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...
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