Dolcetti Scherzetti...

Trick or Treat! Today was a holiday at Sophia's school (3 day wknd for All Saints...which works out for us, because it falls on Halloween). We had a little party to celebrate my favorite holiday. But since yesterday Sophia was home due to a strike and i had to prepare and keep my eye on Pia, we kept the invitees to a minimum, but the activities to a maximum: there was pumpkin cutting,

Paolo prepares the patient.

Fra commences the operation.

Boo!
There was food.
(on the menu: pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, and focaccia fingers)
Vampire Wilhelm.
We made masks.
Muhahahah! (The Sophia Streghe)
and we made frames.
(this picture keeps coming out the wrong direction sorry)

we had storytime.
and practiced the art of Black Magic.
(in case you are wondering...
crayon the heck outta paper then paint it with guache and let the kids scratch)

We Limbo'd.

And there was dancin' and singin and movin to the groove...

(We didnt even get thru all the activities...I had lots planned cuz I know in our small house if I just let the kids play, they fight. I mean they fought anyways but it was kept to a minimum).

I think all in all, the kid's had a great time. And now I'm POOPED!

Just Monkeying Around

It was time for the Cranes to go, the boys were being such sillies.
I made Ian do his famous monkey impression:
and of course monkey see, monkey do...lucas followed suit.ooohhh ooohoooh ahh ahh ahh!

And then Lucas started to be silly in front of Sleeping Sophia, so of course Ian followed suit.

They say misery loves company, but I think naughtiness likes it more!

it didnt matter, nothing they did work sophia up anyways.

The Best Falafels in the Jewish Quarter

I thought falafels were an arabic thing, but apparently you can find the best dang falafels in the Jewish part of Paris. It is actually a really lovely area, where the fancy schmancy boutiques are. There are old historical bakeries and loads of falafel places.
There is loads of hussle and bustle. There is a guy that shouts at you to get into his line cuz they're the best falafel around, but then line move quickly so you better know what you want

even before you read the menu (hmmm they must have learned that from my mom). The Crane kids munch a falafel, they all really liked it
....but shhhhh those arent meat balls, it's vegetarian!

Parks of Paris

after breakfast Laura took us to a nearby park. It was really beautiful, felt like we were hobnobbin with the elite. It was clean and lovely and no traffic (those dont exist in italy, it was a dream!). Not sure who had more fun, the kids or the big kids (i mean the dads).

Group foto in front of park statue (i think it is louis the 13th).

cranes horsin around on the see-saw

sophia stylin and profilin in her wet weather gear.

Max monkeying around.

ooooohhh she moved. the girlies touching holly's belly tryin to feel the baby kick.

Le Petit Dejuner

Got up, got ready and got packed and then it was downstairs to meet Miss Laura for breakfast. As if we didnt have enough fotos of us eating...

Miss Tyler's 'Bigger than your head hot chocolate'

The girl's table

The boy's table (and a Pia).

The Real Disneyland of Paris...

The ha! You thought there were pictures of EuroDisney didn't you? Altho I have visited ED yet, I've discovered you can have the same experience at the EyeFull Tower. The lines are always long and just when you think that it's ending, you turn a corner and another one starts. But what I do like about the ET is that there are bathrooms everywhere. There is one behind the SE leg and then one on every level (including the very very top). The kids were great they all stood in line without much complaining and because of that, it actually went pretty quickly (well that and it being off season, so the lines were half as long as what they are during the summer).

What is up with blogger? It wont let me upload all the horizontal pix in the right direction!!!

Well here are some Cranes tipping the ET on it's side.
(Get a load of Lucas, I think he just saw how long the line was!)

Chambon!
(that would be chandler+jambon (ham)).

The Parisis in Paris!
(look how thrilled Sophia is!)

The kids were great, they ALL walked down the stairs!
(tyler stayed back to help keep her mom company, what a great daughter!!)

la pluie

la pluie de pluie disparaissent loin venu encore un certain autre jour

...or at least that's what babelfish says if you translate 'rain rain go away come again some other day'. (Of course if you translate it back to english again it becomes 'the rain of rain disappear far come still certain an other day'.) Anyhoo, it rained today. I mean really rained! So we jumped onto a Car Rouges tour bus (using our 2 ticket) and took a ride over to Lafayette, the fancy schancy mall.

This is no Newpark!

2 crane hams!

But of course it rained some more, so we jumped back on the bus again. Of course since it was raining, everybody was on the bus and there were very few places to sit inside, so we sat on top where it was opened. When it started to rain hard we tried to put up the umbrella of course it turned inside out and we got even wetter. we laughed so hard i almost peed my pants...no one would have noticed, we were drenched anyways.

eventually some seats freed up and we sat downstairs for awhile.
and when we had made the rounds again, we jumped off and went to Monmartre.

There is a funicular that goes up and down to Sacre Couer (you can use your metro ticket, just as long as you are within the time limit 75 min?). It is the imigrant section of Paris, so things seem a bit seedy here. I liked it though, it was sort of hippy. I could have done with out the dog pooping in the middle of the street. We headed back to the Bastille area after to eat some dinner.And we saw one of those famous Perian models...

We Louvre Paris!

The girlies and Max went out for something hot to drink and then went to our little boulangerie to get some pastries for everyone.
We had a picnic in the big room...it's the simplest things the kids love to do! Then it was off to see the city...Jumped on the metro and got off at the Louvre. We didnt actually go into the museum, it would have been a bit much for the smaller kids, but we had fun playing downstairs under the museum.

Yeah, Sun!

Went to the Notre Dame. Didn't take too many pix, but I did like this dog crouching amongst the gargoyles. Poor guy, looks like he's had a bad day and just when he think he can't take it anymore he finds this bird-brain all over his back. What the heck is that bird looking on that ledge for anyways?

Ian chases birds in the park behind the Notre Dame.

Last Stop the Trocadero

By the time we went around, took a break at the L'arc di Triumph and then got back on the bus again the buses were starting to end their day. We got off at the last stop which was perfect because there was an amazing view of the ET with all the lights on. The kids loved it!

Taken by Ian and the gorilla grip.

And the Trocadero is also a metro stop so we jumped back on and went back towards to hotel to find some grub.

First Dinner

Apparently the allure of Paris' small quaint cafes becomes a big pain in the derriere when you are in a group of 11! We wandered around for a while looking for a place that wasnt booked and that could accomodate us. 2 extra bodies are LAB and her sweet friend and fellow half american Michelle.

Aimless Wandering

As Chandler named us the Panes (parisi+cranes) (or taking inspiration from him, i said we were the Craisis (pronounced crazies) in front of where the Bastille used to be, but now there is a monument instead (which looks like it is growing out of mike's back).

Bastille square, crazy people ridint bikes in everywhich way traffic!

Ian convinces Max to give him a shoulder ride.

Our jealous little girl can't be usurped!

Lucas refuses to miss out on all the fun!
wonder if max's shoulders hurt.

The People on the Bus

It took a while to stand in line and then go around the ET so we finished waaayyyy after lunchtime. (don't worry, we had snacks!). So after the ET we went for lunch. We had the most expensive diet cokes of our lives (it was even written on the menu) 8 Euro, no refills. That was almost more than the meals. What did we expect? We were mere meters from the most famous tourist attraction of Paris. It's a typical lesson on how expensive Paris is and something to laugh about after. By the time we were finished eating it was late afternoon/early evening, the kids were too pooped to walk around to another place but it was too early to head back to the hotel - Tyler had a great idea... jump on a tourbus and see the sites. I'd never done it before and always wanted to. The kids loved it and had lots of fun!

The bus guy was really nice, he stopped for us even though it wasnt a bus stop.

Some nice tourists in Paris we hooked up with (ha ha).

Fun with the gorilla grip in front of the L'Arc di Triumph.

The people on the bus go up and down

Lucas and Sophia shout 'bonjour' to the people on the street.