EuroStar Part Deux

The lovely Michelle took the time this morning to come to our apartment and get us. We walked all our luggage to the Chatelet Metro stop. It was raining and chilly, but the walk was as good as it could have been.

Isabella took the lead with one pink case and her backpack on her back. She has certainly gotten way more comfortable in the Metro, so much so that she mapped out the way based on her train trips to Parc Asterix. Becasue she knew exactly where she was going, she got quite a bit ahead of me and Michelle and had to be called back.

I, on the other hand, was carrying both pink cases up and down the stairs, with Michelle valiantly taking the new black one. Strong though I know I am, it was quite a feat to make it to the train. Once we got on the Metro, it was just a few short stops to the Gare du Nord.

When we arrived in the train station, Michelle was an amazing amount of help again, not only in helping with the bags, but also with finding the track and assisting me with the customs forms. I had one or two minor meltdowns, especially when I filled out the customs forms wrong and had to re-do them, but Michelle kept with me.

After we said our goodbyes to Michelle, we headed through Customs. There was a British guard who asked us some questions and then a bag x-ray. No mention of our Pate needing to be removed from our bags, we made it through and headed to the waiting area.

The train arrived, we found stowed our big black bag and got our pink cases above our seats. This trip turned out to be much quieter than the one on our way out. No show girls (see post from June 23rd), only lots of sleepy people. It was so quiet, Isabella said she felt awkward even talking!

Ugh...Packing

See those two little suitcases on the left? This is just part of what needed to be packed to get us back to the US.

While Isabella enjoyed Parc Asterix, it occured to me that I should pre-pack as much as I could. When I discovered we had amassed 11 bars of soap, 3 tubes of soap and many other items. I did manage to get everything into these two cases and one duffel.

The main issue though, was the shoes. Isabella got two pairs and I got three. Not sure how it happened, but I guess being somewhere with lots of nice things for a month got me shopping (hmm, had I re-read my previous posts, I would've seen how much we bought).

We leave tomorrow for London, and then have two more days to go before we fly home. So, it is going to be necessary to unpack at least some things when we get to the hotel and then re-pack. Not going to happen with the tight packing into those small cases.

Solution? We bought a nice big black rolling bag, with wheels that roll in many directions. Everything fits, and then some. Our final BHV purchase is a really good one!

London, here we come!

What's for Dinner? BBQ Duck!

After Parc Asterix I met Isabella and Kristen at the plaza in front of Notre Dame. We were all starving and needed something delicious right away.

Kristen directed us to a Chinese restaurant, where I spotted the BBQ duck right away. Isabella loves all manner of Asian noodles, so we headed in.

Really succulent duck was served as well as a chow fun of some sort and lots of good spicy oil, Kristen got a wonton soup (though I couldn't believe it since it was still up near 90 degrees even though it was after 7pm).

Isabella at four or five portions of noodles and a very large amount of duck. Success!! Considering most of her recent meals, if you recall, involved hot dogs, pasta or pizza.

After dinner, it was back to Berthillion for ice cream. Along the way, we came across a street performer who did crazy balance tricks involving a bicycle and duct tape. No way for me to describe it, but we did video it. Of course, the soundtrack for Amelie was his background music, which always makes me cry, while Isabella laughs at my sentimentality!

What a day!

ParcAsterix

There is a very funny French comic book character named Asterix. That's his friend Obelix with Isabella and Kristin. See them here on Amazon.

The last time we saw Kristin I was we saw a poster for ParcAsterix and I mentioned how much I hated amusement parks and that there was no way I would take Isabella. Kristin immediately said she would love to go and maybe she could take Isabella.

Later that night, I emailed her and she was serious. And, so, today, she and Isabella headed out at 9am to explore ParcAsterix. It took the 40 minutes in two trains, and then a shuttle bus for another 20 minutes to get there.

They had a wonderful time, and I need more information from both of them to include here. I will repost as soon as I have a more descriptive account of their day.

Bon Marche Epicurean

While Isabella and Kristen were at Parc Asterix, Michelle helped me find the Bon Marche Epicurean store. Oh, my, I nearly passed out. How to describe that first impression?  So many beautiful products everywhere. Not to mention on such a hot day, the freezing air conditioning was a welcome relief. I couldn't get over how calm the store was, as well, in comparison to the large gourmet stores back home.

There was an international section where they showcased foods from all over the world. The meat section was very impressive with a whole section dedicated to duck products. Not to mention the huge selection of both fresh and packaged pate.

But, I'd have to say the assortment of treats was my favorite. The color of the fondant, the smell of the chocolate and the overall displays were amazing. There was a whole house a al gingerbread houses, covered in gummy bears. Another one covered in marshmallows and a third one in a variety of treats.

It is just next door to the Bon Marche department store and well worth a trip!

**the picture is from versailles, i couldn't find any food-related shots that were worth it here!!

A Nice Sunday

Not everything is open on Sunday in Paris. We knew this and planned on another round of tea at Mariage Freres later in the day, but wanted to get out and do something with our morning.

We headed out to an area we had discovered the night before. It was literally only one block further away from our house than we had been walking, and there was some nice window shopping to do.

Some stores did end up being open, best of which was the soap store, La Maison du Savon.  There were over 100 varieties of Marseilles soap, all reasonably priced and smelling divine. They have every scent from sweet to spicy, including pine, rose, tilleul (which I think is Linden) and rosemary. We bought 5 bars of soap and Isabella got some special rose and angel shaped ones for herself.

Realizing that tea wasn't until after 3pm, we decided to eat. Yes, as the picture denotes, hot dogs. It being Sunday, all of the kosher restaurants were open. We chose Schwarz's since they seemed to have a nice looking deli counter and a good NY deli menu.

It did not disappoint. Isabella got hers plain on a bun. I got the sauerkraut and relish on mine. They also brought some house-made dill pickles to the table, which were not too salty and just tart enough. Isabella was a fan of the onion rings, too.

We thoroughly enjoyed out American hot dogs, and thought it would have been nice to have celebrated Fourth of July at Schwarz's as well.

Flowers, Versailles

Near Marie-Antoinette's little hamlet of buildings, there were a bunch of very pretty flower beds.

Isabella spent a long time shooting these and really got into all the different types.

We also found a really pretty archway that was covered in grape vines fully in bloom with tiny green grapes. Not to mention the veggies they had also planted in one of the areas.

Truly, can't do it justice here, but take a look at our flickr stream for the Versailles pictures and maybe you can see a little more of what we saw.

Bike Riding, Versailles

Here it is. A picture of Miss Isabella on a bigger kid or smaller adult bike.

Remember a few days ago, I said that we didn't want to rent the bikes in Paris because it just seemed too daunting to ride in city traffic? As luck would have it, we were wandering through the gardens in Versailles and saw a sign for bike rentals.

Isabella immediately asked if we could do it. I hesitated only because I myself really hadn't been on a bike for over 15 years (even though I used to ride a lot as a teenager, oh so long ago). I had a flash of me sprawled out in the lovely French countryside. The idea, though, of finding myself in such surroundings with a lovely French bike with a basket on the front won out and so, we rented the bikes.

It really is true. You never forget how to ride a bike. The weight of my camera bag on the front of the bike made the balance a little bit off, but I was able to ride pretty much as I had remembered.

Isabella got a little scared, since she had only ridden in a paved playground on a smaller bike. She did a fine job, though yelled every now and then because she was a little unbalanced on the new bike.

I tried to impress upon her the greatness of the feat of her riding on a dirt path and cobblestone roads for the first time in a non-playground ride. It was difficult to keep the bike stable on those roads. I know that she can handle a big bike. Now to get home and get her one!

Croque Madame, Versailles

I will admit that up until this point, I was afraid of the cheese aspect of the Croque. But, last night, Kristen ordered one and assured me it was just a mild cheese, so today, I ordered one.

To be honest, I didn't realize that the croque madame came with an egg on top. It never occured to me to ask what the difference was between the monsieur and hte madame. Boy am I happy I did.

There are probably better specimens of the croque madame, but this made my day! The oozing egg over the ham and melted cheese was divine.

I am totally going to make these as often as my waistline will permit. What a treat!

Versailles Finally

Another success for us...Versailles!

A very impressive chateau (though less of it is on display than we had hoped), with gardens that go on for days.

We got up at 7:30, walked to the Metro and this time, just took the RER (another kind of commuter train within the Metro system) to a direct train to Versailles.

This time, I bought our tickets the night before, so all we had to do was wait in the security line when we got there, around 9:45 this morning. We got into the chateau, got a map and joined the crowds going on the tour of the rooms. There weren't as many furnished rooms as we would have liked and the crowds were huge. But, we did get to see Marie-Antoinette's bedroom and Isabella was really into the chandeliers all over the place and so, it was well worth it.

The real fun began when we hit the gardens. We chose a Saturday to visit because we knew they had classical music playing in the various gardens that were supposed to complement said gardens. The fountains also went off at certain intervals to go along with the music. It was really great, and the cooler weather stayed with us, so it was a nice way to spend a day.

We probably only saw one-third of the gardens, but what we did manage to see was beautiful.

Picnic at Parc Monceau

Our lovely friend Michelle met us at Parc Monceau today. It's located in a ritzy part of town, where Michelle said there are private streets.

We went specifically to see the mini replicas of monuments that Isabella had read about in her walking tours for kids cards. The cards, though useful to some extent, overstated the monuments. Unless we were missing a large part of the park, there were only 2, a pyramid and some Roman-type pillars.

No matter, Michelle brought some wine and cookies, I brought along salami, baguette, fruit and nutella for Isabella and we had a really fun time. Isabella had her soceer ball with her so we all played together.

As the clock past Noon, many people came to the park to enjoy their lunch hours. They were there well over and hour, which Michelle said is more typical, since they usually take a two hour break midday. It was nice to see everyone spreading out their lunches, dressed for work, but on a blanket in a park.

Overall we had a good time just having a regular park day, which just so happened to be amidst some beautiful old Parisian homes!

Bastille Day!

Not only did we go to the Champs-Elysses for the Bastille Day Parade, but we also got to see some of it right down the block from our apartment on the Rue du Rivoli.

We went up to the parade route, with me vaguely aware of the fact that it was probably going to be pandemonium.

Yes, I was right.

The biggest issue we had was our height, or lack there of. I had forgotten how hard it is in huge crowds and events it is for me to see, let alone my little lady. We did our best.

The planes overhead were awesome, got some video of them, too. We heard the music of the marching bands, and saw the members of the band coming off the parade route.

And, we did manage to see a bunch of horses and their regiment dressed up ready to go. As they were preparing, the skies opened up and there was a huge downpour.

At this point, we were right near the Franklin Roosevelt Metro stop, so we ran inside. Our size here was an asset, since we had our tickets and could wiggle our way in between the crowds.

Once back in our neighborhood, we noticed the military out in the street and that the big thoroughfare was shut to traffic. As we walked around, we started seeing crowds gathering on the corners. It occurred to us that the parade was coming down our way.

And, so it did. We saw many tanks filled with crisply outfitted military men (only one or two women in the bunch). They were not slowly going down the route. No, they were booking down the road towards the Bastille where presumably parade ended. We have video of this, too, which I will try to post soon.

The skies opened up again somewhere around when the first tank appeared. We stayed put with a completely unobstructed view of the parade. But, eventually, we had seen enough and it sure felt like we were being pelted with hail, so we went home to have a crepe and dry off.

Velib' Bike Rental

Look at that bike! Isn't it cool?
These are for rent all over the city. They cost only 1 euro or so per hour and can be taken from location and dropped off at your destination. It's the greatest system.

We wanted to rent them, but did not. I let Isabella sit on one to get an idea of the size, which seemed ok. But, we started talking about it, and realized cobblestone roads, no helmets and the fact that she has never ridden anywhere but the basketball court in the playground led us to decide it wasn't the best idea for this trip.

And so, enjoy the visual and image Isabella with a baguette in her basket riding down the road.

Lambrusco

After the Versailles debacle, we needed lunch. We went to a nice little block with many restaurants and found ourselves with a few choices. Of all things, I chose pizza. It was my choice this time, not even Isabella's.

We split a margharita pizza that was really good. Isabella got herself a nice lemonade. I decided on a Lambrusco. You know it? It's a fizzy red wine from Italy.

As it turned out, there was only a full bottle available, unlike most other wines, which were available by the glass or a demi-bottle. I ordered it anyway, what with the disappointment of Versailles and all.

I drank 2 generous glasses and left the rest behind. Well worth it!

Fish Head

See that fish head?

Isabella orderd Sea Bream for lunch today (some white fish, which I'm unclear what the US equivalent would be).

We had a talk the other night about her trying to expand her eating out main course choices beyond steak. As we walked around the area below Notre Dame with all its many Greek and varied restaurants, Isabella chose one and said she'd like fish.

I prepared her that a whole fish with head would show up in front of her and that she could share my duck, too.  She ate more than half of the fish, didn't complain about bones and had a good amount of my duck, too, just pulling off the poivre vert along the way.

I was so very proud of her, though the fish lacked any discernable flavor, she tried it and enjoyed it enough to suggest we try some other things soon.

Adrian Mole

Anyone who knows what book I'm referring to must have been my age in 1982.

One our second attempt to view Notre Dame and climb to the top, we were again denied. The crowds were massive again, so we decided to take a look on the Left Bank for Shakespeare & Co.

Along the way, we stumbled upon another space invader mosaic and a few interesting parks. The store is only a block from Notre Dame, but we had gone further down the river (not to jail, mind you) and had to work our way back (yes, due to my weird map reading skills).

The shop was very great. We were both thrilled to see so many English language books that we spent over an hour there. It's a small shop, but has a really nice kids section, which Isabella excused herself to. When I came back to find her, she was sitting on one of the couches engrossed in a small book.

The minute I saw the cover, I knew it was a meant-to-be-book-moment.  She was reading "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4" by Sue Townsend.

I had to sit down. This had been one of my very favorite books when I was just a little bit older than Isabella. There was also a British TV series that had aired on PBS. The style of writing is smart and funny, even after all these years.

The nicest part about re-reading this, is that Isabella will read passages aloud with Britishisms in them, and I will immediately recall the next part of the story and the visuals from the TV series.

Really, a nice coincidence (or coinkidink as Isabella likes to call it) and a great book, too.

It's 92 Degrees!

There's a bear on the loose!!
Oh no, that's just Isabella, super hot from the heat of the day.

After our adventure at the Museum of Decorative Arts we went back to our tiny apartment. We've noticed that we get along swimmingly outside of said apartment, but argue a bit more when we are confined here.

And so, after a little rest for me, we headed out for Amarino gelato. It's about a 10 minute walk from here, towards the Bastille. There are always lots of people out, and the street was closed to traffic it being Sunday. We also noted that a lot of stores were open, since Sunday is traditionally when shops are shut.

When we arrived we assessed the line and figured about 30 minutes wait. It was hot, not a breeze in sight, but everyone was in a good mood as they waited for their ice cream. Isabella got a mix of coffee and dark chocolate. I got lemon sorbet.

Then we walked. We found another space invader (check out the filckr stream, I'm going to make them into their own set). As we walked along, I heard a song and asked her if she knew who was singing. she said no. I told her it was Janis Joplin and she should try to remember her voice.

She stopped walking and said, "Hmm. Why do I know that name?" Waiting for her to figure it out, we both came to it at the same time....

30 Rock.

You know how Jenna was in an unauthorized biopic of Janis Joplin and they had to change her name? This is the reference my child had.

Huzzah!

Le B'autobus

With our Notre Dame plans dashed against the rocks, we set out to find a stop for the tour boat, the B'Autobus. It stops along the Seine at ten different tourtist-friendly locations, including Notre Dame.

We hadn't climbed down to the road that runs alongside the Seine yet, so it was a nice adventure all around. The idea of spending a warm day on a boat appealed to both of us so we got our tickets and boarded.

Since we had been to almost all of the monuments the stops went to, we stayed on longer than any of the other passengers. The ticket is good for a full day, so you have the option of on/off access throughout your monument hopping.

The ride lulled both of us (neither of us had been sleeping all that well and I guess the soft waves and wind relaxed us quite a bit) and we had a really nice trip along the river. The best part was as we were pulling up to the Eiffel Tower and the view of it.

We had planned to take it all the way back to Notre Dame and walk back from there, but we got too tired and wanted to move around. So we got off at the Musee D'Orsay and walked across the Pont des Artists and looked at the stalls set up with keepsakes for sale along the way.

M'aitre D' Indeed!

As we wound down our tour of the Louvre, our stomachs were growling. We talked about going to the food court at the mall in the Carrousel de Louvre, but I couldn't bear the thought of more strange medium-fast food.

The Grand Restraunt Louvre located on the lower level of the building looked like a good choice, and it was. The food was very nice, I had salmon in some kind of butter sauce of loveliness. Isabella had steak hache and frites, oh and a brownie and ice cream desert.

But, the best part was the spectacular M'aitre D'. I'd heard about it being a calling in France, that it's a serious professional pursuit, but I had yet to see it fully in action. The man who was in charge, was really in charge.

Not a moment went by where he wasn't tending to new people walking in the door, or setting a table or generally making sure the staff was where they needed to be. We watched and counted the seconds between when a group of people entered the restaurant and either understood to wait or just waltzed in and tried to seat themselves. It usually took him less than 20 seconds to attend to everyone.

He was unfailingly nice, but very clear to those who seated themselves that it would be just two minutes as he pointed out the groups of people waiting. He made time to chat with Isabella and each of the older Spanish threesome at our next table.

Mr. M'aitre D' was all business, charm and sass, but he got the job done and made everyone feel right at home.

Cite des Sciences

Today was a trip 40 minutes from home to an interactive science museum. First up, a 3D iMax movie about prehistorice sea monsters. It was really cool and they even had headsets that gave us the story in English.

The complex is as large as any NY state university campus I've been on. I could not believe how vast it was. There was even an actual submarine on-site.

After lunch, which was from a fast-food pasta stand, we went upstairs to see the exhibits. Our first hour was spent trying out a lot of exhibits that were very similar to the Exploratorium in SF. A little disappointed, we went back through and found a few more fun and different exhibits.

The best of which involved learning all about food and how to determine the best kinds to buy, where food comes from, etc. There were lots of hands-on activities that Isabella loved.

We also spent some time in the math area, though the English translations were not quite clear enough for us to grasp (yes, us, I, too found it confusing, no surprise there, what with my math-challenged background and all), but enough of it made sense to Isabella that she figured out what infinity means.

The last stop on our tour was the space exhibit which again, was huge, and a little hard to grasp, but very interesting.

After our ride back, we really needed a crepe. Good thing the stand downstairs was open and a Nutella crepe was available immediately!