12/06 1ere semaine / 1st week

Paris etait donc notre destination surprise, ou nous avions decides d'aller passer notre voyage de noce. Il n'etait pas prevu que nous allassions en France cette annee, mais vu la grossesse de Katherine, il fut decide de partir, parce que en 2007- 2008, nous aurons une fille en plus!

(Ah oui au fait, c'est une fille! nous l'avons appris juste a la veille de notre depart!)

Nous sommes arrives mercredi au tot matin, un peu surpris de voir que le soleil se leve si tard. Mais cela m'a permis de voir Paris de nuit, chose que je n'ai vu qu'une fois lors d'un voyage en poste d'un 737 de l'aeropostale il y'a maintenant 17 ans de ca!

Le plus surprenant, c'est la taille bien sur... On est loin de Los Angeles, qui reste sans doute la plus belle ville a survole la nuit. Je trouve Paris de la taille de Las Vegas, et encore, je ne suis pas sur que Vegas ne soit un peu plus grand. Impressionnant aussi de voir le noir autour. Quelques villes ou villages mais c'est tout, et pour une capitale, ca n'est pas impressionnant!

Je comprends mieux maintenant les passagers que j'emmenais dans le Grand Canyon, surpris par la taille des Etats-Unis. Pour moi, c'est l'inverse qui s'est produit! Se retrouver dans une salle comble dans un restaurant Parisien, c'est penible a force, et nous avons preferes les terrasses des que l'on a pu.

1er jour au sommet de l'Arc de Triomphe, notre hotel le Hilton, se trouvant a 10 minutes a pieds de la. Un pickpocket m'a caresse les fesses, essayant de trouver mon porte-feuille. Ben oui, c'est aussi ca Paris! Heureusement, nous avions des chaussettes que l'on trouve dans les boutiques pilotes, avec une fermeture eclair, ou l'on peut ranger sous et cartes de credit...

Le clou du sejour fut notre visite de Paris au sommet d'un bus ouvert (l'open tour) qui nous a permis d'admirer la ville et ses principaux monuments facilement. On prends ce bus ou l'on veut, a certaines escales, il y'a 4 lignes dans Paris, et ca nous a donne egalement acces au batobus, meme principe, vous prenez le bateau proche de la tour Eiffel par example, et vous descendez quand vous voulez. Franchement, nous le referons encore a la prochaine occasion, ca voulait le coup! d'autant plus qu'ils fournissent des casques audio qui vous permettent d'ecouter un commentaire historique lors de ce voyage.

Beaucoup de marche a pied cette semaine, et il faut admirer le courage de Kate pour en faire autant tout en etant enceinte!

Pas de tableau sur la place du tertre cette fois, car beaucoup de vent jeudi matin lorsque nous y etions. Ca a meme fait un mort, une enseigne qui est tombe sur un pauvre gus. D'ailleurs, j'ai trouve judicieux de mettre Katherine a l'abri et nous sommes partis rapidement, ca devenait trop dangereux, avec trop de choses qui tombait a nos cotes.

Du coup je me suis rattrappe sur des DVD's de mon enfance, que l'on juge plutot: Arsene Lupin, l'avare, les brigades du tigre, les chevaliers du ciel, les comperes, les fugitifs, la grande vadrouille, Jacquou le croquant, Muriel Robin se plie en quatre, les ripoux, et enfin les visiteurs.

Certes, nous ne pouvons pas les voir pour l'instand, vu qu'ils viennent d'Europe, mais nous prevoyons d'acheter un lecteur DVD de zone 1 dans un futur proche.

Dans une boutique de vieux livres proche de Notre-dame, nous avons trouve une gravure de 1860 qui ira bien sur un de nos murs, a Montmartre, des images qui iront dans notre chambre. Et le plus beau dans tous ca, c'est que nous avons recuperes une partie de la TVA. En effet, si l'on depense plus de 175 Euros dans un magasin, on vout donne un formulaire, que la FNAC a rempli pour nous d'ailleurs, et il a suffit d'aller dire bonjour a un agent de la douane dans le terminal a CDG, pour recuperer quelques Euros! Comme nous ne sommes pas resquins, nous avons trouve que cet argent devait rester en France et aider le gouvernement Francais et nous en avons profiter pour acheter "Paris vu du ciel" par Yann Arthus-Bertrand dans le terminal.

Ce qui en ressort de ce voyage:

- Les Parisiens ne sont pas des gens souriants. Certains meme, comme la dame joliment vetue de son manteau de fourrure, montant dans une limo, (une belle Mercedes que l'on ne voit pas au US), donnent l'impression qu'ils sont nes avec un baton dans le c...

- Les champs Elysees ressemblent au strip de Las Vegas. C'est bourre de monde, et c'est penible au bout de plusieurs jours.

- La ville m'a paru plus propre qu'il y'a 5 ans, qui etait la derniere fois ou j'y avais mis les pieds. On ne voit plus les motocrottes, et il semblerait qu'il y'a moins de detritus dans les rues. D'ailleurs, meme le metro ne sent plaus mauvais, et je trouve ca impressionnant! Bravo la mairie de Paris!

- Il y manque toujours autant de toilettes cependant, surtout pour une femme enceinte. Et maintenant que les toilettes que l'on voit a certains coins de rues ne sont plus payants, c'est franchement nauseabond la dedans.

- La bouffe est cher, et sans que ce soit mauvais, il n'y a franchement pas de quoi s'exclamer non plus en eloges. Serait-ce que Paris devient trop "fast-food" comme aux US? Ou alors, c'est que nous n'avons pas depenses encore assez cher, ce qui est possible, mais alors a ce prix la aussi on mangerait bien aux US!

- La ville est surperbe la nuit. Nos felicitations aux diverses mairies de France qui savent proteger ou mettre en valeur leur patrimoine.

- L'aeroport Charles de Gaule m'amuse maintenant. Du temps ou j'etais instructeur en France, cela me semblait comme le sanctuaire des dieux. Un endroit sacre ou je ne pourrai jamais mettre les pieds. Or ce que je me rends compte, c'est qu'il y'a beaucoup moins de traffic que ce que j'ai l'habitude de faire. Paris est 7eme au monde au niveau passagers, alors que Chicago est 1er, Atlanta 2 eme, Los Angeles 5eme par example. Mais peut-etre que de venant des US, je ne suis pas aux heures de pointe. du coup, l'aeroport nous a paru calme.

- On est content de rentrer. Les vacances, c'est bien, mais ca fatigue!

Three words of response after visiting Paris. "GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

Richard and I just returned from our belated honeymoon, wherein we decided to spend it in Paris. I had always wanted to visit the most infamous city and Richard, although he had "been there, done that" was happy to indulge me, especially as it was Christmastime, which was sure to add to the ambience.

A belated honeymoon? Yes, we had not opportunity to have a honeymoon as of yet. And with the sure-to-be soon arrival of our soon-to-be child, we thought it prudent to get out of town while the getting was good. Although we had other destinations in mind, I also wanted to give Richard the gift of seeing France again, since it will be some time before we go to France again.

Ah, the trip. Well, word to wise for all pregnant women everywhere, do not travel far from home. I must say that the confined restrictive space of the cramped airliner was anything but enjoyable. At a few times, I was willing to knaw off my limbs just to be rid of the massive pain I was having in them, like a wolf knawing off a foot caught in a trap. Frankly, the ride was sheer torture, which required one to constantly use logic to focus outside of one's body or go insane! :)

We arrive in Paris a day after leaving (oh, Lord!) and are exhausted to the bone. We decide to hit the trail right away, to keep us from our overwhelming need to sleep. And it felt good for me to walk around after being so cramped for so long. Whoever invented coach seats in and airline was NOT a pregnant woman. Men!

We immediately make our way to the Arc de Triumphe, one of Richard's favorite spots. I was happy to oblige, having come with no personal agenda and just looking to "go with the flow." The Arc was very immense, doning on one a great sense of power and permanence. We walked up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which sits right in front of the Arc, it's flame forever burning. It was nice to be there, since I had seen so many American Presidents bring flowers to the burial site. Richard felt immediately bad bringing me here, however. You see, I had happily agreed to go to the top. However, being pregnant, I was having trouble breathing and was beyond exhausted. After we paid our entry to the top, we read a sign which stated "You only have 284 more stairs to go!" Ouch! Ah well. We made it! Since it was grey and overcast, the view was not breathtaking but of a more educational value. We got an education, indeed, since we were victims of a famous Paris tradition - picpocketing. Our assiliant was unsucessful, however, since we had planned for same. We used travel socks with secret compartments. After his attempt, I yelled at him, hoping to expose him to the point of uselessness. So he left, sans our money. During our viewing, I was able to catch sight of two famous churches in the distance, Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur. So I told Richard I'd like to see them. Back down we go!

We visited Notre Dame, Our Lady, a day or two later. It had a great impact on me, not for its architectural value but for the simple reason that it is a beautiful testiment to God. Notre Dame is devoted to the Virgin Mary (Our Lady), so it is adorned with pictorials and statues of her. I was miffed that the loads of visitors were so loud and rude, as service was going on. For most visitors, it was simply another site to see, taking loads of pictures of something that, frankly, they neither understand nor appreciate. But for me it was a step toward the hand of God, and took my breath away, quite literally. In doing so, it served its purpose because if you study religious architure, the soul purpose is to make man feel God's power and beauty. To me, these old churches which took so long to build that generations of laborers were used to build them over hundreds of years, the most amazing thing about them is the sustained commitment and passion it took to complete them to one simple end - adore God. Most people can't commit to anything for a week, let alone a lifetime. How amazing.

Later on we also visited Sacre Coeur, the Sacred Heart, but I didn't find it as interesting or as dramatic. The angels inside standing guard had a very emotional impact on me but overall the church showed less devotion in her construction than that demonstrated in Notre Dame. Funny enough, neither church was as impressive to me as one Richard and I stopped in to visit while in Normandy. We don't even know the name of that church. I saw it while we were driving around outside of Rouen and just asked him to stop. We walked in and inside was an ancient artifact on its wall of the Virgin Mary, one which I had seen in religious archeology texts my whole life. It was from the Middle Ages. Although not quite as old as Christ himself, touching the face of that artifact was like putting one's hand back through the threads of time.

The touristical highlight of our trip was a bus tour we took. The bus was a double decker, with the top portion being open air. One night, after walking for what felt like forever, we decided to return to our hotel and thought, what the heck, lets take this bus back. So we did and were delightfully surprised by a two hour night tour of the city. I must say that the city is more beautiful at night and it was a sheer pleasure to see statues and monuments and fountains etc around the city all lighted up. This little accidental tour was a sheer pleasure and brought Paris to life, giving her a spirit that the people seemed in ironic opposition of.

Speaking of the people...... ..... ..... ..... Well, what to say. Actually, I've lots to say. But manners beg me not to reveal all here. But overall, the people were rude, stuck up, unfriendly, crabby, difficult, holier than thou bores. Over the many days, Richard and I were given many, many nasty glares and stares, apparently due to the fact that we were not dressed in the latest of Paris fashions. That, to me, was pompous and boring for the simple fact that on any given day, in any area, Richard and I were not only the only one's smiling but the absolute only ones laughing. I'd trade a good, honest laugh over overpriced cloths and a bad attitude any day of the week.

Of course, the pissy attitude may be resultant of the rotten food and lack of bathrooms. I'd be in a bad mood too if I could never find a public toilet or had to pay 40 euros for second rate food. Based on my two experiences in France, the food in Normandy was a thousand times better and the pastries infinitely better than in Paris. Most people had unhappy glares on their faces, if not downright "boy I've got a bug up my patootee" looks. Even the kids and dogs looked unhappy. I searched and searched and just couldn't find anyone but us smiling or laughing, save for other tourists including one woman and her little boy, with whom I was exchanging silly faces with while his bus was stopped near a bench we were sitting on. Put it this way, during one of our many visits to a cafe, even a Parisian waiter noted that he was happy to finally see some people laughing and smiling (us) because he said everyone else always had a nasty look on their face. To give him a smile himself, after we paid our bill I waved to him and said "Bye Bye!" to which he laughed. So, unfortunately, the people there rated a Zero on an American scale of friendliness, kindness, and overall politeness. Let's put it this way. One Parisian was so taken aback by our non- Paris dress that she felt obliged to remind us how expensive the pastries were that we were attempting to buy because we were probably too poor to afford them. Woooooow. :O

Probably the biggest constrast I experienced coming back to the US, besides my extreme relief, was watching people laugh, smile, kid around, and be silly. Can't ever imagine a life without laughter and can't ever imagine me wishing I was them (Parisians). Sad to say that the most friendly person I met in Paris was an Irish woman visiting with her husband (I started chatting with her - we were both visiting the Eiffel Tower). The second most friendly who was actually French was a cute little Jack Russel Terrier who, were it not for a watchful owner, would have become our next doggie. What a cutie!

On a side note of the nasty looks the multiple Parisians kept giving us for our casual dress, I can't say anything too grand about Paris fashion as I saw it. Yes, the women were slim, if not downright thin. But they were all dressed in the same dull uniform - black boots, black knee length coat, black knee length skirt. No deviation. No grand shock of a red scarf. No color! Since the city was so overcast, so rainy, so grey and dreary, I found it odd that everyone, including the Paris men, all felt the need to dress in black. Almost as if life in Paris is one long funeral! (Hmmmmm.)

I must add that I did not find this experience at all when I visited the Normandy provence. Outside of a memorable experience with one Frenchman, my overhall impression of the Normandy provence was that people were just like Americans. I never felt stared at or glared at. I had no sense of people being rude or nasty. I had a very pleasant time in Rouen, Etretat, the Montigny, Honfleur, not only in the touring but in the people as well. I met so many such friendly people including my late Uncle Michel whom I shall never forget, a kind, gentle, easy to laugh man, and the ever wonderful and interesting Aunt Marcelle, etc etc. So, frankly, I don't know "what up" with those Parisians. I must honestly say, for all their apparent unhappiness, I feel sorry for them. Normandy would be a great pleasure to see again, in addition to all the really friendly people there. Not to mention, the great food and pastries in Normandy................... !!

Hmmm. Perhaps it's time for another Revolution!

Our hotel was superb, staying just off the Arc de Triumphe. It was one of those fancy, dancy hotels. One of our favorite pastimes after returning to our hotel each night was watching out of window at passerbys. We had a ball watching this poor young kid who had apparently just gotten his license (evident by the sign French put in the back car window to tell people such - look out!). He struggled with parallel parking while apparently waiting for a girlfriend to come out of her apartment for a late night rendevous.

In our hotel we were upgraded to a suite for free and got free snacks all day, which we took advantage of, American style! The bathrooms were all marble (we had two bathrooms!) with anything we may need in them. And the room itself was appointment with a full apartment full of furniture. In fact, our hotel room was the size of your average Paris apartment (we checked on this stuff while in town - 600 sq feet for $280,000-2.1m!). But, I must say, the best part of the hotel was the bed after a long day of walking. God bless sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, ta da!, the most important part of my trip was not Paris, or food, or any silly such and such. It was my husband. And I had a fabulous time with my husband. He is great, and silly, and friendly, and fun, and smart and just plain a nice guy. Thank God I have him. He is the greatest treasure I brought back with me from France. I had the Essential! :) (Oh, the burger and fries I ate on the last day - made by the hotel - wasn't so bad either!)!!!!!!!!!!! :) :):):):)

God BLESS THE USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must admit, yeah, I've heard all the complaints about the US. And America may be many things, but I am proud of our people. We are friendly. We laugh. We smile. (No, we're not the only country who does this, by a longshot.) After all, if you have all the treasures in the world, all the money, all the statues and painting and every other such thing, who really gives a darn if you yourself have forgotten how to live. Living isn't showing what other people have done or accomplished, and resting on their laurels for an eternity. Living is remembering just what a great gift life is, even when you don't have much (and believe me, baby, I've had most of my adult life wherein I had nothing at all except pain), when you don't own much and even if you're unable to see much. Life is a gift, a geniune wholly cow, lucky me, ain't I the lucky one gift. Shame on every last crabby bunch of them for forgetting that. Shame on them indeed. Anyone can irritate another human being. We all come equipped with that gift. But how many just bring that little bit of light to another soul. A smile is such a simple thing, it's free, and doesn't require a suitcase to pack. But it's larger than anything you can own. So, I will reiterate, God Bless this smily, silly, kidding around, playful country.

I will admit that Paris is an amazing city, with stunning architecture and history. It is filled with fascinating sites and a myriad of fantastical things to explore. It is magical. It is truly one of the most amazing cities in the world, if not the most amazing city on Earth. And it would be a really great time, if only the Parisians weren't there when one visited.

American - I'm proud of you!

And, you, my husband, are the best thing in this world and beyond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.