Old Years Day

I don't think the sun has come out once since we have been here. Janna said that yesterday morning was gorgeous, but once I got outside, it was cloudy and cool. Today was supposed to be sunny. But it wasn't. It was 34, cloudy and breezy. Yuk. But we didn't expect it to be warm. And for that reason, the lack of sun has not bothered me. Sure, a sunny walk down a Montmarte street would have been nice, but, oh well.

Janna forced everyone out of bed early today and we hated her for it. 8:00am. We were out the door by 8:45. Quinn was dragging from her vomit-fest the day before, but she had had more sleep than any of us. We took it slow as we walked to the Jules Joffrin Metro station. Our goal: Make two Metro hops and get to the Eiffel Tower before the lines got too long.

Total failure. We avoided no lines.

There are really no Metro stations that are right at the Eiffel Tower, so it is usually a bit of a walk no matter which one you choose to get there. We got off at Bir-Hakeim station and noticed that it was really windy by the Seine today. The (mostly) African street vendors canvass the entire area around the Eiffel and we hit them as early as three blocks away. They usually have a 3 foot square blanket laid on the ground with little Eiffel trinkets. The things they sell are usually a good value, although we did not buy any from these gentleman during this trip. They will sell you 5 little metal Eiffel Tower key chains for 1 Euro. I don't know how they survive, but there are a probably 200 of those vendors near or at the Tower (or more).

After dealing with our tickets that we didn't use last week (because of the bad weather), we stood in line.

And then we kept standing there.

It took us at least 45 minutes to get to our tickets to get on the elevator up on the Tower. And once up there, WHOA. COLD. Windy and cloudy and foggy and Yuk. It was bone chilling cold. That perfect combination of wind+temp+clouds+humidity. I have stood out on a lake in Northern Minnesota when it is 20 degrees cooler than that with a wind much stronger than today, and it is not as cold as it was today. It probably didn't help that our core body temperatures were approaching 88 Degrees from standing in line for so long. We briskly walked over to the balcony, looked out over Paris and turned right around and went into the "warming house" that some might call a gift shop. It was so crowded in that 12 by 12 foot space that I turned around after a minute and went back outside. Well, it was so stinkin cold outside, that I found out how much I actually enjoy small, crowded rooms - I went right back into the gift shop. I was suddenly very, keenly interested in what bag Gillian was going to get. The longer we could deliberate on that particular purchase, the longer it would be until we went back out into Jack London's "To Build a Fire".

We hardly stayed outside after the gift shop. Janna insisted that the girls would probably want a snack from INSIDE the cafe. Keep in mind, that the Eiffel cafe is about as French as french fries. For good reason, too. I bet 40-60% of the people I heard talking were speaking English or Spanish. The rest are speaking Chinese.

The food there was gross. But it was warmer inside the cafe that it was outside. After the kids ate their donut, we walked back out to the terrace and quickly snapped a photo. None of us could fake how miserable we were. That was enough for us. Down the 88,000 cold metal steps to the ground. (BTW, the tippy top of the Eiffel was closed due to bad weather. Even if we could have gone up there, it was too foggy to see anything)

Once on the ground, we headed East and South toward the Ecole Militaire Metro stop. It felt good to walk again. It felt 10 degrees warmer on the ground and moving at a brisk pace got our blood going.

We hit three trains again in order to pop out at Cite. This is the stop on the island where Notre Dame and Sainte Chappell are. True to form, we stood in the Sainte Chappell line for about 60 minutes. By this time, we were losing the girls. Quinn was still under the weather, and the rest of them had been awoken out of REM sleep so that we could stand in lines all day - I mean avoid lines all day. Thanks for nothin, Mom.

Sainte Chappell is amazing. It was built in the 1200s by King Louis. He built it inside his palace. You have to walk up these tiny circular stone stairs to get to the chapel. The actual chapel is sitting well above ground level, probably so they could get the stained glass windows up above the palace walls. The chapel itself is tiny. But it is insanely beautiful. The blue stained glass windows take your breath away. And each window tells a story or chronicles a book of the bible. I am glad we went.

Time for lunch. It was probably 1-2:00 by now. We hopped back on that Metro and, with a train change, got off at Mabillon station. This was really our first real visit to the Latin Quarter. A nice area and I wish to spend more time there in the future. I would say that the shops are very good, but maybe not as good as Marais. We ended up finding an Italian place right away (Leave it to Janna. She is incredible. She has the most amazing radar for good restaurants. She almost always refuses to eat at a place where no one else is eating, which is one of her secrets. But her intuition beyond that is something I can't explain.). This place was like Punch Pizza but better. We love Punch Pizza, and are not afraid to eat there once a week. But the fire baked pizzas here were even better.

We went shopping after that, got some stuff for Janna and her mom. We chanced upon a place called St Sulpice. It looked like a big, old church, but I am not sure what its history is. Kinda sad that there are so many historic relics in Paris that they kind of become old hat. If this St Sulpice building was anywhere in Minnesota, it would be the most famous building in the state, maybe even the Midwest. And, here, I am just walking buy it wondering if I should care about it or not...

We walked the Latin Quarter until the Sevres-Babylon Metro where we hopped on and headed North until Soferino station. Here we walked to the Musee d'Orsay. But we got there 10 minutes late. It closes at 6, but they accept final entry at 4:00. Bummer.

We crossed the Seine and then the Tuileries and shopped a bit on the Rue de Rivoli. Janna and the girls had some things to cross off their lists. After that we headed up to the Champs via that 1 train and got off at the George V stop. We waited in line for about 40 minutes at Laduree for dessert for later, then headed home.

On the way home we picked up some food at the local bucherie and vegetable market. For people that speak almost no French, I was pretty proud that we were able to acquire dinner (it probably helped that some kind soul took pity on us and told the butcher we wanted enough roasted potatoes for 6 personnes.) We had walked by this bucherie every day and had smelled the rotisserie chickens there. Though they were out of the rotisserie, what we got was still yummy. Our cheapest meal yet, topping the bill at around 13 euro. I am glad we finally got a chance to sample the food from that place. We ate lemon chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans, and fresh pineapple (that I had purchased from the Metro. Janna really questioned its wholesomeness, but it tasted delicious. Just ask Aubrey) for dinner. Oh, and Laduree desert.

With bags packed and the alarm set, we are ready to wake up tomorrow morning and go home. So much for the big plans to watch New Years fire works. We are in bed and tired. Au Revoir old year, Au Revoir Paris, life is good.

This has been a great trip. We are really grateful. I keep thinking how lucky I have been to be able to spend every waking minute of every day with my kids for the last 9 days. So cool. I can't wait to do it again some day. - Jeff

Break on through to the other side...

I wonder what the crime is like in Paris? I have felt very safe here so far. I am sure I am just naive, but I haven't yet gotten that nervous sensation like I have in LA or New York. You know how in the US there are always a group of punks that like to intimidate people or knock over a garbage can or yell something obscene? I haven't seen any of that. Now, it's not to say that the French aren't good for a good riot or two. Maybe they just store up all their crime and energy for the storming of the Bastille or the recent retirement age riots. Who knows.

Today (last night actually) started off just about as poorly as you could except on a vacation outside of the US - someone got sick. Quinn started throwing up at around 2:30am and was like clockwork every hour after that. We figured she had stopped the insanity after her 10:30am projectile display, but then she went double projectile at 4:30pm. Her fever peaked at 101.0 and she seemed to improve slightly towards bed time. Only time will tell. She is asleep as I write this.

Because of the sleep-vomit-sleep-vomit pattern last night, none of us wanted anything to do with the morning hours. I was a zombie and Janna was worse (what is worse than a zombie? maybe a C.H.U.D. - look it up. Ha ha.). I ended up crawling into bed with Shelby and Aubrey and enjoyed their cuddling, while Janna managed to actually get to the pharmacy and grocery store. She wasn't gone more than 45 minutes and was back by 12 noon. I tried to read my Vince Flynn book but fell asleep 4 times only to be awoken by Aubrey or Shelby.

We had a quick breakfast (mine was baguette with miel - or honey, as Colleen likes to call it). By 12:45 Gillian, Aubrey, Shelby and I had, with the encouragement of Janna, left the apartment. And I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do. I called it the Tour de Others. It was all the "other" things that I have thought of doing while in Paris, either this time or last. Things that I have never actually planned on doing, but thought might be interesting.

First stop, Parc de la Villette. It took us 4 Metro trains to get to this goofy park on the very Northeast corner of Paris. I didn't really know what to expect. I expected a "park" park, like we have in the US. But this was more like a futuristic mall with lots of psuedo-kid friendly exhibits. I didn't really investigate too much beforehand; I was expecting some swing sets and a slide or two. I think there was a Children's Museum, a building for "industry" or something (again, I don't speak French) and an IMAX-type thing. And, of course, a Geode, which every town needs. There was a carnival/midway type area that was closed down (maybe due to the winter). We did get to ride on a carousel. Yipee. The entire park seems to be centered around a huge grassy mall with long straight walkways through it. And there was a straight canal which had several bridges over it and dead end stairways overlooking it. Everything about this place was weird. There were stairways all over the place that climbed to nowhere. There were large portraits dotted randomly throughout of people of different nationalities. There was "artwork" throughout. One "place" we walked thru looked, as Gillian described it, like the "remnants of a chimpanzee exhibit at the zoo." I don't know that I could accurate describe the Parc de la Villette, but suffice to say that I am probably not going back. At least not in the winter.

The "park" was big enough that by the time we walked across it, we were at a different Metro station on a different train. Next stop, Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. This cemetery is famous to the French because there are a lot of famous French people buried here. It is famous to Americans because Jim Morrison is buried here (you know, the Doors. C'mon). Fortunately, it is located right next to the Metro stop so we didn't have to go looking for this hippie landmark. I had two graves I wanted to see: Morrison and Chopin. Aubrey tripped and fell right after we entered and skinned the palm of her hand. She was in pain and crying. It actually worked out well because I had my arm around her and was pressing her into my side as we walked and she sobbed for 5-7 minutes - not out of place in a graveyard. This helped us as we, mere gawkers, walked by a real, live burial. Everyone dressed in black, hugging and crying, while I, a single dad/widower, who happen to be visiting the grave of my three kid's deceased mother, ambled by consoling my distraught daughter. Who says you can't play fantasy in a graveyard? The girls tried to be freaked out by the graves. But I love cemeteries, and I ignored their haunting fears and chatter. That place is a maze of walkways, but I got lucky and found Chopin right away. We found Morrison soon after.

That was good enough for me. Next stop: Nation. Let's be honest, this is just a statue in the middle of a busy roadway. If not for a stop at a local Chocolatier, this would have been a complete waist of time. Not to mention the fact that you have to play Frogger just to get across the street to snap your photo. We needed to change trains at the Nation Metro stop anyway, so, we were able to cross it off the list, I guess (should have never been on the list).

The next stop was a stop that will have to wait till next time. I have really wanted to see the Catacombs in Paris. Lisa Lindborg even mentioned them to me before I left. They are located on the south end of Paris, and the whole point of making the stop at Nation was to hop on that train. However, it was already 3:45 and they close at 4:00pm. Oh well.

So, considering I had little kids with little bladders, I decided, after poking around Nation for a couple minutes, to head toward Angelina. I figured we could have a snack or dinner and use the toillettes. We got off at the Tuilleries Metro stop and walked up the Rue de Rivoli where we had been several days earlier. Along the way we bought Aubrey a French hat which she wore the rest of the night. We then stood in line at Angelina for about 30 minutes before being seated. By this time, it was 5:30 and the girls were starving. I wasn't thrilled about having dinner here since I really enjoy trying new places. But I filled up on my onion soup and thick-as-mud hot chocolate (L'Africain). The girls got ham and cheese (and egg) sandwiches and/or a club sandwich. We weren't there more than 50 minutes. They churn you out quickly there.

Next stop: La Defense. We hopped on the Metro at Place de la Concorde and rode it up the Champs de Elysees past the Arc de Triumph to a huge, modern-looking square that precedes a modern, metropolitan city outside the West end of Paris. Here, there are skyscrapers made of glass and steel. If you get up high almost anywhere in Paris, you see the big square shaped building (literally, it is the shape of a square - has a hole in it and everything). It sits in between the older Paris and the new metropolis (or Metro Polis, for those that have seen Megamind). La Defense is at the end of the 1 train. But here we did more than just snap a photo. We also played a mean game of Tag while were hanging out under the impressive, towering Square. The girls did not want to leave, and Shelby even asked, "Can we come back here tomorrow?" Ha. What the Parc de la Villette could not do, La Defense did without trying.

We had no "Next Stops" on our bucket list (at least not for evening hours), so we hopped right back on the Metro and got off at Place de la Concord. After a quick photo of the Ferris wheel (Paris wheel to Aubrey), we walked up Rue Royal towards Place de la Madeleine. Madeleine is a church that looks like it is out of Rome, with its Corinthian columns. On the sidewalk around it are a bunch of fruit and flower stands. Across the 68 lane boulevard (sheer pandemonium - honking, gridlock at 8:00pm) are all the high rent companies - Gucci, Rolex, etc. There were also some specialty places, like famous mustards, champagne, caviar, etc. Madeleine is, geographically, the Southern-end beginning of Les Grands Boulevards, which is the millionaire shopping center of Paris. We walked up the edge of this section. I didn't love it. It seemed too much like New York City to me. All the honking and pretentious shops. I much prefer the Marais section of Paris for shopping. But, I guess the Rue de Rivoli and the Champs de Elysees weren't enough. There had to be even MORE upscale shopping in this city. (BTW, I think the place to hit in this section of Paris is a little street we passed just prior to hopping on the Metro at Saint Lazare. It is a street named Rue de Caumartin. Part of it is a walking street and it is away from the wide boulevards and gridlock).

That was it for us. It was nearly 8:45 when we got back to the apartment. Man, my girls are awesome. Never complained once. They just go with it. We were on the move for 8 hours. And we had a blast.

Janna and Quinn were watching a movie on the iPad when we got home. Quinn still had a slight temp but had not thrown up for almost 5 hours when she went to bed. Janna crashed too. Hopefully we have a peaceful night and can all get to the top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow. If not, I have accomplished more than enough here, especially now that I have done my Tour of Others...

Phat, not Fat.

I saw my first fat man today. He had a tiny backpack on and he was waiting for the Metro. I had seen a fat woman two days ago on the Metro. Those are, literally, the only two fat people I have seen in Paris. I have seen, perhaps, 10 other moderately overweight people. Though, I can't be sure some of them weren't Americans, since we have been in several touristy spots (like Angelina). It is amazing how big Americans are. It is equally amazing how thin the Parisians are. I don't know what to make of it. Surely, not all Parisians are walking each day as much as Team Northrup is. But they do walk a lot more than Americans. And the food is so rich. But the serving sizes are appropriate. Not like Cheesecake Factory. It is really bizarre. 7 days to see a fat man. Paris really has nothing in common with the Minnesota State Fair. Except that Quinn did say the toilettes yesterday on the sewer tour looked like State Fair bathrooms...I don't know if that is good for the State Fair or bad for the sewer tour.

Again, we left the apartment by 11:00am. We took a 2 train Metro ride to Bastille, where we snapped a quick photo. And from there we just walked and window shopped. We walked a large section of Paris North and West of the Bastille called Marais. Here there are lots of upscale boutiques, but not the mega brand names like the Champs Elysees. Its like shopping in Carmel California, but a little more practical. You get the sense that the shops throughout Marais are not for the tourists, but for the locals. There are lots of art galleries, mens suits and dress shirts, women's dresses and blouses, shoes, handbags, and, of course, the corner cafe or boulangerie. Window shopping here is fantastic.

We made our way to the Place Des Vosges, where the kids took a break and played at the park. Victor Hugo had a home in this spot. There were lots of fur coats walking around this little nook. And also there were a lot of art galleries. We continued North and West until we got to a little corner cafe called Cafe Breizh (cafe of Breton: a part of France known for their crepes and butter). Pretty much all they do here is crepes. So, if, like me, you are not a fan of crepes, you will probably not love this restaurant. But, since Janna and the girls are crepeheads, we ordered up lunch crepes and dessert crepes. Janna loved both of hers: vegetables, spinach, cheese and egg for lunch followed by a carmel crepe for dessert. The eggs we've eaten so far are brilliant orange and have almost a creamy taste, so good. Also, the cheese (Gruyere in our crepes today) is raw milk, which is living on the edge. From what I understand, raw milk cheeses are prohibited in the US because of the link to listeria...dangerous living! But, delicious, creamy and smooth.

From there we made our way down toward Notre Dame, in hopes of making it to Sainte Chapelle prior to sundown. We got hung up along the way at various shops. Janna coerced me into a couple of men's shops and I walked out with a couple new things for the wardrobe. I kept saying I didn't need anything, but succumbed to the pressure after I heard Janna say, "Maybe you DO." I am good at taking the hint.

We finally made it to Sainte Chapelle at 4:31. Unfortunately, they close at 4:30. So that will have to be another day. After buying some souveniers for the girls and their friends, we hopped on the Metro and headed toward the George V exit on the Champs. Our goal was to have tea at the Four Seasons. But after being told that it would be a 45 minute wait, ended up eating at a sandwich shop on the Champs. It was our first "fast food" experience here in Paris. You stand in line, order your baguette with jambon (ham) or poulet (chicken) or you can have the American style which has an egg (how is that American?) and tomatoes and the ever present fromage. The place was packed as any fast food place in America, but the food was pretty good and hit the spot.

Then, we returned to the bustle of the Champs d'Elysee, which was full of what seemed to be millions of tourists. I will have to say after a day spent strolling through quiet streets with lovely small shops, the Champs is not my favorite place. From right below the Arc d'Triomphe we hopped on the 2 line of the Metro and headed for the Blanche stop which popped us right out in front of the Moulin Rouge. We walked up our favorite nearby street, Rue Lepic and picked up some candies, cookies (the shop in the window said they were American chocolate chip, but they were more like sables with chocolate chips...someone could make a killing with Tollhouse cookies around here) and more crepes (what is up with these crepes?). Janna also picked up some dinner, since she wasn't hungry earlier when we were on the Champs.

All said and done, we were back by 7:30. We are all tired. We walked a lot today. And tho we accomplished very little, we saw a lot of the city again. I don't think I would do Paris any other way. Wake up and walk. That should be the motto here. -- Jeff and Janna

From Moscow to Moulin Rouge

It is clear that the French do not value the idea of doggie-pickup-bags. You have to be diligent when you walk, because almost every sidewalk has a seasonal supply of dog poop on it. Much of it has lost the war to the elements or to someone's shoe. And it is not easy to spot amidst all the garbage and gum on the ground. My guess is that the French feel like the sidewalk is just an extension of their illustrious sewer system (more on that later). A sewer system that their dogs share in equally.

We had big plans to get up early, but we did not leave the apartment until 11:00 again. Screw it. we are never gonna kick this jet lag, so let's just embrace it. Our goal now is to figure out a way to stay on Minnesota time, except for one day - New Years Eve. Somehow we need to stay up for fireworks on New Years Eve and then wake up at 6:00am to make it to the airport on time. We shall see.

You know the drill. We got on the Metro and took it all the way to.....Moscow. Whoa. Yeah, well, basically. We decided to take the 8 train all the way to the end of the line - Balard station in the 15th district. We didn't really know why or what the plan was - we were just curious. How far out does this cool city go? Well, not THAT far. When we exited the station we were disappointed. Not only was it misting and foggy, but gone was the cool architecture and 18th century feel. 1950's, communist-lookng, cement structures had taken root. Ish. The only bright spot was the patisserie where we found the donuts Gillian has been craving. We walked in the direction of the Eiffel Tower and could not have gotten there soon enough. We were hoping to make this our Eiffel Tower day, but the fog and cold, rainy weather deterred us. On to Rue Cler.

Rue Cler is a walking street a couple blocks East of the Eiffel Tower. There are lots of open markets, bistros, and chocolatiers. Oh, and a bunch of touristy shops. While it did not have the magic that it might normally have on a sunny day, we could sense the charm. We bought some chocolates, had an average lunch at Cafe de Marche, and grabbed some delicious ice cream at a Italian-style Gelato shop. By the time we walked off Rue Cler, we felt like we had just wasted calories on a dreary misty day. So what is the best thing to brighten anyone's day?

How about a tour of the Paris sewers! Les Egouts. This charming tourist hangout is located right on the Quai d'Orsay along side the Seine and not too far from Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower. If you can believe it, you actually have to PAY to go see the sewers (whoever figured out this racket needs to be commended). You go down below the ground and into the actual sewer. How can you tell? Well, the smell, for one, is your first hint. The poop floating by underneath the floor grates is your second hint. (Quinn claimed every chunk floating by was poop.) We, obviously, didn't know what to expect. And we did not "do" the sewer tour the right way. In fact, this is one of the few things in France that has dedicated some effort to English translation (that might tell you what the French think of the English and the Americans. Or maybe that tells you what the English and Americans are in to). However, because I had not properly prepared my family for this tour, we ended up skipping most of the interesting reading and moved quickly through the sewer system display. But for those sewer fanatics out there, there is extensive reading of the history of the sewers and how they get them cleaned when they "silt up" (ahh, you can see that I did sneak in SOME readings - it was actually very interesting and quite ingenious).

Anyway, we popped (pooped) out of the sewer, crossed the Seine via the Pont de L'Alma bridge and went back to the apartment by way of the Alma Marceau Metro station. We rested at the apartment for a couple hours, and it felt good to chill out and watch the English speaking news channel with news of the record breaking snowfall in Manhattan.

At about 7:00pm we walked from our apartment straight to the Moulin Rouge. It is a nice walk - right past (actually over. They built the road over) the Montmarte cemetery, which was like a little village of tombs, kind of lovely. I am glad we hit the Moulin Rouge at night. It is a cool part of town. Lots of neon lights and people milling around. It used to be somewhat seedy, I guess. But now it is fairly benign. We walked up Rue Lepic, where there are a ton of shops, butchers, cafes, martkets, etc. Rue Lepic is shaped like a backwards question mark and we followed it all the way up toward Sacre Coeur. We figured we could find a nice place to eat in the area. And boy were we right.

Le Basilic. A fantastic tiny little wedge-corner restaurant. Inside it felt like you were on a Disney ride - like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride or Peter Pan. Surely the artists from Disney must have been here prior to their work at Magic Kingdom. And the food was crazy-good. For the first course, I had a Bacon salad with a Poached egg. WHAT? You can make THAT into a salad? Yeah. Insane. And the dinners were awesome. I had curried lamb, Janna and Shelby had something called Chicken Supreme, Gillian and Aubrey had a beef rump roast, and Quinn had a pasta with gorgonzola cream sauce. We cleaned our plates, literally. It was easily the best meal we have had since we arrived. And the desserts were great too, highlighted by Quinn's French Toast - for dessert.

We were typical Americans and went right outside after that delicious dinner and ordered up some crepes from a Creperie. Note: In France, if you want to make something into a business, you just add the "erie" to the end of it. You want to sell snowblowers? In France you would have a snowblowerie. Tacos? Tacoerie. You get it.

Stuffed and pushing our Minnesota bed schedule (10:30), we headed home. This day started off weak but ended strong. Le Basilic was the icing on the cake.

Angelina

Ever since our last trip to Paris, my wife has had to put up with Angelina. I fell in love with Angelina and have been anxious to get back to Paris so we could meet up again. I think Janna is okay with Angelina, since she is a merely the location of my favorite Hot Chocolate - L' Africain. It is so thick you could use a spoon. Some people make is smoother by adding whipped cream. I have had it "black" and with whipped cream. I love them both.

Today was the day for Angelina. We got up late again since we can't seem to beat this jet lag. What are we doing wrong? It must be the drawn shades. I lumbered out of bed at about 11am and hit the grocery store. Milk, OJ, Tissues (for runny noses). Not much, just some essentials.

By 12:00 we were all on the Metro and headed back to a familiar stop: Place de la Concorde. My dear Angelina is near there. We arrived at about 12:30 and hopped in a line at the restaurant. It was only about 15 minutes and we were seated. Angelina has an upscale/historic feel to it. Almost like you are in the Main Street section of Disney World. That upscale, Riverboat, Ice Cream Parlor feel. There are lots of Americans there. You can tell because their kids are wearing jackets that are not the color black. Unfortunately for me, we had missed breakfast (was hoping for a soft boiled egg, which you can easily get in Europe). The girls ordered omlettes and Janna ordered a quiche. I, of course, ordered L' Africain. Delicious.

After that, we walked down the Rue de Rivoli along the Tuileries. We bought some scarves for the girls and a couple more watercolors from a local artist. We aren't sure where we will put them when we get home, but is hard to resist some of the authentic paintings that go along with the poignant memories. Also, the last time we were in Paris, Janna's biggest regret was that we did NOT buy a single painting, so we are making up for that. Then we crossed the Rue into the Tuileries and up to the Louvre where we waited in line (outside) for about 30-40 minutes. Along with about a million other people, from all over the world. Oh, and the children in front of us had lice. Hawk-eye Janna spotted that instantly.

We were glad to be inside where it was warm. The Louvre was fun. The last time Janna and I did the Louvre, we were there from open to close. We cruised every single room and looked at every single piece of artwork and we still did not "finish" it. Janna was 5 months pregnant with Quinn at the time. Her ankles were swollen after that ridiculous day, and she cried. We vowed that we would do the Louvre with less earnestness this time. And let's be honest. I will speak only for myself here. I don't really get it. I try REALLY hard to get into all the artwork, but it ain't workin' for me. Half the paintings are 17th century Playboy. And there are only so many times that you can get away with the phrase "it's just art" to your kids. After a while, they know something is going on.

That said, the Mona Lisa is cool. And the story of the Venus de Milo is cool. I am sure I would think every single piece of artwork in that place was cool if I understood the history of each. But the crazy French don't put much English up on the walls, so you are pretty much doomed to try and figure it out on your own.

Enough with the cynicism. It was fun. In fact, every thing we have done here has been fun. We made it fun. We laughed at the paintings and skipped exhibits that bored us. We were only there for a couple hours. And, we took as much from the Louvre as it took from us. We found the "hidden bathrooms of the Spanish wing." (Have I mentioned the lack of clean, accessible bathrooms in this town?) Oh, they were beautiful. And clean. We all did our business there and made for dinner.

We left the Louvre via the Carrousel. There was a Metro there (Musee de Louvre) where we hoped to buy a 5 day pass for each of us that would give us unlimited use of the Metro (until now, we have been buying a "carnet" of 10 rides). There was a long line there, and after fumbling with the machine for 5 minutes, I bailed. We walked down the Rue de Rivoli to the next station (Louvre-Rivoli). There the machine was broken and would not accept my cash. So we walked North to the Les Halles station. That happens to be a big station with helpful representatives that allowed me purchase the Metro tickets from a person at a counter, rather than a kiosk. So much better.

Instead of hopping on the Metro there, we decided to walk North West toward the Opera Garnier to a place on Rue Gaillon called Drouant. There we had some of our only reservations for dinner.

Let me just say this about Paris so far. There has been no place in Paris that is not cool. We have walked just about everywhere. There are people always walking on every little street that we happen to be walking on. The buildings are all old and not very tall. My guess is that 5 stories is the high end of average. Everything looks like it is from the 1700s. Some of the streets are cobbled. Some are very narrow. And people are walking everywhere. This is not like New York or Boston. It is not even really like London. It looks and feels just like any Disney cartoon or James Bond movie that you have ever seen. You feel like you are in Europe. You feel like you are in an old city. It is really neat.

Dinner was great. Our only "upscale" dinner we had planned. Janna and I each had our own Tasting appetizers and the chef's recommended German Rib Steak. The apps were great. I had the "4 corners of the world" appetizer plates. I had no idea what I was eating, but it was delicious (it turns out one of the things I ate was eel. I guess eel is pretty good...). Janna had vegetarian app plates. The kids even got an app plate with salad, fish sticks, proscuitto, beef terrine, and curried carrots. For their main course they had Chicken and Pom Frites (thick french fries). Dessert was great. The girls and I had several types of Sorbets and Ice Creams. Janna had a chocolate tasting that was unreal. Overall, it was very good, but probably not worth the money. Especially with all these delicious cafes along the way.

We popped out of there, snapped a quick photo in front of the Opera house, hopped on the Metro and went home.

We are comfortable here now. We can tell because the vomit on the way up the stairs at the Metro doesn't gross us out much, but instead is a signal that we are almost back to the apartment (halfway up the third staircase at the Lamark station), or that the two homeless guys that sit on the second stairway down call out "Bon Jour" when we walk by for the seventh time.

Gillian snapped pictures of every room in our apartment (even the garbage can in the bathroom) when we got back because she "didn't want to ever forget this place." I wonder what the girls will remember from this trip...will it be the landmarks or the talking we have done? Or will it be the laughing over the crazy things we encounter all the time, the stories that come so effortlessly about friends at home, thoughts they have about things they have tasted, seen or felt? These are great memories.

Another awesome day. Hopefully we will all be sleeping soon. -- Jeff and Janna