mix as our day quickly filled with plans. Andi selected a restaurant for brunch in downtown Palm Springs called FARM - an adorable French bistro tucked in an alleyway with lush greenery and climbing vines. Janie and I cooked our own healthy, homemade meals all week so this was the first time we'd ventured onto the Palm Springs restaurant scene. We splurged and ordered several plates to share - a goat cheese and pear salad, strawberry and Nutella crepe, croque madame, a mushroom and goat cheese omelet and a plate of bacon (which was mostly for Aden). The food was indulgently delicious!

Next, we made our way to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The tram begins in the Coachella Valley and glides along Chino Canyon to Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Tory was nervous about the tram ride initially, but then literally jumped with glee when we departed the tram on the top of the mountain. She thought it was the neatest experience EVER!

There are two restaurants, observation decks, a natural history museum, documentary theaters, a gift shop and miles of hiking trails at the top of the mountain. It was as if we'd been transported to a different zip code within our 10 minute tram ride -- the air temperature dropped to 60 degrees and we were surrounded by pine, fir and oak trees (no palm trees in sight)! I immediately regretted not researching the state park before we'd left our rented house in Indio as I was wearing a dress and the kids were dressed in shorts. Andi had warned me the temperature might be cooler at the top of the mountain, but it was hard to believe him when the temperature was in the high 80's on the desert floor. I would've love to hike around all day in the state park, but unfortunately I was cold and wearing flip-flops; not ideal. We did a short loop through the woods and then headed back to tram when the kids said they were tired.

 
After riding the tram back down the mountain, we stopped for frozen yogurt at a place in downtown Palm Springs. It was close to 5:00pm by this point -- time for trick-or-treating!

We stayed at a house within a gated community in Palm Springs, and were fairly certain there wouldn't be many trick-or-treaters around that evening (the area was largely comprised of retirees and few children). To ensure Tory and Aden had a Happy Halloween, Janie purchased some candy earlier in the day and arranged to have a few of the neighbors hand it out to our kids. While I dressed Tory and Aden in their costumes, Janie buzzed around the neighborhood and "planted" the candy. Our plan worked perfectly, and Tory and Aden were SO EXCITED to trick-or-treat at a few houses on the block.

Minutes before we left to go trick-or-treating, Tory asked Andi and I what we planned to dress up as for Halloween. I didn't have a costume planned, so I told her I was going to be a mom. "You're a mom everyday," she responded in a disappointed voice. So, to be a good sport, I found a bathrobe in the closet and used Janie's hair curlers to throw together a last-minute costume. Janie got in the spirit, too, and threw on a sun hat to go as a "vacationer." Tory was quite pleased.

Aden said his favorite part of Halloween was the candy. He ripped into every single piece given to him before it made it into his bucket. To say he was hyped up that evening would be an understatement! One of my favorites memories of Aden and Halloween this year was how he'd walk around yelling, "Oooh!" as he pretended to be a spooky ghost. Too cute!  

It was so different celebrating Halloween in a warm, sunny climate. The evening temperature was a perfect 75 degrees during trick-or-treating -- far different than Minnesota!

Our Palm Springs vacation concluded the following morning, November 1. We had an amazing time during our stay there, and can't wait to go back again one day.