In which we visit an old favorite

Two years ago we spent 2 months living in a small one bedroom apartment in Paris. Since Blaise was also attempting to work in said apartment, the kids and I spent a great deal of time trying to get out of the apartment so that he could have some peace and quiet. Towards the end of our stay, we discovered a park that we liked very much. Sapphire and Ezio liked the small stream that ran through it, and the multiple play areas. Cherry liked crawling around and trying to eat the grass. I liked the fact that there were lots of flowery bushes to look at. Blaise liked the fact that it was a hour Metro ride each direction, and so when we went we tended to go for the entire day, and he could have many hours of peace and quiet.

Sapphire very much wanted to go to this park for her birthday, but Saturday was cool and overcast; definitely not a good day for splashing in even a very small creek. Since the weather was looking warmer for the beginning of the week, I promised we would go today, which promised to be warm enough for creek splashing. After lunch, we set off.

We're not actually living in the city of Paris this time, but rather in the first tier of suburbs outside the city. That means that in order to get into Paris we have to ride the RER, or regional commuter trains, into the city. Unfortunately, they don't run as frequently as Metro trains, and they don't all run the same route or stop at the same stops. We managed to catch the E line successfully at Val de Fontenay and headed into the city. We switched to the Metro at Saint Lazare and headed south, riding through 13 stops before we finally exited. Amazingly, we actually had seats for the entire trip. I was amazed to discover as we exited the train station that I didn't need to consult the map of the area located outside the Metro. I actually remembered the entire 6 block walk to the park. Even more amazingly, Ezio, who remembers very little of our last visit, was able to identify the little grocery store where we often stopped to buy a snack on the walk.

Sapphire wanted to head to the stream first, so we did. The kids stripped of shoes and socks, and waded in. Sapphire and Cherry promptly fell down in the water and ended up with wet tushes. Although it didn't bother Cherry very much, Sapphire was quite sure that everyone within 20 miles would think that she'd wet her pants, and she was not going to move off the grass until her pants were dry. I finally convinced her that no one would much care, and we went down to explore the playgrounds and the rock "mountain".

After a couple of hours (and a couple of temper tantrums. Why do I never see French children throwing tantrums? If it's something in the water, will it still work now, or does it need to be ingested from birth?) we headed back to the train station. After a screw up on my part at the RER station (I should have read the schedule board before heading down the escalator), we managed to arrive back home in one piece. Now I just need to find equally appealing playgrounds nearer here.