Our family of 4 in Paris (plus a day visiting Vimy)
Jun 25th, 2009, 04:21 PM
#21
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I enjoy taking bike tours when we visit new cities. We have done a Fat Tire tour in both Paris and Berlin. We have also done a bike tour of New York City. We will go to Montreal in mid-July and will do a bike tour there. It beats walking everywhere and gives a good perspective of the city and what you might want to see more of. I travel with my two children, now ages 16 and 20.
Jun 25th, 2009, 07:39 PM
#23
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Thanks so much to everyone for letting me know you are reading!
<b>The bike tour</b>
The bike tour was a great orientation to the city. The biking was not at all strenuous – there were definitely a very wide range of fitness and “when was that last time I biked” levels within the group, and everyone kept up. Basically, we biked for about 10 minutes – usually in a bike lane or path, but sometimes in a well orchestrated maneuver down a narrow road or across an intersection – and then stopped somewhere for a smattering of history or local interest, then biked another 10 minutes or so to another “history lesson”. And the delivery style was laid back and accessible – the kids are still able to spout back facts about Paris that they learned on the bike tour. The only negative feedback I have ever read about the bike tours is the thought that they may be too “American” and not particularly “Parisian”, I mean, it is hard to pass as local in a group of people with matching bikes! Also I think because of the very "non-europeon ness" of the organization, it helped make a easier transition from home to being away and dealing in a foreign language etc.
For us, the kids loved it (I can’t stress how nice and “cool” Rohan was with them), and the initially unconvinced DH loved it, it was an excellent first day activity to get out and about and definitely helped us reset our internal clocks. Especially because the weather wasn’t particularly nice out – it certainly wasn’t unpleasant enough to ruin the bike tour, but it was probably miserable enough that without the tour we probably would have stayed indoors too much (if that makes sense…)
Based on the tour and the enthusiastic commentary from Rohan, we decided to add Napoleon’s tomb (intrigued by the story of the false dome) and Napoleon’s apartments in Louvre to our places we planned to visit.
After the bike tour, we walked over to Ecole Militaire to check out the bullet holes from WWII that we had learned about on the tour. Amazing - the layering and layering of history. Here is a building built 300 years ago, with bullet holes from the last world war layered on. Just the ability to randomly stumble across history – it is hard to tell how much of all that sunk in with the kids, or if it is something that when they are in a place to really understand and appreciate they can draw back to when they were actually there.
The walking after the tour, and now the day was getting later, was starting to wear on us, so we metro’d it back to Isle St Louis.
<b>Chillaxing and dinner at home</b>
The apartment definitely felt like home – and we crashed and read for a bit. A’s was reading a book called “Skybreaker” by Kenneth Oppel, which was the second in a series, that coincidentally included lots of parts taking place in Paris! B had just started “The Goblet of Fire” on the plane over so was eager for the reading break.
We split into two groups after our break – DH and A went up to the St Paul area in search of that 8E rotisserie chicken, and B and I went for a wander around the island, with the specific task of getting bread and some sort of cold cuts to go with the chicken for supper.
When he and I got to just behind Notre Dame, it was all blocked off with an very visible police and ‘army guys’ presence. We found out that it was because Obama was/was going to shortly/had just visited Notre Dame.
As we wandered back over the bridge there was an accordionist playing, and B asked for some coins to put in his hat. I only had something like 25 cents, so B put it in, and pledged to bring some of his own money that was still at the apartment to put in his hat next time (and he did remember to do that and followed through on his word!).
B and I went to the butcher just below our apartment and they very patiently let me order my slices of ham, various sausage, and country pate. B was intrigued by the fact that all the meat still had it’s head and feet on, and that there was no disguising the fact that the ham was part of something’s leg! Intrigued… but partway through my purchases decided he was more comfortable waiting outside. So he went next door to the bakery, and was very proud to purchase the baguette himself.
DH and A had also not been able to find the cheap rotisserie chicken, but did come back with a 16E “poulet de fermer” or something like that – which turned out to be very tasty, and to stretch into being part of 3 different meals. They had also picked up some curried rice and salad rolls from a Chinese traiteur. So we had a great apartment meal of tomatoes, strawberries, salad (though the salad didn’t go over as big with the kids, because of the ironic inability to find French dressing, which is the kids' salad staple), the chicken and cold cuts and pate, and of course, the bread.
After eating, we wandered around the perimeter of the islands – DH and I walking along the top and the kids running along the lower level riverside, then up the stairs etc. etc. Back in the apartment at 10:15pm! Way past normal bedtime – but it isn’t normal… It’s Paris!
Goodnight!
<b>The bike tour</b>
The bike tour was a great orientation to the city. The biking was not at all strenuous – there were definitely a very wide range of fitness and “when was that last time I biked” levels within the group, and everyone kept up. Basically, we biked for about 10 minutes – usually in a bike lane or path, but sometimes in a well orchestrated maneuver down a narrow road or across an intersection – and then stopped somewhere for a smattering of history or local interest, then biked another 10 minutes or so to another “history lesson”. And the delivery style was laid back and accessible – the kids are still able to spout back facts about Paris that they learned on the bike tour. The only negative feedback I have ever read about the bike tours is the thought that they may be too “American” and not particularly “Parisian”, I mean, it is hard to pass as local in a group of people with matching bikes! Also I think because of the very "non-europeon ness" of the organization, it helped make a easier transition from home to being away and dealing in a foreign language etc.
For us, the kids loved it (I can’t stress how nice and “cool” Rohan was with them), and the initially unconvinced DH loved it, it was an excellent first day activity to get out and about and definitely helped us reset our internal clocks. Especially because the weather wasn’t particularly nice out – it certainly wasn’t unpleasant enough to ruin the bike tour, but it was probably miserable enough that without the tour we probably would have stayed indoors too much (if that makes sense…)
Based on the tour and the enthusiastic commentary from Rohan, we decided to add Napoleon’s tomb (intrigued by the story of the false dome) and Napoleon’s apartments in Louvre to our places we planned to visit.
After the bike tour, we walked over to Ecole Militaire to check out the bullet holes from WWII that we had learned about on the tour. Amazing - the layering and layering of history. Here is a building built 300 years ago, with bullet holes from the last world war layered on. Just the ability to randomly stumble across history – it is hard to tell how much of all that sunk in with the kids, or if it is something that when they are in a place to really understand and appreciate they can draw back to when they were actually there.
The walking after the tour, and now the day was getting later, was starting to wear on us, so we metro’d it back to Isle St Louis.
<b>Chillaxing and dinner at home</b>
The apartment definitely felt like home – and we crashed and read for a bit. A’s was reading a book called “Skybreaker” by Kenneth Oppel, which was the second in a series, that coincidentally included lots of parts taking place in Paris! B had just started “The Goblet of Fire” on the plane over so was eager for the reading break.
We split into two groups after our break – DH and A went up to the St Paul area in search of that 8E rotisserie chicken, and B and I went for a wander around the island, with the specific task of getting bread and some sort of cold cuts to go with the chicken for supper.
When he and I got to just behind Notre Dame, it was all blocked off with an very visible police and ‘army guys’ presence. We found out that it was because Obama was/was going to shortly/had just visited Notre Dame.
As we wandered back over the bridge there was an accordionist playing, and B asked for some coins to put in his hat. I only had something like 25 cents, so B put it in, and pledged to bring some of his own money that was still at the apartment to put in his hat next time (and he did remember to do that and followed through on his word!).
B and I went to the butcher just below our apartment and they very patiently let me order my slices of ham, various sausage, and country pate. B was intrigued by the fact that all the meat still had it’s head and feet on, and that there was no disguising the fact that the ham was part of something’s leg! Intrigued… but partway through my purchases decided he was more comfortable waiting outside. So he went next door to the bakery, and was very proud to purchase the baguette himself.
DH and A had also not been able to find the cheap rotisserie chicken, but did come back with a 16E “poulet de fermer” or something like that – which turned out to be very tasty, and to stretch into being part of 3 different meals. They had also picked up some curried rice and salad rolls from a Chinese traiteur. So we had a great apartment meal of tomatoes, strawberries, salad (though the salad didn’t go over as big with the kids, because of the ironic inability to find French dressing, which is the kids' salad staple), the chicken and cold cuts and pate, and of course, the bread.
After eating, we wandered around the perimeter of the islands – DH and I walking along the top and the kids running along the lower level riverside, then up the stairs etc. etc. Back in the apartment at 10:15pm! Way past normal bedtime – but it isn’t normal… It’s Paris!
Goodnight!
Jun 26th, 2009, 02:56 AM
#27
Oh my god, I just got down to this last bit about the price of the chicken! In my neighborhood, you get TWO roasted chickens for 8€. ('Farm' chickens 2€ more) I can't believe what they are charging in the tourist neighborhoods! 
Jun 26th, 2009, 05:00 AM
#28
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Thanks again everyone 
You know kerouac, as I was planning this trip, in my mind we were spending lots of time wandering around off the beaten path neighbourhoods and finding those cheap chickens (and all that sort of thing!). I came away from our visit with the absolute conviction that Paris would be the perfect place for that kind of experience - and a belief that I could go back to Paris for a visit every year (or like you... be there all the time!) and never run out of new experiences and places to try.
What I underestimated in that fantasy was that there are skills involved in actually travelling... In getting your logistical bearings in an unfamiliar place etc. I <u>used</u> to have some of those skills but never the variation of those skills that involves travelling with a family of 4... Like jazz or Picasso - you really need a solid foundation of the fundamental elements before you can improvise off them!
The 11 year old said at one point "When we go to the cottage" (our standard summer holiday)"that is a vacation... Coming to Paris is an experience". What worked for us I think was the fact that Paris has the 'tourist infrastructure' that helped us find our footing, but then were lots of opportunities to inch off that tourist infrastructure as our confidence grew. In a week, we weren't able to inch off too far or too many times, but we all (kids included!) came away with a desire and conviction to come back to Paris to work off the footing we had found.
You know kerouac, as I was planning this trip, in my mind we were spending lots of time wandering around off the beaten path neighbourhoods and finding those cheap chickens (and all that sort of thing!). I came away from our visit with the absolute conviction that Paris would be the perfect place for that kind of experience - and a belief that I could go back to Paris for a visit every year (or like you... be there all the time!) and never run out of new experiences and places to try.
What I underestimated in that fantasy was that there are skills involved in actually travelling... In getting your logistical bearings in an unfamiliar place etc. I <u>used</u> to have some of those skills
but never the variation of those skills that involves travelling with a family of 4... Like jazz or Picasso - you really need a solid foundation of the fundamental elements before you can improvise off them!The 11 year old said at one point "When we go to the cottage" (our standard summer holiday)"that is a vacation... Coming to Paris is an experience". What worked for us I think was the fact that Paris has the 'tourist infrastructure' that helped us find our footing, but then were lots of opportunities to inch off that tourist infrastructure as our confidence grew. In a week, we weren't able to inch off too far or too many times, but we all (kids included!) came away with a desire and conviction to come back to Paris to work off the footing we had found.
Jun 26th, 2009, 08:01 AM
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Canada_V, by coincidence, we were in Paris the very same week as you! We also left Toronto on June 4th but on a later AC flight. I'm really enjoying your report. It brings back memories of our previous visit to Paris, more than 20 years ago, with our two children. They have children of their own now but still talk about their Paris experiences.
Jun 26th, 2009, 09:52 AM
#32
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Thanks again to everyone for their comments...
moolyn - small virtual world! Are you going to do a trip report - I'd love to read about things happening at the same time as we were there - would be cool
kerouac - we were in Paris for a week, then down south for a week, then back in Paris for two days - and when I get to that part of the report, on those last two days we were all full of the confidence and relaxed confidence of returning to a an old friend! We all felt like Paris veterans - it was amazing and wonderful
moolyn - small virtual world! Are you going to do a trip report - I'd love to read about things happening at the same time as we were there - would be cool
kerouac - we were in Paris for a week, then down south for a week, then back in Paris for two days - and when I get to that part of the report, on those last two days we were all full of the confidence and relaxed confidence of returning to a an old friend! We all felt like Paris veterans - it was amazing and wonderful
Jun 26th, 2009, 10:00 AM
#33
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Day 3 – Sunday June 7th
<b>Going to the top and bottom of Paris</b>
While I did internet research, forum question asking and ‘take out every single Paris guidebook in the library’ research, the boys most consistent research tool were the DK Eyewitness guides to Paris and to France that I left… um… in the washroom. For the past several months, every now and then there would be a flush -> followed by “Mum, when we are in Paris, can we go and see…”. Our Paris tourist sight strategy was for everyone in the family to pick 2 “must see” things, and we would make sure that those were in the definite itinerary, and anything else was in the list of options depending on how things went.
The top of the list for all three boys (DH included) were the catacombs…
The catacombs are not included in the 4 day museum pass that were going to get starting Tuesday , so they were a perfect thing to schedule for this Sunday morning.
So the schedule for today…
Catacombs
Montparnasse
Montmartre (Salivdor Dali museum?)
Scout out Gare du nord in preparation for our early morning train trip the next day to Amiens.
For transportation, we again picked up Moblis and Jeune Weekend day passes. <i>note of correction: when I talked about our first Friday, I said that we got Jeune weekend tickets for the kids, but I was confused We actually got Moblis tickets for everyone – because the Jeune weekend tickets aren’t available on Friday… </i>
<b>The Catacombs</b>
This morning everyone had to be awoken by the alarm at 9am. The boys fought over who got toit was to go down and get the baguettes and croissants for breakfast (they managed to come up with their own solution where one got to do the talking and the other got to handle the money!)
Headed out to pick up the bus 63 behind the Institut du Monde Arabe.
<b>Side note about public transit</b>
The kids <u>loved</u> the public transit -it was a big part of their Paris experience. We live “in the country” outside a small town, so we have no regular exposure to public transit, outside of occasional visits to Toronto. And even then… I find that Toronto is still just as car friendly as transit friendly – odds are driving is going to be just as convenient if not more so.
They loved
- The ticket sucker in and spitter out machine I mentioned before
- The “next train/bus will arrive in x minutes” signs
- The scrolling displays in the bus that told you which stop was next
- The fact that you had to physically open the door from the subway (we often had to exit a metro car through 2 doors so that they each were able to be the opener!)
- Figuring out where we were and were we were going on the transit map on the wall, bustop or inside the bus or metro car
- Doing the stop count down. “Where are we getting off?” ok 6 stops…. Ok 5 more stops… OK 4 more stops…
- The ‘fold down’ seats by the doors in the metro
- Raised up seats at the very back of the busses
- Pressing the “stop requested” button in the bus when we were ready to get out
- Switching from line to line within the metro
Loved it!
<b>Sorry about the digression… back to the catacombs</b>
We arrived at about 10 to 10 – there was already a bit of a line, but nothing too major, and we were inside shortly after 10am.
We add to our growing collection of ‘steps and stairs in Paris’ by taking the 130 steps down into the catacombs.
The total ‘journey’ underground is 1.7 km, with the first half being just tunnels, and the second half being tunnels full of bones. We walk through the first half – taking the time to read the various “info plaques” on the walls, wonder at the simple fact that the buildings on top of the ground were built by digging rocks out from under the ground, check out the underground carvings made by workers in honour of one of their own who died below ground and consider the ‘coolness’ of being under the busy streets above. We do keep finding ourselves in danger of death by trampling from the groups of visitors coming in behind us. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get through (I suppose rushing to get to the bones part). I think maybe because we do linger a bit more then it seems most people do looking at one of the carvings, the security guard sitting by it strikes up a conversation with us, and then proceeds to walk with us through the rest of the non-bones section giving us additional insight into the history, the engineering etc! We got our own mini-private tour...
Got to the bones parts – I found it amazing rather than creepy. The idea of emptying the cemeteries and moving the bones at night through the city really caught the imagination of the kids. And the fact that the individuals doing the macabre and undoubtedly low prestige job of stacking the bones in the tunnels took the time to include some creative and aesthetic arrangements of the bones we all found intriguing. The pile of people and lives those bones represented – thought provoking. None of us found it depressing though, I think because in the back of my mind these were the bones resulting for whatever natural cycle of life these people found themselves in. I did find, however, later in the week when visiting the Deportmentation memorial behind Notre Dame, and looking at the wall of crystals representing deported citizens of whom only 10% returned, that this visit to the catacombs gave me a tangible and disturbing visual in absorbing that fact.
So we had gone to the catacombs with pretty high expectations, and nobody was disappointed. I don’t know as it would necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was a highlight for our family.
<i>Next - looking for lunch</i>
<b>Going to the top and bottom of Paris</b>
While I did internet research, forum question asking and ‘take out every single Paris guidebook in the library’ research, the boys most consistent research tool were the DK Eyewitness guides to Paris and to France that I left… um… in the washroom. For the past several months, every now and then there would be a flush -> followed by “Mum, when we are in Paris, can we go and see…”. Our Paris tourist sight strategy was for everyone in the family to pick 2 “must see” things, and we would make sure that those were in the definite itinerary, and anything else was in the list of options depending on how things went.
The top of the list for all three boys (DH included) were the catacombs…
The catacombs are not included in the 4 day museum pass that were going to get starting Tuesday , so they were a perfect thing to schedule for this Sunday morning.
So the schedule for today…
Catacombs
Montparnasse
Montmartre (Salivdor Dali museum?)
Scout out Gare du nord in preparation for our early morning train trip the next day to Amiens.
For transportation, we again picked up Moblis and Jeune Weekend day passes. <i>note of correction: when I talked about our first Friday, I said that we got Jeune weekend tickets for the kids, but I was confused We actually got Moblis tickets for everyone – because the Jeune weekend tickets aren’t available on Friday… </i>
<b>The Catacombs</b>
This morning everyone had to be awoken by the alarm at 9am. The boys fought over who got toit was to go down and get the baguettes and croissants for breakfast (they managed to come up with their own solution where one got to do the talking and the other got to handle the money!)
Headed out to pick up the bus 63 behind the Institut du Monde Arabe.
<b>Side note about public transit</b>
The kids <u>loved</u> the public transit -it was a big part of their Paris experience. We live “in the country” outside a small town, so we have no regular exposure to public transit, outside of occasional visits to Toronto. And even then… I find that Toronto is still just as car friendly as transit friendly – odds are driving is going to be just as convenient if not more so.
They loved
- The ticket sucker in and spitter out machine I mentioned before
- The “next train/bus will arrive in x minutes” signs
- The scrolling displays in the bus that told you which stop was next
- The fact that you had to physically open the door from the subway (we often had to exit a metro car through 2 doors so that they each were able to be the opener!)
- Figuring out where we were and were we were going on the transit map on the wall, bustop or inside the bus or metro car
- Doing the stop count down. “Where are we getting off?” ok 6 stops…. Ok 5 more stops… OK 4 more stops…
- The ‘fold down’ seats by the doors in the metro
- Raised up seats at the very back of the busses
- Pressing the “stop requested” button in the bus when we were ready to get out
- Switching from line to line within the metro
Loved it!
<b>Sorry about the digression… back to the catacombs</b>
We arrived at about 10 to 10 – there was already a bit of a line, but nothing too major, and we were inside shortly after 10am.
We add to our growing collection of ‘steps and stairs in Paris’ by taking the 130 steps down into the catacombs.
The total ‘journey’ underground is 1.7 km, with the first half being just tunnels, and the second half being tunnels full of bones. We walk through the first half – taking the time to read the various “info plaques” on the walls, wonder at the simple fact that the buildings on top of the ground were built by digging rocks out from under the ground, check out the underground carvings made by workers in honour of one of their own who died below ground and consider the ‘coolness’ of being under the busy streets above. We do keep finding ourselves in danger of death by trampling from the groups of visitors coming in behind us. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get through (I suppose rushing to get to the bones part). I think maybe because we do linger a bit more then it seems most people do looking at one of the carvings, the security guard sitting by it strikes up a conversation with us, and then proceeds to walk with us through the rest of the non-bones section giving us additional insight into the history, the engineering etc! We got our own mini-private tour...
Got to the bones parts – I found it amazing rather than creepy. The idea of emptying the cemeteries and moving the bones at night through the city really caught the imagination of the kids. And the fact that the individuals doing the macabre and undoubtedly low prestige job of stacking the bones in the tunnels took the time to include some creative and aesthetic arrangements of the bones we all found intriguing. The pile of people and lives those bones represented – thought provoking. None of us found it depressing though, I think because in the back of my mind these were the bones resulting for whatever natural cycle of life these people found themselves in. I did find, however, later in the week when visiting the Deportmentation memorial behind Notre Dame, and looking at the wall of crystals representing deported citizens of whom only 10% returned, that this visit to the catacombs gave me a tangible and disturbing visual in absorbing that fact.
So we had gone to the catacombs with pretty high expectations, and nobody was disappointed. I don’t know as it would necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was a highlight for our family.
<i>Next - looking for lunch</i>
Jun 26th, 2009, 01:18 PM
#36
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I am so envious! The catacombs were on our list of things to do, but after I fell stairs were not an option for me the rest of the trip. Guess that means we need to plan another trip? 
I love how you described them, not as being creepy but as thought provoking. Please keep writing
I love how you described them, not as being creepy but as thought provoking. Please keep writing
Jun 27th, 2009, 01:42 PM
#38
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Day 3 – Sun Jun 7th continued
So we exited from the catacombs (after adding the 85 spiral stone stairs up to our overall “steps and stairs in Paris” count!). I know I had read it, but I had forgotten that the exit to the catacombs is a totally different place – on a random backish street. So pulled out my Moleskin Paris map and tried to figure out where we were.
<b>side note on maps and guidebooks</b>
I had the Moleskin Paris book where I had some notes, and also used as my journal/note recorded, and found the maps in that useful – mostly because the book was small enough that I always had it with me, and because it includes removable ‘Post-it note’ type tracing pages, so I could ‘draw’ on the map without ruining it. The downside of the Moleskin was that the writing is TEENY TINY which made me realize that perhaps I have now come to the point in my life when I need to consider investigating reading glasses! The 11 year old wears glasses, so there were occasions that I actually borrowed them for magnification purposes!
We also had the Knof Paris map book, the small format one where you fold out the map for an individual area. That was nice and portable and easy to read, though there were some areas that ‘fell off the edge’ of what was covered on the map. It also had a metro guide in the back, so that was great.
We also brought the DK Eyewitness Paris, expecting to use it as a reference, but I discovered that we weren’t really “on-site guide book” people. I was glad we brought the book – because we would do ‘pre-reading’ in the apartment about where we were going, and ‘after-reading’ about what we had scene, but even the couple of times I did carry it with me, I never found myself referring to the details on-site.
We were next heading for the Tour Montparnasse – planning to get there via the Monparnasse cemetery and by walking through an art market that I had read was on Sunday’s “in the shadow of the tower”. I hadn’t been able to figure out where we had popped out of the catacombs, but we wisely decided ‘why don’t we just follow where everyone else is going, and figure out where we are when we get to a main street’.
It was around lunchtime and we had decided that we wouldn’t search for the perfect lunch, we would keep our eyes peeled as we walked for something the kids would like – then worry about us depending on what we found for them. When we got to a main street, we looked both ways – still quite disoriented. In Southern Ontario “down” is “south” which is toward Lake Ontario (even if you are several hours north of the lake) and so I orient everything that way, but I never ended up with a consistent picture of ‘which way was up’ in Paris – maybe because I was usually working with little ‘sections’ of map rather then an overall map of the city. Clearly a failure on my part, that will only be able to be addressed by increased exposure to navigating around Paris… (see… I will HAVE to go back!)
So we picked a direction, and started walking with our eyes peeled. Down one street we saw a Pizza Hut. Pretty much the opposite of Parisian, but we figured that a chain like that would produce pizza the kids would be comfortable with and since we were planning even more walking today, thought a full tank in the kids would be a good thing!
<b>Speaking French in Pizza Hut</b>
As mentioned at the start, one of the reasons that we chose France as our European destination was because the kids are in French immersion at school, and we thought it would be a great chance for them to get some experience. Most people in Paris that we encountered (who would have primarily been in the tourist industry) spoke at least some English, and I often found that my French “un baguette, s’il vous plait” would be met with “ninety cents please” (clearly my accent wasn’t as good as I thought at disguising my ‘out of town’ status!) But any time the kids spoke to people in French, they were VERY patient and appreciative and friendly. This Sunday was one of the best ‘speaking French’ days for A – the 11 year old.
The Pizza Hut was just a tiny counter that looked like it was just really a pickup/delivery office, and the young man working the counter did not speak English, so it was a great experience for A to order the pizza. “Pepperoni only… don’t go heavy on the cheese… yes, thin crust please… plus a big Orangina… oh, it’s 2 for 1 on the weekend? Make that two of the same please… can you please let us where we are on this map?” (turns out we were going in the opposite direction from what I thought we were…). He did really really well
I was taking a photo outside of the “delivery motorcycles” and a dog who had been parked outside waiting for its owner (that was a regular Paris site… A dog patiently waiting outside a little shop) I was observed by a smartly dressed lady (60ish?) who asked in French if it was my dog. I said “No, mais il est beau” (trying to say I thought it was a nice looking dog). She then started chatting in English… she had apparently gone to university in Pennsylvania back in the day, and was very interested in hearing about the kids speaking French at school. She asked them to talk to her – complemented then on their French – was super friendly!
We took our pizza and sat in a little square just behind the entrance of the Catacombs (and noticed that the lineup was quite long now… so it was well worth us planning to get to it just as it opened). So pizza certainly wouldn’t rank as my first choice of Parisian lunches, but it served as comfort food for the kids (and the Orangina made it a list slightly ‘continental from the norm!)
<b>The cemetery and the tower</b>
We walked to the tower through the Montparnasse cemetery. We weren’t looking for anyone famous in particular, but I always find it intriguing to look at family plots – see little family histories captured – wonder about the stories behind them.
Behind the tower was a little art market – though the only thing that specifically caught our eye was a gentleman who did large and very expressive drawings/paintings of cows and bulls that for some reason looked specifically European. But, as usually, we had better taste then we could afford…
We were glad for the trip up the tower, and are happier that we chose it to choosing to go to the top level of the Eiffel tower. I’ve heard it before that the best thing about the view from the Montparnasse tower is that you can’t see it , and to our admittedly tourist eyes, the view was much better with the Eiffel Tower in it! There was no lineup and a great view all over the city. It was even better because now that we had the bike tour under our belts, it was getting easier to pick out meaningful landmarks and to give the view more meaning.
<i>next… to Montmatre</i>
So we exited from the catacombs (after adding the 85 spiral stone stairs up to our overall “steps and stairs in Paris” count!). I know I had read it, but I had forgotten that the exit to the catacombs is a totally different place – on a random backish street. So pulled out my Moleskin Paris map and tried to figure out where we were.
<b>side note on maps and guidebooks</b>
I had the Moleskin Paris book where I had some notes, and also used as my journal/note recorded, and found the maps in that useful – mostly because the book was small enough that I always had it with me, and because it includes removable ‘Post-it note’ type tracing pages, so I could ‘draw’ on the map without ruining it. The downside of the Moleskin was that the writing is TEENY TINY which made me realize that perhaps I have now come to the point in my life when I need to consider investigating reading glasses! The 11 year old wears glasses, so there were occasions that I actually borrowed them for magnification purposes!
We also had the Knof Paris map book, the small format one where you fold out the map for an individual area. That was nice and portable and easy to read, though there were some areas that ‘fell off the edge’ of what was covered on the map. It also had a metro guide in the back, so that was great.
We also brought the DK Eyewitness Paris, expecting to use it as a reference, but I discovered that we weren’t really “on-site guide book” people. I was glad we brought the book – because we would do ‘pre-reading’ in the apartment about where we were going, and ‘after-reading’ about what we had scene, but even the couple of times I did carry it with me, I never found myself referring to the details on-site.
We were next heading for the Tour Montparnasse – planning to get there via the Monparnasse cemetery and by walking through an art market that I had read was on Sunday’s “in the shadow of the tower”. I hadn’t been able to figure out where we had popped out of the catacombs, but we wisely decided ‘why don’t we just follow where everyone else is going, and figure out where we are when we get to a main street’.
It was around lunchtime and we had decided that we wouldn’t search for the perfect lunch, we would keep our eyes peeled as we walked for something the kids would like – then worry about us depending on what we found for them. When we got to a main street, we looked both ways – still quite disoriented. In Southern Ontario “down” is “south” which is toward Lake Ontario (even if you are several hours north of the lake) and so I orient everything that way, but I never ended up with a consistent picture of ‘which way was up’ in Paris – maybe because I was usually working with little ‘sections’ of map rather then an overall map of the city. Clearly a failure on my part, that will only be able to be addressed by increased exposure to navigating around Paris… (see… I will HAVE to go back!)
So we picked a direction, and started walking with our eyes peeled. Down one street we saw a Pizza Hut. Pretty much the opposite of Parisian, but we figured that a chain like that would produce pizza the kids would be comfortable with and since we were planning even more walking today, thought a full tank in the kids would be a good thing!
<b>Speaking French in Pizza Hut</b>
As mentioned at the start, one of the reasons that we chose France as our European destination was because the kids are in French immersion at school, and we thought it would be a great chance for them to get some experience. Most people in Paris that we encountered (who would have primarily been in the tourist industry) spoke at least some English, and I often found that my French “un baguette, s’il vous plait” would be met with “ninety cents please” (clearly my accent wasn’t as good as I thought at disguising my ‘out of town’ status!) But any time the kids spoke to people in French, they were VERY patient and appreciative and friendly. This Sunday was one of the best ‘speaking French’ days for A – the 11 year old.
The Pizza Hut was just a tiny counter that looked like it was just really a pickup/delivery office, and the young man working the counter did not speak English, so it was a great experience for A to order the pizza. “Pepperoni only… don’t go heavy on the cheese… yes, thin crust please… plus a big Orangina… oh, it’s 2 for 1 on the weekend? Make that two of the same please… can you please let us where we are on this map?” (turns out we were going in the opposite direction from what I thought we were…). He did really really well
I was taking a photo outside of the “delivery motorcycles” and a dog who had been parked outside waiting for its owner (that was a regular Paris site… A dog patiently waiting outside a little shop) I was observed by a smartly dressed lady (60ish?) who asked in French if it was my dog. I said “No, mais il est beau” (trying to say I thought it was a nice looking dog). She then started chatting in English… she had apparently gone to university in Pennsylvania back in the day, and was very interested in hearing about the kids speaking French at school. She asked them to talk to her – complemented then on their French – was super friendly!
We took our pizza and sat in a little square just behind the entrance of the Catacombs (and noticed that the lineup was quite long now… so it was well worth us planning to get to it just as it opened). So pizza certainly wouldn’t rank as my first choice of Parisian lunches, but it served as comfort food for the kids (and the Orangina made it a list slightly ‘continental from the norm!)
<b>The cemetery and the tower</b>
We walked to the tower through the Montparnasse cemetery. We weren’t looking for anyone famous in particular, but I always find it intriguing to look at family plots – see little family histories captured – wonder about the stories behind them.
Behind the tower was a little art market – though the only thing that specifically caught our eye was a gentleman who did large and very expressive drawings/paintings of cows and bulls that for some reason looked specifically European. But, as usually, we had better taste then we could afford…
We were glad for the trip up the tower, and are happier that we chose it to choosing to go to the top level of the Eiffel tower. I’ve heard it before that the best thing about the view from the Montparnasse tower is that you can’t see it , and to our admittedly tourist eyes, the view was much better with the Eiffel Tower in it! There was no lineup and a great view all over the city. It was even better because now that we had the bike tour under our belts, it was getting easier to pick out meaningful landmarks and to give the view more meaning.
<i>next… to Montmatre</i>
Jun 28th, 2009, 08:15 AM
#39
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Great report CanadaV! This trip we missed getting to the catacombs once again! There was a political disturbance going on and the whole area outside was full of police in riotgear - plus the line outside was sooooooooo long!
Well, it will always be there - We will give it a try next trip most probably!
Well, it will always be there - We will give it a try next trip most probably!
Jun 28th, 2009, 09:22 AM
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Hi Canada_V,
Like everyone else I'm really enjoying your report. When you're wiping off bloody hand prints from the wall on your first day, you know it's going to be an exciting trip! Poor boys, both getting injured on the first day- they sound like great kids and obviously they had a blast.
I agree with you about the graffiti you see from the train coming into Paris- I love it. I also love the Paris metro- one of the more depressing aspects of coming home to Toronto is the dingy old decrepit subway.
Oh, and I love the catacombs. I thought they were very creepy though- I got cold shivers down my spine. The catacombs have a very interesting history, but they are also interesting in a more grande guignol sort of way.
Looking forward to reading more!
Like everyone else I'm really enjoying your report. When you're wiping off bloody hand prints from the wall on your first day, you know it's going to be an exciting trip! Poor boys, both getting injured on the first day- they sound like great kids and obviously they had a blast.
I agree with you about the graffiti you see from the train coming into Paris- I love it. I also love the Paris metro- one of the more depressing aspects of coming home to Toronto is the dingy old decrepit subway.
Oh, and I love the catacombs. I thought they were very creepy though- I got cold shivers down my spine. The catacombs have a very interesting history, but they are also interesting in a more grande guignol sort of way.
Looking forward to reading more!
