Monday, May 7, 2012

First Night in Paris

Last evening, D&B arrived without incident except missing a transfer point on a train. Katie and I were waiting at the corner cafe to greet them and after a very long coffee, we decided it was about time to head back to the hotel. We were concerned that they some how circled-around where they were supposed to emerge from the Metro station and we missed them. All of a sudden there they were, right where they were supposed to be. We got them all checked-in, and in minutes Dave was ready to start seeing the sites (he later told us that he had chugged-down a 5-hour Energy... unfair)!! So off we went toward the Tour Eiffel on the train. It was overcast and cool last night, so it was a bit uncomfortable to spread-out on the grass for a picnic. In general for the French, grass is something to look at, not to lounge on. So we picked a nice park bench with a view, and enjoyed our picnic. Given it was over a three hour wait to go up the Tour Eiffel, we decided to try that another time and went across the Seine River to see the site of the Tour being lit at just after dusk. It was very impressive. From there we walked to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elyssee. Little did we know we were getting involved in the post presidential election celebration. The streets were lined with the Gendarmes
in riot gear and were clogged with those celebrating the first socialist win since Francois Mitterand. This celebration went on all night from the streets, to the metro where we heard people from Cote d'Ivoire singing--"ca va, ca va Sarkosi au revoir", in and around the small cafes. With all of the craziness you would have thought it was a landslide victory for the socialist, but according to this morning's paper it was 51.3% to 48.7%. Dave and I ended the evening with a beer and chocolate dessert, and Barb had a glass of wine. Parait!

2 comments:

  1. great blogging! Love the photo of K and D.

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  2. Nicely done. I feel like I'm right there with you! I just wonder what I'm missing out on with the butter and chocolate.
    Joan

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