Dordogne and The Eiffel Tower

Phew. We arrived home from the Dordogne late last night. What an great place to vacation. I only wish we had  more time to spend there. I would love to go back someday. The attraction that drew us there were the ancient cave drawings made by cro-magnon man. They are literally the oldest human made-things on earth and they were awesome to see. We of course had to visit the ultra famous Lascaux 2 (an exact reproduction of Lascaux that was created after too many tourist caused significant damage to the drawings). We also went to Font de Gaume where you can see a real original cave. They allow 90 people per day, and only on a guided tour. The kids did great, S managed not to touch anything and thought the whole cave thing was pretty cool. So did we. We aren't talking about a stick sketch here. These are detailed painted animals. Entire herds running around the walls of these caves. The paintings date between 15-17 THOUSAND years old. Amazing.

The Dordogne region has much more to offer than the caves though. It has a rich and long history that includes cliff dwellings that have been inhabited since the cave man up to present day, medieval castles, beautiful landscape with lush green hills, and powerful flowing rivers, and it's a foodies paradise producing all kinds of delicacies. Including: foie gras, truffles, duck, and walnuts. It's a great growing region with excellent local street markets, and lots of yummy restaurants. While there, my family tried a few new foods. S had foie gras for the first time (he wasn't a fan, I'm not really either and yes it was on the kids menu). I tried escargot (much better than I expected and not very chewy at all) and beef heart (I only had a bite of Gardner's). The really great thing about this region, is the food is not only very good, but it's also pretty cheep. Duck confit (one of my personal french favorites) that would cost you at least $30 in California, is fantastic and on every menu for 8-11 euros.

The food in France really is as great as people say. Foods I especially love here are:

- Yogurt (much better than in the US creamer and not as sweet)
- Butter
- Duck
- Mustard
- Cheese (a huge variety all very inexpensive)
- Pastries (I am especially in love with chocolate eclairs)

S would add the donuts. He gets one almost ever morning when Gardner and I get a coffee and a pain au chocolate or a croissant. He claims they are "the best". E eats a mini croissant every day. It's very cute.

Today we spent the afternoon at the Eiffel Tower. All this time here and it was our first, and only, trip to the top. S of course, couldn't let such a fun activity go by unannounced, so while waiting in the very long and very hot (the sun has made it's appearance in Paris and it is HOT and humid) line decided to get some attention by biting his brother. Ugh. Poor E. His punishment was to be buckled into his stroller which he hates, while we waited in line. You should have heard the tantrum. Perhaps you did. That child carried on and on, getting redder and redder as he screamed. I felt so sorry for the people surrounding us in line. That is until, the French Grandma in front of us in line felt the need to direct my parenting efforts by saying "Can't you see he needs your love. He just wants you to love him and hold him. Children need affection and you're just holding the baby."  This is AFTER she witnessed the bite! I responded that he was being punished for biting his brother and that a parent can not back down simply because a child throws a tantrum, no matter how embarrassing it might be. Of course the incident ended with hugs from S and apology to his brother, a short nap from both kids and us all having a great time in the tower. I was really nervous to go all the way to the top. Heights are not my friend, but we had a wonderful time, and Gardner and I even enjoyed a quick champagne toast at the top. It was definitely worth the wait, and views were great. It was a clear gorgeous day. So glad I braved my fear and went for it.

I know these posts are often very long winded and  jump around quite a bit. I have much less time to blog than I would like. Between traveling, sightseeing, laundry, shopping, cleaning, taking care of the kids and sleeping, there just isn't much time left. But we are having a great time, tantrums and all. Tomorrow we pick-up the rental care we will have for a week. We are taking a few day trips to cities surrounding Paris. On the agenda first is Reims and the Champagne region. A Votre Sante!
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