Some lessons from Paris [Ellie]

Before the real business of this post, some of you have asked what we actually saw while we were in Paris. Here's a quick list (and my starred rankings - out of 5) of what we did:

Monday
Conciergerie (prison where they held guillotine victims)**
Sainte Chappelle Cathedral*****
Notre Dame Cathedral*****
Pompidou Center (modern art museum)*****
(On the right, an installation of inflatable furniture. I love modern art!)

Tuesday
Versailles Palace*****
Eiffel Tower*****

Wednesday
Louvre Museum*****
Tuileries Garden****
Champs-Elysees (famous street)****
Arc de Triomphe*****

Thursday
Louvre St. Germain-des-Pres Cathedral***
Saint Sulpice Cathedral***
Rodin Museum*****
Hotel des Invalides/Napolean's Tomb***
Musee d'Orsay (Impressionism museum)*****

Friday
Chartres Cathedral*****
Sacre Coeur Cathedral****

Saturday
Louvre
Notre Dame Archaeological Crypts***
Luxembourg Gardens****
Pantheon (tombs of famous dead people)****
St. Etienne-du-Mont Cathedral*****
Marais District****

Sunday
Normandy (D-Day beaches)*****

Wow! I got tired just typing that! We really did see a lot while we were there. Even more than I listed--that was just the big stuff. Which segues nicely into my topic. . .


Lessons We Learned in Paris
1. Don't kill yourselves by trying to see too much. There were a few days that we really should've relaxed and cut out a few things.

2. Every country has its unwritten rules. You will never know what they are until you break them. Here are a few Parisian we broke:
-It's rude to eat in the streets. (How could we help it? No time to eat! Gotta go, go, go!)
-You can't sit there. (Stairs, heat vents, etc. Poor, tired feet!)
-The Eiffel Tower stairs close at 7 p.m. on rainy
days. (Ok, but how many people can say they've been locked in the Eiffel Tower? We can!)
-You can't sit there, either. (Open tickets mean you might have to give up your seat on the train over and over without realizing why.)
-You can't eat right now. (Cafes close between 2 and 7 p.m.)

3. It's really true that everything in Paris is beautiful! Some of my favorite sights in Paris were ones we just came upon unexpectedly--beautiful plazas and parks, cathedrals every few blocks, great public art. Bryan had to make me stop taking pictures of every street in Paris.

4. Everyone in France speaks English better than you speak French. I would speak to them in French; they would speak back really fast; I would look blank; they would just speak to me in English.

5. Ride the Metro. Don't get so tired of walking that you don't enjoy what you're seeing.

6. Many things are just different in France: traffic signals, electrical outlets, middle-aged women with their hair dyed brilliant purple or red. . .

7. What a "rood screen" is. Ok, we still don't know. But here's a picture of one at St. Etienne-du-Mont:



8. Parisians wear scarves. All of them; all the time.

9. It rains every day in the springtime in Paris. Fortunately, not all day every day. Bring your parapluie!

10. $10 for a cup of hot chocolate. Need we say more?

Overall, we had a wonderful, unforgettable time in Paris. We would go back in a minute! (Who wants to watch our kids?)


Special Thanks
-Thanks to our parents for giving us this time alone together.

-Thank you to everyone who watched our kids or brought us meals or loaned us things or wished us well! Our trip went more smoothly with your help!
-Thank you to Heather Whitehead who warned us to bring umbrellas.
-Thank you to Kiki Comin who made us an awesome Paris journal. We wrote in it every night together. We'll remember the trip better because of it!
-Thank you to Bryan for the rose he bought me (what a fantasy to be bought a rose from a street vendor in Paris!), for his enthusiasm for everything we saw, for his patience with me in Paris and always. I am a better person because of his example!