Week 4!

Well, we’ve officially hit the 4-week mark in Paris, and things are looking up.

For starters, we got the keys to our apartment—and it’s now fully painted! Just needs a final cleaning and we’ll be cleared to move in. What’s funny is we’re actually a little sad to leave the Airbnb. Not for the space itself, but the area and our daily routines here have become such a source of joy. Hailey and the kids have discovered so many parks nearby, and we’ve loved our nightly walks—usually ending with a stop at “Nanoprix” for Perrier.

That said, the area around our new apartment is really nice, and we’re looking forward to building a new rhythm there.

The rest of the week was pretty low-key. I went to work, while Hailey and the kids did their usual rotation: parks, grocery runs, and all-around adventuring. One cool discovery—Velib bikes! You can sign up for €9 a month and ride up to 60 minutes at a time, as many times a day as you want. Pretty slick.

We didn’t have big weekend plans and wanted to enjoy the calm before next week’s storm—aka: Moving Week. That means saying goodbye to the Airbnb (along with our 11 bags, stroller, wagon, portable AC, and more…) and welcoming our household shipment on Thursday. I still have no idea how all our stuff is going to fit in a flat half the size 😅

Friday night we found a nearby pizza spot—and it rocked. The pizza was amazing, and they had a huge vegetable antipasto with mushrooms, carrots, green beans, cheese, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers. We loved it so much, we swore we’d be back.

Saturday we did a bit of city trekking. First stop: a local bike store to test out a longtail cargo bike for hauling the kids. Great bikes… until the kids got on. Let’s just say the handling got interesting. No purchase yet—we’ll keep looking. From there, a quick stop at IKEA for sheets and pillows (in and out!).

Next stop: Bo&Mie boulangerie for sandwiches and treats. We devoured them on the grass in front of the Louvre—perfection. Then we strolled along the Seine and walked all the way home—an hour or more. By the time we got back, we were wiped and hungry. I made a quick Velib ride to the apartment to close the sliding doors I’d opened earlier to air the place out, then raced back for dinner.

The agenda? A return trip to our new favorite pizza spot. This time we got the burrata antipasto—even better than the night before. Same pizza, same reaction: demolished. We ended the night with a walk around the block, and everyone crashed hard after a full day.

Sunday we slept in (9am!) and slowly got moving before heading to church. We tried Saint Michael’s Church in the 8th arrondissement—a short metro ride and a walk in the rain. The church was super welcoming, and Hailey even made a new friend—another mom with two kids around the same age.

After church, we were starving (tiny breakfast and boulangeries were closed), so… McDonald’s it was. From there, we visited a nearby Decathlon and found a cargo bike that may work better—the kids sit lower in the back, which feels more stable. Then it was back on the metro home.

We made a quick pit stop before heading out to the park to shake off the wiggles. The kids met a little girl visiting from New York, and we got chatting with her mom and sister. Hailey broke the ice by asking about their stroller (great conversation starter). Turns out they’re connected to oil and gas—and her brother-in-law used to work for SLB!

One last Franprix run for dinner supplies and that brings us to now… movie night.

So, our “chill” weekend ended up being packed, but full of fun and time outdoors—just how we like it.

Now we look ahead to the week: packing up the Airbnb, moving into the apartment, and receiving all our stuff. Wish us luck!