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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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Paris France - One Month in Summer 2009
Suggestions and Tips for Traveling with a Teenager "Paris is bliss and balm for my soul" One Month is Paris - Visiting Just About Everything By Melanie and Claire
Editor's Note by Linda Thalman
Thinking about two seconds, I wrote back: "go for it"... and wow, did she!
Melanie also wrote: I keep thinking of Mark Twain's quote:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
Melanie sailed out of her safe harbor with Claire and they had one
absolutely amazing time in Paris.
I'm ever so pleased to share with you their story of a most
wonderful stay in Paris in summer 2009.
This is the way to do Paris.
On our stay in Paris everything went smoothly and we found Parisians helpful and patient with our less-than-stellar French. We saw so much and enjoyed every bit of it. If I had any recommendations to make to people traveling to Paris with kids in the 10-14 age range, I would suggest they research and read about France in advance, as we did. It added to the richness of the experience to know what we were touring, and the history beforehand. Then follow up when you return home to learn even more about the historical places and people that fascinated you in Paris. This is a nice way to extend your trip even further.
Additionally, I would recommend families, including tweens and teens dress appropriately so as not to offend and to be in keeping with the type of dress in Paris, as well as what is acceptable for entering the chapels and cathedrals. It is not as casual in Paris as some places and clothing decorum is noticed and appreciated. This does not mean a family has to dress in their Sunday best every day, but wearing nice pants or a comfortable skirt or dress, and comfortable shoes other than sneakers worked well for museums as well as later for dinner, without having to return to the house to change. Tip: Put a nice scarf or a light sweater in your bag for evening and you’re all set. Some may interpret this to mean that Parisians are arrogant about clothing, but that is not our view at all. Paris simply seemed more civil to me than some places, and my sense was that Parisians really notice and enjoy aesthetics. It served us well to bring skirts, pants shirts and blouses that easily mixed and matched for more outfits and less to pack. For anyone traveling to Paris who has gluten intolerance, we are happy to report that Claire had no issues finding plenty that she could eat and she loved smelling the baguettes and other baked goods even if she could not eat them. She was, however, thrilled to find Naturalia shops which carried a nice selection of gluten-free croissant, pain au chocolat, crepes, and cookies. When traveling with the pre-teen/teen set, it is important to find out what interests them as well. Claire happens to like most of the same things that I do including museums, but it was also important to have "downtime" to relax, connect without being on the go, afternoons to meander and get lost on purpose, and just enjoy living in Paris. The trip to Disney was also much appreciated by Claire and she also felt one of the most critical factors in having such a memorable time, was that we stayed at a house. She really enjoyed living as a local, market days, greeting the neighbors and shop keepers, and feeling a part of life in Paris, not just a tourist. She learned much more about the people, culture and language than she might have in a hotel setting.
We have walked more during our time here than I can remember and while one would think I would just dwindle away from all the exercise, the steady stream of chocolate, cheese, olives, baguettes, crepes, and the occasional glass of wine finding their way to my mouth is ensuring that no such thing happens. C'est la vie! We are nowhere near fluent in French, but have held our own with the language completing most interactions in French with some faux pas and laughs along the way. Thankfully the Parisians have been patient and good natured with us. We have been treated with courtesy and kindness, and believe that if one greets the French in their native language and makes a well-intentioned attempt to communicate in French -- no matter how halting or bumbling -- they will make every effort to meet you halfway and be of assistance. It's simply a matter of acknowledging and respecting the people and culture one is visiting. We have toured an amazing number of sites thus far from: Notre Dame, to Sacre Coeur, St. Severion, St. Chapell, L'église Saint Eustach, Opera Garnier, the Bastille, a very interesting museum about the French Revolution, to St. Sulpice. We have been to the incredible Louvre Musee and some of the highlights among endless highlights were a stele bearing Hammurabi's code, the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, the two marble Slaves by Michelangelo, paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. We toured the Pompidou Center which is the national museum of modern art and considered to house Europe's best collection of 20th century works. Even if modern art is not your taste, the Pompidou hosts some incredible works by Chagall, Matisse, Dali, Picasso, Cezanne, Rothko, Miro, Pollock, Calder, Kandinsky, Warhol, Brancusi, Klee, Ernst and -- as luck would have it -- Pompidou was also hosting a large exhibit of women artists including more than 500 works by more than 200 women artists. We experienced some incredible hands on displays and exhibits at the science museum, saw the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and toured Versailles and Fontainebleau. We explored the Musée de Cluny which houses a variety of important medieval artifacts, including La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry). We spent some wonderfully relaxing time in the Luxembourg Garden and the Tuileries. The Luxembourg is incredible for children. Not only is it a feast for the eyes, but it has a pond where children can sail toy boats, a carousel, pony rides, a marionette puppet theater, go carts, a wonderful playground, and barbe à papa (cotton candy), popcorn, and ice cream vendors. There are wonderful walking paths, beautiful flower beds, a sand and water garden for children, sculptures, etc. It is a park paradise and, on a pretty Sunday afternoon, it seemed that all of Paris was there to enjoy its offerings
It is also the final resting place of many of France's major contributors to science, literature, the arts and humanity, including: Voltaire, Rousseau, Marie Curie, Louis Braille, Victor Hugo, Dumas, French resistance fighters who gave their lives fighting the Nazis during WW II, and so many other amazing people. It was humbling. We have visited wonderful flea markets some of which have been in existence for hundreds of years in the same location, done our food shopping at charming marchés (markets), taken an evening boat ride down the Seine under the sparkling beauty of the Eiffel Tower, gone to the top of both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc of Triumph, had dessert at one of the oldest Patisseries/Chocolatiers in France, ate what is believed to be some of the best ice cream at Berthillon's on the West Bank, had the delectable hot chocolate at Cafe Angelina, and ate delicious falafel at L'As du Falafel. We spent time in the eclectic energy-filled neighborhoods of the Latin Quarter, the Trocadero and the Marais, and browsed the left bank book sellers and the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore. We have had a wonderful time on market streets such as Rue Cler and Rue Montorgueil where the sights, smells and tastes of some wonderful fromageries, patisseries, boulangeries, and cafes fill one's senses, and where the people watching is fascinating all on its own. We also visited the Montmarte area which is still the home of artists who line the village square with their paintings and where Renoir, Monet Picasso, Van Gogh and many others got their start. We also had a front row view at the final day of the Tour de France when the cyclists passed within arm's length of us on the Champs Elysées. We have been to the Sorbonne, the Palaise de Justice, the Conciergerie, Pont-Neuf, Place de la Concorde, the Pont Alexander III bridge, and an amusement park near the Louvre where we rode the huge Ferris wheel at night and could see the city and its monuments in all their lit-up grandeur. Harry Potter fans will recognize the name Nicholas Flamel as he was a character in at least one of the books. He was also a real person. Flamel was an alchemist from the late 1300's to the early 1400's and wrote The Philosopher's Stone. We happened upon his house one evening, which is also the oldest house in Paris. We've also been to the homes and/or studios of: Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, George Sands, Picasso and Van Gogh, and passed by the apartment where Jim Morrison drew his last breath. We have been to cafes famous for the art and literary figures who hung out there such as Ernest Hemingway, Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Balzac, Voltaire, Napoleon, and our own Benjamin Franklin. It does not get fully dark in Paris in the summer until later and we are typically on the go deep into the evening. We have spent a good amount of time walking along the Seine. The banks are filled with families, couples, and groups of friends picnicking, chatting, listening to music, watching the boats and the Eiffel tower, listening to music, and eating ice cream and crepes from nearby vendors. The Paris Plage is also alive with activity as is the Pont des Arts.
We had a wonderful time. It was Claire's first visit to a Disney park, so it was fun to see how magical it was for her. I visited Disney Land in California several times while growing up, so this experience brought back a lot of memories for me. I still love the haunted mansion, tea cups, and "It's a small world," and am partial to the castle at Paris Disney. I think I could live there (minus the fire breathing dragon in the caves below). We opened and closed the park that day, staying for both the early evening parade and the illuminated parade at closing, and for the fireworks. Claire also bumped into Mickey in the afternoon so we chatted and got a photo. It was a fun day. I have been teased good-naturedly for my prolific photo taking and it will undoubtedly take me months to review, edit and label all of them, but everywhere I turn something catches my eye. Whether it is the obvious like the Tour Eiffel and l'Arc de Triomphe, or a cheerful box of geraniums perfectly placed on a shuttered window, an intricately carved door, the quintessential fromagerie, the moonlight on the Seine, the features of a gargoyle, the boxwoods pruned into fleur-de-lis looping and curling through gardens, an elderly woman feeding the pigeons or laughing children sailing boats in a pond at Luxembourg gardens. Even an immaculately made tart with perfectly placed berries glistening like a work of art, calls to me to take just one more photo. I have always been this way with a camera and I attribute it to my late father. He would have loved Paris and its architecture. Though a banker by profession, his true calling was art and poetry. He was a painter, writer and photographer.
And when I notice a shot I know he would have taken, I stop, get the photo, and feel a bit closer to him -- like we are sharing something special across time. One day, I suspect Claire will be back here when she is older and be surprised to do the same thing and smile inwardly at the realization that she is more like her mother and grandfather than her younger self might have understood. We still have some time remaining and will be visiting the Picasso and Rodin museums. We will also be at le Musees d' Orsay, and l'Orangerie before trip's end. The Orsay picks up where the Louvre leaves off (time period wise). The works of art there are staggering. Even "Whistler’s Mother", and Degas’ dancer sculptures and paintings are at the Orsay. Musee L’Orangerie houses incredible impressionistic art including entire rooms of original Monet murals that take up one entire curving wall per painting. The effect is that you can stand in the center of the room and be completely encircled by these works of art. We will be at Invalides where Napoleon is entombed, the oldest flea market in Paris, and the Pere Lachaise Cemetery which is the final resting place for Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Oscar Wilde, Balzac, Chopin, Bizet, Sarah Bernhard, Jim Morrison; Proust, victims of the holocaust, and the French resistance, foreign soldiers who died on French soil, and many others. It is also a visually stunning place crowded with monuments that look like tiny houses -- even small castles. It is a museum and history lesson all on its own. We had a couple of interesting experiences during our stay in Paris. The first is that we unexpectedly ended up at a fashion show at Galleries Lafayette, which was interesting and fun. Our second serendipitous experience yesterday will be one of the favorite memories of our trip. Claire was feeding the birds, when an elderly gentleman in a worn suit and tie silently approached observing her.
He then nodded to Claire and pantomimed some of the motions to her, giving her pieces of croissant to use. Within a few minutes she too had the sparrows eating out of her hand in flight. A broad smile crossed his face and the two of them just kept feeding the birds side by side. We learned that he has been hand feeding the sparrows daily for more than 30 years (not as a job, but as a personal joy). He observes them to such an extent that he has identified and documented their different markings. He then pulled out some worn folded papers and showed us his notes and the names he has given to more than 300 sparrows. I was really moved by this. A man who appears to be of meager means who comes everyday to feed creatures of little significance to others. I suspect he relates to their plight, as he said he is invisible to many who simply think him a "bum" or a bit crazy as he moves along with his arm outstretched and birds gathering around him. What a treasure they are missing. He is intelligent, interesting, charming, and generous. We really enjoyed meeting him and I doubt any of us will ever feed the birds again without remembering the kind gentleman and his sparrows. It will not be easy to leave here. Paris has called to me at that deep level since my first visit 27 years ago and it has never let go. It seems to be grabbing a hold of Claire's 12-year-old heart as well. She was waxing poetic a few nights ago and said, "I have found my place. This is where I finally fit. Paris is bliss and balm for my soul." I must say, I have to agree with her. Something about this city and aspects of the French culture just resonate with us at a fundamental level. Do I see Paris through rose colored glasses? Probably. But whatever the reasons, it will once again be very hard to say good-bye. We miss all of you back home very much, but anyone who has had something or someone pull at your soul in that deep almost indescribable way -- or has a place that inexplicably always feels like "coming home"-- will understand. Melanie and Claire
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Melanie wrote me a year ago about coming to Paris and basically asked: "Should I come to Paris with my daughter?"
We also believe it is important to know at least a basic amount of French, particularly phrases of
greeting, thanks, and other courtesies.
We visited the Pantheon, an impressive structure that houses not only the 220 foot high
pendulum designed by physicist Leon Foucault to demonstrate the rotation of the earth.
With all the history and culture we have been taking in, we decided we needed some
unadulterated fluff and headed to Disney Paris.
Growing up, I would have to stop and wait as he used his camera to catch the afternoon sun
casting just the right shadow in a doorway, or while he photographed the architectural
details of a building that few people even noticed. So, as I have gone through Paris,
I realize I see it through similar eyes as his.
He came forward very quietly while slowly pulling something from his pocket and
making a subtle scooping motion with his arm, within seconds sparrows were fluttering around
his hand eating in fight looking almost like humming birds their wings flapped so fast.
General Information
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Linda Thalman
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Email – Linda@wfi.fr
Web Address – http://www.parisinsites.com/
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