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Published: January 3rd 2009
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My Mom and I spent the last two weeks of December together traveling in Paris, Strasbourg, and Budapest. I thought it would be a fun idea if she did the blog for this trip! So, here is the trip through her eyes and with her words...I just took the pictures.
A flashing neon warning sign on a busy Paris street corner best sums up my two week visit with Kaitlin,
"3° C; wear hat, gloves and scarf. Do not stand still!"
Interesting contrast- on both the outbound and inbound Seattle-Heathrow legs of my flights a passenger failed to show up after checking himself and luggage on board. Took 60 minutes to locate and remove the luggage in Seattle and 5 minutes in London. Similar to the status of the two cities’ rapid transit systems. Europe can move people… in more ways than one.
Paris is her world and she clearly delighted in our role reversal as she took the lead in showing me “her” city. We communicated as equals and as adult women during numerous meals and especially in the Rudas Bath in Budapest. And both of fumbled a bit in Budapest, unable to speak the language or read the
Crepe Stand
Mom's first crepe...she didn't go with Nutella, instead she opted for a cinnamon and sugar map and needing to find food before everything closed down for Christmas.
Kaitlin had a check list for Paris and we systematically worked through it! I really had just a few days in Paris (at both ends of my visit) so we had to keep moving.
Day 1: Travel for me; landed at Charles de Gaulle and received three cheek kisses and a very tight hug after not seeing Kaitlin for 3 months, RER and metro took about an hour to get back to the city; dinner at a Moroccan restaurant that Kaitlin’s friends had shared with her. Couscous, tagine, chicken, sausage. Shared Kaitlin’s Didot digs for the night. Cozy, but she has added some personal touches.
Day 2: School for Kaitlin; breakfast at a café on rue de Rennes; I walked to the Seine, window shopped, visited St. Sulpice and the Luxembourg Gardens, Saint Germain and Montparnasse areas. That night we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Wine and bread and cheese at a corner café, sounds mundane, tasted divine. Bus ride to see the monuments lit in their Christmas finery. Walked a bit in the Latin Quarter, had my first Paris crepe, and at the
end of the night I was kissed on the cheeks by a street corner break dancer!
Day 3: Saint Chapelle Cathedral with its own Rose Window and 15 incredible soaring panels of stained glass, some of it still original. Then 400 steps up Notre Dame (I didn’t count, I read it somewhere) all of Paris at our feet and 5000 gargoyles surrounding us. Inside the cathedral itself is so moving; it is hard to express just how old and inspiring - how could this have been built using primitive tools. We had a Greek lunch in the Latin Quarter- Kaitlin off to school and Musee d’Orsay for me. (19th century art housed in an enormous converted train station.) Met Kaitlin after class and we explored rue Mouffetard and the Sorbonne area; the light was special so Kaitlin took lots of pictures. Met Dani’s family for dinner at Le Laurier, one of the ticketed restaurants for GU students. Wonderful food (quiche and pork tenderloin, terrine de bleu and glace au chocolat)
Day 4: We walked through the Montparnasse Cemetery and all the way up to the Pompidou Center- contemporary and modern art, especially enjoyed Daniel Ortega’s “Eye” exhibit. Lunch
at another “ticketed” café, the Sarrasine. Curry, salad and crepes. Fun to see Kaitlin chatting away with the staff (in French) . She’s become a regular! Regrouped, redressed, had a little early Christmas. Then climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (286 steps, but who’s counting?) Glorious night and then we went to see Tracy Chapman- my Christmas present from Kaitlin. Tracy entranced the audience and had everyone singing (in English) to all the favorites. What a voice and what a venue- and everyone goes home on the metro, no cars!
Days 5&6: Bullet train to Strasbourg and all of its Christmas markets. Decorating starts November 1; each street has a theme, stars, bells, angels, the cathedral is the center of the town and all activities. A delightful mixture of German and French building styles and cuisine; headquarters for the EU and about as quaint as it can be. The whole central city is decorated, but the lights are almost unnecessary, the town is so picturesque. Good food, at the market - organic soup and bread, pesto and cheese; shopped at both the markets and at the “real” stores. Hot spiced wine and the Alsacien food were
the highlights-- Flambekucchen , (flaming tart, a large very thin pizza with cream, onions, bits of ham) three meat casserole served in a tureen for me; roast chicken with spaetzel for Kaitlin.
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Maman
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Je t'aime beaucoup!
Let's do it again next year!