I had also been in Paris last summer for four nights. WITHOUT Wee Plum. That was the first time I have ever been away from him for longer than 24 hours, and to be honest it was too much. I swore I wouldn't do it again until he was older, so when I decided to go to Prague, I decided to take the Plum with me. I kind of figured, "sure, it'll be a breeze, he can walk around and all that by himself these days."
Ha.
More like, run away from me at lightening speed, laughing hysterically, shouting "No! NOOHH" as I cry internally while carrying a billion bags of hand luggage, in a crowded noisy airport. It's ok though, I eventually decided to put him on a leash. Literally. I have no regrets.
Once himself was literally on a leash, it made things slightly easier in terms of folding up buggies and maneuvering hand luggage etc. Thennnn came the actual plane journey, which consisted of my son repeatedly trying to kick the woman's seat in front of us, until I eventually had to stick his little chicken legs inbetween my knees and clamp for all that I was worth; as well as standing up in the aisle bouncing him up and down to get him to sleep. So, all in all, the plane journey over was slightly horrific, but once we got there, all was well, and Eli loved it....he specifically loved the amount of pigeons, and how close they let him get to them.
Prague is just beautiful. I had been there about 15 years previously with my family but didn't remember much. This time round, it was freezing, but beautiful. It snowed our first morning there which made it even more magical...the cafes provided sheepskin blankets and heaters, which I loved. The city has enough history and culture to keep anybody entertained, and to be honest, I didn't even get to see everything I had wanted to. The most impressive thing by far for me was St. Vitus Cathedral. It was literally breathtaking. I just...I wish I could put it into words, but honestly I wouldn't do it justice.
The Astronomical Clock was also a favourite. If I hadn't had Eli with me I would've waited around to see it chime, but honestly it was FREEZING and I knew he was gonna wake up shortly and be hungry. It was installed in 1410 and STILL WORKS. There's an astronomical dial representing the position of the sun and moon in the sky, "The Walk of the Apostles" which is an hourly clockwork show of the 12 apostles, and a calendar dial representing the months. Apparently if the clock is neglected, local legend says that the "town will suffer." Which I guess explains why it's lasted over 600 years!
Food was a little expensive, and not a lot of it was to my taste (think a lot of salt, a lot of dairy, and a lot of pork) but there are a few cafes etc across the river that you can get a decent meal for nothing. Luckily between my sister and my old friend Xoana (who is now working in Prague) they both knew all the local places that had good food and decent prices, so I didn't get ripped off tooo much.
It was so lovely to see my little sis and catch up after not seeing each other for a few months. I am definitely looking forward to when she comes home (cue christmas movies and cocoa in PJ's, woo!).
Now, after ragging on him a little at the beginning of the post, I have to give major props to my little man for being an absolute dream on the way home. Pretty much 100% of the time, it's not him that's making things difficult for me on purpose - it's me having unrealistic expectations of a 19 month old infant. And in those moments where I have those unrealistic expectations and get frustrated, I get so, SO annoyed about the fact that my life isn't simple and straightforward at that time. Yes, I know - that's selfish and short sighted thinking. 100%. But luckily, every time that happens and I mentally start yelling at God for not answering my prayers (yes, that is something I know I probably shouldn't do, but I do, frequently...) there He goes and answers them and shows me the same grace I should be extending to my own son. Cue Eli falling straight asleep on the plane journey home, sitting silently on the 2.5 hour bus journey to Limerick, just looking out the window and turning around to give me a spontaneous slobbery kiss every few minutes. Oh I just feel rotten in those moments. He is in fact such an incredibly easy baby. Sometimes I just forget how very lucky I am, and it takes those moments to remind me.
I just thought I would share that, in case there are any other mammies who, like myself, have moments when they feel like everything that could possibly go wrong for them is in fact happening, and, in turn, start crying in front of 100 strangers like a lunatic. Ughhh. It happens to the best of us, ladies, I promise.
And, on that note, I will leave ye with a few pictures of our trip. Prague, you were wonderful...thank you for having us!
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