Touring Francophone Europe

Eric, Luc, and the Alien under the Eiffel Tower. Luc is eating one of the signature snacks of Paris -- a double hot dog in the most delicious bun we had ever tasted.

The Alien family is back in Geneva after a wonderful October Half-Term Break – a week and a half off in the middle of the term; we are loving the Swiss school schedule! I have so much to write about (Yes, we did do the quince jelly, and I can’t wait to share my experience having subterranean hysterics in French). I hope I can do it all this weekend, but I think the chances are pretty slim. You know how it is when you are living in a new place and you really want your kids to have friends so they will be happy, so you tell them they can have a few people over, and all of a sudden you are scheduled to have ten 11 – 16 year-olds at your house on Saturday night? So between trips to Aldi-Suisse and Hyper Casino to  stock up on munchies for the crowd, I’ll see what writing I can accomplish.

I'll begin with the trip. The kids and I left early in the morning on Monday, October 24, and drove to Luxembourg City, which, I have to say, is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous fall day, either. 

I had used Mappy (Mapquest and Yahoo Maps don't  work well here for some reason) to find a downtown parking garage in the city, and the garage turned out to be right near a park and playground, where we ate lunch. I had packed food, because I wasn't sure whether the French motorways would have exits with restaurants (they do). The playground was exciting enough even for big kids, and we spent some time there before finding the tourist office, where we were given a map and directions to see all the sights of the city during a two-hour walk.

        We saw several beautiful squares with fun statues and fountains, the palace of the Grand Duke, the Grund (Luxembourg's oldest section), and the Casemates, which began as a castle dungeon and were later used as prisons and military fortifications. Lucas cut our visit to the Casemates short when he went through a revolving door that let him out, but would not let him back in. Reluctantly deciding not to abandon my youngest in a strange country, I led everyone out the door. The highlight of the city for the kids was eating at McDonalds. At about 4 euros, a Big Mac is much cheaper in Luxembourg than in Geneva, where buying a burger can set you back close to 10 chf. Euros are worth more than Swiss Francs, but not enough more to make that anything like an even exchange. 

      We left Luxembourg at rush hour, which was probably not my brightest idea. The two hours from Lux to Lombise, Belgium, where Eric's brother lives, were my least favorite part of the trip from a driving perspective. In my limited experience, the Swiss are very careful, polite, and law-abiding drivers. I also enjoyed the French Motorways, which were quite sparsely traveled when we were driving. My impression of Belgian drivers, however, is not so great. In one lane were trucks and cars driving 5-10 kilometers below the speed limit. In the other lane were the Formula One drivers, going about 20 kilometers over the speed limit, sneaking up behind me from nowhere, and flashing their lights at me to get out of their way (which meant tucking in behind a big, slow-moving truck). It was also becoming quite dark. Despite the fact that the kids and I enjoyed rediscovering You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on CD, I was relieved to reach Lombise, where we were warmly welcomed by Eric's brother, Nate, and his wife, Mary (their 2-year-old, Natalia, was already asleep).

      Being in Belgium with Nate, Mary, and Natalia was definitely one of the best parts of the trip. I cannot describe how wonderful it was to spend time with family. The kids loved getting to know their cousin, hearing Uncle Nate's navy stories, and making up Chuck Norris jokes with Aunt Mary. As an added bonus, the Belgian Admiraals can shop on the American army base, at a store hugely reminiscent of Wal-Mart. I am too embarrassed to share the list of junk food that we stockpiled; suffice it to say, it was an extensive array of artificial colors, flavors, and sugars, and it made us all very happy.

Johanna with a spider monkey at Parc Pairi Daiza in Belgium.

Mary and cousin Natalia. Watching "Dora the Explorer" with her was  a definite highlight!

With Uncle Nate at SHAPE (He talks about his job like it's no big deal, but SHAPE stands for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Sounds like a big deal to me.)

      

     While in Belgium, we also visited the town of Ypres, which was an important WWI battlefield. We toured a museum there, visited cemeteries, and even got down in the trenches. Johanna is studying WWI this year in school, so it was very relevant for her. It was fascinating and moving for all of us, though. At the Menin Gate, they do a Last Post bugle call each evening to remember the soldiers. 

For me, one of the most moving sights was the gravestones for soldiers whose identity was unknown. Some stones had names, others had nationalities or battalions, but many read only, "A Soldier in the Great War; Known Unto God." 

The photo below shows Drew next to one of the trenches. We could -- and did -- go down and walk around inside as well.

  

      We left Belgium on Thursday morning and drove to Paris. Being by now an experienced European city driver (Luxembourg and Geneva), I figured that I could conquer Paris by car. O thou naive American. I spent over an hour moving about a mile in the Marais district, where we were staying. The only thing that made the experience less painful than driving in Belgium was that at least I wasn't afraid for our lives. 

      I finally found our parking garage and vowed not to enter the car until Monday morning when we would have to leave for home. We then set out to find the apartment we had rented. Locating the street was no big deal. Finding the apartment door, sandwiched between restaurants in an area where buildings were not numbered (one number for the whole block) was a bit more difficult. The crowing frustration of a frustrating entree to Paris was, however, when the key left under the mat (which was NOT shaped like a cat as we had been told it would be) would not open the door. We stood there, sweaty and disheveled, our suitcases completely blocking the narrow spiral staircase, and heard footsteps coming up. Tired, annoyed, and now fast becoming an obstacle to upward progress, I was about to completely lose my composure. The footsteps turned out to be a blessing though, as they brought a door-opening angel in the form of the neighbor from upstairs. He was the first friendly Parisian we met -- to be followed by many others. In fact, although everyone I have talked to, including the French, characterize Paris as mecca of snootiness, we did not meet a single rude person. Everyone was very patient with our large family and lousy French, and very willing to help when we needed it.

      To describe our rented apartment in Paris as a dive would be charitable. The kitchen ceiling was brown and bubbled from water damage, the tile was cracked, and a large hole in the wall was covered by a taped sheet of notebook paper. On the other hand, the apartment was clean, almost big enough for all of us, and across from an all-night creperie, so it had its advantages. 

      Eric was taking the train from Geneva to Gare de Lyon, and we had planned to meet him at the Chatelet metro station. I had checked it out in advance and given him instructions on how to reach the station and which exit to exit, because finding his way around in strange cities is not one of Eric's favorite pastimes. As we neared Place du Chatelet, we noticed what seemed to be an unusual police presence. Several vans -- and even a bus -- were disgorging men and women clothed in riot gear, with "gendarme" printed on their backs. As it turned out, the square was the site of a demonstration (which my French teacher tells me is "a specialty of France"). The gendarmes surrounded a group of protesters, who were peaceful, at any rate. All of this was fine until the gendarmes, perhaps for fear that less peaceful protesters might arrive by metro, closed and locked the door to the station, effectively barring anyone's exit (including, of course, Eric's) onto the Place du Chatelet. I was saved from prolonged panic by the ringing of my cell phone. Eric had been unable to find the correct exit (which turned out to be a good thing), but was now lost somewhere in the Fourth Arondisement (which, obviously, was a bad thing). I asked him to describe where he was, so maybe we could find him. He told me he was in a narrow street looking at at patisserie. This, of course, describes almost the entire city of Paris, so was hardly helpful. I told him to ask people where the Seine was and walk that way, but he said that no one understood what he was talking about. Eventually, by visiting each nearby exit of the metro, we reunited with Eric and all returned safely to our temporary home.

      To summarize our experience of Paris, I will say first that the city is amazing. The architectural marvels are such that a building that would, if transplanted into any other city, attract attention on its own, doesn't even merit a brown dot on the map (our map had brown and purple dots -- purple for the "must-sees" and brown for those sights deemed interesting, but not essential). We saw all the biggies (some pictures below, although I did not have my camera at the Arc d'Triomphe or Sacre Coeur), and are glad we have been to Paris. But to me, Paris is a bit like New York: It's just plain too big and busy. The only reason I would want to return would be to spend more time at the Louvre. We saw only a fraction of the museum before suffering exhaustion induced by art saturation. I could maybe go for a long weekend dedicated solely to art . . . . 

One of many beautiful views of Notre Dame. This one is from the side.

The Eiffel Tower from below.

Walking into the Louvre

On a bridge near our apartment. To the left is the Ile de la Cite, where Notre Dame is.

Luc in the Tullieries gardens, enjoying throwing and catching a water bottle.  Yes, it is the little things that are so much fun. He also enjoyed climbing the walls along the Seine, aided by nearby trees.

      Drew is the real family photographer, and he has some great pictures. I could post pictures of all the art we saw in the Louvre, but that's available online on any number of sites. I will say that my favorite was seeing the ancient art, especially the Code of Hammurabi. The kids loved the Renaissance section, because they studied that in fifth grade with Mr. Giese. 

      Despite the beauty of Paris, one of the loveliest sites of the trip greeted us as we neared home. It's hard to beat the countryside surrounding Geneva.