As the fiscal year for the Air Force/US Government draws to a close I found myself with many leave/vacation days that I had to use or lose (no one can carry more than 60 days from one year to the next as anything over 60 is automatically deleted) and though I did not anticipate my leadership being willing to let me take leave they did, in fact, grant me the leave request. So we decided to take a quick trip to Paris, France where Charlotte could eat Crepes and see the Eiffel Tower (both on her wish list).
Neither of us has an International Drivers License so we only drove to Trier Germany and parked the car (hoping we found the correct parking garage that allowed overnight parking) and jumped on a train to Paris.
Driving in our car right now usually means that within 5-10 minutes Hazel or Charlotte are complaining of being sick or someone crying about how long it will take to arrive at our destination. This can wear on one's nerves so taking the train was a great idea.
Not being buckled in was great for Zachary though this new freedom brought with it challenges for us.
We only had to change trains once which was convenient. Also, the train moved at a comfortable speed of 300 km/hr which though not as fast as a plane clearly, no one cares how much luggage you bring. On the first train while we were accelerating a rogue bag came shooting down the middle of the row and crashed into the back of the train. This was highly entertaining to the kids and Charlotte giggled for quite some time.
While waiting, we found ways to entertain ourselves, like skipping down the platform.
Uno is the new game of choice. Even still we have to change things up so I took the numbered cards and taught them to play 21.
Here is Hazel in all her emotional glory feeling sad that she had 21 points. She thought she had lost and was sad as usual. Even after I explained she had won she was still slightly sad because - well I don't really know why. Once sad she stays sad. She has much emotion that is hard to understand.
It was hard to get a good photo of the countryside but it was beautiful.
And we made it to Gare de I'Est Train Station. We went to the closest kid-friendly eating establishment (a 50's diner. Yes we were in Paris and had a lot of other choices but our kids needed something quick and familiar - don't judge) and then jumped on the metro and made our way to an apartment we rented (I love Air BnB).
One thing that made this trip easier than when in Asia was the fact that our phones worked. Thus, GoogleMaps was our best friend and helped us navigate.
\
Making our way through the streets.
Random side note: Europeans love old fashion shaped keys for some reason. This is the key to the house we stayed at.
It was 4 pm and though we had been traveling all day we decided to try to get one thing under our belt. We set off on foot to the Catacombs
I think it was about 2 Km which though is not long-distance by any means, could take 3 hours at Zachary's pace so we had to carry him most of the way.
A quick bite to eat.
Pizza on a nice bread with loads of vegetables (which I think ruined the pizza for Charlotte who believes that only cheese and pepperoni should go on pizza)
Not sure what she was upset about at this point. Probably just tired.
Tired, hungry.
We stood in line a LONG time. Entertaining the kids was a challenge but the other visitors in line were very understanding.
The history behind the catacombs dates back to the 1700s when streets in Paris had collapsed due to the underlying abandoned limestone mines dating back to the 1500s (limestone was used to build much of the buildings in Paris) collapsing. The King commissioned an engineer to stabilize the tunnels (and thereby calm citizens' emotions who were apparently very panicked over what was happening). During the French Revolution, there was noted crowding in the city and cemeteries which both contributed to the spreading of disease. So the process of moving bodies from the cemeteries to the catacombs began.
**Break in French History**
This is seriously 3 minutes into the catacombs and before we saw any bones yet. He was so tired that as soon as picked him up (remember, he moves VERY slowly) he decided he was done and sacked out. So once again I was carrying him - this time through 1.5 Km of tunnels.
Here is a sample of how the architects chiseled/stamped the stabilizing columns with the number, director, and date.
Quick selfie
And here you go. Most of the bones found in the tombs were broken and cracked so the femurs which are strong bones and skulls were used to line the halls and the rest of the bones were placed behind that (as deep as 3-4 meters deep!).
The kids actually did really well. We talked them out of feeling scared before we went.
The catacombs become something of an attraction to people coming to Paris at that time which I suspect influenced some of the designs.
The Cemetery of the Innocents was one of the first to be moved.
Both the girls wanted their own picture
At the end of the catacombs, there is a well of sorts that communicates with the "museum" store above which was about 100-150 feet above.
The walk back was equally long and Zachary finally woke up - but still wanted to be held. This was a reoccurring theme for the rest of the trip: carrying Zachary and Camille in arms.
I was super happy we were able to see this and how well the kids did. In spite of the late-night and long travel, the kids did great!
Comments