We're Back in Rainy London

Hello again friends,

It seems like days since I've last written, oh yes, it has been days.  Much has happened.  As you all know we went to Paris for two days and one night.  I'm sure that more than one of you is thinking "Why go to Paris for just two days?"  I have a penpal, Simone, who lives in Switzerland.  We have been emailing for a year and a half and when my family planned to come to Europe for our vacation (that's "holiday" over here) her family decided to take a week out of their "holiday" and meet us in Paris.  Simone and her husband, Andi, have two daughters.

Our first meal together was lunch in an Italian restaurant.  I wasn't terribly hungry.  I had a typical appetizer (even in American Italian restaurants) tomatoes with mozzarella and basil.  Then I ordered a coffee.  It was a tiny little cup, and was so strong it just about burned my larynx off  (I think many a Toastmaster would be gladdened at the prospect).  I think it has nail polish remover in it.

We did a lot of walking around.  The first day we went to (not in) the Louvre.  It is a magnificent building.  There were too many children to even consider going in.  We stopped at a cafe which is where I ordered a cup of coffee with vanilla ice cream in a mixture of English and French.  I had mentioned to Simone that I wanted to get a couple of books while I was there to continue working on my French so she took me to a bookstore she had heard about.  Students from around the world can stay there for free in exchange for work.  It is called Shakespeare and Company.  Unfortunately, all of the books there were in English.  Of course, I would stumble into one of the few English bookstores in the city. 

 Then we headed off to the Eiffel Tower.  Rumour has it that the building is exceptionally tall.  It's a myth.  I guess it's all about perception.

See, even Hannah and I are only slightly shorter, and were are shorter than most people.

Paris had some interesting street signs.  I'm still trying to figure out what the red one in the first picture meant.  The second one seems to need no translation- be careful of the train tracks!

That night I ordered something off the menu that I couldn't understand.  .  It was toast with some kind of pork, some kind of cheese, and tomato.  Simone ordered something so fabulous looking I had to take a picture of her plate too. It came with a basket of bread, butter, and many types of meats.  Oh, and gherkin pickles.

Our hotel was called Hotel Americain.  It was about half the size of the average American hotel room, but the view was great.  We had two little balconies of off our room.  Ariel and Hannah shared a room, and all three boys shared a room, Bob and I shared the third room.

The next morning we went to their flat for breakfast (a little later than we said we would, sorry Andi).  Andi had prepared for us a great big spread.  There were croissants, lox, foie gras, yogurt, baguettes, ham, turkey, crepes, and home made jam.  It was delicious.  Then we headed out.  This day we went to see the Bastille, which of course, is no longer there but there is a monument in its place.  I couldn't help but think, "It was the best of times...it was the worst of times..." as I looked at the monument. 

Then we went to Vincennes Castle.  It was built in the 14th century by John the Good (who comes up with these names?  If I die anytime soon, would you all please refer to me as Diana the Great, please).  Finally, it was time to head back to catch the Eurostar back to London.  The trip took three hours to get to Paris, but only one hour to get to London. In Paris they took away an hour at customs, but they returned it to us when we got back to London.  Just before we reached the train station we passed four police vans filled with police wearing riot gear.  Who told them we were in Paris?  I know it was one of you.

We spent most of today doing nothing, a little sleeping, a little eating, a little walking in the neighbourhood, followed by a little sleeping and a little eating.  It rained much of the day, except for when it looked like it wasn't going to rain just long enough for us to get outside and rain again.  Bob did make us a breakfast that was "Andi"- inspired.  It was a full spread of delicious meats, eggs, cheese, fruit, breads, and even cheesecake. 

Tomorrow Bob and I are off to Brighton.  If we see any rioters we are coming home.