Friday 18 September 2009: Welcome to Paris

Having been to Paris about three times before in our lives, it was kind of refreshing to go – albeit for less than 48 hours – with nothing in particular on the agenda other than show Indigo some of the major sights. As Indigo went to Paris about a week before we migrated it would be interested to see what she could remember. Well, that was the Idea.

The Reality was that neither nor Pat got a wink of sleep on the 12 hour flight so sleep had become an agenda item. We had landed at 6:10am in the morning and somehow had to get through the day. Pat doesn’t necessarily deal with tiredness all that well.

So when my map didn’t have the exact street of the hotel, very centrally located in Les Halles Pat got a bit uptight, bought another street map which had even less detail than the one I had. We got the rush hour RER train to Chatelet-Les Halles where we found a street map posted in the station. The hotel was very nearby.

We tried to bring forward our check-in time to no avail as the hotel was booked out. But we were able to store our luggage and thus unencumbered we were free to peruse Paris.

As it was so close we went to Notre Dame. I wasn’t sure how Indigo would react to this (or anything else in Europe) so was surprised when she seemed moderately impressed and wanted a photo of her taken with Notre Dame in view. She seemed to have some awareness of the story of the hunchback. At the façade, I got her playing a game of ‘find the monster’ with the grotesques the stonemasons carved, and I started telling her about how in medieval times Christians genuinely thought their world was chockers with angels and demons that fought in an endless battle.

Over the next few hour a couple of things struck me. First, and perhaps the most obvious was the need to explain event hundreds or even thousands of years ago, something I would not have even have blinked at when I lived in Europe, but had become wholly unaccustomed to while living in Melbourne. It kinda just doesn't need to occur. My sense of history has changed since moving to the new world. Second, was the need to explain things in terms of war, blood and the evil that man has done. Again, this doesn't really occur where we are now. The Arc de Triomphe in the distance – built by a dictator who wanted to rule all of Europe. The Louvre – yes was a palace of a king (have to look that up, but actually wasn’t it Cardinal Richelieu’s?) , but France doesn’t have a king. They beheaded one in 1792 (?). Charlemagne’s statue outside Notre Dame – another dictator. Joan of Arc’s statue inside Notre Dame – ‘a woman who thought God told her to kill the English’.

Hoorah – got a decent coffee! Then to the Eiffel Tower which Indigo seemed to enjoy. We met two Aussie’s in their fifties. Nice people from Brisbane. They joined us for lunch. We chose the bistro L’Ardoise on Rue de Mont Thabor. Pat and I went in 2000 and was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. The only meal where I had veal and actually understood what the fuss was about. Indigo woofed down her lamb – really enjoyed it. Pat had ravioli of scampi followed by turbot. My prejudices and memories got the better of me and so I had duck foie gras terrine followed by the veal. All washed down with a wonderful bottle of 2006 St. Joseph – a wine that goes ever up in my estimation. The meal was nice, but not mindblowing. The bill was however. I’m feeling very Australian in my reaction to these European prices.

It was 3pm and we went back to the hotel to sleep, which we did so for the next 4-5 hours. We awoke & eat again, this time more simply in the hotel.

I asked Indigo which were her favourite bits of the day. ‘The [RER] trains and the lunch’ she said. I asked her what she remembered about Notre Dame to see how much she had absorbed. ‘The flowery windows and the monsters’.