Today was another travel day, and even though we are getting to be pros at this now, it is still miserable. I don't think I need to rehash the day, you pretty much know the drill. Rush to make the trains, sit and stave off boredom until the next rush for a train.
The only things we added today was:
Taking the TGV from Basel to Paris
Holding a Yawning Contest in the Paris Est train station
Taking the looooong way to our camp, thanks to the directions of many polite and well-meaning but incorrect
French people
Giving Tim a band-aid when he attempted to ripstick
All in all, a very long day. We were clicking along just fine until we got to the Paris Est train station, when our prograss ground toa complete standstill. We needed to
1-Buy our weekly metro passes
2-Figure out which train would get us to our campsite
3-Find the train and get on it
Ryan and I just had to do the exact same thing in Milan, where we knew even less of the language than here. I expected that the remains of my French lessons would come in handy, and I had worked out how to say "I would like to buy the Cqrte Orange (metro pass), please" in french (Je voudrais acheter les carte orange, s'il vous plait) but as soon as I walked up to the guy, my mind went totally blank and I couldn't even remember what I wanted in english, let alone french. And this is why we have a reputation as stupid americans. Sorry about that, America.
It took us probably an hour to figure all of that out, and then the ten minute walk (two trains later) to the Eurocamp took what felt like eternity but was probably only 45 minutes.
But , hey! We're in Paris! Tomorrow we'll start our sightseeing adventure with a trip to the Eiffel Tower, followed by a bike tour of Paris. The Berlin bike tour (by Fat Tire Bike Tours) was such a big hit that we're making a point of doing it in Paris as well.
In addition, the camp here is lovely. Our mobile home is larger (which is good, because we are all staying in it this time) and it's right by the entrance, directly across from a little playground. There are more children here, too. Zack was playing on the merry-go-round with a little girl, and the other boys are having a "kick about" (I love that phrase) with some boys their age. The weather is perfect, not too warm, not too cold, and I'm sitting on our front patio watching the boys play while honest to goodness geese waddle by on their way to the lake (which is far enough away that I'm not panicky). Wait, is that a lake or is that the Seine?!? My parents went to get some food down the street - crepes and other delicious stuff we could smell on our extra long walk.
I don't think any of you would blame me if I didn't come home!
Update - We are sitting outside while Zack says a new french word "une velo" which means bike. Turns out the kids eh was playing with speak no english. Isn't that awesome! Also, not only is the body of water flowing past our camp the Seine, we are actually camping on an island in the Seine. And Tim is teaching Zack to feed the ducks pieces of Swiss chocolate. Even the ducks here have discriminating palates. I think I'm going to adore this place!
1 comment:
I am glad you are having such a fun time. I can't wait to see the pictures when you get back. I was thinking you picked a good few weeks to be gone from Utah. We had record cold, record snow, and record heat. And, the construction in our neighborhood is out of control. (We miss you though, and Jonathan REALLY misses Zack! He keeps calling him on his fake phone - I think he has the number memorized now)I am so glad you do this blog. It has been really fun to see.
Enjoy!
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