Marathoners and the Mona Lisa

I am still amazed by the very cool fast trains in Europe, and by our specific route that took us under the English Channel to France.  Zipping from London to Paris takes 2.5 hours to get from one town center to the other traveling at 210 miles per hour.  I am embarrassed to admit that the scent of stale sweat that hit us upon boarding was filed in my mind as the first hint of the French-ness we were fast approaching.  But no, very soon after departure my neighboring seat-mates admitted with apologies that it was them.  This unusual introduction led to a really interesting conversation.

They were headed to Paris for their first marathon.  Between work, school and training they had left too little time to prepare properly for the train trip. Hence the odor.  So while the kids (seated behind us) looked out the window, played games and enjoyed teacakes and fizzy waters I talked with these interesting boys who turned out to be from a part of Greenwich that we had just walked through the day before.  Of the three, only one had run a marathon before and even he had only done one.  They were nervous but excited and it was fun to  listen to them.  Our own adventures and plans interested them as well so the journey went really quickly.

Arriving in Paris at Gare Du Nord station, we were easily able to avoid a con man selling fake Metro tickets and find the line to buy our real ones.  The price is decent if you get a pack of ten (une carnet) that work on all buses and the city lines of the Metro system.  I just would NOT recommend arriving on a weekday right when everyone is getting off of work.  I thought we had smooth sailing; tickets in hand, route mapped, correct line found, train en-route BUT it (and the next one) arrived already jammed overfull.  When everyone around us crammed inside regardless I decided that, next train, we would too.  Which we did, luggage included.  Problems really started at the next stop, when dozens of people needed to get off but we, in the doorway, did not.  Poor Chris was knocked around, we all got separated and I was terrified.  But no one was hurt, we all stayed on the train and made it to the right stop where all was peaceful once we got off.

The hotel was a pleasant surprise, especially since it was a bargain for the area.  The walk from the Metro station was closer and easier than Google showed it, the bank I needed was right there as were several shops and everyone we saw was cheerful and friendly.  Checking in was nice with everyone speaking English and French all mixed together and welcoming us warmly.  They even gave us the internet code free of charge, and new ones again each time the kids went back down because we used up our allotment quickly from watching news, videos and mapping the plans for the next day.  About all we had energy for at that point was a quick stroll through the neighborhood and a friendly restaurant with the best pizza any of us had ever tasted.

Choosing walking and buses over more Metro made sense for our sightseeing day.  An early start let us enjoy a bright morning with pastries from the boulangere and coffee au lait in the cafe with cocoa for the tweens.  The coffee and cocoa stop cost more than anything else that day because we picked a fancy place on a tourist street that had a rare public restroom.  It would be hours of sightseeing before we got another opportunity, and then only because the nice girl in the sandwich shop near the Eiffel Tower let us use the tiny spiral stairs down to the basement where their staff WC hid.

We had a picnic lunch in the shadow of the Tower, listening to the musicians and watching families from all over the world take pictures.  I overruled the kids' desire to go to the top.  Up there it was windy, cold, extremely crowded and expensive while the experience at ground level was wonderful.  Several of the runners for the big marathon went by while we were there, but not our boys from Greenwich.  Hopefully that meant they were already well past.

Bus 69 from there goes slowly through the prettiest parts of Paris and along the Seine, leading to the Palace, the Louvre and beyond.  We rode around, walked cute neighborhoods and eventually got off at the Louvre.  I let each of us choose one must-see and the rest would just be enjoyed accidentally in between.  Maddy picked the Venus de Milo, Chris wanted to see Mona Lisa and I chose the Victory of Samothrace but we saw so many more pieces while looking for each of those.  The collections are stunning and the sense of history is overwhelming.

On the way home to the hotel we picked up a whole roast chicken, strawberries, potatoes in olive oil and herbs and some juice from street vendors.  The chicken was so good that we stopped by the next day to tell him, which gave us the chance to see that he was now roasting rabbits.  This looks so much like cats that we had to ask.  

I will be processing the sights, sounds and flavors of Paris for a long time to come.  The crowded areas were a real challenge with the kids and safety concerns but that happens in any large city.  The river, architecture, food, history and people here are wonderful.

Kids' thoughts on Paris

Maddy:
Yesterday we had ridden a 2 hour bullet train from London to Paris. Then we found our crowded metro to our hotel. The hotel was uphill and had a view of the tippy-top of the Eiffel Tower, but sadly, we had a view of the building next door. We went have a lunch of sandwiches under the Eiffel tower and go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo and other pieces of famous works of art. The views are great and the people are kind. I'm so happy that we are here.

Chris:
In Paris, everyone is happy because there are so many different things to do and try like if you want to eat snails or take a rowboat down the river.  But we haven't done those things yet. All in all though Paris is great and I'm glad we got to come here.  My favorites thing so far is just how beautiful the whole city is.

AdventureMom Planning Progresses to Paris!

Now that the first 2-week leg of the journey is booked, I am diving into the research for France.  For London I am lucky to have secured an adorable flat in a historic building for $400 per week including tax, utilities, linens, kitchenware,  WiFi and all of our needs.  It fits our criteria for a calm and spacious place that connects easily to the city center, in this case by rail in 25-30 minutes.  I am using the same strategies for Paris but it looks to be trickier, mostly due to our arrival date in mid-April putting us into their pricier season.


Many potential options are showing on proprty advertising venues like http://www.france-gites.com/, http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/france/ and scattered around among Google search hits.  Some of the areas that I am scouring for privately run affordable vacation rentals (or Gites) include Fontainebleau, Poligny, Chelles, Orleans, Noisy, Melun, and many more.  I am surprised to see reasonably priced options within Paris, but I am avoiding those for the same reasons I did for London.  We are not used to traffic and noise.  We need more space and comfort for our long stay than we can possibly afford in the metro area.  I want enough utility in the kitchen to prepare fresh meals while the kids do their schoolwork.  The car we will use for our excursions needs a safe place to rest.  Most crucially, too many days with intense stimulation will overload us to the point of burnout.  So I hope the perfect rural gite in just the right location will be available and in our tight budget!


Feel free to copy all of this if you are planning a trip, but please not until AFTER I get ours booked :) The enquiry I have been sending out to all likely prospects goes much like this:

Bonjour. Je serai en France du 10 avril au 24 avril 2010 avec mes 2 enfants âgés de 9 et 11. Nous sommes intéressés par votre gîte et vous vous demandez ce que le total des charges serait pour les 14 jours avec des rabais, les taxes et les extras. Aussi, nous avons besoin d'utiliser l'internet pour leur travail scolaire et la nécessité de confirmer que WiFi, il est dans l'appartement ou à proximité. Merci, Jodi  


Or prior to being translated by the internet and my daughter:

Hello. I will be in France from April 10 to April 24, 2010 with my 2 children aged 9 and 11. We are interested in your smaller gite and  wonder what the total expenses would be for 14 days with  taxes and extras.  Are there any discounts for long stays or paying cash?  Also, we need to use the Internet for schoolwork and must confirm that there is WiFi in the room or someplace nearby enough for a short drive.

Thank you,

Jodi 


The budget is on track so far, with the tax-included price to fly 3 of us there: $1700


Car rental for 14 of the days in France should cost: $400


Registration, insurance, tolls, roadside assistance coverage and fuel for our little car: $200 


Public transportation for 2 weeks in England, a few of the Budapest days and the last week in Venice: $120


Food budget is double what is normal at home: $2000 (Although I will continue fixing most meals from local produce and fresh groceries I do anticipate special costs.)


Accommodations that fit all of our needs, averaging $60 a day for 87 days: $5220


Museums and attraction: $1000 (Most of our most looked forward to activities are free- Louvre children's tickets, all of the British Museum general areas, farmer's markets throughout Europe,  many of the best and calmest castles, several stone henges other than Stonehenge,  libraries, river walks, wandering the cities and talking to people.)


All of this is converted to dollars, rounded up and post taxes-and-fees.  Hopefully the good results keep coming! Total for 2+ months' adventure of a lifetime if we're lucky and careful: $10,640