Monday, April 14, 2014

A Paris Weekend

Saturday and Sunday, April 12-13,
We have a guest blogger today. The following is Jilayne's take on our weekend in Paris.
Saturday morning Lynda was still not feeling well so Dad and the Phillips set out for the Paris Sewer Museum which Mom wasn't looking forward to anyway. Dad's brother, Steve, has long recommended the Sewer Museum and we wanted to be sure that Mom and Dad saw some things they'd never experienced while in Paris.
The Sewer Museum is just as you would imagine: dank, darkly lit and odiferous tunnels underground displaying the history of bringing fresh water to the people of Paris while disposing of their waste. The amazing thing about Europe is that even the sewers have a fascinating history that ties into people we've all read about. For example, Napoleon I wanted to leave a lasting legacy for the people of Paris and his advisors told him that bringing them fresh water would be the most beneficial. In the U.S. we think of fountains as pleasant sights in public parks, but they were originally created to distribute safe drinking water to the public before plumbing was feasible. Madison and Jocelyn particularly enjoyed learning that Victor Hugo based the Les Miserables sewer scenes on his good friend's mapping of the Paris sewers which was done in order to expand and enhance the system. Jilayne spent most of the time holding her breath.
After emerging from underground, the troupe walked along the River Seine toward the Eiffel Tower. The lines were too long to wait to ascend the Tower, but the views from below were amazing.
After our afternoon naps, Mom joined us in another trip to the Montmartre section of town. Mom and Dad have frequented a restaurant there with a delicious warmed cheese dish that everyone was looking forward to. Unfortunately, upon reaching the restaurant, we found it closed. We ended up at a typical Parisian brasserie for a mostly forgettable meal. Rob ordered the steak tartare, however, which was an interesting culinary adventure. Steak tartare, a Paris delicacy, is ground raw beef, presumably a high quality cut of beef. Rob described it more as uncooked hamburger paste which arrived with a raw egg on top. Jocey tried it, but Jilayne couldn't even look towards his plate during most of the meal. We ended the evening with a stroll by Notre Dame Cathedral. Madi and Jocey enjoyed a fire twirler in the square at the front of the Cathedral. Mom and Dad returned to our apartment while the Phillips browsed through the many souvenir shops that line the Seine near the Cathedral. Nothing says Paris like a miniature plastic Eiffel Tower.
Sunday began with another travel adventure. Dad assured us that he knew the way to the small local art fair in the Montparnasse section of Paris. Mom and Dad had visited and purchased art at this art fair on a previous visit to Paris. After asking three different locals and traipsing 270 degrees around Montparnasse Tower (fancy French word for a skyscraper), Rob asked the train station cafe attendant who pointed us in the right direction. Once there, everyone enjoyed the numerous stalls of local artists displaying everything from abstract paintings to Paris photography to ceramics, jewelry and sculpture. Dad was able to visit with the wife of an artist they had visited on a previous trip and whose art hangs in their home. After much debate, Rob and Jil purchased two prints to commemorate their trip while Jocelyn and Madison also found pieces to remember Paris by. Jilayne had read before the trip that Montparnasse is the place for crepes in Paris, so after the art fair the group found a creperie where we enjoyed savory crepes for the meal and decadent sweet crepes for dessert. A true Parisian meal and one that everyone agreed should be exported to the U.S. ASAP.
After returning the newly purchased art to the apartment, we took the metro back to the Eiffel Tower for attempt number two at ascending the tower. After sprinting to meet Dad at the front of the line for tickets, we discovered that the very top level of the Tower was temporarily closed, possibly due to wind. We voted to wait for the full experience and walked along the Seine to the Pont D'Alma, a bridge over the Seine, where we purchased tickets for that night'sriver cruise. We returned to the apartment, take out pizza in hand, for a short rest before the evening's entertainment.
The Phillips recommend the River Seine cruise with no reservations. It's an amazing way to experience the city. The Eiffel Tower lights up after dark and every hour on the hour a special five minute light show makes the tower sparkle like diamonds in the night sky. On the trip down the Seine we were surrounded by the full spectrum of history, from the nearly ancient Notre Dame Cathedral built in the 12th century to the Eiffel Tower which represented Paris's turn toward the modern age in the late 1890's, and the more recent phenomenon of newlywed couples and lovers of all ages placing padlocks on Paris bridges and then throwing the key into the river. We saw our apartment building from the river, viewed the Louvre as it must have presented itself to arriving diplomats when the Louvre was still the royal palace, and watched the young people of Paris party in parks along the river. It was truly a beautiful way to view the "City of Lights."
To top the evening off we sent the girls back to the apartment while the adults stopped at a Canadian Pub down the street from our apartment to watch the last round of the Masters golf tournament. We were hoping for a double bill with the Tigers game but the pub was showing an ice hockey game. It is a Canadian pub, eh.
A couple of observations from the guest blogger. Only a couple as truly versed in traveling can fit so much into a day as Mom and Dad do. I'm sure they feel that we've wasted our time by seeing only two or three sights a day. And only a truly cosmopolitan couple like Tim and Lynda can take the time to write a blog for you all! I can barely fit meals into the days of sightseeing, let alone have time to allow inspiration to strike! As much as my kids make fun of Grandma and Grandpa for their age, they sure do make this traveling thing seem easy! So glad we have the chance to enjoy one of their amazing trips with them!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Note to self: Add Canadian Pub in Paris to bucket and never order the Steak Tar Tar, they never cook it right ;)

Unknown said...

*bucket list