Leaving Paris

Our last day in Paris began with a hurried pack-up and clean-up of the apartment. We had to be out of there by 9:30, but fortunately, we could keep our luggage there until later, as we had a 5:30pm train.

After getting ready, we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to say "au revoir", stopping at the Patissier along the way. It was such a lovely morning, sitting there on a park bench with our croissants, looking up at the Eiffel Tower.

We had some time to kill that morning, so we decided to bite the bullet and get in line to go up the Tower. We were in line for an hour, and bought tickets to the first floor. (You could go to the first floor, second floor, or all the way to the top!)
The view was incredible. It's amazing how white the city looks from up above. Here are some of our best shots.
The Parc du Champ de Mars, that extends from the Eiffel Tower.
If you look carefully, you can see "the other Statue of Liberty" in this shot.
This is a picture of Sacre Coeur, another famous Paris landmark that we didn't have time to visit.
Napoleon's Tomb and the Parthenon (we didn't get to visit the Parthenon either... I think it just holds a lot of tombs, etc.).

It was well worth our time to go up. It really was an incredible view.

So, after a nice lunch on the market street of Rue Cler, we headed back to the apartment to collect our luggage. Then it was back to the Metro and then to the train station.

In the midst of all of this, I was wondering what was going on back at my parents' house on Long Island. I had spoken to my mom the night before, and she told me that my sister was having some beginning labor pains. When we got settled in the train station, and I checked my cell phone, it said that I had a voice mail message, but I wasn't able to check it. I started getting upset at that point, not knowing what was going on, and feeling pretty tired. Poor Ethan didn't know what to do with me... I was crying right there in line in the middle of the train station. I eventually tried calling home on my cell phone, and it worked! I spoke to my dad who said that Cassandra was at the hospital and due to have the baby any minute. You'd think this would have made me feel better, but then I got upset because I was missing all of it! More tears... poor Ethan. Anyway, to make a long-story short, as we just got off the train in London, my mom called to tell me that I was an aunt! More tears, but happy ones this time!!!

Our layover in London was quick! As we were heading to the connecting train station, we came across Platform 9 3/4. If you know me, you know that I love the Harry Potter books, so this was such a treat to see. (My kids have no clue what they're doing in these pictures, but they'll appreciate it someday!)When we walked into the National Rail Station, we still didn't know what platform to go to to find our train. We finally found a huge board with about 200 people standing there, staring at it. As it turns out, you have to watch the board for your train's arrival, and then make a bee-line for it. It was so funny watching this, because all of a sudden, something would change on the board, and a hundred people would rush toward a particular platform. Anyway, we made it onto our train just fine, and had an uneventful ride and then drive back home.

I'm really glad that we went to Paris for our anniversary, and although it wasn't as relaxing or romantic as we would have liked, I am so glad that we took the kids. Paris really is an incredible city. We really enjoyed seeing all the sights, but I think we most enjoyed just walking the streets, and getting a feel for Parisian-life.

We were truly affected by the things that Parisians value that are different than Americans. First of all, beauty. Everywhere we turned, there seemed to be an incredibly ornate historic landmark, or a beautiful fountain or statue. Even the apartment buildings were lovely. Secondly, Parisians seem to value their time to "just be". In Luxemborg Gardens, there were people everywhere, just sitting... just soaking up the sun or playing a game or whatever. At the cafes, it was not fast food. People just sat there and enjoyed their food and their company. We also noticed that almost all the stores were closed on Sunday, and many were closed for the whole month of August, as the owners were away on holiday. That just doesn't happen in the States. Anyway, it just made Ethan and I evaluate our culture and lifestyle a little. What would happen if we put more of an emphasis upon beauty in our lives. How can we prioritize time for ourselves in a busy-workaholic American culture? Anyway, just a few reflections.

It's funny... when we were originally planning our trip to Paris, I told Ethan, "This is it! This is our trip to Paris, so we need to do it all." Then of course, as we were leaving I told him, "I'm sorry honey, but I think this trip only whet my appetite for Paris. When are we coming back?!"

Poor Ethan....