June 22, 2011
Dear Family,
We arrived in Paris to find it overcast and raining, weather to make us feel right at home. Eyes were a little bleary as we stumbled off of the plane at 1:30 am PST, 10:30 am Paris time. We sped through customs and were greeted by Ryan's "Tonton" Alain who helped us inquire about our train tickets and provided us with his GPS to aid us in our travels through France. We then took the RER -A train towards downtown Paris. Honest first impressions: the trains were kind of grimy and there was a lot of graffiti everywhere.
Once we arrived near St Michel-Notre Dame, Ryan convinced me to take the metro a little further to Les Invalides. Warning for future travel, what looks like a few blocks on the map could be a very long walk, particularly if you haven't slept well, it is 3 am in your time zone, and, you are carrying bags, even if you "packed light.". After what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at Hotel la Bourdonnais, and then the fun started. We dropped our bags and retraced some of our steps, past numerous boulangeries, patisseries, and made are way back to Rue Cler where we found a fabulous Cafe du Marche. We split a fabulous Cobb Salad ( no blue cheese ), then chatted as we observed Parisian life. We each had a small entre ( grilled salmon florettes, heaven for me ), and then la piece de resistance, my first Parisienne chocolate chaud.
I go back and forth a little as to whether the crazy diet I went on to trim down for our trip or not was wise, and in this sense it was, I have really thoroughly enjoyed the food here so far. Especially the salad with the grilled turkey and avocado, the salmon florets, the hot chocolate, the fresh fruit, the yogurt, the baguette, ... You get the picture. Everything I have eaten has been heavenly.
After a leisurely meal at the cafe, we headed towards the Effiel Tower and then over to the Seine River which we walked along, hoping to make it all the way to Notre Dame. Walking along the river is a highlight of the trip so far for me, it was sunny but not too warm, there was a nice breeze, and there were so many interesting buildings, statues, bridges, historical plaques, all with a nice breeze, great historical commentary from my travel companion, and, of course, a full belly from our recent meal.
After walking for about two hours, we still had not reached Notre Dame (deceptive maps again) and Ryan, who had not even napped on the plane due to his excitement, was becoming fatigued, so we hopped on the Batobus and headed back towards the Eiffel Tower and then back to our hotel. Along the way we picked up a baguette, fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and some yogurt for a fabulous picnic dinner.
While it may not be very practical with several children who like to play outdoors, I like the Parisian format with most of the buildings appearing to be about six or seven stories tall with all of the upper levels devoted to living space and the bottom floor businesses, with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and cute little shops full of delicious looking fresh fruits and berries.
Another notable thing about Paris is the abundance of motorcycles, most of them driven by businessmen wearing suits. And why not as motorcycles appear to be able to park almost anywhere including most sidewalks, and appear to be allowed to drive in between the lanes of traffic when things are backed up.
Best wishes,
Michelle
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