Tapas to Tajine : Travel to Southern Spain, Morocco and a little of Paris

Three Countries, Two Continents, One Sydney

As a reward for hanging in there for this journey we asked Sydney where she wanted to go in Paris and she said Paris Disneyland. Well not all dreams can come true… We asked where else and the top of the Eiffel Tower was next. So off we went and in spite of long lines we moved to the top with remarkable efficiency. We even walked part of the way down, from second to the first level giving us views of the tower we did not have in past visits. I have been conducting a photo study of the Tower over three visits now and was able to add many new photos.

After the Tower we walked over to Tuileries so Sydney could do a few more rides at La Fête Foraine. She has really hung in there through this trip so a few more kids rides would not hurt. Then it was off to Notre Dame for Kim. This time a mass was in progress when we arrived so we were able to hear the organ and experience of what the cathedral could do. Very nice.

After dinner at L’Atlas we decided to get back to the hotel pack and get to bed early since we were facing an early departure to CDG. Well that was the plan, we ended up staying very late people watching with wine. Our room had a great view of Rue de Buci which stays busy very late. Just before bed we saw a black and white French Cinema short movie that topped the day. No dialog, went something like this: A woman is trapped in an apartment in which the ceiling is coming down slowly crushing everything underneath. She running all over the apartment trying various ways out, all failing and screaming the entire time. The doors and windows do not open, phone does not work. In dramatic fashion she puts her fist through the window but she is too high to jump. Now running back into the apartment she tries to find things to provide support to stop the ceiling, nothing works. Finally there is only a few feet left and with the ceiling just above her she starts clawing at it. Managing to create a hole she stands up only to find herself in the middle of a busy road. She is still screaming when she is hit by a truck. Fin. I have not laughed that hard since I saw ‘Erin Brockovich’ which for some reason I found funny the first time I saw it. It was a good way to cap our stay in Paris.

And like that this particular trip is over. Thanks to the hard work of Nancy at Ladera Travel we were up in the hump of the 747 for the trip home which passed remarkably fast. I am still waiting for the day when I burnout on these long haul trips but obviously this was not the one.

I will be doing one more post in a day or so with some points on travel to Morocco for those who plan to go.

The Tour and Us

Starting down this way is easy, it is stopping that is tough.

A pleasant day

A statue on the Pont Alexandre III Bridge

Decorations on Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Sydney at L'Atlas on Rue de Buci

Greenland

Sunday in the Park with Sydney

Woke up today in familiar territory. It is nice to have returned to a place that we know well but is still not home. Things have changed a little, the ‘supermarché’ Champion is now a different chain, Carrefour. A resturant we have dined at L’Atlas had a large seafood display in front and a classic bistro look, now the seafood is gone and it has a more standard, hip-joint look. Things move on even in the home away from home.

While in Morocco I found that my French had improved quite a bit. French is spoken there and I found it easy to understand what they said. Progress, or so I thought. Here in Paris the conversations are muddled again. Accents, speed, etc. So I am good in French with a Moroccan accent, still have Paris to go.

It was nice to be in Paris with no real agenda. We took a walk across the Seine enjoying the Sunday Markets on the Île de la Cité. From there we jumped via Metro up to the Tuileries Gardens and La Fête foraine des Tuileries, essentially a ‘Fun Fair’ set up in near the Lovre in the summer months. Sydney thought this was the best thing ever and quite a surprise. Since it is a traveling fair the parents expectations were quite low but they were exceeded. Many typical fair ride, all in decent shape and every rider was given plenty of time to enjoy. There was two different fun houses both surprisingly fun in that old fashion way. And being Europe beer was served. So everyone was ‘happy’.

After we burned out on the rides we walked across the Gardens to Musee de l’Orangerie to see Claude Monets Nymphéas (Water Lilies) again. We only had a short time but it was worth it. Then we did a slow walk back to the hotel down the Seine, Sydney waving to every tourist boat that went by. Our little Ambassador.