Paris – Part 2

Missy woke up that morning convinced that she will never part with her Mickey ears ever. Eyes barely opened, hair in a mess, she reached out for it and put it on. The child in me would have done the same thing if it was not for the fact that it would have caused great anxiety to my other half!

The distance from Marne-la-Vallée to Paris central is about 30 minutes by train. A trip made easy by a self-appointed young map reader.  She took great pleasure in planning our route to the various tourist spots that we’re planning to go to that day.

At the same time, a man with his accordion got on our coach and started playing. That was when I told Missy to put her map down, look out the window and listen to the music. I know she will remember that for years to come. The morning sun shining brightly, the chugging of the train, the rather untidy suburbia, the ‘strange’ language and the music.

Our first stop was at the Notre-dame. The almost 850 years old cathedral (debatable, depending on which part one is actually referring to) stood majestically and admired by hundreds of people every day. I would have liked to take the children in and show them the gothic architecture and the beautiful stained glass windows but alas, the queues were so long that it put me off. If we were to join the queue to get in, it would mean less time for everything else that day. Therefore, instead of going in, we walked around it and admired the intricacies from outside.

While sitting on a bench to look at the looming gargoyles, we were approached by four teenage girls carrying a plastic bag containing lollipop.  Somehow it did not make sense to see young ladies with perfect make up and effortless chic dressing totting around a bag of lollipops.

/Wuudd euww leik e lellipep?/

My lips automatically pouted as I listened to them speaking English with their oh-so-attractive French accent.  Turns out they were collecting money for some school project and yes, they were only 14.  As I travelled only with my card, I could not contribute that day. So no ‘lellipep’ for me.

Instead of taking the subway, we decided to walk along the Seine. I decided to give the beloved half-century-old ice cream parlour Berthillon a miss as it was on the opposite direction of where we were heading. Fortunately, I had not said a word to the kids about it. It was a beautiful day and my two small ones wanted so much to see at least one street performance. Luckily, on the bridge not far away from the ND, a young man was setting his ‘stage’. Armed with one small loud speaker that shrieked more than amplified, he entertained passers-by -- many of whom did not even noticed that he was there. The thought  ‘He is someone’s son’ crossed my mind and I immediately felt sorry for him.

Walking along the Seine, our steps got gradually slower and we found ourselves having to stop and wait many times. The reason being EJ, who had to stop and study the various drawings and prints on sale. I only wished we had more time than we did. 

They say that in Paris, love is in the air. I have clearly forgotten that bit. It is either that or I have grown prudent after years in relatively conservative Norway. There is something corny too especially when I realise that tourists are more prone to living it out. I had to queue with Missy at the public toilet – one of those that look like a not fully-grown flying saucer. There were 6 people before us and the Asian couple right in front of us took the opportunity to kill some time with extracurricular activities that involved a lot of socially unacceptable sound effects. Missy discreetly joined her brothers photographing bugs on a tree trunk (!).  And me? I took the picture below and called it ‘Squirm’.

Travelling with kids tend to limit you to a certain extent. With time constraints in addition, we had to be realistic and pick just a few landmarks to take them to and hope that it will create in them an interest to travel and explore even more later.

How refreshing it was to see them discovering and creating their own memory of Paris. This picture was taken from a series of photos taken by Spike of his two younger siblings.

They thought the Eiffel Tower was very impressive but no less impressive was the wall near Quai Branly, which was covered with vegetation. The landscaping was gorgeously set up but it also meant that the whole wall and the pavement were permanently wet. Missy immediately considered setting up a wall like that at home. I could vividly imagine myself wading in the bog that my garden would turn into with all that water!

After many hours of walking, the smiles were beginning to turn rather stiff. We bought tickets for the double-decker Les Cars Rouges. Since they did not have any family discount, the driver looked at Missy and said:

“Let’s just say you’re 5”

Missy being Missy immediately turned to EJ and said:

“Remember now … I am 5, not 7!”

We arrived at the Louvre half an hour later. The kids were totally amazed to learn how old the whole complex was. Entering the complex could not have been a grander experience for us that day when a street musician sitting under the arch started playing his cello. The warm evening sun cast a beautiful warm tone on the historical building. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and knew that that particular atmosphere will stay with me for years to come.

Spike was quiet and observant. While he was observing the surroundings, taking in the impressions, I was observing him. How fast time flies. I had to smile when I thought about how he managed to make us watch Inspector Gadget at least a thousand times when he was small and be equally excited every time we came across a cement-mixer! The perks of being an only child in those days.

The square was like a huge playground to the two small ones. They ran around, climbed and jumped over and over again until I asked them why they think that some of the statues were covered with white cloth. After a few minutes of thinking, the best ‘answer’ was:

“ … because it is almost Halloween?”

The queue to get in was extremely long. Of all the things to take note of, the kids started giggling when I discreetly pointed out what a few adults were doing, standing on each their elevated platform, taking turns to be photographed ‘cupping/holding/leaning on’ the Louvre Pyramid. Spike said one word that I have not heard for a while: PULUN!

Missy of course wanted one of her ‘pushing’ the pyramid while Spike preferred to lift the whole thing up with his thumb and index finger.

EJ? Well, he just could not believe his eyes when he saw the extent to which adults would go to get that picture taken!  :D

Getting around Paris was relatively easy, regardless of the type of transportation chosen.  It all came at a cost, of course. While the metro is cheap, it is rather shabby and you don’t get to see anything. Driving requires the swiftness of Flash Gordon and the patience of a saint. Traffic accidents were aplenty. More than what we would have seen in a period of 5 years on our island! :D

We walked a lot in Paris but had to give in to the double decker that took us to all the must-see spots while we nursed the throbbing feet.  Typical tourist mode of transport of course but with kids on tow, it is God sent. When they felt like going down, we would go down.  Otherwise, we left them alone to form their own opinion of Paris.

Paris is Eiffel tower, Monalisa at the Louvre, colourful macarons, people dressing in effortless chic, warm crepes on a chilly autumn evening and busy traffic. Paris is also that guy in the colourful sweater dancing with his puppet, the other one roasting a handful of chestnuts on a makeshift stove next to the Seine and the Japanese woman busy gesticulating to catch the attention of her tour group. Everybody has a story to tell. Life is like that. It is all about loving, living and hoping.

Travelling opens the eyes, the mind and the heart. I want my kids to experience the places that I could only imagine of going as a child their age and I want them to always remember that in the eyes of God, we are all the same. We are all trying to survive, trying to make the best out of the situations we are in. Perhaps the most important is the fact that the more we travel, the more we come to see that it’s a small world, after all.