I know I recently talked to you guys about how amazing Singer Island is, but I am now here to tell you how perfect Paris, France is.  This summer I went to Paris for five weeks. It was one of the most spectacular experiences of my life.

Now, I am the kind of girl who loves food! I don’t eat half my plate and say I’m done. If it is good I won’t stop until it is completely done! This means that Paris is perfect for me. Not only is it one of the most romantic cities in the world, but it also has the greatest food in the world.
I studied this summer at the Sorbonne, which is right next to the Notre Dame. In between classes my friends Alex, Taylor, and I would go and get crepes. There are so many great creperies, but we liked our crepes in a certain way. We liked them well done, also know in French as “bien cuit”.
I highly recommend trying French cepes while in the beautiful city of Paris.

When I was a child, I loved to travel with my family.  The trips I took to Italy with my parents and grandparents have become cherished memories.  I looked forward to taking my children to Europe when they were old enough so I could expose them to a foreign culture and share the pleasures of European travel with them.  My husband and I agreed that our twentieth wedding anniversary would be an extra special reason to go.  So for our twentieth wedding anniversary, when my daughter was almost 15 and my son was 12, we ventured to France.

I chose France because we have family there, including cousins with whom my kids are very close.  These cousins come to America almost every year, and it was time for them to acquaint us with their life in France.  The trip was planned so that we’d spend a little time at the beginning and the end in their city, Lyon.  I made sure that we avoided museums and cathedrals, attractions to which my kids have expressed aversion.

Instead, during our first week we: toured the Gorges du Tarn, a deep, narrow, beautiful river canyon where we stayed in a castle and spent time navigating the river in kayaks; explored Carcassonne, Europe’s largest preserved medieval fortress town; and spent time at the lovely Mediterranean seaside town of Collioure. The second week we were joined by one of the French cousins and stayed in a gite (a rented cottage for tourists) in Provence. We spent our days visiting villages and their markets, hiking, kayaking and swimming, and our nights playing cards and watching movies.

I had a very memorable time and am glad that we went.  Unfortunately, my children were unmoved, and other than expressing that it was nice to see their cousins, I heard little positive feedback.  It has caused me to seriously re-evaluate any future trips to Europe with them.

THE DAUGHTER’S OPINION:

Hi mom.

I think you’ve misunderstood my issues with the France trip. I had a lot of fun, but there were some things that just weren’t things I liked. (Which is fine, not everything is about me having fun.)

What I enjoyed the most was staying at the gite in Provence for a week and everything we did there. We went to restaurants, a flea market, our cousin Tristan (and a new fan of teentraveltalk.com) was there, we played cards, watched movies, went swimming, canoed down a river, ate ice cream advertised by Eva Longoria, and had a whole cottage to ourselves.

What wasn’t that fun for me and my brother: visiting way too many villages, spending more time than necessary in medival Carcassonne, time spent lounging around, hours and hours and hours of driving, going to fields of lavender. These are things I consider boring. (Though I must admit the car rides were funny. The problem was they were so long.)

My biggest issue: 16 days, Mom. 16 days. And all the time we spent driving from one region to another added together was probably equal to 5 days. As much as I like to travel, I don’t like being away from home for more than a week. 16 days was too much for me.

Although this wasn’t my ideal type of vacation, I still had a lot of fun and we got a lot of family memories out of it.

MOM’S POSSIBLE RESOLUTION:

Well I am really glad to hear that there were some parts of our France sojourn that you liked.  That vacation, however, confirmed that Europe is not the optimum type of trip for our family.  As a result, afterwards your Dad and I took a trip there on our own.  But I have not totally given up on the idea of our family returning to Europe — especially Italy.  While I am not ready to concede that two weeks is too long for a European vacation, I do agree that we did too much driving in France.  (It’s hard to resist the urge to see as much as you can when you are in Europe if you don’t get there too often.)

Taking your feelings into consideration, if we do go to Italy, it may be best to rent a villa with family or friends.  This would eliminate a lot of driving and include the camaraderie you enjoyed at the gite.  If there were people remaining at the villa, you could pick the side trips you would like to accompany Dad and me on and which ones you’d rather skip.  If the villa is in walking distance to a town or village, you and the other kids could do some exploring on your own.

Check out other bloggers who share their “Travel Tensions” below:

Erik and his mom in Vermont

Caroline and her dad in Chicago

Tyler and his dad in Quebec

1. Cheese. The biggest cheese wheels you’ve ever seen. The smallest cheese wheels you’ve ever seen. Sharp, mild, hard, soft, white, yellow, blue-spotted. If you are looking for a certain kind of cheese, you will find what you are looking for in the market.

2. Fish. Huge silver fish lying on beds of ice and goggling at you. Shrimp as big as your fist. Crabs, scallops, sushi! Fish that look like eels. You can even have fresh oysters right there on the spot with a glass of white wine.

3. Meat. Smoked, fresh, roasted, in the process of roasting. Chicken, beef, pork, lamb, veal, turkey. Sausages, arms, legs, wings. If you’re a little squeamish, don’t look too closely at the display.

4. Bread, of course! The ultimate French food staple. Usually there’s an assortment of baguettes accompanied by other, more unique types of bread (cheese bread, chocolate bread, fig bread).

5. Fruit. Hypnotizingly bright and shiny fruit. In mass quantities.

6. Vegetables… not to be confused with legumes, because “légume” is the French word for “vegetable.”

7. Cooking herbs and spices. There was one stand with dozens of huge bowls on a table, each one filled with a different dried herb or spice. Needless to say, the smell was a bit strong.

8. Medicinal herbs. Bottles, vials, and plastic bags of herbs that can cure just about anything except lack-of-bilingualism-itis.

9. Carpets. Huge carpet stands. If you plan on buying a carpet at a French market, I would bring something a little bigger than your usual plastic shopping bag.

10. Underwear. Bet you didn’t see that one coming. Yes, lots of underwear. Right in between the shellfish guy’s set-up and the bonbons.

11. Candy. The kind you can get in any old candy shop, but the display certainly is colorful. My favorites are the little gummy Coca Cola bottles that actually taste like Coke.

12. Purses. The purse section of the market reminded me of the purses you see on the sidewalk in New York City every other block. Lots of faux leather and on the whole just kinda sketchy. I don’t know why anyone here would buy these crap purses when the original Louis Vuitton store is in this very country.

13. Hats. Mostly sun hats, but I got a kick out of watching an octogenarian get scammed into buying a neon newsboy hat.

14. Honey. One of my favorite tables was a honey vendor’s, and he had honey products ranging from jars of natural honey to honeycomb to honey soap to honey candy.

15. Wine. If you’re interested and you’re above sixteen, go right on ahead and try some. If you’re like me and think wine tastes like a chemical acid, you can try taking some home to your parents. If you can get it past customs. Good luck.

16. Crêpes. Real French crêpes from a street vendor are supposed to be absolutely delicious. (Note to self: eat a crêpe before you leave so as to confirm this).

17. Clothes. Clothes were the most common product at the Divonne market. Seeing as there’s no dressing room and your chances of a refund are little to nothing, I wouldn’t really recommend doing your clothes-shopping at the market.

18. Jewelry. There was also much jewelry at the market. For the locals, jewelry can be a very nice gift purchase. For you, however, the rule is that if you can get it at home, get it at home. It will be infinitely less expensive and won’t weigh down your suitcase.

19. Nuts. The French appear to be almost as nuts about nuts as they’re nuts about cheese. And Nutella. Anything with hazelnuts. You won’t hear about many French people with nut allergies. They have nuts in their blood.

20. Pillows. The kinds that have cute puppies on them or say things like “There’s No Place Like Home” except in French (duh).

21. Flowers. The flower arrangements over here are quite beautiful, but still overpriced.

22. Trinkets. Just general “stuff” ranging from French antique doorknobs to Dora the Explorer ping pong paddles.

23. Music. Some artists selling CDs, and others just street performers playing the accordion and smiling at you as you pass by.

24. Pets. Not for sale, just lots of dogs (and even some cats) that accompany their humans to the market.

And finally,

25. People. One of the best ways to get out and experience more of France is to go to the Sunday market. There are people of many ages and backgrounds, speaking French, shopping for their Sunday dinners. You can practice your French, buy some souvenirs, and enjoy a setting that you can’t find back home.

I spent the day in the oldest part of Geneva seeing an exhibit on John Calvin at the Musée International de la Réforme (the Protestant Reformation). I happen to be interested in historical theology and the Reformation, so I loved the exhibit. However, it could quite likely not be your thing, and there are plenty of other things to do in Geneva.

In Geneva, everyone speaks French, many people speak English, and some people speak German, so the exhibit was in all three languages. It takes you through eight moments of a day in the life of John Calvin, from when he woke up at four in the morning to his bedtime at nine o’ clock. Each station has an oral and visual presentation of John Calvin’s daily interactions, prayers, lectures, etc., all bursting at the seams with references to the Reformation, life in Geneva 500 years ago, and Calvin’s achievements. There are also leaflets at each station containing information on some aspect of Genevan culture at the time, such as food, music, and, of course, religion.

This incredibly modern exhibit (having three-dimensional animations with well-written scripts) on such an ancient person’s life was one of the most informative ones I’ve ever visited. Unfortunately, it closes November 1st. If you’re in France or Switzerland this summer or autumn, definitely stop by Geneva and see it. For more information, visit www.musee-reforme.ch.

—

For the second half of my holiday, I attended the Divonne nighttime festivities with some kids my age. In France, the way they celebrate July 14th is a little different than the way we celebrate July 4th. There is much barbecuing– that’s the main similarity. However, because I don’t eat pork, my dinner consisted of fries and a Coke. Pork is very big in France, so if you’re Muslim, a vegetarian, or just someone who chooses not to eat pork, always be prepared for what’s available.

Unlike July 4th, July 14th is largely celebrated as a community instead of individual parties. The celebration is centralized in some part of town, with lots of music and couples dancing. The firework presentation from the Divonne lake was more of a show than the fireworks I’ve seen for Independence Day. There was ambient background music that accompanied the tone of the fireworks. When they became gold and glittery, the music became majestic. When they glowed red and exploded with more resonance, the music turned sinister. On the whole, it was very enjoyable, and yet another opportunity to experience French culture.

A little under two weeks ago, I was waking up to the briiiinnggg brrriinnggg of an alarm clock and feeling completely petrified. The last time I was that scared of something, it was that Samara from The Ring would crawl out of my T.V. and kill me. The night before, I had gone over important phrases and questions with my cousin (Can you speak a bit more slowly, please? I’m American, I’m learning French at my high school) but I was still nowhere near confident. I felt like I was starting kindergarten all over again, without knowing how to tell time or tie my shoes.

For the next two weeks, I was to be working at the Divonne les Bains Centre de Loisirs, a day camp for kids ages four to twelve, as a volunteer animatrice (counselor). It was an excellent chance to really immerse myself (everyone in my family here is bilingual) because nobody at the Centre– the director, the other counselors, the nurse, the kids– spoke English. The first day of work can be a little scary even in your own country. But in your native language, you can just wing it. As a high school French student, communicating is something of an extensive neurological process.

Step 1: Receive French message.
Step 2: Decode. Check for idioms.
Step 3: Develop response.
Step 4: Adapt response according the extent of your French vocabulary.
Step 5: Edit response for grammatical errors.
Step 6: Vocalize response slowly with proper accent.

My scintillating first words to the person at the front desk were “Je suis une volontaire?” My voice was about two octaves higher than its normal pitch, my “r” sound was too American, and I was desperately hoping that “volontaire” meant “volunteer.” There was a pause, and I glanced in the direction of the director’s office. Thankfully, I was understood, and eventually found myself in a room with dozens of French five-year-olds with eight and a half hours of no English-speaking ahead of me.

Yesterday was my last day at the Centre, and I can definitely say my French has improved. Even the director said he could tell the difference! It was an amazing experience, going from being almost completely silent to asking the kids how they liked the field trip to the zoo, if they would please stop hitting each other, thank you, and to please eat the vegetables, they’re good for you. The education you get from a textbook is nothing compared to actually interacting in a French setting. The textbook will tell you that “Quel âge as-tu?” means “How old are you?” But in France, when someone wants to know your age, what they ask you is more along the lines of “Taquelâge?” The textbook will have you practice describing a picture and ordering a sandwich, but it won’t tell you how to actually hold a conversation with someone that goes beyond the Eiffel Tower or hair color.

If you ever travel to a country where the official language is one that you’re studying in school, I STRONGLY recommend that you try immersion. Find an environment away from the resorts and touristy areas. Try to arrange meeting as many people as possible, especially people your own age. I spent July 14th (the French national holiday) with other 16-year-olds, and found that they understood me better than adults and young kids. They actually complimented my French, because they knew how tough it is to be learning another language in school. Participate in as many local events as possible. Read the local newspaper. Don’t be afraid to speak to people. You have to risk being misunderstood, because the more you talk, the better a speaker you become. Oh, and go see movies. I saw Harry Potter 6 in French, as well as a cute French comedy called Tellement Proches, and while I didn’t always understand what was being said, I got the gist.

There are over 6,000 languages out there, so why master only one? Skip your usual summer lethargy and go immerse yourself in another language. It’s hard work, but the knowledge you gain and the beauty of experiencing a culture other than your own are very, very worth it.

Like any beach town, Damgan wasn’t exactly teeming with sight-seeing opportunities. The neighboring towns had a few fun activities, but for the most part, we relaxed on the beach. I enjoyed walking along the shore, eating a lot of seafood, shopping, kayaking out to the little islands off the coast, and digging for clams (we didn’t find any, but it was really fun anyway, because the tide pools were full of little sea creatures). One of the days we took a ferry out to Ile D’Arz, a charming island with beaches perfect for swimming, with the temperature of the water just right and not too many rocks underfoot.

Before we left, we visited a museum about Neolithic rock formations, then went to actually see them! I’m well aware of how utterly dull that sounds, but in truth, it was an awesome experience. The museum had tons of tools used by early human species and diagrams of how they were probably used in everyday life. Out in the fields, there were over a hundred huge boulders propped up in straight lines. There was even a little man-made tunnel. If you close your eyes and picture early humans walking around right where you’re standing, moving these huge rocks into perfect rows… it’s just mind-boggling. If you’re ever near Carnac, I highly suggest you go.

On the way back to Divonne, we stopped overnight in Angers. If you’re ever there for as a brief a time as we were, I would recommend just seeing the Château D’Angers. It’s an actual defensive castle built in the 13th century. It looks over the Loire River, has a huge waterless moat around it, it contains several colorful gardens, and it has a 600-year-old tapestry of the Apocolypse inside. Woo!

Stay tuned for more French adventures back in Divonnes les Bains! Tuesday is the French Independence Day, and the sixth Harry Potter movie comes out Wednesday, I believe. Anybody as pumped as I am?

Deepest apologies for the delay! I’ve actually been working at the Centre de Loisirs in my cousins’ town for the past week from 9 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening, but before I get into that, I have to back up nearly two weeks to my second day in Paris. On your mark, get set, allez!

I’m going to start with a tip: if you want to fit the Eiffel Tower into your Paris itinerary, you have to get an early start. Going to from the bottom to the second level to the top (insert much picture-taking here) then back down to the bottom took almost two hours total, and that doesn’t even include getting there by metro. It’s SO worth all the line-waiting, but if you have anything else planned for the rest of the day, just remember that it’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.

So anyway, that particular day, all of Paris was weeping over Michael Jackson. Under the Eiffel Tower there was a big Michael Jackson mourner gathering, and the occasional outbursts of chanting and singing kept me amused whilst on line. When you get on the elevator for the second level (the first has a restaurant, if you have the time and financial means), try to get a spot near the outer edge for the best view. Once on the second level, after the preliminary ooh-ing and ah-ing, you buy tickets for the top and get in a second line, which isn’t as bad because you can look out on all of Paris while you wait.

The top of the Eiffel Tower, mes amies, is WICKED. I mean, the top of the Empire State Building was cool, but Paris is gorgeous on a sunny day and all of the streets, buildings, monuments, and museums stretch out around you and it’s pretty much indescribable; you just have to go.

With our next destination, the Louvre, closing in 1 hour, we had to take a hasty taxi (haha, try saying that five times fast) across town. If Paris is the most magnificent city I’ve ever been to (it is, hands down) the Louvre is the most magnificent building. Visitors under 18 have free admission, so after my uncle bought his ticket, we set off to see three of the Louvre’s most famous pieces of art: La Victoire de Samothrace, the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo.

The Victoire de Samothrace was oddly inspiring: for those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s a marble statue of the Greek goddess Nike, and she’s missing a head. Then, though I’ve probably seen copies of the Mona Lisa thousands of times, seeing the real thing gave me the chills– I was standing just a few feet away from the most famous painting in the world that Da Vinci himself painted with his very hands. When you go to the Louvre, I highly recommend not only stopping to see La Joconde, but walking in a semi-circle around her; her eyes really do follow you.

Finally, the statue of Venus by Milo was also awe-inspiring. I only wished I had more time to look at everything. We had fifteen minutes before closing time, so I wandered up and the Grande Galerie. Many of the paintings were of biblical events or ancient people like Cleopatra. My favorites were La Mort de Cléopâtre, the double-sided Combat de David et Goliath, and a sculpture of Hercules.

On the way out, we pass a lot of Greek sculptures. Somebody please remind me to reread Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods by Edith Hamilton. Seeing all of the gods, goddesses, and heroes was also a great chance to apply what I read in The Odyssey last year. See if you can recognize the two figures below:

Another metro ride brought us to the Théâtre du Palais Royal and Jardin du Palais Royal (pictures below). From there we walked down Avenue de l’Opéra towards the Paris Opera to see Angela Denoke, a German jazz soloist. On the way, we stopped at a chocolate store called Foucher (30 Avenue de l’Opèra), where you absolutely must go if you ever find yourself in that section of Paris. A box of macarons, chocolate morsels with ground espresso, or chocolate truffles would make the perfect souvenir for a friend (or in my case, the perfect pre-dinner snack). We had dinner at the Bistro Romain on Boulevard des Italiens, where the food was pretty good, but not excellent.

Finally, the Opera. The building itself was (ah geez– refer to the title of this post) — arrestingly exquisite? Truly, though, it came in a close second with the Louvre. The ancient architecture made it seem like we were in a royal castle. The show was excellent, even though most of the songs were in German. Both Angela Denoke and the band were incredibly talented.

Et voila! My action-packed weekend in Paris. The only thing I didn’t get to do was go shopping. In France, there aren’t clothing sales constantly, like there are in the U.S. Clothes are on sale very rarely, but in the beginning of the summer, there are HUGE sales. Fifty percent off, seventy percent off– you get the picture. “SOLDES” (sale) decorated the windows of clothing stores throughout Paris while I was there. However, clothes are still more expensive then in the U.S., so don’t blow all your money on something you can get back at the mall in your state.

Tomorrow, you shall hear about Bretagne (Brittany) and the city of Angers.

From Sacrè Coeur, we continued to walk through Montmartre, stopping at Café Turgot to eat lunch, where I thoroughly enjoyed my lamb kebabs with fries, pictured below. Oh, by the way, if you ever go to France, I hope you really love carbonated mineral water, because you’re going to have it with every single meal. I kid you not. However, having just escaped the fiery pits of hell colloquially known as Chemistry Honors, I always have much fun reading the label to see what ions I’m consuming as I down a glass of Eau Minérale Naturelle.



After a considerable amount of trekking and metro-riding, we found ourselves at Avenue des Champs-Elysées, the most famous street in the world. It’s lined with trees and it’s got L’Arc de Triomphe on one end and the Obelisk of Luxor on the other with the original Luis Vuitton store somewhere in the middle. Exemplifying an obnoxious tourist and vexing several taxi drivers, I stopped in the middle of the street to take about three thousand pictures. Then we made our way towards the Arc de Triomphe end, crossed the street again, and walked down a flight of stairs and under the street to access the monument. The tomb of the unknown soldier was quite pretty, the eternal flame reminding me of the JFK grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Also beneath the arc is a plaque commemorating the return of the Alsacian region to France after WWI, which I know all about (yay education!). So far, France has been a great place to apply history and, obviously, French lessons from the past three or four years.


Nearly three hundred steps later, we were at the top of the Arc, where you could see nearly all of Paris, but particularly the wealthy streets. It was the pictures from my French textbooks come alive, and I could’ve spent ages just looking out at the city. However, seeing as we only had two days to experience as much of Paris as possible, we had to press on. Next we walked to the quarter where Victor Hugo lived, which also happens to be the Jewish quarter, which also happens to be the gay quarter. There were men in wigs, make-up, and revealing policewoman costumes. There were also crowds of people walking around wearing rainbow flags as capes and skirts. It was fabulous.


Our last stop before hightailing it home for dinner was the Place des Vosges, a cute square containing a park with a statue of Louis XIII and lots of people relaxing on the grass. We had a quick dinner of fruits de mer (seafood), baguette (always), and (you guessed it) eau minérale back in Montmartre. Then we took the metro to Place de la Concorde (the site of Marie Antoinette’s execution), where we crossed one of the 37 some odd bridges of the Seine River and walked along the water, stopping to look at L’assemblée Nationale and the Musée D’Orsay. Something I had noticed earlier, but that particularly stood out at night, was the number of couples walking around the city. We passed many, many couples (straight, gay, young, old, French, tourist…y?) holding hands. So they aren’t exaggerating when they call Paris the City of Love. It was actually a little nauseating sometimes. Ha. Je blague (I’m kidding).

We finally boarded a tour boat and set off. I really enjoyed seeing everything lit up, and the cool breeze of the river was refreshing. It was another way of experiencing Paris, but our feet didn’t get sore and the Eiffel Tower would sparkle like festive Barbie eye glitter on the hour. We saw (and learned about) several other famous places in Paris. I actually looked for the hunchback when we passed Notre Dame (which, by the way, was even prettier than I thought it would be). And under this certain bridge, you can close your eyes and make a wish. The tour guide’s English was in need of improvement (did you know the Eiffel Tower was “imaginated” by Gustave Eiffel in the late nineteenth century for the World Exhibition?) but overall, it was an amazing ride, and I would highly recommend it. Oh, and my cousin Claire and I stood on the rail at the back of the boat and sang the Titanic theme song at the top of our lungs when the tour guide was taking a coffee break. I would recommend that, too.

And that, young-uns, was my first day in Paris. More to come!

To backtrack a little, as I was flying over France this past Thursday morning, I noticed that the entire country looked like patches of different colored grass. Well, if you add some cows, horses, hay bales, and teensy little cottages, that’s EXACTLY what France is, until you hit a major city. The 5-6 hour drive to Paris was like driving through the most gorgeous farm I’d ever seen. There were huge fields of vegetables, vineyards, and empty fields with big rolls of hay. My favorite part, though, was how the animals were just chilling out by the highway (which was small, by the way, with no traffic or huge cars) and eating grass. I tried to get a picture of the cows (we must’ve passed ten thousand cows in total) but alas, my camera failed to capture anything worth posting. If you are ever in France and find that you have to go for a long drive, not only will you enjoy the sights, but it’s a good opportunity to sleep off some jet lag and write some postcards.

We arrived at Paris late at night, and we were fortunate enough to get to stay in a small apartment in Montmartre.

***

For the third morning in a row, I had my favorite breakfast: pain au chocolat and café au lait. Some other options, though, are regular bread (croissants, baguettes, etc.), fresh fruit, eggs, fruit juice, or club soda with syrup. Flavored syrup is incredibly popular here, and it’s on nearly every supermarket or Tabac (convenience store) shelf. You can add some to regular water, club soda, or (if you want to get creative) soda, which I really want to try, even though apparently nobody here adds it to soda. My favorite flavors so far are framboises (raspberry) and grenadine (cherry).

The first thing we did was walk through Montmartre, which is sort of an artists’ quarter. It was full of beautiful old buildings covered with ivy. There was even a little vineyard on someone’s property. According to my uncle, that section actually used to be where artists lived, and it wasn’t so affluent and touristy. Now, there are many street vendors and performers, but it’s very pretty all the same. From there we walked to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a beautiful basilica that overlooked the city and la tour Montparnasse, one of the only structures in Paris that is higher than Notre Dame.

Alas, internet time is costly, so you shall have to be patient for the next installment!

COMING UP: L’Arc de Triomphe, cross-dressers, Michael Jackson zealots, la Tour Eiffel, le Louvre, German jazz band, and MORE!

**Disclaimer: I have no time to edit, so apologies in advance for spelling/grammatical errors!