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Published: October 30th 2011
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Well, it has been a long time since I updated my blog, but Avery and I had the chance to go to Paris for the week - without the kids. My parents stayed at the apartment and watched the kids for the week. It was great to go on a holiday, just the two of us.
You will understand the title of the blog shortly.
We arrived in Paris around 6 pm Saturday, October 22. We were able to find a small apartment for the week. I mean small. But it was a nice and cozy place. Anyways, in our apartment, we had pink toilet paper, there was no shower curtain, we found a moldy coffee filter and walking around Saturday evening, we quickly discovered why Paris is called the City of Love. The were people making out all over the place. Anyways, it was good to get to Paris and start off our week. The address of our place was 116 Rue des Moines and we had to climb 108 stairs every time we wanted to go up to the apartment.
Sunday - in our little apartment, we had a TV, so we were able to watch
some French shows. This was good, because I was able to watch the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final between France and New Zealand. New Zealand won 8-7, however, in my humble opinion, I thought that the French deserved the victory. Also, in our apartment, there was the first season of "How I Met Your Mother." We tried it out and actually enjoyed it. It was nice to have some TV for a change.
After the rugby final, we went to the Sacré Coeur. This is a beautiful church and you are supposed to be quiet in the church for the people that come to pray. It is good that this church is not just another monument, but that people come from all around to worship here. Anyways, all was pretty quiet, except for a worker who was constantly saying, "No photos please."
After the Sacré Coeur we went to the Avenue des Champs Elysées, and we saw the Arc de Triomphe. Here, I was able to sing the song, "Aux Champs Elysées," by Joe Dassin. After the Arc de Triomphe, we went and saw the Bassin de la Villette (again more people making out) and then we went
to a movie aux Cinémas Gaumont to see "Crazy Stupid Love." It was a good movie and it was nice to get out and see a movie.
Monday - We went to the Louvre and waited in line for over an hour to get in. We spent 3 hours there. It was only a so-so place. In the long line, there was a guy who was taking pictures of a bunch of things and then cut right into the line in front of us. That dirty rat. I gave him the hairy eyeball and then he knew that he was in the wrong.
After the Louvre, we saw the Concorde and then we walked along rue St. Honoré to do some shopping. We went into Tiffany and Co., however, we weren't impressed with the selection. After being skunked in shopping we went out for supper to an Algerian restaurant called "La Grande Bleue." It was a great restaurant. However, the portions were huge. I asked if I could take my meal home, but they don't do that in Paris. That was the first time that we tried Algerian food.
Tuesday - We went to the Stade de
France where they had the 1996 World Cup of Soccer (Football). This is the year that the French won the world cup against Brazil. It was neat to see. After this, we went up La Tour Montparnasse. This is not as high as the Eiffel tower, however, you can still get great views of Paris. Afterwards, we did a little shopping at the Galerie Lafayette. Then, we went out for some jazz au "Baiser Salé."
Wednesday - We discovered that there was a shopping outlet outside of Paris called "La Vallée Village." Do not confuse this with Vallue Village. There was tons of stores at this outlet mall. The only problem - there were no outlet prices. It was just normal prices. So the outlet part confused us. Anyways, Avery found a nice winter coat. After the day of shopping, we went back to the apartment, made supper and then strolled around the Eiffel Tower at night. We then walked along the Seine River and saw more people making out.
Thursday - This was a day where we were proud to be Canadian. We took the train and went to the northern coast to visit Dieppe. In Dieppe,
More Mine de Bex.
Isabelle finally got her train ride. we walked along the sea, walked on a long pier, saw a monument to Canadian Soldiers, walked up to a golf course, did a bit of shopping and spent some time in the Square du Canada. Here, there was a nice garden and a great monument set up for Canadian Soldiers and the Battle of Dieppe August 19, 1942.
Also, in Dieppe, we went out to a French restaurant for lunch. It was at this restaurant that I ate the grossest thing that I have ever eaten. We decided to go with the 3-course lunch and I saw on the menu, an egg and ham dish. Little did I know that it came out cold, in jelly form. It was awful. However, I payed for this meal, so I ate this awful jelly thing. Needless to say, I won't be ordering that again!
Friday - We slept in, and then made our way to the Musée de l'Orangerie. Avery loved the impressionist art. According to us, it was more interesting than the Louvre. Afterwards, went to Notre Dame and then walked around the Latin Quarter. In the Latin Quarter, we had a fondue for supper. It was great.
Saturday - This was the day that we had to return back to Avully. We went to Versailles as well and really enjoyed our time there.
Now, I will explain the title of this blog. The whole week, we rode the metro and we were on trains the whole time. Of course, our train travel from Sunday to Friday went off without a hitch. Not so on Saturday! We arrived to Versailles without a problem. We then wanted to leave by 4:00 pm, so that we could catch our 8:35 pm flight back to Geneva. At Versailles, the 4:06 train didn't come. So we had to catch the 4:21 pm train. Not a huge deal. We then needed to change trains at the station Champs de Mars. This was a problem. The train we needed was delayed. We ended up waiting 15 minutes and then decided to go to another station. This was ok. At the new station, our train was redirected because of work that they were doing on the line. We didn't get to our apartment until 6:00 pm. Time was getting tight. We then walked down our 108 stairs, with a 50 pound suitcase and
we were going to take the metro/train to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. We got to the station where we needed to transfer to get on the airport train. The problem - there was no train. Apparently, there were no trains going to the airport because they were working on the line. We then had to take the train to Mitry and then catch a bus to the airport. We didn't get on that airport bus until 7:10 pm. Another problem, Charles de Gaulle is a huge airport. We were dropped off at terminal 3, we then needed to catch a tram to terminal 2. We finally got to the baggage drop off at 7:55 pm. Except, the people in front of us were taking a long time with their baggage. So, boarding was at 8:05 pm and we got on the plane when they were saying that it was the last boarding call. And there you have it - the title of this blog. I have to say that I was getting worried. I didn't want to miss this plane and have to pay for another one. Avery had a few good laughs at my worried gestures.
So,
we arrived safely back to Avully and we are so happy to be "home." We missed the kids and it was good to see them again. We were able to go to church today as well. It will be good to get back into the routine of things.
Jarod
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Sandra Dobra
non-member comment
I really enjoyed reading your blog, Jarod. You have a great sense of humour like your parents! I was glad to see some pictures of them and to know that they are doing well. It must be so nice to be together once again. Say hi to them for us. Your year sounds so exciting - enjoy every minute of it.