So we were winding our way down a small alleyway in Paris, taking the scenic route back home. Strangely enough I started seeing Hebrew lettering on the storefronts. We kept going and I saw men dressed in black and wearing keepah’s and suddenly I was back home in the middle east. We couldn’t resist the 3 falafel shops in a row. Sure enough, best falafel this side of Jerusalem was had in Paris.
We confirmed we were in the middle east, because 2 guys start fighting over a motorcycle, till mama comes out of a shop and beats the 2 grown men with her cane……ahhhhhh the middle east.
A world adventure with kids? Why not? For the first time in a long time we have no greater obligations than our family. Our kids can be carried, changed on the grass, happy with a stick as a toy, so we are selling our house, free ourselves of clutter and OFF WE GO!
The plan? To learn what it means to be on an adventure with God. Sharing ideas on helping people launch their own adventure and hopefully in some way using our skills to bring justice and mercy to those in need.
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Businessmen and Baguettes
Sept 6 2010
Yes, accommodations may be less than desirable for the young family trying to stick to a budget, but I really do love Paris. I love that men in suits have a cellphone in one hand and a baguette to take home in the other. I love that the café’s are lined with tables looking out on the street and that every table is taken. That there is a love for good food, friends and café crème. It is also so beautiful. The attention to detail and beauty makes me think the line of kings couldn’t have been all bad…well, except for Marie Antoinette.
I had brought Dickens’s A tale of Two Cities to read with me on the plane and was so glad I did. We were staying in the “Bastille” district map(which perhaps explains why our hotel was less than stellar) and it was making me a little squeamish reading Dickens’ account of the French Revolution at the same moment as I was walking Parisian streets where so much blood had been shed.
What a history this country has.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Floating down the Seine
Sept. 6 2010
We weren’t planning on taking one of those tourist boat rides down the Seine but as you know by now the Louvre was closed. So, since Cameron kept yelling “Boat, boat, boat” with every sea-vessel that passed his gaze we decided why not comply?
I don’t know why Paris doesn’t have water taxis. In my opinion it would be a great step up from the larger crafts that circulate up and down the Seine. Most are rather tacky and not all that cheap or user friendly. Best advice on picking one is decide what it is you want to see- do you need it to stop?
Ours was just a straight tour that showed mostly the underside of Paris’ bridges. Yes, we had to sit in plastic row-seats and the aisles were covered with plastic poinsettias- I don’t know why. A big plus was the busload of Seniors from Spain-- you’ve never seen my boys so happy and to pass each bridge in Paris by water and be told their history and significance was really fun. Also, you are told about the places you wouldn’t see in a guidebook and to look at the Eifel Tower from the water is even more spectacular than being under it.
The seniors from Spain turned out to be highly entertained by my children. This meant that Simeon got a lollipop and was able to monologue to some grandmothers who didn’t speak English but thought he was so cute. With the kids occupied and contained Rob and I….were able to relax and have a nap.
We weren’t planning on taking one of those tourist boat rides down the Seine but as you know by now the Louvre was closed. So, since Cameron kept yelling “Boat, boat, boat” with every sea-vessel that passed his gaze we decided why not comply?
I don’t know why Paris doesn’t have water taxis. In my opinion it would be a great step up from the larger crafts that circulate up and down the Seine. Most are rather tacky and not all that cheap or user friendly. Best advice on picking one is decide what it is you want to see- do you need it to stop?
Ours was just a straight tour that showed mostly the underside of Paris’ bridges. Yes, we had to sit in plastic row-seats and the aisles were covered with plastic poinsettias- I don’t know why. A big plus was the busload of Seniors from Spain-- you’ve never seen my boys so happy and to pass each bridge in Paris by water and be told their history and significance was really fun. Also, you are told about the places you wouldn’t see in a guidebook and to look at the Eifel Tower from the water is even more spectacular than being under it.
The seniors from Spain turned out to be highly entertained by my children. This meant that Simeon got a lollipop and was able to monologue to some grandmothers who didn’t speak English but thought he was so cute. With the kids occupied and contained Rob and I….were able to relax and have a nap.
'CN Tower-Eifel Tower..'
Sept 6 2010
We took the kids to see the Eifel tower- aka ‘the trinket trap.’ We decided it was easier with the stroller to take the bus. I think we were right, but it did take 45min from the Bastille. I have to say the best thing about the tower was the Merry-go-round at the bottom. As it turns out the kids really did remember and enjoy just seeing it. In preparing the kids for the trip the Eiffel Tower was one of the things that would define for us, ‘ when we are in the world.’
On the way home Simeon came up with an awesome song he wishes to share. Sing with Simeon “C.N. Tower, Eifel Tower” now repeat this in a loud voice for two hours straight throughout the streets of Paris and you will see the impact that Mr. Eifel had on my young son.
We took the kids to see the Eifel tower- aka ‘the trinket trap.’ We decided it was easier with the stroller to take the bus. I think we were right, but it did take 45min from the Bastille. I have to say the best thing about the tower was the Merry-go-round at the bottom. As it turns out the kids really did remember and enjoy just seeing it. In preparing the kids for the trip the Eiffel Tower was one of the things that would define for us, ‘ when we are in the world.’
On the way home Simeon came up with an awesome song he wishes to share. Sing with Simeon “C.N. Tower, Eifel Tower” now repeat this in a loud voice for two hours straight throughout the streets of Paris and you will see the impact that Mr. Eifel had on my young son.
70 Euro in Paris gets you.....
A room that you’re scared to sleep in. We are once again on a train. Our luggage system has been streamlined and each trip we find more organizational resources within ourselves to keep our luggage to a minimum. We still look like the traveling circus but we are now travelling with eight bags instead of eleven. We arrived in Paris tired and crusty and in major need of a place to stay; which meant that following our favourite tradition of inability to plan because of lack of internet and phone, we were walking the streets trying to find a place.
After staying in Taize for two weeks, we were a little shocked that the places below a one-star where you are sure that only cockroaches would want to live cost 70 Euro a night, but it’s true. Since Paris is the most visited city in the world it is little wonder that beggar’s can’t be choosers.
So, we settled for the room we were scared to sleep in and left as soon as we had dropped our bags. I should also note that there were no bathrooms in the hall but that there was one bathroom for each floor and that their entrance was on the winding staircases with steps just large enough to make Simeon plummet down them every time he had to step out of the washroom. Oh joy.
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