Paris is 99% Cocoa--and that's good

In years past, Paris has been difficult for the kids--The Metro is confusing, the people not particularly gracious, and the lines at museums long.  We're not hearing that this year.  The weather has been perfect, the people helpful, and the various reports about last night's dinner were either tre bien or magnifique.  More on this in the next post. 

We arrived Friday at 2 p.m. and the kids had time to explore before a 7 p.m. dinner in the hotel. By and large, the boys went to the Rodin Museum while the girls went to Galleries Lafayette. We had an early curfew so we could charge or mount or disable the city Saturday.  In other words, we had our second of only 4 trip tours.

The tour started well.  Our guide, Christine, showcased the sights as we drove around easily through the slowly awakening City of Light.  It was quite a contrast to London where, because President Bush was in town and streets closed for his calvacade, we felt the crush. (In fact, the Prez's car caravan cut off Hillary and Jillian and I after we lost the group after Westminster Cathedral.  We didn't mind and waved to him.  He didn't wave back.) So anyway, the Parisian bus driver dropped us off at the base of Montmartre, and we hoofed it up 210 steps to Sacre Coeur, the lovely white stone church with 5 Onion-shaped domes.  Two of my favorite movies, Francois  Trauffaut's The 400 Blows and Amelie--both of which I showed in class--are filmed in this area, and it gives me the cinematic shivers retracing the characters' steps. Eleven kids either felt the same way or had nothing else to do and followed me as we hoofed it to Amelie's cafe, The Two Windmills.  This peregrination lasted only an hour as we had to make it back to the bus.  But cameras clicked (not mine, battery dead) and good-natured chatter filled the air. Montmartre Village is classic Paris, and the locals were out on the sidewalks buying from the fish, vegetable, and fruit markets for the evening meals.  Christine D., Jordan R., Gary I., Chelsea T., and Melissa L. actually stood at the bar and ordered cappuccinos and cafe au laitsand lee-mon-ahde's while the others, Adriana H., Becky M., Patrick S., Cameron K., Matt O. Mike K., and Helen L. ate watermelon outside.  On the walk back, Patrick snagged a tiny chocolate candy bar with 99% cocoa for two Euros .  99%--Should be delicious, P Scott. But hey, I truly get it, and Trader's Joe's doesn't even have this.  It's why we come. Hope you can get it back home without it melting. 

After that we went to Notre Dame Cathedral and after that some slipped behind for ice cream from Berthillon's on Ille St. Louis.  Is this the best ice cream, ever? We'll wait for Florence to decide. After that a chancellor of the Sorbonne University gave us a back door tour of his venerable college.  Evidently, he showed us baroque rooms no one had ever entered.  We were all too tired to enjoy the hidden symbolism of each wall mural, but Garrett (with two t's) had the best response to his often challenging questions.  When the chancellor asked,  "What do you think of when you think of Sorbonne?" Garrett cooly responded, "Sorbet." (one t, i believe)  I guess Garrett was still thinking of Berthillon's. 

Truly but Wryly,

LV