I Like Paris in the...well...in September.

dear erik,

we've arrived in Paris!  we are staying at a really cool little apartment.  a small living room, dining room, kitchen, and two separate lofts with beds, so we each get our own 'room'.  i will try to post some pictures tomorrow.  at the moment, it's not even 9 pm and i'm totally wiped out. 

megan is up in her room reading - she's still not feeling well.  i keep trying to convince her that maybe if she gets enough sleep/drinks liquids/stays warm she can avoid things getting any worse, but she's not having it.  still - in my case, hope springs eternal.

for those of you considering a trip to europe, let me suggest taking cabs.  we have been doing the underground/metro thing, which is amazing because i'm so not used to cities where you don't have to have a car.  however, when going for major trips (say, from london to paris) or when going someplace you've never been, in the rain, a cab can be a beautiful thing.  while i have great respect for the swiss, who made my rolling suitcase, even they can't anticipate cobblestones.  and lots and lots of stairs.

that being said, we've been really lucky, and it is totally fabulous to be in these cities where you can WALK places, and where they have Public Transportation, so you can get around easily!  wonderful idea, that!

we took the 'chunnel' to get here - that's the train that goes under the english channel.  i thought that it was one of those trains that goes almost 300 miles per hour,  but we definitely didn't seem to be going that fast, so i think i was just confused.  still, it was amazing to be in london and then just over 2 hours later, here you are in paris. 

the train itself was a bit worn-seeming, and someone had graciously put us in a car with six or seven families with young children.  while the children did very well, all things considered, they are still, in fact, children, so lots of yelling, loud talking, crying, screaming, etc. 

i could feel my character growing with every moment.

in their defense, not one of them kicked my chair.  also, they took turns with the crying, and there were long stretches without any tantrums.  that sounds sarcastic, but i mean it seriously.  2+ hours is a long time to sit still if you're three years old.

they coolest thing about it was that the train itself was super-quiet, almost silent.  also, it was a really smooth ride - very little rocking, and much more of a gliding feeling.  amazing, given how fast it was going (my guess would be about 100 mph most of the way.)  remarkable what they can do nowadays... :o)

judging from the sounds outside the apartment, lots of people in paris ride motorcycles.  the area we're in is all narrow little streets with cool little shops and restaurants, and lots of art galleries.  (i think it's called the marais?)  right down the street from the place des vosges, which i hear is a big deal but am not totally clear on why.  megan said something about it's one of the oldest gathering places in the city. 

she's been trying to teach me some important french phrases ("how much?" "where is..." etc.) but i'm not convinced it will get me through the city on my own if we get separated.  happily, people here all seem to speak more english than i speak french, so there's hope i won't spend eternity wandering the streets alone. 

i keep thinking of dad and mark twain and their love of the french.  still - twain did write a great book about joan of arc, so there's hope for all of us.  someone online pointed out that most people's first experience of france is in restaurants, and since there's very little tipping here, servers tend to be considerably less attentive than in other parts of the world (say, the usa...) so people mistake that for french people being rude.  i thought it was an interesting point, for sure.  so far, everyone we've dealt with has been very pleasant. 

i can feel my brain crying out 'isn't it time to go to sleep yet?' so, i guess it's time to go to sleep.  i still haven't worked out my body clock yet.  i'm averaging about 5 or 6 hours a night, but i'm in bed for at least 9 hours a night, so i'm hoping that by getting lots of 'rest' i will partially make up for getting a bit less 'sleep'.  i'll let you know how it turns out.