19 July 2010

Paris!


Sigh. How does one describe her first trip to Paris? Je ne c'est pas... Magnifique? Trés bien? Amazing? All of those things. And lots of fun, too.

We arrived around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon to an auspicious start: We managed to hail a cab at the train station, and convey where we needed to go - I even ventured a "comment allez-vous?" and the driver answered with "comme ça", indicating that he actually comprended me! However, after about 2 minutes in the cab it began to sprinkle, then pour, then absolutely teem with rain, which continued for about the next 2 1/2 hours. So the "oohing" and "aahing" didn't kick in right away. We were able to check into one of our two reserved rooms early, so we stowed our things, donned our umbrellas and headed out to find somewhere to mange. (Only breakfast is available at our hotel.) After getting a teensy bit soaked, we settled on the nearby Brasserie du Louvre, which is very near the hotel, and also very near the Louvre, and yes - your conclusion is correct - our hotel was very near the Louvre. We had a nice, leisurely, albeit very expensive lunch (including of course a bottle of vin).

By the time we finished the rain had started to let up a bit, so we headed over to the Louvre, which is a remarkable building on the outside! I realized on the train that the day we arrived - 14 July - is also Bastille Day, which is a national holiday in France. Good news was that the Louvre was open, even better news was that the admission due to the holiday was free; bad news was that about 5 trillion people discovered this before us and the wait in line would have been trés long. Tour guide Sue of course was carrying books & maps and we decided to try the Musée D'Orsay instead which was about a 10 minute walk on the other side of the little river called the Seine. Time well spent as that museum contains a lot of really great stuff - Van Goghs and Monets and Renoirs just to name a few. By the time we left the sun had come out and we spent the rest of the afternoon strolling and window shopping and just enjoying being in Paris. Dinner that night was at a very French Restaurant called "Au Pieds du Conchon" which loosely translates to "Feet of the Pig" which is exactly what Kyle ordered, along with the tail, ears, and trotter. Mon Dieu! Chris had escargots as a starter and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal (which included of course, a bottle or 2 of vin.)

Thursday provided absolutely lovely weather - even a bit cool to start. That was a day of heavy walking, first just through the streets seeing the sights and doing a little shopping, then after a lovely lunch (and bottle of vin) where we had the most terrific French waiter, Xavier, who was impressed with my French (this time I tried out "Comment vous-appelez vous?"), came the major stuff: down the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe (WOW) then on to the Trocadéro (not sure what it actually is Paris - just saw signs) where we got our first glimpse of the Tour Eiffel which truly was breathtaking in every sense of that word. Unfortunately, Kyle started the day not feeling well and by lunch was feeling pretty badly so we had to put him in a cab back to the hotel and he missed the big stuff. He felt better after a good nap and by the time we got back to the hotel he was ready to venture out again, and we did, this time to an area on the Left Bank called St-Germain-des-Prés which contains lots of art galleries, shops, and restaurants. As we were pondering the all-in-French menu in front of one of the restaurants scratching our heads (my limited French doesn't go that far) we attracted the attention of a guy walking by who took the time to stop, ask (in English) if he could assist us (only if "we didn't mind"), and walk us to an Italian restaurant that he had just recently eaten at and liked very much. Talking about it later, we'd all been a bit skeptical for different reasons as to what his motivation might be, but it had become clear after a few minutes of talking with him that he was just a nice man - if a bit of an oddball - who was doing something nice. It was one of our favorite meals of the trip: not just delicious, but served by a French Italian (Italian French?) and accompanied by the requisite old craggy man playing the accordian. So French! (Yes, the little guy did pass the chapeau aound later to all of us who had taken his photo. Any way to make a euro.)

Our last day was another full one. First stop: the Louvre and at 10 am the line was almost non-existant. This is hard experience to describe, because it's almost with disdain that I witnessed masses of people rush with blinders on past magnificent sculptures and one-of-a-kind works of art to get to the Mona Lisa, but then again, I was one of those people, and I feel kind of weird about it. Amazingly, they allow photos to be taken in the Louvre, but not with a flash. Needless to say, more than half of the picture takers used their flash anyway (not us) and what really bothered us were the people that literally pushed and shoved their way (I'm being kind here) up to the rope in front of the painting, ignoring everyone around them that might be waiting for their photo to be taken so that they could have their companion take their photo, then carelessly push their way back out without even bothering to stop and glance at the amazing masterpiece that they had just been in the presence of! So that being the atmosphere in which I was able to see the one and only most famous work of art in the world, I think it felt a bit anticlimactic. I made myself feel a little better in the end though, as I looked her way one last time before moving on and realized that her smile isn't mysterious after all - it's a look of pure amusement at the masses of lunatics who come before her daily and make idiots of themselves. I think you could visit the Louvre every day for a month and still not see all there is to see, so after a quick stop by the Venus de Milo and a look at but a fraction of the French paintings, we were on our way to Notre Dame, about a 30 minute walk. This 13th Century cathedral was the perfect way to end our "official" whirlwind tour of Paris and is an amazing structure inside and out.

Following that, we sought out a bistro that we'd found in the guidebook for one last French meal (and oui, one last bouteille de vin) and it was a wonderful meal at that. We then strolled back through St-Germain-des-Prés, made our way back to the hotel where we picked up our luggage and waited for our taxi to the train station. What a trip.

I think I was most impressed by the Arc de Triomphe. Commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon to commemorate his military victories, it took 30 years to complete, and has really become quite a symbol in Paris. I found it completely awesome. One not-so-positive and surprising observation about Paris in general was how much trash was around the streets and parks, but I'm choosing to chalk that up to the Bastille Day celebrations. On the positive side, although we may have come across a brusque waiter or two, for the most part the French people who we met and dealt with were really lovely, friendly and helpful. One night walking back to the hotel after dinner, we came across a band playing by the Seine. It was a brass band - tubas, trumpets, trombones, french horns - and a drummer, and this just seemed like a regular Thursday night activity for them, the way some guys get together for poker or to watch the game. They appeared to be having the best time. That was the most magical moment for me - looking down over the Seine in the moonlight listening to this informal group of amis playing music together, whether anyone happened to be around to listen or not.

Exhausting, overwhelming, unbelievable, yet wonderful. I think that will be the description I will settle on about my first (and hopefully not last) trip to Paris.

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11 July 2010

Catching Up


It's been a busy few weeks. Last Sunday Chris & I celebrated the 4th of July British style. We were invited to an "American 4th of July Picnic" at the London home of Louis Susman, the American Ambassador to the UK (actually, to the Court of St. James) and his wife. They live at Winfield House, which is a humongous dwelling within Regents Park. We of course were limited to the yard (even the loos were outside) so luckily the weather cooperated. It was a really nice effort, but pretty much a British event. We were greeted by the Ambassador himself upon arrival; he said hello then directed us quickly toward the hot dogs. Hamburgers were also provided, as well as beer (American & British), chicken, ice cream & Starbucks coffee. Pimms cocktails and large screen TV's showing the Wimbledon final kept the English guests content. There was a band - a very good one, in fact - but it was no National Symphony Orchestra on the grounds of the Capital and, sadly, there was no Stars & Stripes Forever accompanied by fireworks for a finale. I'm happy to say that there was a US Marine Corps Honor Guard in attendance, which of course made me think of my Dad. The 4th of July was a very big deal when we were kids and all of the patriotic songs that my siblings & I can all still sing are a result of Dad's tuteledge. ("You're a grand old flag...") Now, for some reason, which I'm sure makes sense somehow, Bianca Jagger was at this event. Just floating among the guests in a very un-celebrity sort of way. Sounds kind of like I'm recapping a strange dream, doesn't it?

I'd been feeling more settled and a bit more at home before this picnic, but I realized at the end of the day that I was feeling depressed and homesick again. We never had a huge party or anything for the 4th in the US, but we usually did spend it with some contingent of the extended family, and it really is such a huge part of our culture over there. Here, it was just another Sunday, which felt wrong somehow. Having Bianca at our "American" picnic might have kinda pushed the whole feeling over the edge. Oh well. Ironically enough, just as we were going to bed, we heard a brief smattering of fireworks going on out the window. We couldn't see anything, but someone was setting them off somewhere close by which gave me a bit of comfort before I fell asleep.

Yesterday, we went to the wedding of our friends Cristina & Wycliffe. Cristina was my niece Olivia's (Meg & Glenn's now 5 yo) very first au pair from 2005 to 2006. She is from Romania and after her 1 year commitment in the US went back home. Not long after that she took a nanny position in London, where she met Wycliffe, who is from Uganda. I'd gotten to know Cristina when she was providing wonderful care for Olivia & support for new Mom Meg, and when we came over for Chris's interview in January Meg hooked us up. We've seen them a few times since, including - much to Wycliffe's dismay - watching England's final loss (some would say embarrassing thrashing) to Germany in the World Cup together. So, yesterday we went to the British wedding of a Romanian bride and Ugandan groom and had a lovely time.

Chris's brother Mike arrived for a 10-day visit on Friday morning - so good to see some family! I think he's been having a good time: we took him to Borough Market & for a walk along the south bank of the Thames on Friday, Yesterday while we were at the wedding, Kyle showed him Covent Garden and they walked around the city a bit more, and last night we had lamb chops for dinner. Not sure if I've previously mentioned this, but the British lamb & pork that we've been getting from our local butcher is to die for. It's all free range and truly like nothing I've ever eaten in the US. Chris & Mike headed up to Birmingham today to play a few rounds of golf, one of which will be on the same course where something like 4 Ryder cups have been played. They rented a car and Chris drove for the first time since being here. He did call to say they'd made it safely - hopefully they'll have as much success on the golf course.

I'm most excited about the fact that this Wednesday, the 4 of us leave for a 3-day trip to Paris on the Eurostar!! I really can't wait. I've been brushing up on my French and pouring over the guide books. It's the first time going for all of us so it should be a lot of fun. It may just be a blog worth tuning back in for. Au revoir pour maintenant.

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