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Published: June 29th 2015
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For once I regret not taking notice of Lily's perpetual neediness. Upon leaving the hotel in readiness for a day of cultured enlightenment, (or looking at paintings and old stuff) Lily's desire for a mocha frappucino was dismissed in favour of walking the shorter route to The Louvre. "We're in Paris, we'll pass hundreds of coffee shops en route." I think they were my exact words. It turns out I was wrong (and in the words of Baby's father, when I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong). So it turned out we had to quickly guzzle our coffee at the cafe overlooking the glass pyramid at The Louvre - great view, crap coffee.
I had thought long and hard on how to tackle The Louvre with my non art loving family and decided a City Wonders Skip the Line Tour was the way to go. See the famous artwork quickly and miss the rest! Ten minutes in, our group of six became four when Izzy felt sick and dizzy, and Bruce took her off to find water. Lily thought she was 'pulling a Lily' and was secretly impressed! The art was boring as hell but I was fascinated by all the
history. Lily however was very impressed with the Roman statues and was perving over the 'ripped dudes'. I'm seriously worried about her hormones! We all thought we were prepared for the size of the Mona Lisa, everyone says how tiny and disappointing it is. After being mauled, pushed, groped and stood on by the entire population of China, Lily and I made it to the barrier and couldn't believe how big the painting is. It's actually a pretty normal size, not big, not small, just a regular painting of a miserable looking woman. (Am I allowed to say that out loud?!) The tour over, and Lily still smiling (despite the boredom, the blisters and the fact that her sister managed to escape the torture), we met back up with Bruce and Izzy who had at least managed to see the Mona Lisa if nothing else. Lily's reward for her Oscar worthy performance of appearing interested in everything the guide had to say was the Starbucks mocha frappucino we found in the bowels of the Louvre.
The Big Red Bus was welcomed by all our feet, giving the ever growing blisters a chance to rest. The drama queen of the
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Lily's new love interest family had bigger and better blisters than anyone else and suffered in silence for the rest of the day. (Okay, we all know I'm lying about that one - there was no silence) We headed to the Latin Quarter for lunch and opted for traditional French fare of frogs legs and snails. No-one was overly impressed with the frogs legs but the snails were delicious in a garlic sauce.
I felt like all my Christmases had come at once when I was allowed unlimited time in the Shakespeare and Co bookshop, completely alone, unhindered by husband and children! It's a readers paradise of new and second hand books, all arranged in cute spaces with a nooky little reading room atop a rickety staircase. Unable to leave without a purchase, I decided on the story of the founder of the shop, Sylvia Beach, whose shop became the headquarters for a group of expat writers in the inter-war years. The shop made me feel like I was stepping straight into 'The Paris Wife', a novel about the long suffering wife of Ernest Hemingway. Bag in hand, I emerged from the shop after only half an hour to a round of applause
from my family - I think they had accepted they might not see me for the rest of the day.
A visit to Notre Dame followed by a bus ride back to the hotel gave the girls an opportunity for some wifi time and for me to sit on our balcony (which, incidentally, overlooks the Eiffel Tower) and reflect on the last couple of days. What have I learnt in Paris?
1 - The green man at a pedestrian crossing doesn't mean you can cross the road safely - it means you can try and cross whilst simultaneously dodging vehicles driven by Lewis Hamilton wannabes and trying not to die.
2 - You go out for dinner, lunch, breakfast, coffee, ice cream and come home with lung cancer! I cannot believe people can still smoke at the table in a restaurant - it's so much nicer dining out in Perth (apart from the fact that Perth restaurants are just closing when Paris nightlife is just beginning)
3 - Margaret River wine is the best in the world - hands down, no contest!
4 - I forgot how nice it was to live in Europe where
the summer evenings stay light until 10pm - hopefully we can stay awake long enough this evening to appreciate that fact!
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Aunty J
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The journey so far!
Loving the blog & the photos. Next leg NEW YORK! Katz Deli on the menu? You'll love the pastrami on rye if you do get there!