10 Days in Paris -- A Dad's Point of View

Greetings to all…  I just spent 10 great days with my son Matt here in Paris.

We arrived on January 3^rd.  Our arrival was a bit slowed.  We had to wait over an hour for Matt to get his luggage at the airport.  There were no issues, just a classic example of inefficiency.  I got my bag within 15 minutes.  Others would get theirs on 10 minute intervals.  Even after we got ours others from our flight were still waiting.  From there we went through Customs -- I think Matt was surprised how easy clearance was.

We took the 30 minute taxi ride to the apartment and after a short rest we decided to venture out for his orientation walk.  Our first stop was Le Passy for an expresso and croissant.  We explored the neighborhood, showing him the small shops, mall and marketplace.  The area was very quite as it was the Monday after New Year.  For lunch we went to Aero and had a Croquette Mademoiselle (a grilled ham & cheese sandwich with an egg on it).  Excellent start…

To occupy Matt’s time while I was working we agreed that a museum pass would be a great way for him to explore the multiple museums in a cost effective manner.  So on Tuesday Matt spent the day doing his research on the various museums that interested him and laid out a plan for the 4 days.  The following days he would set out and find the museum on his own, sometimes using the Metro other days walking around (and around and around).  He got lost one day for ~2 hours.  The funny thing about that one was the museum is only 5 minutes from here!!! 

The best part of the day for me was coming home and hearing about his adventures, looking at the pictures he took while we had a beer or glass of wine.  Sometimes we did this at the apartment, others we went to Le Passy.  Whenever we went to Passy the staff would give us a hearty “bon soir”, shake our hands and ask how we were doing.  They made Matt feel welcome there. 

I think Matt’s favorite part of the day was lunch.  It seemed everyday he either made a sandwich here with a fresh baguette and things we bought from the market OR he went to the local patisserie and bought a sandwich.  His lunches were part of my daily briefings.

On Saturday we got around early and went to the fresh air market on

Woodrow Wilson Avenue

.  It is a big market with lots of things to see, touch and taste.  Any one who knows Matt knows we bought processed meats, cheese and fresh veggies.  Matt made friends with the butcher who sleeps with his favorite salami.  We came home and had a glorious lunch with the things we purchased.  After lunch we took the Metro to visit the Louvre.  I have never been there so I didn’t know what to expect, other then big.  I found it to be very interesting.  We raced to see the Mona Lisa, just to say we saw it.  And that was it “we saw it” and we weren’t overly impresed.  We were more interested in the works around it from the Italian painters.  They give you a map highlighting the most famous things.  So we tried to hit most of them.  My favorite was “Napoleon’s Coronation” and “Venus”.

We ate at a different restaurant every night Matt was here.  As he stated in his post, the funniest meal was the beef tongue incident.  He took the Metro up to St. Ouen to have lunch together and visit my office.  We went to a little restaurant outside of the Alstom campus.  The food was good, but watching Matt find out he was devouring cow’s tongue was priceless.  I think he had an upset stomach not from the food, but the psychological effect of French kissing a cow.

I think my favorite night was Tuesday.  A friend from work invited us to meet him and some of his friends at an Irish pub in the 1^st Ard.  We got there a bit early so we could have something to eat.  I had the Irish stew and Matt had a whiskey soaked chicken dish.  Of course we sampled a couple of new Irish beers.  The people we hung out with were lawyers and business leaders from Ireland & Wales who have lived in Paris for the past 8-15 years.  One of the guys had a Phd in History, so we got into a discussion about history.  The guys were very interested in Matt’s study of Robin Hood in film.  It was fun to watch Matt have an adult conversation with these men and hold their interest (I was a proud papa).

The final night was bitter sweet.  We started with a beer or two at Le Passy, followed by a pizza dinner at La Matta.  If you read Matt’s blog entry he tells the story.  In the end we were all laughing at my sloppy French…

On Thursday we woke up early and went to the airport.  We got there before the United desk was open so we watched with amusement at another example of inefficiency.  It took 2 people about 20 minutes to set up the lines for customers to follow to the service desk.  The one guy must have changed them 10 times.  And then when we were finally able to “use” them, the flow was a mess.  Made me smile, the end was similar to the beginning.

I really enjoyed having Matt here with me and I was really glad he could explore Paris.  I was a bit melancholy when we said our good-byes.  It’s not often you get to have 10 memorable days with one of your kids.  I will always treasure it. 

I look forward to Bryan & Kyrstin’s visit next week.  I’m sure we will create another set of memorable moments.