J'aime Paris!

I don't know much French, but hanging out in Belgium in four different trips at least has taught me some of the basics. It's fun to learn a new language when you can practice in a real setting. Although you'd have to get Charlie's opinion on that one - he's been immersed into French for 6 months! His French has really improved since my first trip, so don't be surprised when you see him next you'll get a kiss on the cheek and he can speak close to fluent French! He can also speak great Spanish, so I think he's could find a cool job in the U.S. since he knows three languages.

Well our trip to Paris was short and sweet. Mom, Dad, Kelly and Brian (Charlie had to practice) took the TGV (fast train) between Brussels and Paris, which was about an hour and an half trip. Pretty quick! We arrived by noon and went to check into our hotel. It was a quaint, 2-star hotel in a great area of the city. 5 minute walk to Notre Dame and very close to a metro stop. We grabbed some sandwiches at a little take-away cafe and headed to Notre Dame to eat outside and soak in the view. There was a huge que (line) to get inside and an admission cost. But we've gotten smart with Dad's disability and can usually surpass the que and even get in for free at places. So I asked a policeman/guard person and looked like we could go in the special line. What we didn't realize was that a funeral for a recently passed cardinal was being held in the cathedral, and we were in the line to pass by the casket and pay our respects. Was interesting that the cathedral continued to allow the general public in to tour the inside while this huge funeral was being held. It was beautiful inside, and we left just as the official funeral service started.

Next we headed to the Arc de Triomphe on Place Charles de Gaulle via the metro. One thing I want to note about the metro in Paris, the Parisians riding were very kind and considerate when they saw Dad get on the metro. Every single time we got on, someone immediately gave up their seat for Dad. We were incredibly impressed with their consideration, as you don't really think they are caring much for the tourists or just minding their own business. I'd say in London on the tube it only happened about 50% of the time.

Back to the Arc de Triomphe, so we stopped for photos and then parked Dad in a cafe along the Champs Elysees. Brian, Kelly and Mom took a long walk down the entire street filled with fancy shops, cafes and posh looking Parisians. At the other end is the Louvre. On the way, we took a short detour to visit the Grand Palais (fancy palace built for one of the World Fairs) and the Alexandre III bridge, gorgeous Art Noveau style built in late 1800s. It took a good two hours to walk the entire length, and then through the gardens and huge grounds of the Louvre.




(This might not be a "family-friendly" photo, but we couldn't help but laugh at the tour bus company from Germany!)














We took the metro back to meet Dad at the cafe, and then we all headed to the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't exactly a warm sunny day, but at least it was dry. It was incredibly windy under the Tower, but it's an amazing sight to be walking underneath, with how huge and industrious it is. We didn't bother taking one of the two elevators up, as the que was really long. You could also walk to the top, but no thanks on that one! We didn't find a cafe view of the Tower, but we did stop for some Bordeaux and frommage (cheese) at a cafe close by.

We headed back to our neighborhood for dinner at a typical Parisian cafe out on the sidewalk. We weren't sure what was a "French" specialty for dinner, their options seemed pretty normal. Although they do like "French" fries there too! Frites!

Mom wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at night, so after dinner Bri, Kel and Ma headed back to the Tower. We went to a different metro stop, so we had a better view from further away. It was gorgeous! Initially it did some fun sparkly thing for a bit, and then just stayed lit up. Was definitely worth going back again.

After that, we were really exhausted from all the traveling around, and knew we had a full day ahead on Friday, so we went back to the hotel to crash.

On Friday, we were actually catching the train back to Brussels at about 10 p.m., so we had a full day to explore. Ma and Dad wanted to go to the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa so we headed there after a quick breakfast stop at Starbucks. (Yep, they are over in Paris too and we needed our familiar fix!)

I knew at the Louvre there was no way Dad could walk it, so Brian and I went to figure out a wheelchair plan and it was pretty slick! The only thing that wasn't so slick is that the Louvre wasn't exactly built for wheelchairs in mind, so for the first hour I think we rode the elevators up and down trying to figure out their convoluted maze! But eventually we made it to all the hot spots we wanted to see (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Napoleon states rooms, and Greek statues to name a few). It was great, and brought back thoughts of the popular book, the DaVinci Code. They have a tour to follow the book/movie, but we didn't have time for that. The Louvre actually took most of the day, and we quick just grabbed some sandwiches while we were there. (Actually Brian and I had crepes!)

We wanted to take Dad back to the other viewing area of the Eiffel Tower, especially since it was an easier trip on the metro for him. We found a cafe not too far with somewhat of a view of the Tower for a bit more wine and cheese. The French don't have it too bad! We headed back toward our area again so we could grab our luggage and shop a little bit before we headed back to the train station.

Ma and I left the boys at a cafe, and explored down the way and stumbled upon the Latin Quarter. Great area (but also touristy) of lots of great restaurants, shops, and just fun ambiance and excitement. We liked being where the action was, so had fun just roaming a bit. After a bit had to get back to get the luggage, the guys, a slice of pizza for dinner and back to the train station.

All went well until we got off the TGV train, and was looking for the city train to go one stop to get to our hotel. Well we found it, and it was way on the other end of the platform, so we ran for it and made it, but even though it sat there, the doors were locked and we couldn't get on! So I was a bit irritated at the train for that, but there was one more to catch. So we went to another platform to catch that train. We had a few minutes to wait while another train came first. Well that train was taking too long, so our train switched platforms without any announcement. Somehow, out of the corner of my eye, I saw our train listed on a different platform and realized we had like a minute to run down, around and back up again! Argh! So off we went and running again we barely made it! I had never seen Dad move so fast and I swear he was doing stairs in twos! That wasn't the most fun of the train stories, and goes to show you always have to be paying attention!