Week 24

How far along? 24 Weeks, 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Up about 8 kg
Gender: Girl!
Maternity clothes? Yup, always maternity bottoms and a mixture of regular and maternity tops/sweaters
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Still pretty good, maybe getting up once a night
Best moment this week: Finding Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in Varese yesterday. I do love gelato, but having some American ice cream was SO good.
Miss Anything? I miss not feeling exhausted after walking around for an hour or two. I am so tired after going up some stairs, let alone walking around for half a day.
Movement: Every day, I like when I feel her move first thing when I wake up.
Food cravings: Pasta, ice cream, strawberries
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Mainly still in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I would say not very moody, but I did cry when I was watching the Olympics today and the two Canadian sisters won gold and silver. A laughed at me and I couldn't understand why I was crying, oh hormones.
Looking forward to: Valentine's Day weekend in Rome this weekend! And buying some more cute outfits for the baby.

Babymoon in Paris: Part 2

 ^^First stop Saturday morning was Galeries Lafayette to do some shopping for the baby. We got there early to beat the crowds, but in the end didn't buy anything!

 ^^I had to check out the food section. Here is a colorful display of spices. I also bought a buttery walnut chocolate chip cookie from the Eric Kayser stand, so good. 

^^Next, it was off to the Marais for brunch at our favorite creperie, Breizh Cafe. 

 ^^A started with oysters and cider. I opted to skip the starter and get a dessert after our main. 

^^Our crepes, though I had to get the egg well cooked. 

 ^^The best crepe in the world, the Dame Tatin with apples, salted caramel, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. 

 ^^We walked around the area after the crepes and passed by my old apartment on rue Quincampoix. 

 ^^And walked some more along the Seine and made our way to the Louvre for some selfies. 

 ^^Then wandered past my old office at BNP Paribas right near Opera. 

 ^^After walking so much, we relaxed the rest of the afternoon at the movies and caught The Wolf of Wall Street in VO near our hotel. Check out the bump! I think she enjoyed the Orangina and popcorn :)

^^Then it was off to dinner with friends at Bistrot du 1er. 

 ^^I started with the parsnip, spinach soup with croutons and cheese. 

 ^^A opted for the lamb with pumpkin. 

 ^^Then both of us had the burger (mine sans foie gras and bien cuit) with very potatoey potato wedges. I loved the presentation of the burger. 

 ^^And lastly dessert was a refreshing kiwi soup with chocolate mousse. Yumm. 

 ^^I was too tired for drinks so the boys took me back to the hotel for some sleep. 

^^The next day, we met A's brother, Michele, who was coincidentally in town as well! We had chicken shawarma sandwiches at my favorite place in my old neighborhood then headed to Centre Pompidou. It also happened to be the first Sunday of the month, which meant many museums in Paris were free for the day! 

^^Checking out the art, thank goodness for the many benches to take quick breaks. 

 ^^The essential nutella and banana crepe. 

 ^^Last stop was Angelina near the Tuileries. I had always been meaning to go there ever since I lived in Paris, but never got around to it. The line for the dining room looked like it would be more than an hour wait so we opted to get some hot chocolate to go. 

^^A lovely way to end our babymoon since Baby Senso loves chocolate. 

Galeries Lafayette

40 blvd Haussmann 75009

Metro Chaussée d'Antin

Breizh Cafe

109 rue Vieille du Temple, 75003

Metro Filles du Calvaire

Gaumont Opera

2 Boulevard des Capucines, 75009

Metro Opéra

Centre Pompidou

19 Rue Beaubourg, 75004 

Metro Rambuteau

Bistrot du 1er

95 Rue Saint Honoré, 75001

Metro Louvre-Rivoli

Angelina

226 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 

Metro Tuileries

Babymoon in Paris: Part 1

^^Opera on a sunny Friday morning. 

We had a great time in Paris this past weekend for our babymoon. The last time we visited was two years ago for my birthday so we were excited to be back. I am so glad we decided to take the babymoon sooner than later because man, I was tired. I used to be able to walk all around Paris the entire day with hardly any breaks in between. This time around, I was exhausted every hour especially with all those stairs at the metro stops. Those extra 15 pounds are tough to carry around! Not to mention I was a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, happy one minute and not so happy the next for no particular reason. This trip mainly revolved around eating of course plus an amazing stay at the W. 

  ^^First stop right from the airport was the bakery, Du Pain et Des Idées in the République area. 

^^I wanted to try one of everything they had. It all looked and smelled delicious. 

^^We settled on some of the classics, a pain au chocolat, croissant, pain aux raisins and another with spinach and goat cheese. All very good, but the pain aux raisins was the best I have ever had. 

^^Next it was immediately off to lunch at Chez Dumonet near Montparnasse. I read about this classic French bistro from David Lebovitz's blog and had to try it. 

 ^^We were seated in the very back of the restaurant, which some people may not like, but I really enjoyed it since I had a perfect view of the kitchen. They started us off with a complimentary amuse bouche and a glass of white wine, which A happily drank. 

 ^^I had the artichoke salad to start, which had the most velvety, buttery sauce I have ever tasted. It was incredible. A had the foie gras, which he said was the best he had ever had. 

 ^^The duck confit with roasted potatoes and salad. The portions were huge and A could barely finish. I ate his leftover potatoes :) They were so crispy and delicious. The crispy skin of the duck was the best part along with the tender meat. 

^^I am happy I only ordered the half portion of the Boeuf Bourguignon because it was more than enough. The buttery noodles were served with an incredibly tender beef, mushroom and onion sauce.  

^^For dessert we shared the tarte aux pomme. Perfectly flat with a thin layer of pastry and apple. It was simple with the right amount of sweetness and caramelization. 

^^Finally we headed to our hotel, the W right next to Opera. First thing, the smell. Whatever signature scent they have throughout the entire hotel was amazing. Maybe it's my heightened sense of smell being pregnant, but I loved it and want the scent everywhere I live. This is my first time staying at a W and it definitely won't be my last. It was the best. 

^^I liked how the extra toilet paper is called the "backup plan." The munchies box is a cute touch along with the charging station. The bed was super comfy and the rainfall shower was a great luxury compared to our tiny shower at home. The Bliss Spa toiletries were also lovely as well. 

^^To end our first day, we saw the show, "How to Become Parisian in One Hour." It was funny, a little samey after the first few "lessons," but a good way to spend the evening which didn't involve walking. The show wasn't far from our hotel and on the way Andrea spotted a Chipotle. I was so excited to find one in Paris and decided I had to have a burrito after the show for dinner. I know having a burrito is very un-Parisian, but it was so good and you just don't get any Mexican in Italy. More to come about the rest of the trip in the next day or two!

Du Pain et Des Idées

34 rue Yves Toudic 75010

Metro Republique

Chez Dumonet

117 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006

Metro Montparnasse Bienvenue

W Paris Opera

4 rue Meyerbeer 75009

Metro Opera

How to Become Parisian in One Hour

Théâtre des Nouveautés 

24 boulevard poissonnière 75009

Chipotle

20 Boulevard Montmartre 75009

Metro Richelieu-Drouot