Europa! Europa! Part 4: The French Connection
- Dan
- 35 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Our final destination on the great European adventure was France, with happy reunions.
Previous entries:
Happy Reunions
From Italy, we took a brief plane ride to Paris, France, where Anders was reunited with his mother. There was a mix-up with our seats, so we ended up flying business class. Anders found this a top-shelf experience. The ride on the RoissyBus from the airport into the city wasn't quite as fun as the plane. Perhaps, because I was tired from having too much fun in Firenze, we got off at the wrong stop. I tried to purchase subway passes for us to our destination, but to no avail! I made the mistake of using the city's phone app, which led to only to frustration. Give me an Oyster Card instead, please!
But have no fear, we two intrepid travelers were saved from living rough on the streets of Paris by Anders's mommy! Of course, reuniting with the darling wife meant encountering the older boy, who was happy to have played in the ECNL Playoffs (he met several teammates from the ID2 National Team) and super disappointed in how his team performed (he felt his teammates were happy to be there, and not really interested in winning). The ECNL Playoffs, you might recall, is the soccer tournament he detonated the vacation over.
The brothers quickly picked up with their usual antics of rivalry and abuse. We also met up with the wife's mother and brother, which was great. We all took a double-decker bus tour around the city, which was especially fun.
Paris is a fine city with cultural wonders from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre, but I don't think I'd ever go back. It's also a big city and possesses more of that big city feel than Firenze or Prague.
Surprisingly, the older boy proved a less savvy traveler than his younger brother. Some of this was pure impatience and the stress of something new—like riding the subway. He did, however, take to the bicycles for rent around the city with aplomb. These he used to ride to a park where he practiced soccer and played pickup games with the locals.
Big Guns and Big Views
The wife was daring enough to rent a car to take us to Normandy. Anders is interested in all things World War II, and we reckoned he might enjoy seeing the beaches stormed by the Allies. All in all, the drive through the countryside was fantastic, with pastoral views and quaint villages. The wife and I were quite taken with the old stone buildings.
A highlight for Anders was visiting the D-Day Museum, which featured numerous World War II artifacts. He was smitten with the tank parked outside. Everyone enjoyed the countryside more than the city, even though it meant driving in Europe. Navigating some of the small towns was an adventure, but driving through the countryside wasn't bad at all. After some time with the vehicle, the wife didn't find driving too stressful.
I have mixed feelings about Mont Saint-Michel. On the one hand, the fortress town is an awesome sight to behold. However, the lower portion of the city has been given over to tourism, which ruined the vibe for me. The abbey looming over the town is another story. It is only accessible by taking a tour, which we all found worthwhile. I'm glad I visited Mont Saint-Michel, but I'm certainly not itching to go back.
My overall take on France is to skip/only spend a day or two in Paris, then head to the countryside. As for Anders's food situation, I don't recall much complaining in France. In Paris, there were plenty of McDonald's to satisfy his chicken nugget craving, and the towns we visited had well-stocked grocery stores with milk and snacks he happily consumed.
The Europe trip was fun, especially seeing Anders come out of his shell in the Swiss Alps. That was special. Of the four countries we visited, Italy is the only one I look forward to visiting again. Firenze is a fantastic city; I can imagine living there for years and never having a regret.