Paris-Part 2

This is a continuation of Paris-Part 1, my story from last week, so if you have not read that one, you may want to stop reading this one, scroll down, read the first part, and then continue reading this one. 

We were excited to begin our tourist activities in Paris.  There was a little patisserie down the street from our apartment.  We went there to get breakfast pastries every morning.  In addition, we would each get a baguette.  We would gnaw on this baguette all day rather than stop for lunch.  We thought this was a really good plan until about the third day of eating baguettes all day. We also found out that the birds at Notre-Dame like baguettes.  They’re a little aggressive about it.  

We decided that we would use the metro to get around in Paris.  Now, using the metro is pretty much the same in all cities around the world.  If you know how to use a metro system in the US, you should not have any problems using the metro in a foreign country.  The problem we had was that no one in our group had ever used a metro system. Anywhere.  The best place to learn how to use a metro system for the first time is NOT in a foreign country.  But after a few times of ending up on the wrong train, we finally figured it out.  Or I should say the kids and I figured it out.  Mom and Aunt Carol just trusted us.  We could have taken them anywhere.

I read in my handy travel book that there was one day that offered free admission each month at the Louvre, and that day happened to be one of the days we were in Paris, so we decided to take advantage of the free admission.  So did everyone else in Paris.  It was exceptionally crowded-you could barely move.  I was able to see the Mona Lisa, though, which was the primary reason I wanted to go to the Louvre.  The painting was a lot smaller than I expected.  And it’s roped off so you can’t get very close to it. Since I am under five foot in height, I kind of jumped around, trying to see it until there was an opening in the crowd. I scurried up to the rope, looked at the painting for a few minutes, and then pushed my way back out of the sea of people behind me. We stayed a couple of hours and then left. 

Of course, we went to the Eiffel Tower.  How can you go to Paris and not go to the Eiffel Tower?  We waited in line forever, gnawing on our baguettes.  The Eiffel Tower was impressive, and I was enjoying it very much.  Then I noticed that my son, Ryan, was no longer with me.  I looked around and could not see him anywhere.  Part of my panic was the thought that he could have been taken by someone, but the other part of the panic was the thought that he may be crawling up the outside of the building like Spiderman.  Now before you think that statement is a gross over-exaggeration, let me tell you a little about my son.  Throughout his childhood, he has had four sets of stitches, a broken wrist that required surgery and a broken foot.  We had to call poison control twice in one day.  He fell out of a tree.  My neighbor would call me to tell me that Ryan was up on our roof.  He and his friends would chase and shoot each other with pellet guns. Until about the age of four/five years, he wanted to have a tail and he wanted to be able to fly, so he routinely jumped off high surfaces in hopes that he would soar through the air.  He did not.  So the Spiderman concern was not completely irrational.  After about twenty minutes of panic looking for him, I found him, gave him a proper reprimand, and we finished our tour of the Eiffel Tower. 

One day we went to Versailles. We took the train from Paris to Versailles.  What a beautiful day! We saw gorgeous gardens and enjoyed touring the palace.  We sat outside at a café and had lunch.  We had ice cream. The kids rented bikes and rode around the grounds.  It was a favorite day for everyone.  The only hiccup was Aunt Carol throwing up in my souvenir bag on the way back.  Well, it’s not a vacation until someone throws up.  So we got that out of the way. 

One night, my husband wanted a steak.  We found a restaurant near our apartment. Our apartment was at the foot of Sacre Coeur.  There is a plaza area with restaurants nearby.  Our waiter was very helpful and friendly.  In fact, he was a little too friendly.  At one point, he came up and kissed me on the cheek.  THAT has never happened to me in a restaurant before.  I don’t know why he did it.  He was saying something, but it was in French, so I have no idea what he was saying.  But now, when I am in a group situation and the group leader says we have to say something that no one knows about us (I hate it when they do that), I can say I was kissed by a French waiter.

Later that night, my daughters, ages 18 and 16, and my daughter’s friend, age 18, wanted to go the festivities that were taking place in the plaza.  They wanted to go by themselves, without adult supervision.  Yikes. They finally convinced us to let them go for a little while.  It stays light until pretty late in Paris in the summer. It started to get dark and I started to get worried. Now, Liam Neeson may have a particular set of skills, but so do I.  My particular set of skills is called “mother’s intuition.”  And my bells were ringing.  My mom (the queen of “mother’s intuition”) and I set out to find the girls.  We found them.  They were walking away from the crowd with three boys who had invited the girls to go somewhere with them.  The girls, and the boys, were not happy when I insisted that the girls come with us. I think that following my intuition allowed us to avoid a possibly very bad situation. And I didn’t have to call Liam Neeson.  I’m sure he’s a very busy man.

Coming up next time: The conclusion of our Paris/London trip

More tips:

1. In 2008, there was a free day at the Louvre once a month.  Currently, the free admission is on the first Friday of every month after 6:00 pm, except during July and August.  Going during free admission will save you some money, but it might be worth paying admission to avoid the huge crowds.
2. If you have never used a metro system before, the best time to learn is probably not in a foreign country.   
3. Souvenir bags from Versailles make pretty decent puke bags.
4. I highly recommend visiting Versailles and Loire Valley. They are well worth the trips to get there. Interesting fact about Loire Valley: The grave of Leonardo da Vinci can be found in the Amboise castle, in the Chapel of Saint Hubert.
5. The RER C line (yellow) will take you from Paris to Versailles for just €3.65 ($4) per person each way. Metro tickets are interchangeable with RER tickets, so you can use the same ticket from a Metro station to get on board an RER C train. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get to Versailles from Paris.
6. To get to Loire Valley by train, you will need to take the Trains de Grande Vitesse (TGV) trains.  You can book train tickets on www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com.
7. I believe moms have a God-given ability to protect their children.  Follow your intuition every time. 
8. Following your mom’s intuition will give Liam Neeson a break from fighting bad guys.
9. Hold on to your baguettes when visiting Notre-Dame. It is scheduled to reopen on December 8, 2024.
10. Watch out.  French waiters will kiss you.