I am of course writing from Paris, the middle leg of our excellent adventure, here to fill you in on all the adventures we have undertaken thus far.
Having joined my parents at our short term rental apartment next to the Seine and the Trocadero, we settled in ahead of Tyler and Rachael's arrival. Taking off on our own, we visited the Sainte Chapelle constructed by Sainte Louis (King Louis IX of France) in the early 1200s. It contains 15 floor to ceiling stained glass panels, which depict the entirety of Genesis through Christ's ascension. Marvellous is an inderstatement, but it took us quite a while to get oriented to the tiny glass scenes that filled the panels. Speaking of churches, we also climbed the 387 steps to the top of Notre Dame Cathedral, which I hadn't done since my trip with Marjorie in 2008. It (and the gargoyles) were every bit as good as I remembered, plus I am now able to spot important landmarks on the horizon. On the downside, mom wasn't exactly thrilled about climbing all those steps, but she caught her breath while taking in the views.
Next up, we took the Metro down to Denfert-Rochereau stop in the south in order to see the catacombs. Again, it was my first visit since '08 and I quite enjoued it. There is nothing like millions of 500 year-old bones arranged in decorative patterns! This time it was dad who was a bit less than thrilled (something about low ceilings and floor-to-ceiling bones being weird), but he pushed through the 2 km underground necropolis. Welcome to Paris mom and dad! :-)
Since it was late-ish on Sunday, we grabbed croque monseurs (lit. 'Mr. Crunch') - grilled ham and cheese - before relaxing and awaiting Tyler and Rachael's arrival. Yum!
Monday brought about a plethora of fun. We started by climbing the Arc de Triomphe, providing us with splendid views allaround town. It sits in the middle of a 12-entrance roundabout, so we enjoyed watching the chaos of vehicles flying in and out of the circle. Tyler pointed out the oddity that automobiles on the roundabout always yield to entering vehicles, something I found quite strange. With beautiful weather, we all also enjoyed viewing Sacre Coeur, the Champs Elyses, La Defense, and the Eiffel Tower. There are now many pictures.
From there we headed down the Champs Elyses for some *ahem* Christmas shopping at the best Christmas markets. In truth, we all just gorged on sweets and lunch foods, which was ok with me. I found tartiflette, a quasi-new French treat for me, in addition to a variety of sugary items. A couple macarons turned out pretty bad though..
After that, we split from Tyler and Rachael who went to look at some impressionist water lillies at L'Orangerie museum, while my parents and I hiked around Montmartre - artistic oasis and hilltop home of the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. My route taken this time, from the west, was much less dodgy and disappointing than the direct route taken in '08. Nonetheless, the church and its immediate surroundings were still packed solid with tourists and - worse - cheap souvenir salesmen. Overall, my impression of the place improved slightly, but I still find the setting to be extremely disappointing.
Following a quick nap at the flat, we met with Tyler and Rachael and headed off to Christmas Eve service at the American Cathedral. It was packed and long, but beautiful. I really enjoyed singing some verses in French! From there, it was off to late dinner, a proper French Christmas dinner at a friend of Tyler's...
How proper? Starting at 9:30 pm...
Hors d'ouevres (salmon, caviar dip, olives, chorizo, crackers)
First course (foie gras (!), cherry jam, and dried figs with crostini)
Second Course (seafood gratin [mussels, shrimp, cod, onions in cream under cheese])
Third Course (quail, sauteed mushrooms, and olive polenta)
Cheese board (goat, cow, roquefort, etc etc)
Dessert (buche de noel! hooray!)
Ok, so we ate a lot and left really late, but it was REALLY good :-) European hospitality is fantastic, and they sure know how to throw a dinner party!
Finally it was Christmas! Tyler and Rachael put gifts in everyone's shoes and mom had brought table gifts from the States. We had some raisin bread and almond croissants for breakfast before beginning our busy itinerary of sitting around all day. It was excellent! We had dinner at 1500, consisting of chickens, potatoes, carrots, and cran-blackberry sauce. This was followed up with fresh eclairs and Italian grappa before we bundled up and headed to the Eiffel Tower. The tower was rammed with like minded tourists, but it was still excellent to look out over Paris on Christmas night. Perhaps we were a bit wind swept, but I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas in Paris. I am so grateful to my parents and Tyler and Rachael for spending the holidays here!
And of course they aren't the only ones. While I can't be everywhere at once, I often think of my family and friends abroad; to my grandparents and extended family, my Herndon and PBC friends, my NC State crew, and my housemates, lab partners, and Keble/Dancesport friends in Oxford, thank you all for making 2012 a special year! I miss you all!
With that, in the words of Tiny Tim, merry Christmas and 'God bless us, every one!'
2 comments:
croque monseurs - thanks for eating them without Tyler... I think the whole family rebelled after we had eaten them for several days in a row.
And I just had one a couple of nights ago for dinner ! YUM !!
Loved reading of your holiday travels with your parents and friends! Happy New Year Dan!
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