I know that many people come to Paris for the shopping... the fashion world is HUGE here. I am not a shopper but the lure of christmas marts springing up called. My son actually was the one who suggested we head up to the Champs des Elysses again to look more closely at the stalls we passed the other day. We headed up one side and then down the other. It was strange to have such a strong military presence but also reassuring at the same time. After passing the 5th remote controlled store and the 80th scarf shop we headed back home again. We window shopped along the way. We stopped at Cafe St Germain - it was quiet when we arrived and hopping by the time we left. We dined on escargot, ham and cheese omelet, ravioli, penne with tomato and basil sauce, and veal with taglatelli. YUMMY!
When we finally got home we found dad home from his conference. He wanted to go see Paris with us. Little did he know that we were done for the day. I wanted to go visit a department store just to see if they were any different than in the US. They are very similar. I was surprised to see the furs just out on the floor versus under lock and key. When we got outside we discovered there were more stalls all around the base. little did I know that we could have walked less than 1/2 mile and achieved the same results. We then showed dad the cemetary we explored the other day and found the close diner we hoped to visit during our time here.
We then went off to collect our dinner. To the grocery for more milk - one liter does not last very long in this family. Then two doors down to the bakery for our baguette... on down we showed dad the fish store with WHOLE fish displayed. Two doors down from the fish was our cheese shop - we tried 3 more new cheeses for dinner. After passing 3 wine shops we stopped in at the fourth one and got our bottle for dinner. We dined on our collection of items from our travels. Tomorrow we will start our ranked list of must sees in Paris - just wait until you see what was first....
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Down Under
I am sorry if you were looking for this post yesterday. My hubby needed the laptop so I could not get it all uploaded until tonight.
This morning we headed up to the Seine again on foot - we are learning the route now... I forgot which bridge we were supposed to go to but then I verified the location using a metro stop - we were 2 bridges away. We arrived for the sewer museum opening just on time. We walked down the stairwell with our English translation of the tour in hand. The tour begins with a historical account of how the city developed and what happened to the daily waste. As the population grew so did the industrial wastes that were being diverted into the Seine. When Hausmann was revolutionizing the city, he commissioned Belgrand to design a system where the wastewater was discharged far downstream from Paris. The tour showed the results of the 1910 flood that lasted for well over a month. One of the sewermen recorded daily the situation by hand. The memoire is still preserved for others to read. The historical account began with the initial population and the romans and why water was important to each of their livelihoods. The initial "sewers" just drained to the center of the city streets and then went into the river. Over time there were deeper ditches created to collect the street runoff. These ditches were then covered with arches and then the arches were buried thus our current idea of a sewer. In addition to the historical account of the sewers they took the time to educate the public on how the water is cleaned today prior to entering supply lines. They also clean the water before it is being discharged. The rest of the tour focused on the sewermen and their clean apparatus... the cleaner balls push the sand along the pipe so they don't get clogged. Divits in the pipe are created so the sand will settle and they can put in a vacuum of sorts to pull out the accumulated sand. They had flushers to push the solid debris forward and then the claw to lift it into a collection bin. You could see the stairs leading to the mainholes. I was VERY glad that we visited in the winter - I can only imagine the stench in the summer heat. Also, you walk across grates over the sewer water - if you have a fear of grates this may not be the tour for you.
After our underground experience, we were very excited to be in the open air again. The children decided that although we were not going into the Eiffel Tower without dad they wanted to touch it. We did not know that the four legs of the tower end in buildings. We had to settle for taking REALLY close pictures and gazing up at the top. We wandered along the gardens and then decided to eat.
We stopped at La Terrasse and dined on salmon, mussels, and beef stew. It was wonderful to come inside and warm up again. We wandered back to the apartment and collapsed with another fine dinner of wine and cheese.
This morning we headed up to the Seine again on foot - we are learning the route now... I forgot which bridge we were supposed to go to but then I verified the location using a metro stop - we were 2 bridges away. We arrived for the sewer museum opening just on time. We walked down the stairwell with our English translation of the tour in hand. The tour begins with a historical account of how the city developed and what happened to the daily waste. As the population grew so did the industrial wastes that were being diverted into the Seine. When Hausmann was revolutionizing the city, he commissioned Belgrand to design a system where the wastewater was discharged far downstream from Paris. The tour showed the results of the 1910 flood that lasted for well over a month. One of the sewermen recorded daily the situation by hand. The memoire is still preserved for others to read. The historical account began with the initial population and the romans and why water was important to each of their livelihoods. The initial "sewers" just drained to the center of the city streets and then went into the river. Over time there were deeper ditches created to collect the street runoff. These ditches were then covered with arches and then the arches were buried thus our current idea of a sewer. In addition to the historical account of the sewers they took the time to educate the public on how the water is cleaned today prior to entering supply lines. They also clean the water before it is being discharged. The rest of the tour focused on the sewermen and their clean apparatus... the cleaner balls push the sand along the pipe so they don't get clogged. Divits in the pipe are created so the sand will settle and they can put in a vacuum of sorts to pull out the accumulated sand. They had flushers to push the solid debris forward and then the claw to lift it into a collection bin. You could see the stairs leading to the mainholes. I was VERY glad that we visited in the winter - I can only imagine the stench in the summer heat. Also, you walk across grates over the sewer water - if you have a fear of grates this may not be the tour for you.
After our underground experience, we were very excited to be in the open air again. The children decided that although we were not going into the Eiffel Tower without dad they wanted to touch it. We did not know that the four legs of the tower end in buildings. We had to settle for taking REALLY close pictures and gazing up at the top. We wandered along the gardens and then decided to eat.
We stopped at La Terrasse and dined on salmon, mussels, and beef stew. It was wonderful to come inside and warm up again. We wandered back to the apartment and collapsed with another fine dinner of wine and cheese.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Latin Quarter & the university
We started today with fresh pastries from our friendly bakery. After a quick breakfast we were off. Our first stop was picking up a metro map for dad. On our way to our first destination we swung into the Cimetiere du Montparnasse. It was interesting for the children to see how other cultures respect the dead. They saw family tombs with individual names listed on plaques displayed on the top. They saw shrines with flowers and names listed inside. They were surprised to see that not only were there potted plants but permanent planters which the relatives maintained. There is no grass in the cemetaries only markers.
Our first destination was Marie Curie's movements around the university. We began on la Glaciere where she began her married life to Pierre in a 3 room flat. Off to two more of her apartments while she was a student. She did not have elevators, hot water, or heat in her 6th story apartments. From there we headed off to see her laboratory. When we arrived it was before the time when it was due to open but I thought I saw a sign that it was still closed for renovations.
The Pantheon was not far up the road so off we went. We looked at the frescos along the wall and I explained the importance of Saint Genieve to the children. She provided supplies to the Parisians when Attila the Hun was attacking.
We then entered the crypt. The first two were Voltaire and Rousseau. Although the children do not know about them yet, it is my hope that when they do learn in school they will be able to say they saw his crypt. We moved deeper into the crypt and found Marie and Pierre Curie. There were flowers and notes placed by them.
In front of the Pantheon Christmas trees were decorated. We moved along the side to Saint Etienne du Mont. This is a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve.
Her heart and her preserved body were there along with an image of John Paul II when he visited. It was interesting to stand in the presence of a saint. We headed back to the Curie Institute to see if it was definitely closed - alas it was - maybe later in the trip I can run back and sneak a peek. We picked up hotdogs which were like none other on our way home. They were two dogs covered in cheese on a roll like only the French can make. They warmed our chilled hands and empty stomachs. We crossed into the Jardin du Luxembourg and found a free bench to watch the birds and enjoy our meal.
We picked up some medicine on our way back to the apartment. After dropping off some tired children (5 miles today!) we went out to pick up some dinner: wine, baguette, quiche, cheese, and merange... We did not pick up the HUGE merange early in the day
so they had to settle for a smaller one. As I write they are winding down watching pink panther - good night.
Our first destination was Marie Curie's movements around the university. We began on la Glaciere where she began her married life to Pierre in a 3 room flat. Off to two more of her apartments while she was a student. She did not have elevators, hot water, or heat in her 6th story apartments. From there we headed off to see her laboratory. When we arrived it was before the time when it was due to open but I thought I saw a sign that it was still closed for renovations.
Her heart and her preserved body were there along with an image of John Paul II when he visited. It was interesting to stand in the presence of a saint. We headed back to the Curie Institute to see if it was definitely closed - alas it was - maybe later in the trip I can run back and sneak a peek. We picked up hotdogs which were like none other on our way home. They were two dogs covered in cheese on a roll like only the French can make. They warmed our chilled hands and empty stomachs. We crossed into the Jardin du Luxembourg and found a free bench to watch the birds and enjoy our meal.
We picked up some medicine on our way back to the apartment. After dropping off some tired children (5 miles today!) we went out to pick up some dinner: wine, baguette, quiche, cheese, and merange... We did not pick up the HUGE merange early in the day
Monday, December 5, 2011
Unplanned Arch de Triomphe visit
So this morning started out with me searching for breakfast. Little did I know that the pastry shop a few doors down would be closed Monday and Tuesday so off I went with 2 little ones in tow. We walked and found a pastry shop and picked up two chocolate croissants, 2 regular croissants and a chocolate bread log thing... yummy!!! On the way back we found a hole in the wall that I realized was a grocery store. Picked up coffee, sugar, milk, OJ and some chocolate cereal that one of the little ones wanted.... on the way back the other mentioned he had wanted dried kiwi - well I guess that we will be shopping there again. Came back to the apartment to eat.
We were scheduled to meet friends at Chez Andre at 12:30. I had no idea where this was or how to get there - we decided to walk it since we had time. Off we went. We walked up to the Seine and crossed by the Petit Palace. On our way across a bus with a police escort went by. It looked like diginitaries were on there but what do I know then a fleet of police vans came running by.... guess it was something important. We had gotten lost early in the directions but I was able to navigate us back on course. We actually arrived 4 minutes early. For lunch we had goat cheese pastry drizzled with honey for the appetizer with a side of pears. The main meal was roasted leg of lamb with mashed potatoes, cod fillet with potatoes, chateaubriand with french fries, and duck. For dessert we had profiteroles, apple tart, and chocolate ice cream. Our friends mentioned a chocolate shop they had found so off we went. The children each picked two specialties and some macaroons. Too many sweets so they had to wait. We were close enough to the Arch de Triomphe that it was not worth coming back later.
Up to the Champs elysees it was and to the Arch de Triomphe etoile.
The children did not remember watching the Tour de France on TV so they had no idea why dad and I had to walk out and walk along the cobblestone. I read in my Frommers book that there was an underground passage to get over to the Arch - took us a minute to find it. We picked up our tickets and headed the base. Into one of the legs we went and then UP, UP, UP on a spiral staircase that almost caused my frightened people to stop in their tracks.
Happiness when we reached the inner lobby and dedication. Cool statues and pieces from 1836.
Then up two more sets of stairs to the top. It was getting windy but at least the day was clear - we could see up to Sacre Coeur on the hill, down to the Louvre, the Tour Montparnasse (close to our apartment), and of course the Eiffel Tower, the La Defense (dad's conference location). We did not spend much time up top. The trip down the spiral staircase on the other leg did not seem as bad as the trip up but still scary in it own right.
Walking down the Champs Elysees we saw lots of shop names we recognized from the US. As we approached the Place de la concorde there we little white huts lining both sides of the street. Each was showing their wares - scarves, figurines, food, cheese, lots to see. The Condorde has a ferris wheel next to it. We realized we had driven that way in the taxi on our way in. We continued to travel toward the Louvre.
Very cool statues along the tree lined way. As we approached the Louvre we turned to cross the Seine again. Took some pictures on the bridge facing up and down the river. Could not see the Concierge and Notre Dame very well because the river turns there. We wandered back down to get to the same street we came up on... this was not our original route but it worked. Overall the walk was 7 miles.... and it only took us 7 hours or so including lunch... many tired feet. Scrounging for leftovers and what we had in the house for dinner - not very glamorous but it worked.
We were scheduled to meet friends at Chez Andre at 12:30. I had no idea where this was or how to get there - we decided to walk it since we had time. Off we went. We walked up to the Seine and crossed by the Petit Palace. On our way across a bus with a police escort went by. It looked like diginitaries were on there but what do I know then a fleet of police vans came running by.... guess it was something important. We had gotten lost early in the directions but I was able to navigate us back on course. We actually arrived 4 minutes early. For lunch we had goat cheese pastry drizzled with honey for the appetizer with a side of pears. The main meal was roasted leg of lamb with mashed potatoes, cod fillet with potatoes, chateaubriand with french fries, and duck. For dessert we had profiteroles, apple tart, and chocolate ice cream. Our friends mentioned a chocolate shop they had found so off we went. The children each picked two specialties and some macaroons. Too many sweets so they had to wait. We were close enough to the Arch de Triomphe that it was not worth coming back later.
Up to the Champs elysees it was and to the Arch de Triomphe etoile.
The children did not remember watching the Tour de France on TV so they had no idea why dad and I had to walk out and walk along the cobblestone. I read in my Frommers book that there was an underground passage to get over to the Arch - took us a minute to find it. We picked up our tickets and headed the base. Into one of the legs we went and then UP, UP, UP on a spiral staircase that almost caused my frightened people to stop in their tracks.
Then up two more sets of stairs to the top. It was getting windy but at least the day was clear - we could see up to Sacre Coeur on the hill, down to the Louvre, the Tour Montparnasse (close to our apartment), and of course the Eiffel Tower, the La Defense (dad's conference location). We did not spend much time up top. The trip down the spiral staircase on the other leg did not seem as bad as the trip up but still scary in it own right.
Walking down the Champs Elysees we saw lots of shop names we recognized from the US. As we approached the Place de la concorde there we little white huts lining both sides of the street. Each was showing their wares - scarves, figurines, food, cheese, lots to see. The Condorde has a ferris wheel next to it. We realized we had driven that way in the taxi on our way in. We continued to travel toward the Louvre.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Arrival Day
I am so glad that the longer flight was the first over the Atlantic. The second flight was just a quick up and down and we were here. I gave the children sleepy medicine which helped them relax. Sleeping on a plane is not like sleeping in a bed but it hopefully gives you enough rest that you can function.... functioning worked for 3 of us but not for the other two. Luckily we had arranged for a taxi to take us to the apartment (thanks Bob!) that was able to fit 5 people, 5 suitcases (various sizes) and 5 carry-on backpacks. Yes, there was an organized line for taxis but we just walked up to our person and we were on way. I was not expecting that one hour later we would be at our apartment - Paris is much bigger than anyone lets on.
Our apartment is a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa - the kitchen is more of a kitchenette. It was fun to see the questioning faces of the children - isn't there another room? Why is the toilet separate from the rest of the bathroom - wait! Where is the other bathroom? Gotta love the kids without filters. The best part is the towel bar that warms the towels - can't wait to take a shower to give it a try.
The two non-functioning of us took a nap while the rest of us watched Scooby Doo. It was very strange to watch the children laugh at a show that they did not understand a word of what was being said.
After nap time we ventured out for crepes..... I found a crepe place in the Frommers Guide that was highly recommended. I also highly recommend Creperie Josselin (14e)after our delicious meal there. The place was hopping. They pull the tables together and then when a party leaves they just pull the table out and the people walk around to leave. Each child was greeted by the friendly chefs in the kitchen and they awkwardly replied with their repetitive French. We sampled chocolate and whipped cream, andoille sausage, egg ham cheese, and sausage with spinach crepes. They were each amazing in their own way - the hard cider on the side was a great way to enter into the foodie world of Paris.
Now that the sun has gone to bed - it is time to try and get my overly tired children to rest their eyes for a few hours. One is already resting them pretty solidly. I even gave instructions for what to do if they wake up before everyone else... now to see who that is.....
Our apartment is a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa - the kitchen is more of a kitchenette. It was fun to see the questioning faces of the children - isn't there another room? Why is the toilet separate from the rest of the bathroom - wait! Where is the other bathroom? Gotta love the kids without filters. The best part is the towel bar that warms the towels - can't wait to take a shower to give it a try.
The two non-functioning of us took a nap while the rest of us watched Scooby Doo. It was very strange to watch the children laugh at a show that they did not understand a word of what was being said.
After nap time we ventured out for crepes..... I found a crepe place in the Frommers Guide that was highly recommended. I also highly recommend Creperie Josselin (14e)after our delicious meal there. The place was hopping. They pull the tables together and then when a party leaves they just pull the table out and the people walk around to leave. Each child was greeted by the friendly chefs in the kitchen and they awkwardly replied with their repetitive French. We sampled chocolate and whipped cream, andoille sausage, egg ham cheese, and sausage with spinach crepes. They were each amazing in their own way - the hard cider on the side was a great way to enter into the foodie world of Paris.
Now that the sun has gone to bed - it is time to try and get my overly tired children to rest their eyes for a few hours. One is already resting them pretty solidly. I even gave instructions for what to do if they wake up before everyone else... now to see who that is.....
Friday, December 2, 2011
Final Day!!
Today was our final day before trackout and it was an early release. Of all days to be limited on time this was not it. I never should have waited until the last minute to do the technology pieces - transferring pictures and charging cameras - ugh! Looking for the appropriate cords was the easiest part of today. Then I labelled the cords so that in the future they are still easy to identify. The last load of laundry is in the dryer and now for the REAL packing to begin. Where has all the time gone?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Panic Attack
So at least my panic attacks waited until the week we are getting ready to leave. Lying in bed I realized in just one short week we will be in our apartment in Paris. Then the lists of to-dos entered my brain. I pushed them away so I could get some sleep before the Monday morning routine kicked in. This week is busy with scouts and band and early release. The boxes are ready for items to be added... just a few things each day so the last minute is not a panic. Just a little shopping left for missing clothes and some medicine to take along. The technology is the next HUGE issue... downloads and printing/saving.... powercords, chargers, batteries. Now back to the normal laundry and cooking and cleaning.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)