How did this happen?

When my brother was 14, I used to sneak his preppy sweaters out of his dresser so I could wear them to school and look cool. When he was 18, I pilfered his friends—again, the coolest to be found—a little more overtly. When he was 21, I would invite myself to his college parties, where I would once again bask in his coolness.

Now he is 40. Our lives have changed so much, but he’s still pretty damn cool.

To celebrate the big 4-0, he, Dana, Annika and Aidan took the Eurostar over from London for a long weekend in Paris. (See? Cool!) I’ve come to look at my visits from friends as excuses to eat pastries, visit the sights, and make my feet ache from walking. This visit was no exception.

After crossing over the Seine, past Notre Dame, and through Saint-Germaine on Saturday, we spent the day at the Luxembourg Gardens. The kids were even cuter (if that’s possible) when riding atop French ponies and swinging across the giant playground.


Then we went home for a divine birthday dinner (thank god Dana could lead in the kitchen), plus cake and champagne.


On Sunday, we braved the muggy weather to climb Montmartre, visiting the carousel and Sacre Couer along the way. Gelato at the top cooled us down for the long walk home.


But then cold weather arrived with a rainstorm Monday morning. We went to the museum of natural history, which could be one of the coolest museums in the city.

And lunch at La Mosquée was an eating highlight. Moroccan pastilla and sweet mint tea are musts.

We also walked down the Champs-Elysée (where I saw some of my colleagues—smoking outside, bien sur), rue Saint-Honoré (where we dreamed about the gowns, handbags, suits and ties that would look so perfect on us) and through the Palais Royal (where Aidan made like a Frenchie and joined a pick-up game of soccer).



The kids gave both me and Milo lots of love.



Happy 40th, Goob!