Paris Tour

We slept in pretty late on Wednesday. Traveling really seems to have caught up with us. Even after getting up my father and Victoria took afternoon naps. I studied the metro maps online, offline, maps etc trying to figure out where we were going. We did postcards, laundry, bought sundries and generally took it easy while looking out at the river.

At 5:15pm we headed out. We walked to the train station. At the window I bonjour'd the woman and asked her if she parlevou'd English. She waved her hands as if to say "eh". Who knew I'd see a Canadian in Paris? I bought two carnets (packets of 10 tickets) and she thought I was nuts. At this point I was trying to be as prepared as possible. We navigated both trains fairly easily.

We got off at the Louve museum and had a bit of a hard time reading street signs, as in there seem to be very few street signs. After asking people on the street, a bus driver, and the tourist office, we found our spot. We saw Carol Sherman and her two boys! Victoria was thrilled. They would not provide Carol or our family with tickets because our organizer was not there yet. We grew concerned, both of us having a difficult time finding the office. Renee and her family and Bob were to arrive on Wednesday and we knew their schedule was tight. We watched the bus fill, and at 7:15pm we went to speak to the clerk.

The clerk was very nice but insisted he could not help us because we owed 18 euros per person and we did not have a voucher. We discussed the possibility of Renee not arriving within the next fifteen minutes. When the clerk understood they were staying in Disneyland Paris, he too indicated it was not likely she was going to make it. Carol asked to speak to the manager. The manager was a nice man who understood English if spoken slowly. He begged Carol to slow down and he did it in such a way the tension was gone.

Just then Renee came in! Hurrah! They had taken a taxi with a driver who drove fast. She said she had called the company who indicated they would hold the bus for us. Hold the bus? Why didn't anyone in the office say anything about this? The tour guide asked Carol to follow him to which she replied, "I'll follow you anywhere!" He was quite good looking and we suspect Italian. The tour guides all wore black leather jackets. He could have been from East Haven with his look.

Finally we boarded the bus and we went directly to the Seine for a boat tour. There was interpretation in many languages. The kids all had a good time and the adults enjoyed the relaxed feeling. We boarded the bus and drove all over Paris city. We wore head phones for a narration of the tour. The families who had just arrived were falling asleep in the bus. We drove by all the major sites. Paris really is beautiful at night. The outdoor cafes were all full at 10:30pm.

The tour ended at the office at 11:30pm. The last metro leaves at 12:30am so we walked quickly back to the station. We hopped on the train and transfereed at 12:15 over to our train. We got home at 12:40am. I didn't like walking back to the apartment so late.

Victoria is relieved to hear her crabs and her bird are doing well.