Jardin des Tuileries

What a wonderful park to take a child to!

After so many attempts to get to a park with a carousel, while my son was awake, this third trip was a great success!

This is a newer carousel than some of the others in Paris, but absolutely charming. There was a beautiful variety of horses, cars, trains, carriages and animals available to ride on.

My son was eager to try many of them, and we eventually had to pry him off once I started to feel nauseous from going around and around...and around.

In addition to the carousel, the enormous park contains slides, seesaws and climbing structures. There were plenty of children climbing, spinning, jumping and dripping off of them. A fantastic day for all of us.

Getting Around Town in Paris

Lesson of the day: Getting around Paris with a toddler is not easy, but always leads to good food.

My favorite way to get around Paris is by foot.  That is, when we are in a central neighbourhood.
This trip we are living in the 19th arrondissement, which is not central, and we really need to take the bus or metro to get around.  Consequently, we keep making plans to go to attractions that our son would like and by the time we get there he is fast asleep.

Argh.

Yesterday we attempted to get to the carousel near les Halles, and today in Montmartre. Both times he was snoring by the time we arrived. That's what happens with an hour-long commute.

Argh x 2 = frustrated grumpy Mama.

We tried the metro and found it a little bit of a pain.  These are old tunnels.  They often do not  connect on direct, even levels.  This means that, even after you've managed to get your stroller down the stairs with the help of your Wonderful Husband and the hindrance of at least one rude person with a big suitcase, once underground you may need to take more stairs, both up and down.  No elevators.

Argh x 3 = annoyed Wonderful Husband with an achy back.

The bus is easier.  No stairs, and there is a space reserved at the back for strollers. They can be very full though, and a bit squishy. I recommend getting on through the back, locking your stroller in place and going to the front to pay after. This seems to be the way its done.

Downside: the bus can be crowded. Did I mention it was crowded? It was crowded. The bus driver made a sudden stop and there was a colourful variety of French expletives. Lets write that off as a cultural experience.

Argh x 4 = new French words learned (hopefully not by my son).

My son was feeling overwhelmed today on our way to the carousel in Montmarte, and was freaking out to get off the crowded bus. So we did. He was happier, but it was cold (see other post about getting a hat) and the walk was still 45 minutes from the time we abandoned the bus ride. By the time we arrived, he was out and his little hands were chilly.

Now, yesterday we'd decided to use his nap to have a fantastic dinner at a cafe, but today, we just headed home and collapsed from exhaustion. Said exhaustion, of course, couldn't prevent a stop on our way back home at a fabulous bio pastry shop.

Final sum = wine and pastries make everything better.

Better luck tomorrow.

Arrival

Arriving early in the morning is a wonderful way to discover a city’s layers and rhythms as it moves from night into day. These are the hours when bakeries are just opening, and the brasseries (the pubs or bars) are still open from the night before.

This morning we arrived in Paris and found ourselves an hour early to meet up with the man from whom we had rented an apartment. We decided to go to a nearby café and have coffee and croissant while we waited.

People-watching in Paris is alway good, and the 19^th arrondissement (each area of Paris goes by a number) is an even more special treat. Why? So MANY dazzling characters. It is a neighbourhood in the early stages of gentrification, producing an eclectic mix of international cultures and young artists.

As we arrived and unloaded the cab, a lady wished us “bon voyage” (‘a good trip”, something you say as people are leaving, not arriving) in a warm-yet-maybe-not-quite-right-or-possibly-drunk-or-both manner that served as a perfect welcome to our new neighbourhood. 

Once we had wheeled our little caravan of suitcases, bags and stroller over to the café, we set up our chairs by the heater, sipped our coffee and watched the show unfold while our son snoozed in his stroller.

The people came in several, distinct waves. 

First we noticed the people still working on their beer from last night (or perhaps they were just starting their day off right). A few ladies of the night were walking home in colourful attire, one in a vivid bubble gum pink getup and her wig worn askew. I was starting to wonder if this apartment from a friend of a friend was maybe not such a sweet last minute score.

Next the male shop keepers surfaced and began setting up their market stalls, and we enjoyed watching as they opened boxes and laid out their goods one pile at at time. Jeans, dresses, tomatoes, trinkets, dashikis, all interspersed with busy, multilingual calls.

Soon after, we saw the joggers (only three, but remarkable for Paris) sweating so elegantly (how do they do it?), followed by the business people taking the metro with rolling suitcases, and mothers and fathers ushering children to school. In fact there were lots of children, even a few families with four kids. Where do you store four kids in these Paris apartments? No, I really want to know. I’m sure it’s impressive.

After an entr'acte of croissants, a series of cyclists streamed by - one wearing headphones, which I will call brave.

Last were the late-for-work business people making a sprint to the metro.  This was the grand finale, with ties in the wind, bouncing hair, rolling suitcases and fantastic leaps and turns over the cobblestones and around the plethora of pedestrians. Just lovely.

Overall I give the intersection of rue de Belleville and Boulevard de Belleville a 4 star rating for people-watching. There was a wonderful variety or cultures, some stylish looks, some freak flags being flown proud and high, and so the overall ambience was lively, and ultimately probably just fine for a week’s stay.