Time Off in France

Paris was even more beautiful than Jean and I remembered it from our time living here (separately in the late 70's) when we were students. Springtime could be seen everywhere with elegant tulips making up bright lemon yellow flower beds and pink cherry blossom trees scattered throughout the city.

Paris in the Springtime

Jean and I dreamed of a week in Paris with our 6 1/2 year old Zoe-Pascale with high expectations of walking the streets of Paris as free souls as we had done in our 20's. First mistake!In traveling with Zoe-Pascale this past year we were so impressed by her ability to walk the streets of Prague, tour Budapest, visit the Souk in Morocco and travel in the south of France. Paris however was different. First it is a BIG CITY. A city that is easy to get around with the metro and walking, but nevertheless it is BIG and as a result takes longer to get from place to place and requires extra stamina. She was a trooper walking over 5km a day and managing the metro from one end of the city to the other with certain contingencies. The contingencies basically took the form of stopping at every carousel we saw and there is one at each metro stop, every park, and every toilet not to mention a drink or ice cream periodically. In asking Zoe-Pascale what she enjoyed about Paris, her reply is �the carousels on each corner, the playgrounds and parks, the Eiffel tower and Paris Disneyland." What more could a child ask for?For Zoe-Pascale it was a luxury to hangout in our rented apartment in Montparnasse and watch the French cartoons in the morning (remember we don't have TV only DVD at home).This meant the earliest we got on the metro to our destination was 10 am except the day we left for Disneyland. A stop at the first carousel was 5 minutes and a quick play in the park another 15 minutes. We finally came up with a deal that she could ride one time on each carousel she saw instead of multiple rides and then we realized how many have popped up all around Paris. But what could we do a promise is a promise.Approaching the Eiffel tower she spotted a park and bee lined right for it. An hour later we descended up to the top of the Eiffel tower which she confidently announced was completed in 1985 as told by Carmen San Diego (a cartoon detective). Nothing could change her mind as she heard it from the source. She did acquiesce later and said it was probably finished being painted in 1985 but built a bit earlier. Later we realized she probably didn't comprehend the difference between 1885 and 1985 (what is a century to a 6 year old?).

Luxembourg Gardens

Chasing Mona and VenusOn our second day we arrived at the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Interestingly Zo� was enthralled with seeing the Mona Lisa and watching her famous eyes follow her from one side of the room to the other. Was she the mysterious seductress or femme fatale? As Zoe-Pascale learned, the subject is a young Florentine woman, Monna (or Mona) Lisa, who in 1495 married the well-known figure, Francesco del Giocondo, and thus came to be known as ``La Gioconda''. The work should probably be dated during Leonardo's second Florentine period that is between 1503 and 1505From the beginning it was greatly admired and much copied, and it came to be considered the prototype of the Renaissance portrait. In the essay ``On the perfect beauty of a woman'', by the 16th-century writer Firenzuola, we learn that the slight opening of the lips at the corners of the mouth was considered in that period a sign of elegance. Thus Mona Lisa has that slight smile which enters into the gentle, delicate atmosphere pervading the whole painting. To achieve this effect, Leonardo uses the sfumato technique, a gradual dissolving of the forms themselves, continuous interaction between light and shade and an uncertain sense of the time of day. (http://www.ibilio.org/)Winding through the many halls we finally reached the grand and beautiful Venus de MiloThe "Aphrodite of Melos" otherwise known as the Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous of the art of ancient Greek sculpture. It is believed to depict Aphrodite (called Venus by the Romans), the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 203 cm (80 inches) high, but without its arms and its original plinth. From an inscription on its now-lost plinth, it is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch; it was earlier mistakenly attributed to the master sculptor Praxiteles. (http://www.wikipedia/) After delving into art for the past hour it was time to find a toilette, which of course was through another long hallway at the other end of the Louvre. In a nice toilette such as found at the Louvre, Zoe would sit on the toilet and tell stories like there was no where to go and she had all the time in the world. Her imagination was full of surprises as she weaved Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo into a story with Scooby Do and Harry Potter.

Taking the Big Stroll down the Tuileries
Tuillerie Gardens, Paris

After leaving the Louvre we decided to take it easy and stroll down the Tuilerie Gardens and the Champs-Elys�es with not a care in the world and no clock to guide us.For glory and grandeur, this is the most beautiful street in the world with the French symmetrical landscaping keeping the eye trained to look down the Champs Elys�es from the Louvre to the Arch du Triomphe. The name Champs Elysees means "Elysian Fields" which indicates that someone thought this street was heaven on earth. Zoe's vision of the Champs Elys�es was from the book "Charlotte goes to Paris" a must read for every 6 year old describing Paris in the late 1800s in the days of Monet and other impressionist painters. She agreed the street was big enough to hold 6 carriages across and the buildings were beautiful as well as the outdoor cafes, but to our eye the commercialism and globalization of modern France had gone to far on the Champs Elys�es and it's elegance has been diminished as a result.The most beautiful portion of this walk however was in the Tuilerie Gardens themselves and the large fountain with old wooden boats for kids to rent. In the springtime (different than summer) it is possible to get one of the famous green iron chairs that are found throughout the parks in Paris. After obfuscating two of them, Jean and Zoe went off to sail the old wooden boats in the fountain for over an hour. I basked in the sun, watched the people go by and enjoyed relishing in the giggles of Zoe-Pascale leaning over the fountain in attempts to get her boat to sail across the pond.Traipsing down the Champs Elysees we set our eyes on the Arche de Triomphe commissioned by Napoleon who wanted it to commemorate his victory at Austerlitz, as well as show off to his new young bride Marie-Louise. In future research we found out that the monument was not finished in time for his marriage but had a painted backdrop completed for the procession. It was however, completed for his funeral. Twelve grand avenues intersect at the arch which makes it look like a giant star from above. (This is why the French call it the l'Etoile, or star, not to be confused with la Toilette). It is amazing that so many cars can traverse l'Etoile and not have multiple fender-benders. A friend told us later that if you have an accident in this particular spot, the insurance companies will split the fees 50/50, no questions asked.By the third day we shifted our expectations to see one thing a day and many carousels and playgrounds. We would be leisurely and bar all expectations and be in the moment. A much better way to travel! Luxembourg Gardens was one of our favorite with a �pay park� built to keep a child happy for hours. It was well worth the money and happiness that it brought Zoe-Pascale.The gardens were full of students, retirees, unemployed, tourists and what seemed like the entire world lazing on the great green iron chairs just as it should be in Paris. No place in the world depicts the relaxed state and quality of life as this garden. We imagined Sartre and Simon de Beauvoir sitting in these same chairs philosophizing about life as we were doing. What is life all about? How should we live our lives? How do we change the quality of our lives? and the ultimate question, How do we want to live the next half of our lives taking into consideration we have a young child and do have to bring in income?While we philosophized, Zoe dug in the dirt and gathered prehistoric rocks that she strongly believed were buried here years ago. Who were we to tell her differently?

DISNEYLAND PARIS Disneyland Paris was Zoe-Pascale highlight and to our surprise we enjoyed it more than we expected even in the morning rain. We took a morning train directly to the park and found the crowds manageable and the lines moving fast for each ride. Having grown up in Los Angeles I have probably been to Disneyland at least 40 times in my life and wasn�t sure what to expect with the newer version I grew up with. Overall I applaud Disney for keeping the essence of Disneyland alive in Paris while making it even easier to access and enjoy. The design of the park was laid out exactly the same but with a larger Fantasyland for the many families with small children and extra attractions added while you waited in line. For example in, It's a Small World (our favorite) after the ride and listening to the song It's a small world at least 100 times, you visited a Lilliputian like city where the kids ran from house to house peeking in the windows of all the different countries they had just visited in the ride. We felt like we won the lottery as the experience continued when we least expected.Now that Zoe was older we were also able to spend more time in Adventureland and Tomorrowland which seemed less crowded. Overall it was Zoe's favorite and we were pleasantly surprised with the great day we all had together.

THE UNDERGROUND STREETS OF PARIS ...� THE SEWERIf by chance you ever dropped a key or ring into a sewer in Paris there is an emergency phone number that you can call and the crew will respond with a 75% chance of recovery if the call is made within one hour. Now what other city service could be more valuable than that? Looking more into this, I found the Paris Sewer Tour at the Musee des Egouts de Paris (Museum of the Sewers of Paris).Early one morning I dragged Zoe-Pascale and Jean to explore beneath the streets of Paris and join the �Paris Walks tour of the Sewer.� Not one of the most popular walks as you can imagine. 2100 km of sewers were built between 1850 and 1920 after being planned for 50 years. The sewer includes 26 thousand manhole covers, street cleaners and sewer workers (egoutiers). It is thought to be the most efficient system in the world even though its technology has never been updated in over a century. Evidentially though the roman sewer systems that were left to rot were even more advanced during their time.Before 1970 they provided a boat ride through the sewers as part of the tour but after a bank robber got off the boat without being noticed they closed the boat tour down and now provide a museum and a short ballade through a working sewer. Zo� and Jean were not as impressed as I was but the thought of an entire underground city made for moving the waste and garbage we produce is amazing. One point in fact that Zo� did find interesting though is that there is one rat for every 3 people in the sewer even though a female produces 8 babies every 20 days. They say most of them drown in the grungy waters and the remaining hidden below.The workings of the sewers whether in Paris or our own village or town are one service we all take for granted. Something we should all be grateful for and thank our next egoutier or street sweeper when we see him or her hard at work.
Egout, The Sewers of Paris

Musee de OrsayThe most manageable and beautiful museum in all of Paris is the Mus�e d� Orsay once a train station built in 1900 for the Worlds Fair. As Paris grew the train station became too small to handle the needs of the area and was then used for a number of activities such a post office and TV film studio. In the late 70s Paris decided to turn the station into a museum which was finally opened to the public in 1986 to host the artistic creation of the western world from 1848 to 1914.Jean and I wanted to see the impressionists such as Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, and Manet close-up. Agreeing to tag along as Charlotte from Charlotte in Paris, lived next door to Monet and was best friends with Manet�s daughter Julie. Upfront and close she saw every brushstroke, sunbeam and artistic impression of these masters. At one point she asked, �Are these real mommy, we can get so close and almost touch them.Yes, I replied they are real (wondering in my own mind if they were as we stood 2 inches from each painting. Later in the bookstore we expanded our learning and bought Charlotte in Giverney. Our next stop on the trail of great artists.Zoe like the paintings but loved the statues on the first floor. She walked around each one asking what 3-Dimensional meant overhearing us talking about it. At each statue she would stop and imitated the art piece. Her favorite was �Pan� half goat, half-person a major character from the book The Chronicles of Narnia.�It was such a pleasure to see her initiate a love of art in such a gorgeous setting and so we followed her posing at each statue throughout the hall.

Our favorite Restaurant � Le Relais de Venice son entrecote for meat eaters only!On a work trip to Paris 15 years ago, we discovered what has come to be our favorite restaurant in Paris, Le Relais de Venice, situated in an out of the way two story building near Porte Maillot. The client at that time took us to the restaurant making sure that we were there right before 7pm. Why I asked, it seems early for dinner. This restaurant is so well known by locals and business people that it fills up by 7:30 and the next sitting isn�t until 9 or so. How right he was. Each time we go we arrive at 7 and there is a long line of people waiting to get in when we leave after a mouth-watering dinner.At 7 pm we all walked into an elegant restaurant laid out with white tablecloths, crystal and mirrored walls. Tables were tightly squeezed and it was hard not to quickly become friendly with those across the way. Even 15 years ago to my delight the upstairs was reserved for non-smokers (much smaller of course) which continues today. The proprietress, a beautiful elegantly dressed woman in her 70s (who has not aged in 15 years) greeted us at the door and welcomed us to the restaurant and our waitress. Waitresses dressed in black and white uniforms with little white aprons adorned the place with smiles on their faces.The menu consists of the following:- salad- steak (thinly sliced in a fabulous sauce- frites- bread- desert of your choiceYour only choice is how you want your steak cooked; rare, moyenne, cuit, bien cuitThe surprise is that they will continue serving you as much steak and frites as you like. The deserts were superb as we shared a lemon tart (Musee's favorite) and a fromage blanc.If you get the chance to go you can get there via the metro at Porte Maillot. 271 Blvd Periere. It�s a bit difficult to find but well worth it (across from the Club Med Gym and across the street from the convention center.)

Wallace Drinking Fountains.
Wallace Fountain, Paris

300 of these Wallace fountains (yes it is an old fashion water fountain) were donated to the city by a gentleman named Wallace in the late 1800�s. The story was told that he went into a bar and asked for a glass of water. The waiter told him that it would cost him the same as a mug of beer. Appalled at the thought that you had to pay for water, he decided to do something about it. At that time evidently the water in Paris was not suited for drinking (remember the sewers were just being built) and good drinking water was scarce. As a gift to the city he designed and built over 300 beautiful fountains that still stand today albeit no water. Every time we spotted one in the city we would run up to it and test to see if any water was still spouting. To our dismay we could only look at the beautiful fountain and not get good free clean water. History does seem to repeat itself as we walked into the nearby store and paid 2 Euro for a bottle of water.

On Traveling with Child in ParisHaving an apartment in Paris was much easier with a child, but we learned a few things:- Next time we would rent an apartment near the center of the town (i.e. Luxembourg garden area) allowing us to go home for a rest in the afternoon and back out again for dinner.- We would plan to do less and chill out more- We will definitely plan to return alone to the most romantic city in the world sans child.- Pack lightly. We once again broke our rule and brought more than we needed and suffered from it as we carried our luggage up three flights of stairs in our Paris apartment.

How do you go on vacation with a six and half year old, two older parents, and two much older grandparents though very young at heart. This was the question we had to face in figuring out a vacation that would satisfy everyone’s needs. The criteria we started with were the following.

My parents wanted to go on vacation with us for two weeks and were willing to go anywhere but had some limitations on how much they could walk with my dad’s bad back. We all wanted great weather where we could swim and not die of the heat. Jean and I did not want to have to cook a meal or do a dish or have to tell Zoe-Pascale story after story in long drives in the car. Zoe-Pascale wanted everyone to be together, freedom to run around and was open to going to a mini club where she could play with other kids. Jean didn’t want to schlep suitcases in and out of the car and play tour guide day after day. I wanted everyone to have time together and time alone and not get on each others’ nerves. Jean and I wanted some free time not to have to entertain Zoé-Pascale and possibly some time alone. My parents wanted time to read and play with Zoé, but also time to read and relax by themselves. My mom wanted a few excursions and the hopes to visit with some new people (she can’t help herself) and my dad wanted just to be with us and not hold anyone back from doing anything. With all this in mind we reviewed catalogues, searched the web and narrowed it down to renting a house somewhere in Italy or going to a all inclusive club. Jean and I realized very quickly that the all inclusive club was the answer to going on vacation with three generations. No dishes, no cooking, no driving, something for everyone, independence but togetherness and freedom to do as we wished.

After searching prices, locations, and safe travel we had narrowed it down to a Club Med in Italy or a similar organization called Nouvelle Frontier Paladien which leaves from airports only in France. It is a French club that primarily has resorts in Africa and the more Eastern European countries such as Turkey and Greece. We love Club Med but found that the Paladien clubs were moin cher (less expensive) if you wanted to go for two weeks. The second week was almost half price.

Having only gone to Maroc with Nouvelle Frontier we were hoping the club they had in Crete would be a bit higher quality with more importantly better food. I figured if the food was bad, I would just loose weight. Not knowing anyone who had been there we decided to risk it and booked all of us from Marseille to Crete to the resort in Moklos in the north eastern part of the island.

Arriving at 11:00 pm after a plane and bus ride to the resort we were welcomed with a cool drink and a cold meal of Greek delicacies that made us realize the food was not going to be a problem and in fact it was going to be a treat!

Entering our little white washed bungalow with blue shutters and a view of the sea we were in heaven. We opened the doors and windows to the terrace and slept the best we had in a long time to the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below. Dad an early bird was up at 7:30 to have coffee and read until mom joined him for breakfast a bit later. Finally at about 9 we would join and have a selection of crepes, eggs, cold cereals, all sorts of pastries and fruit, yogurt and honey, and coffee. We soon fell in to a regular routine in which mom and dad would take our towels down to the pool area and claim lounge chairs for us under the shade. We’d take Zoe-Pascale to mini-club which consisted of both swimming and an activity in the mornings from 10-12:30.

Mom, Dad, Jean and I would choose between reading, sipping a coffee Frappe (more on that later), swimming laps, joining in aqua gym, exercise class, kayaking, ocean swimming, or taking a walk to the nearby village of Moklos.

Lunch time came before we knew it and of course we couldn’t skip it. Assortments of entrees changed daily to include meat, fish, pork, turkey, chicken, vegetables as well as everyday pasta, Greek salad bar, feta cheese, tadziki (a yogurt delicacy of Greece), aubergine spread, and a spread of deserts from baklava to almond cake to yogurt and honey to fresh fruit and glace. Over lunch we would listen to Zoé’s stories of the morning and talk about life past, present and future. Meals passed slowly and casually with multiple choices and no rush and fuss. The meal always ended with Zoé suggesting we go down to the bar and have a café au lait or frappé. All of us fell in love with sitting in easy chairs facing the pool in the cool shade sipping our coffee after a sensuous lunch. Zoé had what I had learned as a child to call coffee milk. Mostly milk and a drop of coffee. After lunch we would swim and swim and swim in the pool until time for mini-club at 3:00.

Afternoon was a similar repeat of the morning with some occurrences of nap time. More Frappe’s before time to go up to the room at rest and change for dinner. Mom and Dad loved to go earlier to the bar for cocktails and sit among the people and listen to the chatter and engage in some conversation if possible with English speaking guests. The Chefs (leaders or GOs ) as they called themselves at Club Med, spoke French as the norm but there were some guests who mom found and she would chat with as well as the Chefs. We’d join them shortly and then move onto dinner which was always a surprise and wonderful as well. If you didn’t like the main course, there was always the great Greek salad, Tadziki and baklava or yogurt and honey for desert.

Every night there was an event; a spectacle, Greek dancing, a game, or entertainment of some kind. By the second week Zoe-Pascale was thoroughly engaged in the Min-club spectacle in which she had 2 minutes of her own dance. It was fantastic to watch as it was such a different experience from her ballet performance which was extremely difficult.

Besides the food our next fear was the hot, hot weather we had heard about. To our surprise and delight the weather was perfect in the high 80’s and with a sea breeze keeping the air moving, a dip in the pool and sitting in the shade, life was good. We say this as being near the ocean makes a huge difference in feeling comfortable or stifling hot.

On two different days we choose to rent a car and tour part of the island. At 160 miles long we could only hope to see a few sites and take another trip in which we stay on the other side of the island.

On our first day trip we drove along the coast to a variety of fishing villages, swam in the sea, walked among the boats, shopped a little, and visited the picturesque town of Kritsa built on a rock hill about 11 km from Agios Nikolaos. Walking down the street you can see the women of the village keeping up the old Cretan customs of weaving and crocheting. Beautiful table cloths and crocheted lace were being made in front of your eyes. At 12 Euro a meter mom decided to pass up the lace and instead bought some small leather purses and belts for gifts. I indulged in extra virgin Crete olive oil and herbs to make the great Tadziki yogurt dip that we had come to love. Down the coast we stopped at Elounda, a beautiful fishing village with a park for Zoe-Pascale to play in and a view of the island of Spinalonga, which was once a 16^th centuryVenetian fortress and later a leper colony.

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Our second visit was Knossos, an imposing palace that has been built many times over after destruction from earthquakes and volcanoes over the centuries. Greek mythology tells us that a labyrinth was built under the palace to place the half bull half man Minotaur. Searching high and low for the Minotaur statue we found it was in a museum in Athens. Meanwhile the story gets more bizarre as I read the following interpretation of the Minotaur

Minos was king of Crete, and the first ruler to control the Mediterranean Sea, which he ridded of pirates. He had with him a famed craftsman, Daedalus the Athenian, who was in exile from Athens because he had murdered his nephew (and somewhat too talented apprentice), Talos. Daedalus enjoyed much favor at the court, but he managed to fall from grace by accommodating the queen, Pasiphaë, in a request.

Minos had boasted that the gods would grant him any wish; he made all the preparations for a sacrifice to Poseidon, then prayed that a bull would emerge from the sea. Miraculously, a beautiful white bull swam ashore. Minos admired it so much that he decided to keep it, and sacrificed a different one from his herd instead.

This unwise decision annoyed Poseidon, who avenged the insult by causing queen Pasiphaë to fall madly in love with the white bull. Her request to Daedalus was that he should help her consummate this passion. He did so by building an ingenious hollow wooden cow, covered with hide and with a door on top through which she could lower herself inside. Together, they wheeled it into the pasture where the bull was kept; Daedalus helped her get in, and then discreetly withdrew. Pasiphaë was completely satisfied, but to everyone's horror, she then bore the Minotaur, a creature with a man's body but a bull's head.

Minos, annoyed in turn, sent to the oracle at Delphi to discover how he could hide this evidence of the shame to the royal family. The oracle answered that he ought to have Daedalus build a suitable cage; Minos thereupon had Daedalus build the Labyrinth, an enormous maze, and placed the Minotaur at the center of it. Minos also arranged to sacrifice young men and women to the flesh-eating Minotaur by shutting them into the Labyrinth, where they would wander, hopelessly lost, until the Minotaur caught and devoured them. http://www.minotaur-websites.com/minomyth.htm

True or not, they say the labyrinth was excavated near the palace.

The first palace was built around 2000 BC and destroyed every couple of hundred years thereafter. You wonder, like today, do we ever learn from our history of earthquakes and recognize where we are living and our vulnerability to earth’s movements.

Crete is an island full of archeological sites, rows and rows of olive trees, beautiful blue seas and gentle gracious people and to us it seemed like few crowds compared to the south of France.

Departing early on Monday morning we took the bus back to the airport and flew back to Marseille arriving with ease. We departed as my parents flew back to San Diego having great memories of a special vacation.

In reminiscing the last night about the resort my parents exclaimed that it was the most relaxing vacation they ever had. Mom read two books which she never could do at home, finished her knitting, read books to Zoé and had time to just hang out. Dad and I of course beat her and read about five each and Jean finally decided to forget reading his psychology books and began to enjoy just reading a novel as well. We had time to talk, share, and just be with each other and as importantly have enough space and alone time that we could enjoy each other. Zoe-Pascale said she wants to go back to Crete with all the family every year it was such a great vacation!!! What a testimony.