Ding ...

Even though Sunday is usually our down day, we decided to make a run for the Jardin du Luxembourg to for our second attempt at seeing the puppet show at Théâtre des Marionnettes.  Although these shows are all in French, we had heard that they guaranteed a giggle whether you understand the language or not so we decided to give it a try.  We chose the Three Little Pigs so the girls would have some idea what was happening although, I’m not sure that their previous knowledge of the story really helped them here.  This was the most bizarre rendition of the three little pigs that I've ever seen including a prince, an ostrich and someone who looked very much like little red riding hood.  The second act was even more off-book featuring an electrified apple, an attack snake and a heart-breaking solo by the wolf as he repents his past transgressions and dedicates himself to living kosher.  The girls didn't mind at all - Charlotte just kept saying, "That wolf is so silly" Apparently, she's not afraid of the big bad wolf.

Since you can’t find a swing anywhere in Paris, we decided to splurge the E3 and give the girls a spin on the old-fashioned swing boats.  They really got some air on these things.  No wonder they are under such tight control.  The staff even takes a short length of rope and ties your child onto the swing - understanding gravity as I do, I can't believe that this measure would make any difference at all.

We metro’ed home and everyone enjoyed a late lunch and a little nap before heading out for the evening.  We promised the girls that we would take them with us on date night tonight and they were very excited.  We planned to walk along the section of the Canal Saint-Martin which is closed to traffic on Sunday afternoons until we reached Pink Flamingo pizza.  You can order a couple of pies from this kid-friendly restaurant and they will deliver them to you at your picnic spot along the canal.  We checked it out thoroughly before we dragged the whole kit plus the Humvee across town … Is it open on Sunday? Yes.   Is it closed for summer holidays? No.  What we didn’t think to ask was … Does it open before 7 freaking pm?!?  We showed up at 5:30 and were bitterly disappointed.  We fed the girls the scraps that we had packed to supplement their pizza meal and quietly endured the ensuing histrionics.  To try to placate them, we walked over to the Paris Plages so they could play in the sand for a few minutes.  Once we were home and they were all tucked in bed, we reminded ourselves that this is a part of traveling and that every day can’t go perfectly.  Then we heard a ding – our frozen pizza was ready.