THE PARIS LETTER: Tuileries and Chocolate

Hello there and welcome to the BLOG version of The Paris Letter -

Today I'm 38 weeks pregnant, officially full term - and, coincidentally, the 7 billionth person on the planet will be born this week, somewhere in the world. I mentioned this to Matt - since I'm full term, seems like we've got a shot here. Matt's first response was " Does it come with a cash prize?" 

Here is my response: 

So, yes! For the next two weeks, as we await the appearance of our kid, I'm trying to do just what I WANT to do, with my limited energy - so today, the Tuileries Garden and Angelina hot chocolate, after the jump:

THE PARIS LETTER: Nesting...

37 Weeks preggo, with toys

Happy Fall Sunday everyone -

Paris has finally been visited by those sunny, crisp fall days that just make you want to walk by the Seine and stop in at a cafe to share a hot chocolate or a bottle of wine. It is just beautiful out, and today Matt and I are hopefully going on another date of sorts, if I can come up with some good ideas - I have two drawbacks currently: I can't walk much farther than 10 blocks at a stretch, and I don't have a coat that covers my bump - BUT hey, if I plan things right neither of these should really be a problem. I just have to build in plenty of places for us to stop ...

Right now, Matt is at an Irish pub watching the Rugby World Cup final - New Zealand and France battle it out!  Neither of us had ever watched rugby before, which is - apparently - a big sport in the rest of the world ;). New Zealand beat Australia last week; these are usually the two best teams, and nobody can understand how France made it into the final -not even the French!  Parisians are not really the most team-spirited in any case, but their response still seems to be "I don't know how Les Bleus are in the final, they are not a very good team" - and now they're playing the New Zealand All Blacks, the best team in the world.

THE PARIS LETTER: Dating My Husband

Hello there folks -

Montmartre - Follow him!

It's a rainy Sunday here in Paris, and the Claire Lundberg-Matt Valley household is being really lazy as a result. In fact, Matt is still sleeping over there in the bed -though it's almost 2PM ! In fairness, we did have a nocturnal visit from two friends who had a twelve hour layover here in Paris on their way back to New York from Russia. Armen and his brother Grisha showed up last night around 11:30, and we hung out drinking the Belgian beer Matt brought back from Bruges a couple of weeks ago, and then Matt and the guys left to find fun and excitement (or more beer and food) before they had to head back to the airport at around 5:30AM. Matt discovered a 24-hour Belgian beer bar right on Place de Clichy - about 7 blocks from us! Matt said they had a great beer selection but that it was also full of about 5 or 6 bachelor parties all eyeing each other seeing if they'd have to fight later. I should mention that this part of our neighborhood is pretty close to the Moulin Rouge and Pigalle districts, so these dudes were probably either coming from or going to that area. All in all, a good find but one that resulted in him getting back home around 5AM.

THE PARIS LETTER: Medieval Villages, Architectural Deconstructivism, and Giant Babies

Hello Everyone!

Sorry to have been so out of touch again - My best friend Maya was visiting from the US for the last two weeks, and I ended up running around Paris with her - which was GREAT since I've been feeling so slowed down because of the pregnancy - and not getting around to writing the letter. But I'm back! And with special news from both Paris and Bruges, Belgium, where we spent last weekend drinking beer (Matt), eating Fries (me), and generally having one last get away before our daughter arrives.

Me in Bruges at 34 weeks

Speaking of - that arrival is really getting close! I'm 34 weeks now, although we found out this week that she might actually be OLDER than we thought initially. We had our third trimester sonogram, and afterwards, the doctor was looking at the results with us and said "Votre bebe est un peu...gros." - Yes, she's had a growth spurt, and all her measurements are now in the 85th percentile or higher for her age. The doc thought she looked more like she was 35 or 36 weeks, so it's possible she'll come a little early. I personally feel vindicated by this because I'd been slowing down so much and feeling so huge, with lots of back pain, yet it felt too early for that to happne - but now I know it's because I have Gargantua the Giant Baby living inside me. Oh yes, this has provided for some great nicknames. Matt is also calling her Gigantasaurus Rex. and Gargantuas Prime.