C'est Paris!

S played hookey today so that we could all go to Paris together. We went to see my friend at the train station (who was pleased that I had enjoyed Versailles) and she sold us tickets and gave me a little map with highlighted stations so I wouldn't get lost. We had to change trains a few times you see. And I conducted the whole transaction in french. C'est Incroyable!
The trains here are very good and in no time we were on our way to a nearby regional centre (Massey Palaiseau) where after a bit of head scratching we located our next train and we headed into Paris. We were going to change trains and hop on the metro to get to the Musee de l'Orangerie but we decided to get off at Chatelet Les Halles and walk. We walked along the rue di Rivoli to the Seine soaking up that Parisian ambience (phew - there must be a lot of stray tom cats in Paris) till we got to the Louvre. The sheer size of Louvre is overwhelming. I think when I explained to S how all the buildings were all part of the one gallery he got museum fatigue just thinking about it. After some photos we strolled into the Tuileries so Jack could free range. S was concerned that the grass was fenced off but Jack is happy if he's got a gravel path to run on (!!) and he had that in abundance so he was fine. There was also a rather nice pond with people sunning themselves around it which Jack thought looked very inviting but we managed to persuade him (picked him up) to come away. Luckily french people seem happy to sunbake without taking their shirts off like the english.
The Musee l'Orangerie is at the end of the Tuileries but when we got there we discovered that they had a strictly no pram policy (as well as many other things such as no laptops, no dogs, no suitcases etc that they didn't want in their unfriendly gallery) so we opted for the Musee d'Orsay instead. This was close by and we had been planning on visiting there anyway, just not today. The Musee d'Orsay is a converted train station, which sounds unattractive but is a beautiful building with high, arched ceilings and it contains lots of wonderful artworks. There's a lot of impressionist and post impressionist works there but we found that most people were loitering in the Van Gogh room. Which left more room for us when we were looking at the Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet and Pissaro. There were lots of Americans everywhere. Some of them were in matching ensembles of baseball caps, sweatshirts and shorts with cameras around their necks. One family walked past us looking particularly gormless and S said, "Look out it's the Griswalds!"
We heard a woman going crook at her husband because he and the kids had wandered off without her ("Pay attention Chuck!") but it's funny because they were fine and she seemed to be the only one who was lost so maybe she should've been paying more attention.
We also saw an exhibition of the Chat Noir Shadow Theatre which was a shadow theatre in a Paris nightclub in the 1890s. There were some of the cutouts on display including a rather good one of Napoleon.After all that art we went in search of some food and decided to find a boulangerie so we could get a sandwich. There were bistros everywhere but the proximity of the tables to the road and the car fumes did not seem very inviting. Again I ordered everything in french and the people serving me were very nice and it was quite easy. I know that sounds daft but I realised that every other time I've been to Paris I have usually relied on someone else to do the talking and so it feels satisfying to be able to communicate in french (albeit not of a very high standard) and to be understood.
S had spotted a smallish chocolate cake called a financier so I ordered one of those. I remember years ago at Level 41 having a 'blood plum financier' and how we all thought the name was so funny and was poking fun at that restaurant's main clientele (and yes the bathrooms do have an amazing view).I think I must look into this financier business. It seems quite like a large round friand but I wouldn't know what this one tasted like. Between S and Jack of course having to sample it but the verdict was positive.
After our lunch (how can a simple ham baguette be so delicious? And mine looked much better than the one I saw being served up at a bistro) we strolled back through the Tuileries to the Louvre courtyard then through Les Halles (only getting a little lost) to our train station and so back to Jouy. Today was warm again and after another dinner of good french bread, cheese, ham and tomatoes and very good beer from Flanders (hidelly hodelly neighbour!) we are opting for an early night.
Tomorrow we'll show S the sights of Versailles.

Versailles

Today was a very good day. The sun was shining as Jack and I set off to the train station. On the way we were stopped by a man who asked for directions to the bakery in french and I gave him directions in french. I was so excited to do this and for him to understand me that it wasn't until he was about to walk off that I said "Oh! C'est ferme!" as in the bakery was closed. He seemed to think this was as funny as I did and went to the supermarche to buy his bread. And they have bread from the Poilane bakery in Paris so I'm sure he'd be okay (for the uninitiated Lionel Poilane was like the french god of bread until his tragic death in a helicopter accident a few years ago but apparently his bakeries in Paris are still baking).
I encountered a very friendly woman in the ticket office at the train station who sold me a ticket to Versailles and then offered to carry the pram down some stairs to the other platform. I assured her I would be alright and then a woman helped me anyway. Even when she heard the train pull in she calmly lifted the pram up the steps and onto a carriage.
It is not far from here to Versailles, maybe ten minutes at the most. We got off at the station and followed the signs to the Chateau. On the way I stopped at a Boulangerie/Patisserie for a pain au chocolat for Jack and a croissant amande for me. Almond Croissants are one of my favourite naughty things to eat, though lets face it that's probably quite an extensive list I've got going. But this croissant was surely the work of the devil. For not only did it have a light dusting of icing sugar with a crunchy layer of almonds then the inside all almondy gooey goodness but it also had chocolate in it. Jack tried it as well and agreed that it was very, very good.So we approached the Chateau and contrary to information that my mother had received that Versailles now a very dangerous place to be, we were fine. The only thing we were in danger of was spending too many euros on a plastic Eiffel tower and that was never going to happen.

Even early in the day there were a lot of people milling about in the forecourt to the Chateau and queuing to get in. I decided the queue was too long and that it probably wasn't a good idea to let Jack loose inside the palace so we headed to the garden, which is very beautiful and quite simply enormous. We spent a lot of time walking, Jack was liberated from his pram and headed straight for some really sticky mud. Away from the mud we strolled some more and Jack did some more duck aversion therapy (it seems to be working).
We walked up to the Grand Trianon, which is a separate little palace that Marie-Antoinette had built, as you do, It's quite striking due to the pink marble from Trousse in southern France that was used to construct it. The last time my parents visited they had been to Trousse before they came to Versailles and 'just happened' to have a piece of pink marble with them when they were strolling around.Apparently the staff thought my father had chipped some off a column and he's lucky he wasn't marched away by a gendarme.The gardens here are so large that you can now hire bicycles, segways (those funny two wheeler things with an inbuilt gyroscope) or golf buggys. I saw some Australians careering around on a buggy and I thought 'bloody typical'. I don't think they had the buggys when my parents were here because I'm sure it would've been the cause of an international incident involving a 'splash and run' if there were.
We walked back around the palace and through the streets of Versailles back to the station. On the way I bought a baguette for our dinner and some lunch. I think my french is coming along. Or I'm just not as nervous anymore.
We caught the train back to Jouy and stocked up on necessities at the supermarche (wine and cheese to go with the baguette) and came back for a nap. Then Jack and I played in the little park here till S returned from work.
I think tomorrow we're going to Paris.

Merde!

S has said before that the English love rules and this was certainly true at the Manor where there were lots of rules for the residents and many signs everywhere just in case we forgot ourselves and decided to steal someone's food or not heat food for long enough in the microwave.
Now in France, and having had to jump through numerous hoops with paperwork, he has decided that the french also love rules and regulations. I have a feeling though that as much as they love bureaucracy, they also love to break the rules or at least bend them a little, a french queue would be a good example of this.
There is a little park just near our apartment building. It has gates and a big no dog sign so I thought it would be perfect for Jack to run around. Except that when we got there I was astounded by the amount of dog poo everywhere. Either there are some very 'regular' guide dogs in Jouy or people are ignoring that sign. Fortunately we came away unscathed but then Jack did spend a lot of time on the bench.

Jolie Jouy

Today Jack slept in. He was still asleep when S left for work at 9am, which is unprecedented. Our schedule was out of wack. When the cleaning lady turned up to mop the floors we were still having breakfast and as she doesn't speak english and I don't speak french a pantomime of sorts followed while we worked out when she should come back, at least I think that's what we were doing. Her imminent arrival was at the forefront of my mind as I got Jack undressed for his shower. And, same old story, I turned my back for one second and I turned around and there was Jack and three poos on the floor. I told him to stand still and not move so he took a big step and trod right in it. I was madly wiping him with wipes and trying to pick everything up and thinking that this would be when the woman would come back (thank god we don't have carpet here). With his now clean foot a clearly delighted Jack went prancing into the kitchen, leaving a trail behind him.....
So it was a good start to the day. We both managed to clean ourselves up and went out to investigate Jouy in the rain (yes it's still raining). We went to the supermarche again then toodled around and crossed the railway tracks to the other side of Jouy and saw the Biblioteque (library) and some very nice looking cafes and houses. I think this is like the french equivalent of the village we were in in England though without the yummy mummy shopping opportunities and with better bread. There are some very nice houses with beautiful gardens here. I keep on getting whiffs of honeysuckle as I walk along. In Edinburgh I saw some jasmine flowering, which seemed so wrong because it didn't seem warm enough for jasmine.
Then after carrying the shopping and Jack up the three flights of stairs we waited for S to arrive to escort us to lunch. JL had mentioned the canteen and said it wasn't very good but obviously he hasn't eaten at the manor or the institute's canteen. In spite of this I received an invitation to dine there and was quietly excited. I guess it's all relative but really I was amazed. There were salads and hot meals (today there was quiche with an assortment of vegetables or fish or sausage) as well as burgers or pizzas which are cooked while you wait. Then there was yoghurt and pastries and chocolate. And lots of fresh fruit. And alcohol in proper glasses for those who wanted it. All very civilised. But then I remember when I was working for Louis that the lunch hour was sacrosanct. The shop was closed and we all sat down for a proper hot meal and always had a baguette or two as well. S was amazed the day before at how much people would eat and we thought maybe this is the main meal of the day. He is also very taken with the conveyor belt that whisks away the dirty plates and trays.I spoke to a man who is an expert on horse breeding for racing and for (gulp) eating. I was going to ask him what horse tastes like (I'm thinking not like chicken) but I couldn't do it. Especially after he mentioned the kind of horses that they eat (not ponies). He asked me how old Jack was, was he two or three years old and when I told him that Jack was only sixteen months old he said, "Oh but he is so...strong!"There was also a visiting scientist from Chile and when I met him I said,"Hola." He asked me if I spoke spanish and I said only hola. I could've said I also know dinosaurio but he might've thought that was odd.
After lunch, JL and the gang retired to the lounge area for un cafe(!) and Jack and I walked through Jouy to look for the Musee de la Toile de Jouy. Toile de Jouy is that very famous french fabric that has scenes of french life or fruit or flowers painted on it. I think originally it was handpainted and then they came up with wooden blocks to place on the fabric, which was painstaking when at least four or five colours were being applied and each different block had to be lined up with the last. Finally someone came up with a way of engraving brass rolls and using these to print the fabric.It was manufactured here by a man called Monsieur Oberkampf and his many workers. They did such a fine job that Napoleon came to visit them twice. I've included photos seeing that my description is not up to much. (and it turned out we were staying right near his house, which is being turned into units!) The museum was very nice with lots of beautiful fabric on display and a video in french showing the wooden block method that I still enjoyed watching. And there was a lovely shop with beautiful things made out of Toile that were unfortunately very expensive. I reasoned with myself that S must have got the conversion rate for euros wrong and these beautiful things wouldn't be that much but I was wrong. sigh. Toile espadrilles for 80 euros anyone?
Jack and I headed back to the apartment for a nap because we had been invited to a colleague of JL's for an aperitif. Originally it was going to be 6pm then it changed to 7pm. I was getting a bit stressed about Jack getting tired but it's craziness really that after all this time travelling that I still try to stick to a 'strict' routine for Jack. We decided to feed Jack first so he wouldn't be too feral (and we had a snack too). Florence picked us up at 7 and we went to her lovely house nearby. She has two boys who are three and five and they didn't seem very thrilled about a small australian person sharing their toys. There were tears and unusually they were not Jacks. So we had some wine and some canapes and had a chat to Florence and her husband Pascal. I didn't take any photos because I didn't think that would be a good idea with the two boys not being very happy. By nine Jack started getting feral so we decided to come home.
We think that this must be how french women stay slim. They have a larger meal during the day but not at night. We were wondering what time french children normally eat and go to bed. I know that we got into the habit of eating earlier with Jack because we are up earlier but a lot of people here eat dinner much later. They must find it so strange at the manor. Eating so many potatoes at six o'clock at night.

Farewell Edinburgh, Bonjour Paris!

My original posts on leaving Edinburgh and our hideous Easyjet flight got eaten by the computer so here's what I remember. It was pouring with rain on the day we left Scotland. Even though I had culled some of our belongings the bags seemed really heavy. Like Jack's bottom they seem to be defying the laws of the universe. The more we take out the heavier they seem to get. S had purchased excess baggage (cheaper in advance) and something called Speedy Boarding.
I had a few issues with the security lady as we were going to the gate. I'd forgottenn about the restrictions on liquids and was all stocked up for the flight, train trip and arrival in Jouy where I had no idea if any shops would be open or I would be able to ask for anything if they were. But rules are rules and S did a deal so we could keep as much as possible. Unfortunately the bubble mixture had to go.
Well before the plane was due to go there was a mob around the gate, champing at the bit. Finally they called for Speedy Boarders (us). We stepped forward and I could see some well dressed peoples look shocked and like they were missing out so they stepped forward but they weren't SB's so as we were ushered past they got left behind with shitty looks on their faces. The less said about the flight the better. Just that it was very crowded and not the best fun we've ever had. But apparently we were all packed in like sardines because Easyjet is trying to save the planet. Who would've thought?
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle and found the train station and S managed to acquire euros, tickets and phone JL (our contact and lift to Jouy) while I was not speaking the fluent french I had hoped. In his book Watership Down, Richard Adams described the state that rabbits go into when caught in the headlights. He calls it tharn and that was me. People would speak to me in french and my brain would freeze. By the time it defrosted and I had formulated a response in french the person would be dozing or gone.
We caught the RER to Antony where JL picked us up and drove us to the apartment. S and JL hit it off talking about statistical sort of things while Jack and I relaxed in the back. JL told us that the supermarket was shut (eek!) but that he had taken the liberty of buying us groceries (yay!)
He dropped us at the apartment (back to the land of twin beds) and took S for a tour. Jack and I got ready to unpack the bags and cable tie the beds together.The next day (it was rainy and cold) S headed off to work and Jack and I got to know the apartment and Jouy. We found the boulangerie and bought some fabulous bread and then found the supermarche where we bought other necessities (butter, jam and chocolate biscuits).
S turned up at lunchtime to let me know that we were moving to a better apartment. We hadn't complained about it (it was a bit run down) but someone else had decided it wasn't good enough. We moved upstairs into our new apartment and it was nicer. No peeling paint, no dead plant and this place came with a rainbow. I guess it's worth climbing all those stairs for.

oh alright...

here are some photos of Jack to keep you going till I get the blog sorted.

Whiffy?

Apparently in France they pronounce wifi as whiffy. S was relieved because at first he thought people were making comments about his personal hygiene. Anyway we are out of the wifi wilderness (yay) and out of France (boohoo) but in Dublin (yay?).
It's been a long day and Jack and S are in bed and I'll be there soon too. Rest assured that I have been posting offline while we were in France and just need to do some jiggerypokery with photos and text and you'll know what we've been up to. Oh and try to recover two day worth of blogs that refuse to cooperate. Eek. Otherwise I'll just try and remember (luckily those days were pretty quiet) and try again.
I think there was someone famous on our flight being hounded by papparazzi....