Paris, France by Kev

14.6.2025. We landed in Paris around 6:30 in the morning. Got through immigration very quickly, grabbed our bags and hopped on the train into the city. We found our apartment, well we thought we did. Mel got a message saying the address was 27. There was some confusion when a lady came out and said that her family owned and lived here. What's going on here? Her partner got home shortly after and a lot of French was exchanged. After which we were invited in for a coffee while we got it sorted out. Thinking maybe we'd been scammed, Mel sent more messages to the person through booking.com. Apparently the address is 17, not 27. We thanked the family for their hospitality and walked a little further up the street. We found a lady there and Mel had to show her the message saying 27 as she didn't believe us. Anyway, we got shown around the apartment and started making a mess straight away. We went out and had our first baguette sandwich for a late breakfast, early lunch, kids smashed them. After which we took the metro to see Pappy Jean. We walked along the Seine until we found him and his partner Laurence working a little shop on the sidewalk. We then went across the street to a bar for a chat and a beer. We took the metro to Mel's friends, Thomas and Celine, after that. We had lots of cheese and bread, pate and other stuff. The kids played and we talked. I looked at my phone, 21:45? That can't be right, it's still light out. I checked my time settings, yep GMT+2. WTH is going on here. I have never been to Paris in summer, apparently the sun doesn't go down until after 10. That's a new one for me. By the time we got back and put the kids to bed it was almost midnight. Goodnight.
15.6.2025. This morning we had a traditional French breakfast, pain au chocolat, croissant and pain au raisin. Delicious. Mel's dad then picked us up from the apartment and we went to the cemetery. We got some flowers and visited Mel's mum. After that we went for lunch. Jean picked an Italian restaurant on the Seine, across from Laurence's shop. She has some of the green boxes along the Seine, and sells books and drawings. We met Jean's brother, Franck and his wife Begonia there. Time for apero, which means we're having a drink before food. After lunch we just sat in the restaurant talking, having a few more drinks, grappas to help digest. It was after 5 by the time we left the restaurant. We said our goodbyes and walked to the metro to head to the apartment. We stopped at a small supermarket and got some pasta for dinner. Once more we were weirded out by the fact it was after 8pm and still broad daylight. Dinner, bath and bed.
16.6.2025. Today we went to Le jardin d’acclimatation. To those who don't speak French(me), that's an amusement park here. Jean was with us, though we couldn't get him on any rides. We tried pretty much all the rides, starting with a Ferris wheel, finishing with rides that the kids found were their favourites. Andrew loved the roller coaster called the “red dragon”, Emma loved a clock tower ride that went up and down and spun around. At first she was scared to try it, so I went on with her. We had to drag her off it at the end. After all that fun, we went to Laurence's apartment for a visit and ice cream. A nice place, with lots of books. She is a published author, and gifted us a couple of her creations. We got dropped back at the apartment, ate cheesy pasta and went to bed in the daytime. Will slowly get used to that.
17.6.2025. Today we're off to le parc du Luxembourg. We stopped at a boulangerie for baguette sandwiches and ate them for lunch on the way to the metro. We met Jean and Laurence there, and had a walk around the park. We headed to an open area with a lake in the middle. Here they rent small sailboats, the kids loved it. There's no way to steer them, you're given a stick to push them away from the side, then you watch them get blown around the lake. After that we walked to a small playground area. The kids played, but all they wanted to do was go back to the boats. We stopped at a restaurant in the park and had some refreshments, beer and ice-cream. Then, since the kids made such a big stink about it, we decided to head back to the boats. Jean and Laurence had had enough of walking, so they bid us farewell and left. The kids had another go with the boats while we waited for Mel's brother, David, to turn up. He had some stuff for the kids and we were all really happy to see each other. Mel and David chatted for a bit, then we went to a brasserie for some dinner and more catching up. Brasseries are more my style, pub meals and beer on tap. Andrew had his first steak haché of the trip, and was not disappointed. Once again, time got away from us. It was after 10 when we left the brasserie, and still daylight. There was lots of catching up to do. We planned when to meet up with David again and hopped on the metro to head to the apartment.
18.6.2025. Guess what! We're doing something for the kids today! Jean picked us up and we went to parc floral. A huge park with lots of trees and flowers. Also a parkour area with ziplines and rope bridges. There were 4 courses, yellow being the easiest, then green, blue and finally red. We started with the green, which was too easy for Andrew but a good starting point for Emma. Emma struggled a little at the start, stressing a little with the safety lines. We'd talked about brain fog, and what happens when you stress/panic in situations, and that you need to slow down, take a breath and think. The kids did everything themselves when on the course, so I couldn't just go up and help, Emma had to help herself. Which she did. After only a small moment of trouble with a safety line, Emma steeled herself and got it done. After that, Emma had no trouble. Switching her safety lines, moving around trees on platforms, all while 10m above the ground at times. Andrew moved through the courses with ease, I knew he would, and ended up finishing the hardest one with little to no trouble. While Emma is not quite at home as Andrew is with this sort of thing, she made me proud with her progress. She was a bit frightened to do the ziplines, but did them anyway. Emma finished with the easiest course, too easy in the end, Andrew with the hardest. 3 of the 4 courses done each, and we'd run out of time. We went and had a late lunch, then said goodbye to Jean and Laurence. The kids played in the park a bit longer. Mel and I went and rented a 4 wheel, 4 pedal “bike”. Andrew had been bugging to have a go and we thought, why not. After that we headed back towards the apartment. The metro was packed, so we decided to walk a bit more. We got off where Mel used to live and had a look from the outside. We walked a fair bit, stopping at a supermarket. Grabbed a couple of things, including a bottle of red to share. Back at the apartment, I made a quick dinner for the kids. Steak haché and veges. Searched in vain throughout the apartment for a bottle opener, can't believe a french apartment that is not equipped with a bottle opener. Anyway, off to bed.
19.6.2025. Slow start to the day, we seem to be getting later and later to bed. Breakfast was had, a big loaf of cake that Mel had growing up. Next stop, a drum lesson for Andrew. He had told us he'd been missing his drums, so Mel found a teacher. Better yet, the guy spoke English, yay! Mel didn't have to translate. After that we headed towards La Villette, to meet up with David and have a walk around the park. First we found a boulangerie for sandwiches, we were starving. The kids had a play and Mel and David talked more. There is an activity near the park called “bubble planet”, entrance fees were paid and in we went. The first room was an interactive floor, with fish swimming around that you could step on and make move faster. Next a huge room with massive balloons. Lots of fun whacking them at the kids. Then a big room, set up as a bathtub/ball pit. It was surprisingly hard to move around in, I had to help Emma a fair bit. There were some interactive things to play, a pathway through hanging lights that changed colours and timing. Finishing with a VR experience Andrew and David tried. We walked some more, before deciding to eat at a brasserie. Andrew tried his first steak tartare. He was happy to try it but it's not his favourite, he prefers steak haché. We said our goodbyes as we won't see David again now until September, and headed back to the apartment. Bath for the kids and bed.
20.6.2025. We did some blogging this morning and then packed. In the afternoon, we went out and found a Pandora store. Emma is collecting charms around the world, and anywhere there is a Pandora shop, we get her a charm. There were some really nice charms here, and Emma couldn't decide which she wanted. So two were bought. Emma used her own money to get the second. After that, we walked through a touristy area some more. We stopped at a cafe. Kids got Nutella crepes, Mel had wine and I tried another of France's beers. We talked and people watched. We deliberately picked a cafe in the shade. Surprising how hot the sun can feel here, having only been to France in winter before. I ordered a coffee and asked for the bill. I could have sat there a few more hours, enjoying the beer and company, but we had a place to be. We had another night planned to be spent with Celine, Thomas and their kids, so we set off. We had planned to take the underground, but it was nice outside, so we decided to walk. We spent another nice night with friends and the kids always play well together. We said our goodbyes and headed for the metro. Straight to bed as soon as we got to the apartment. Off to a new area tomorrow.
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