We have enjoyed Paris and the crepes. After studying the language for so many 
years, hearing the language spoken by natives
was especially enlightening to Geri. One day has been spent in the Louvre and other art museums. One day has been dedicated to Notre Dame and other chapels. One day has been devoted to war museums and another to palaces. Everyday but Sunday has held more than its share of crepes! Did you
know that crepes are about 15 inches in diameter and that they can be filled with chocolate and coconut and jam and mushrooms and cheese and ham a
nd bananas and eggs and lemon and sugar and cinnamon and . . . . . . . but not all at the same time:). 
With that many options we were obligated to have more than one every day just to get a respectable sampling.
On Sunday we met a couple from Phoenix and another couple from Vienna in front of a blue double door that posted a paper designating the meeting place for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The man from Vienna said he heard there was a conference broadcast from London that day and he thought it was to be at this 'chapel' site. After ringing the bell and waiting with the other couples for someone to answer the door for several minutes we all said 'amen' and 'au revoir' and went our separate ways without getting into the church. Perhaps this was not the sight for the conference broadcast :( 
years, hearing the language spoken by natives
was especially enlightening to Geri. One day has been spent in the Louvre and other art museums. One day has been dedicated to Notre Dame and other chapels. One day has been devoted to war museums and another to palaces. Everyday but Sunday has held more than its share of crepes! Did you know that crepes are about 15 inches in diameter and that they can be filled with chocolate and coconut and jam and mushrooms and cheese and ham a
nd bananas and eggs and lemon and sugar and cinnamon and . . . . . . . but not all at the same time:). 
With that many options we were obligated to have more than one every day just to get a respectable sampling. The Eiffel Tower, old and well maintained, gave us a great start to Paris. We could see the Seine River and the tour boats laden with hundreds of tourists looking up at the mass of sculpted steel while we looked down at them and the entire city.
On Sunday we met a couple from Phoenix and another couple from Vienna in front of a blue double door that posted a paper designating the meeting place for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The man from Vienna said he heard there was a conference broadcast from London that day and he thought it was to be at this 'chapel' site. After ringing the bell and waiting with the other couples for someone to answer the door for several minutes we all said 'amen' and 'au revoir' and went our separate ways without getting into the church. Perhaps this was not the sight for the conferen
A few minutes later we found ourselves walking into mass at Notre Dame Cathedral and
sitting down right next to the the aisle where the incense swinger and the cross bearers and the book carriers and the sermon givers and the choir members all walked prior to the services beginning. What timing! The cathedral stained glass windows were the highlight of the services. The richly carved cathedral exterior displayed the craftsmanship of the early Christian faithfuls of the 1200's. The exquisite gargoyles are not given their due regard in the animated movie 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. On a 400 stair turret tour of the belfry which hous
es a bell 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet high we learned about the original novel by Victor Hugo, 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' , and the Quasimoto, the bell ringer, who is characterized therein. At the dizzying height of the cathedral's exterior railing we again looked down at the tourists who were looking up at the symbolic 
references to a god.
Sidewalk cafes stay open long after we left the streets and went home for the evening. People sit shoulder to shoulder and face the street with a little rou
nd table in front of them to hold their drinks and cigarettes. Perhaps people watching is a treasured past time for the French people. We hypothesized that their homes are too small to entertain friends so they hang out in the cafes. The day starts late and extends late in the evening for Parisians.
We have seen several chapels built hundreds and thousands of years ago. We
happened into one where a horn concert was in process so we sat and relaxed for a few minutes. It seems that the chapels all display exquisit stained glass windows depicting the life of Christ and stories of the Old Testament. 
In the museum of Napoleon's tomb and the World Wars and French wars it was interes
ting to see the French perspective of the American involvment. The take home message for me is: "Let's just be nice to each other."
People play soccer every chance they get (on fake turf, on pavement, on dirt) and they don't need goals as they just play keep away from each other and show off their dribbling skills. The World Cup in South Africa has drawn the attention of the French people much like the Superbowl does for Americans. Parisians fill the restaurants and bars and cafes watching the games. We were walking the streets looking for another crepe one night and heard a loud roar from a cafe across the street. A closer investigation revealed Brasil's team had just scored a goal against North Korea and the Parisians felt the need to cheer even when it wasn't the French team. On our walk down the Champs Elysee we came to the Addidas store that highlighted the French soccer team's uniforms as well as other national teams' shirts. Soccer team members seem to be heroes here.
Soccer is not the only game we witnessed in Paris. Boules is played by women and men and old and young on a dirt field. The game does not take up a lot o
f space, 40'x40', but it does take a lot of skill. It reminds me of curling and marbles combined. It was easy to see that the French take the game very seriously and they hang around the field practicing their skills just waiting for a chance to be invited to play much like a pick-up game of basketball in the US. The children also play much like the children in the US. We saw children kicking cans and soft nerf balls (against the barred windows of ancient churches) and riding scooters and inline skating. Adults were also on inline skates on the sidewalks and in the parks.
Versailles was a day trip that was as enjoyable to w
atch the French children on their field trip as it was to see the beautiful gardens and the ostentatious country dwelling place of the French royalty. Geri was so amused by watching a man and a woman walking along enjoying the gardens when the woman walked around a puddle in the path and the ma
n, oblivious to the rain, walked right through it. Not 10 minutes later while reading the guide book and walking, she also left her foot prints in the bottom of a muddy rain puddle :( We could imagine how our family would love to camp there in the gardens and play hide and seek on four wheelers hiding in the labyrinth of 25 foot high closely knit boxwood trees. 
Scott and Geri have been learning the language and practicing such terms as 'crepe', 'merci', 'crepe', 'pardon moi', 'crepe', 's'il vous plait', 'crepe', and 'excuse moi'. Scott had even mastered asking for our room key, 215, deux cent quinz, using French. He marched right up to the desk one day after he had practiced saying the room number several times and proudly announced to the desk help, "Deux cent quinz, por favor!" He was so pleased with his 'French' until we were in the hall in front of our room and he realized what he had said. We both laughed so hard we were afraid we were going to be asked to leave. Geri's command of the French language was not so refined either. While ordering dinner in a restaurant the hostess asked if she spoke French, "Parlez-vous francais?", to which Geri answered, "Ein bischen." It is a g
ood thing for us that most French people speak English well enough to put up with less informed tourists like ourselves.
We happened into the Grand Palais, an event center, one afternoon just in time to see a Russian exhibit of technology, science, art, and industry. A Russian ice skating troupe was presenting a
skating ballet presentation of the 'Nut Cracker'. Against the back drop of finely painted 40 foot high babushka dolls this event served
as a gentle reminder of our final destination. We tasted a Russian pastry that was being sold at the exhibit and almost decided to take a 6 month supply of crepes with us instead of having to eat what we had just tasted!
sitting down right next to the the aisle where the incense swinger and the cross bearers and the book carriers and the sermon givers and the choir members all walked prior to the services beginning. What timing! The cathedral stained glass windows were the highlight of the services. The richly carved cathedral exterior displayed the craftsmanship of the early Christian faithfuls of the 1200's. The exquisite gargoyles are not given their due regard in the animated movie 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. On a 400 stair turret tour of the belfry which hous
es a bell 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet high we learned about the original novel by Victor Hugo, 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' , and the Quasimoto, the bell ringer, who is characterized therein. At the dizzying height of the cathedral's exterior railing we again looked down at the tourists who were looking up at the symbolic 
references to a god.
Sidewalk cafes stay open long after we left the streets and went home for the evening. People sit shoulder to shoulder and face the street with a little rou
nd table in front of them to hold their drinks and cigarettes. Perhaps people watching is a treasured past time for the French people. We hypothesized that their homes are too small to entertain friends so they hang out in the cafes. The day starts late and extends late in the evening for Parisians.We have seen several chapels built hundreds and thousands of years ago. We
happened into one where a horn concert was in process so we sat and relaxed for a few minutes. It seems that the chapels all display exquisit stained glass windows depicting the life of Christ and stories of the Old Testament. In the museum of Napoleon's tomb and the World Wars and French wars it was interes
ting to see the French perspective of the American involvment. The take home message for me is: "Let's just be nice to each other."People play soccer every chance they get (on fake turf, on pavement, on dirt) and they don't need goals as they just play keep away from each other and show off their dribbling skills. The World Cup in South Africa has drawn the attention of the French people much like the Superbowl does for Americans. Parisians fill the restaurants and bars and cafes watching the games. We were walking the streets looking for another crepe one night and heard a loud roar from a cafe across the street. A closer investigation revealed Brasil's team had just scored a goal against North Korea and the Parisians felt the need to cheer even when it wasn't the French team. On our walk down the Champs Elysee we came to the Addidas store that highlighted the French soccer team's uniforms as well as other national teams' shirts. Soccer team members seem to be heroes here.
Soccer is not the only game we witnessed in Paris. Boules is played by women and men and old and young on a dirt field. The game does not take up a lot o
f space, 40'x40', but it does take a lot of skill. It reminds me of curling and marbles combined. It was easy to see that the French take the game very seriously and they hang around the field practicing their skills just waiting for a chance to be invited to play much like a pick-up game of basketball in the US. The children also play much like the children in the US. We saw children kicking cans and soft nerf balls (against the barred windows of ancient churches) and riding scooters and inline skating. Adults were also on inline skates on the sidewalks and in the parks. 
Versailles was a day trip that was as enjoyable to w
atch the French children on their field trip as it was to see the beautiful gardens and the ostentatious country dwelling place of the French royalty. Geri was so amused by watching a man and a woman walking along enjoying the gardens when the woman walked around a puddle in the path and the ma
n, oblivious to the rain, walked right through it. Not 10 minutes later while reading the guide book and walking, she also left her foot prints in the bottom of a muddy rain puddle :( We could imagine how our family would love to camp there in the gardens and play hide and seek on four wheelers hiding in the labyrinth of 25 foot high closely knit boxwood trees. 
Scott and Geri have been learning the language and practicing such terms as 'crepe', 'merci', 'crepe', 'pardon moi', 'crepe', 's'il vous plait', 'crepe', and 'excuse moi'. Scott had even mastered asking for our room key, 215, deux cent quinz, using French. He marched right up to the desk one day after he had practiced saying the room number several times and proudly announced to the desk help, "Deux cent quinz, por favor!" He was so pleased with his 'French' until we were in the hall in front of our room and he realized what he had said. We both laughed so hard we were afraid we were going to be asked to leave. Geri's command of the French language was not so refined either. While ordering dinner in a restaurant the hostess asked if she spoke French, "Parlez-vous francais?", to which Geri answered, "Ein bischen." It is a g
ood thing for us that most French people speak English well enough to put up with less informed tourists like ourselves.We happened into the Grand Palais, an event center, one afternoon just in time to see a Russian exhibit of technology, science, art, and industry. A Russian ice skating troupe was presenting a
skating ballet presentation of the 'Nut Cracker'. Against the back drop of finely painted 40 foot high babushka dolls this event served
as a gentle reminder of our final destination. We tasted a Russian pastry that was being sold at the exhibit and almost decided to take a 6 month supply of crepes with us instead of having to eat what we had just tasted!
What does "ein bischen" mean? Isn't it German? My Irish father, born in the U.S., that speaks German is speaking Spanish and my French speaking mother from the U.S. is speaking German? Seriously...all I have to say is "nǐ hǎo" ("你好").
ReplyDelete!Muy bien! Looks like tons of fun. I'm glad that you have mastered how to say crepes. That way if you couldnt speak enough French to get your room key you would only be homeless but not hungry.
ReplyDelete