David's Tante Wenny and her family came to visit us from Sandhausen, Germany over the weekend. Tante Wenny, Uncle Siegfried, Ulrike, her boyfriend Timo, and Karsten drove 5 hours to Paris and stayed at an Etap Hotel a few metro stops away from our apartment.

I (Lynna) first met Tante Wenny back in 1999 when she came to Southern California to attend David's cousin's wedding. She is David's mom's first cousin on her father's side. I met Tante Wenny's daughter Ulrike briefly in 2000 when she passed through the Bay Area on a backpacking trip with friends. She is now finishing up medical school in Germany. This was my first time meeting Uncle Siegfried, Ulrike's older brother Karsten, and Timo.

We had a great visit with them and it was fun sharing meals as a large group, both at home and out and about. They arrived on a Friday night, so we made dinner for them at home, all of us squeezed, elbow-to-elbow, around our little dining room table.

For lunch on Saturday, we (minus Ulrike and Timo) had crepes at Chez Imogene Creperie near our apartment. Again, we sat cozily next to one another. Then we embarked en masse on a walk down the Champs-Élysée from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. Uncle Siegfried wanted to stop for a look inside the Mercedes-Benz display store, so we joined the throng inside and ogled the new line of cars, many available in Europe only. (On a tangent -- I'm not a big fan of Mercedes vehicles (as if we could ever afford one!), but David and I found a car that we would have loved to own: the B-Class Sports Tourer It's compact, tall, and sporty -- with 4 doors.)

Dinner was back in our neighborhood again at our old favorite (site of our Yoko Ono sighting!) Chez Omar. The staff and owner, Monsieur Omar Guerida, recognize us now, thanks to Emmett and his handy booster seat. The 10 of us were seated at our usual table in the Club de Non-fumeurs. Eating hearty North African grilled meats, couscous, and vegetable stew family-style was so much fun. Emmett sat comfortably in his usual spot near the emergency exit door and happily ate what the rest of us were eating. (It's a break for me, too, to not have to pack food just for him. We just ask for un petit bol et une petite cuillère.)

Too full immediately afterward for dessert, the 10 of us walked back in the direction of our apartment and ended up stopping at another favorite establishment of ours around the corner, Ba-Ta-Clan Café. There, David, Emmett, and I were greeted like old friends by one of the servers who recognized us solely because we are the parents of Emmett and his petite chaise. Once again, the ten of us shared a few desserts, coffee, tea, and beer while watching a soccer match between France and Germany on the big-screen television above the bar. That's something we'll miss from Paris: small, neighborhood casual café/bars that serve incredible meals and desserts.

Sunday was more of the same: Tante Wenny and the family came over to check out the Sunday farmers' market near our apartment and had lunch here before piling into their tiny rental car to head back to Germany.

I think Emmett loved the commotion and buzzing activity this weekend. Best of all he got to meet his doting Oma Wenny and Tante Ulrike. Ulrike and Timo introduced Emmett to a new friend we all named Jean-Louis the donkey. Jean-Louis now sleeps with Emmett in his Pack-n-Play, next to his beloved Bumby from Molly and Alice. Along with Bumby, he'll be a cherished and well-loved friend for years to come, I'm certain.