Sorry Geordi, your visor no longer interests me.
What a great city! They clean the streets and sidewalks every night and the waiters are all friendly and bilingual; exactly the opposite of what you have been led to believe from watching the Simpsons. You can poke a chocolate covered finger at any place on the Paris map and you will find an interesting neighborhood with street cafe's and some gritty history. And speaking of chocolate, don't forget about caramel, crepes, sorbet, nougats and creme brûlée. History? Head chopping, Nazi invaders, massacred Protestants, starving citizens eating zoo animals, Napolean's miracle comeback after a minor hiccup in Russia and of course Carla Bruni's whisper-speak pop songs.
You don't just go to Tim Hortons for a donut when you need a treat. You must travel a kilometer of winding streets to find the exact shop with the exact specialty that the wise and all-knowing internet has directed you to.
Our first taste of macarons from Michel Cluizel.
Selecting just one chocolate at Jacques Genin. Poor kid.
Except for an afternoon at the Pompidou modern art gallery, we did not spend a lot of time inside museums or churches. We walked a lot of neighborhoods to the great annoyance of the kids: Montmartre, Marais, Montparnasse, and that is just the "M's". The traffic and parking is very civilized like Copenhagen but without the thousands of bicycles. When in Rome, I spent a lot of time mad or annoyed at the city but Paris gets an A+. Everything is beautiful and artistic. You don't just have a door, you have a beautiful door with a unique welcome mat made of Canadian beaver and a special vase of beautiful flowers which match the color of the artistic wrought iron stair railings designed by the Art Nouveau master Guimard.
The highlight of the week was probably the 59th floor of the Montparnasse Tower which is a 1970's skyscraper supporting a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower with the setting sun in the background.
Great view except for that stupid steel thing. Bloody Engineers!
A few more sights of Paris:
If the Metro took longer than one minute to show up, we would yell at the locals and kick over garbage cans.
Check out the rooftop garden. Have a cocktail and look at the tourists on the Arch d'Triumphe looking at you.
If you can afford an apartment in Paris, you don't need your own stinking kitchen. Eat here!
Ballcaps, shorts and running shoes. These bumpkins are not from Paris. I bet they ask for ketchup!
"Monochrome" by Yves Klein hanging in the Pompidou
“My paintings are but the ashes of my art” - (Yves gets A+ for bullshit)
So a month in Paris without kids? You truly need a lot of time to see all the neighborhoods, art and treasures of Paris. My own little treasures have their own plans and demands which surprisingly conflicted with mine while we explored the city. So if we drop a kid off at your place for supper and don't come back for a month, you can rest assured that it's just all part of a much bigger plan.
This either means don't bring your kids to Paris or you are not allowed to date smaller Asian women.
What is this "Disney" that you and my children speak of? We deny all knowledge and you must be assured that one chocolate from Jacques Genin will pleasure your memories for a lifetime. Two would be far too many for a small child - their tastebuds are sensitive. Safety you know.
ReplyDeleteDid you try the wine by any remote chance??
ReplyDelete--fletwodegirl
Hi Laurie - yes, thanks for the advice. We did give the kids some wine but it didn't calm them down a bit. Still complained.
Delete