Not an anniversary, not a birthday, just a badly needed opportunity to recharge batteries and stand back from everything for a while.
My husband and I jumped on the Eurostar to Paris whilst my mother “borrowed” Ted for three days at home.
Our Montparnasse hotel room view spanned from the Arc du Triomphe to Sacre Coeur with glimpses of the Louvre, Grand Palais and St Germain de Pres in between.
Pressing your face hard on the window, you also caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.
Coming home I’ve spent the past few days chilling out in the garden, away from the emails and the to-do list.
Away from the self imposed deadlines and standards.
No cooking, just stuff from the fridge.
I’ve been considering which landmarks matter most in the hotel window view of life.
And it’s not towers, basilicas and monuments.
It’s a little boy eating ice cream.
I swear he’d grown bigger in the three days we were away.
We were not missed – although he was delighted to see us return. Life goes on at grasshopper height.
I hope you had an Easter as sunny and relaxing as mine. When was the last time you took a step back?
Ah Paris! I have had a long love affair with Paris, since the age of 17! Many important events in my life, from discovering independence, work, love and my honeymoon have been in Paris!
I am certain you enjoyed your well earned break.
My twins are having a break from me at the moment, on holiday with their Grandparents. My escape is long overdue!
Nina
changing bag
This is a wonderful post. We lived in Paris for a few months a few years ago (and visited as often as we could after that) and it is truly the most wonderful place. I can’t see myself escaping there anytime soon at the moment, but I have just had an hour to myself at a department store makeup counter and after a dreadful couple of weeks, that felt almost as good as going to Paris!
Oh yes. It’s amazing how everything can take on such an avalanche effect. The must do more mentality. We have had a really lovely few days just not having to meet any deadlines or ferry children around. I find that with the size family I have (7 children!), it’s been a blessing that we live in town so we can nip out for an hour to a nearby cafe just the two of us.