Paris - days 13-16

---

---

Ahhh.... Paris

Paris is truly a great city. This is my third time here and I expect to comeback again some day. The sights, the mood, the architecture, the art and the food. OH MY GOD the food is good here. It's like we never ate before! How is it that McDonalds and Burger Crap sell food by the boat full but the French creperies have not taken oven the rest of the world? If any food deserves to be franchised and mass marketed across the Milky Way it's French Crepes! And not just crepes; fondue, fromage, baguettes, croissants, spreads and dips, sauces, some of the worlds best pizza. Even the kids liked it (but they still said Idyllwild Pizza Company is still their favorite - kudos to Kenna). But we did more than just eat. When the heat wasn't slowing us down (more on this later), we took in the art and culture and explored the city like champs.

We arrived in the evening with enough time to see Montmarte and Sacre Couer. I love this part of Paris. Montmarte used to be an independent city until Napoleon got a big head and took over. Boulevard de Clichy was the old border between the cities. Since taxes were higher in Paris on drinks, smokes and late night frivolity, Parisians used to cross to Montmarte for a good time. As a result, Montmarte has most of the theaters, cabarets, bars and sex shops. Perfect place to bring the kids! It also has what I imagine to be that classic Paris feel to it with narrow roads (many of them cobblestone), tall, older buildings, and many long (L---O---N---G) --- did I mention they were long? --- staircases going up to the hill to Sacre Couer. The church itself is stunning. You don't have to be catholic (or even religious) to appreciate what's going on here. Montmarte also has some amazing cafes, many creperies and gelato shops and a swarm of street artists tripping over themselves to paint your likeness for a small fee. For dinner we dipped bread and potatoes in cheese fondue. Sublime.

Day 2 started with Musee d'Orsay. We started here because this is where we chose to start the hop on hop off boat tour (which, by the way, is a waste of money when its a 1000 degrees and the metro goes more places for less money with a lower temperature). Musee d'Orsay is a beautiful building with masterpiece works of art. None of us are very knowledgeable about art history, but you didn't have to be to appreciate the classic beauties. We noticed how the art portrayed such rich emotion. Most of it was grief or sorrow. Either times were really tough 500-2000 years ago or somber emotions just make for better art. Next up was a short walk around the Norte Dame. Would have loved to go in but the lines were long and it was bloody hot. Made our way to the Eiffel Tower instead and ascended to the top. Not only is the ride up the tower impressive, but so is the elevator. It's a double decker with each car carrying around 60 people. It glides up one of the tower legs and adapts to the sloping angle the higher you get. Wicked cool engineering. The views were stunning, the tower is incredible and the experience was well worth it. Kids loved it too. Pics below don't fully do it justice. After this, we walked to the Trocadero for great views back at the Eiffel Tower and entertainment provided by local street performers and break dancers. The night brought an array of musicians and roaming crowds celebrating Summer Solstice. Apparently this is a thing in Paris. They shut down some streets and let people rock out till the wee hours. From classic art to amazing structures to break dancing to street parties - what a cultural smorgasbord!

Day 3 brought more heat and less enthusiasm amongst the troops to grin and bear it. We descended into the partially air conditioned Louvre for a partial reprieve and a gander at arguably the most famous museum in the world. We fought the crowds and their body heat around the Mona Lisa, but actually enjoyed ourselves more in the museum wings that were less populated. Along the way to the ML, we were awestruck by the building size murals. I tried to take pictures but the camera really couldn't capture their size and grandeur. Indy and I had fun seeking out the floor vents which provided the only cool air around. He appreciated this more than the priceless works of art around him, which could be expected. The French and Italian sculptures were fascinating as were the Egyptian art works and tombs. The highlight of the Louvre for me was watching Geneva sketch The Winged Victory of Samothrace. In total, we spent around 5 hours there but managed to truly only see around 1/10th of the art. Finishing the night out, we took in a movie (Wonder Woman kicking butt with French subtitles), rode a cool buggy taxi and chowed down on savory and sweet crepes.

Day 4 was a partial day with travel in the evening to Munich. We originally planned to do the Palace of Versailles, but we were too pooped out. We spent the day cruising the Montmarte area, watching street performers and eating more crepes. The kids had fun on the merry-go-round and played on this huge wind tunnel thing in the middle of the boulevard. Sometimes it is the little things that are the most enjoyable. On the bad side of things, we were accosted by street vendors who took our hands and started weaving cheap string bracelets despite our protests. I told them I wasn't going to buy anything, I told them we had to get our kids, I told them I was leaving in 10 seconds, etc., but they kept on. Three of their vulture buddies stood behind so the whole situation was a little intimidating. In the end, I gave them 10 euros and took off. The experience left a really bad taste in my mouth. And while I'm on the subject of the bad side of Paris, the city has taken a hit from all the trash and graffiti. We even saw a full size bed and frame thrown in the space between some stairs and a building. For such an iconic, amazing place, they really should crack down on the hooligans and do some clean up. A little pride restoration is in order. (I'm climbing off my high horse now...)

So about that heat... We surfed a major heat wave into Paris. Our Iceland clothes were useless dead weight. We rented a cute little AirBnB in a top floor flat in the hills of Montmarte with a gorgeous view over Paris. Getting to this flat in this heat was no joke. We made the dreadful mistake of lugging our luggage from the airport using the train and metro system. We had no idea how many wretched stairs we would climb with 4 suitcases and 4 backpacks. I reckon we hauled 150 pounds between us. Given that Indy is 7, the weight was not equally distributed amongst us. We climbed and we hiked and we climbed and we marched and we climbed. Just when one staircase ended, the next one peered on us and laughed. Turns out that the metro stop nearest the flat was also the deepest stop with the most stairs. And not just any stairs! Twisting, winding, uneven stairs. After the metro station, we walked up streets to find more stairs. Once we tackled these, the apartment offered us 4 more flights of stairs. We were pouring sweat. Unfortunately, once we were there, we received no relief. Like most of the older buildings in Paris, our flat did not have air conditioning. The two little fans provided by the owner we're spinning with all their might - it looked like they were even sweating - but they didn't manage to keep the sweat at bay. But fear not... we persevered. We took cold showers and slept naked with no blankets. Which was funny because late night tourists visiting the Sacre Coeur had a spotlight view of our private parts. The local papers reported four extremely rare full moons for three consecutive nights.

---