Adventures in Paris - March 29 to April 2, 2008

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This is Erika catching the view of Paris from the bus into the city. We love the balconies in Paris! They are very different from the ones in Budapest. Our first full day, we went to the Museum of Natural History. It was absolutely fantastic! We spent something like four hours in there. Erika loved the March of the Animals in the main hall. The animals were all stuffed in the late 1800s, early 1900s. They looked so alive. There were four or five floors. The basement contained all the marine life. This is in the Jardin des Plantes behind the museum. There is a whole complex of museums and gardens at/behind the Natural History Museum. Spring in Paris! That is the Natural History Museum we were in in the background. Did I mention it the theme of our trip was "Animals in Paris?" Rent-a-bike stands are all over in Paris. Just swipe in your debit card, and you can ride anywhere in the city. When you are done with the bike, just park it at any rent-a-bike stand, and when you do so, your card is debited. We saw people on these bikes all over the city. And not just tourists use them, lots of Parisians too. None the less, Paris is the doggie do-do capital of the world. You have to watch your step on Paris sidewalks. Erika just woke up from a nap. And voila! We are at Notre Dame! After a long afternoon of site-seeing, Erika takes a rest in her Parisian-style bed. Martine has the house set up for grandchildren, with lots of toys and accomodations for small ones. The next day we went to the zoo! There were no elephants, lions, or tigers at the zoo. We read and Jean and Martine told us that the zoo lost funding a while back and so had to relocate many of the animals, or when they died they were not replaced. The result is a very nice, clean spacious zoo. The animals there are well cared for and have lots of room. That was nice to see. And besides a couple of school groups, we were practially the only ones there. We were able to go around the zoo according to the feeding schedule, which delighted Erika to no end. It turned out to be a very sunny day! After the zoo, we went down to the Arch de Triumphe and walked down the Champs-ŠlysČes to the garden behind the Lovre. Erika slept on the metro the whole way there. But she woke up at the Arc de Triomphe! Barack Obama is loved on the Champs-ŠlysČes. Parisian couple. We went to three different parks during our three days in Paris. At each one Erika had a lot of fun. This one is about 2/3rds down the Champs-ŠlysČes. Erika is really into "wa-wa fountains" as she calls them. This one is at the entrance to the Jardin des Tuileries at the Place de la Concorde, which is at the opposite end of the Champs-ŠlysČes from the Arc de Triomphe. From here you get a good view of the Eiffel Tower in the background. There it is! La Tour Eiffel! Looking bigger (although it is not) is the a giant Egyptian obelisk at the center of the Place de la Concorde. Nice view of the Grand Palais in the background (exhibition hall built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900). The third and last full day of our stay we went walking through Jean and Martine's neighborhood (popped in a few cute stores) and ended at the MusČe d'Orsay. Erika decided to join a tour group of Parisian children. Our own little circus queen in front of Seurat's "Circus," 1891. We spent a lot of time in the museum looking for animals in pictures and statues, so we didn't really deviate too far from our Paris theme of "Animals in Paris." On the walk home from the MusČe d'Orsay we stopped at yet another park. Did we tell you things are EXPENSIVE in Paris? We got 58 Euros to the dollar in Paris. That means this banana cost 2 dollars and 6 cents. And the American dollar wouldn't get you much of an apartment in Paris! Paul, Paula, Erika, Sara (CČcile and David's cousin), Alice (8 months pregnant with Jean and Martine's grandchild number 2--another boy!) and David. Martine made an absolutely lovely dinner, and even made Erika her own torte! Martine, ever the photographer, and the rest of us take in the big torte before eating it. It was rhubarb. Yum. Martine playing hide-and-seek with Erika. The Stokstad family and the Weissenbach family are INCREDIBLY similar. The next day, we were very sad to leave. One last photo at the airport.