Can Spring Break in Paris Really Be Better Than in Gulf Shores, Alabama?

That groaning noise you thought you heard recently was my washing machine begging for mercy.  My hilarious son, his cool fashionista girlfriend, and two sweet friends of my daughter all left this morning to return to the states.  The beds are slowly being remade, the towels replaced in the linen closet, the bathrooms cleaned, the table linens washed.  The apartment is so quiet now, and Sawyer is moping that the eight extra hands for petting him have waved goodbye and disappeared.  We had such a good time entertaining and enjoying the enthusiasm and giddiness of people seeing Paris for the first time.

The weather was too good to be true for  most of the week.  We took them to the Eiffel Tower and for a picnic and a pretty fine view.

Look mom, no coats!

Yeah, so these people aren't us, but they knew how to picnic on the Champs de Mars. Laudree macarons and champagne- who needs fried chicken?

One afternoon Son and Girlfriend and I went to the Pompidou to see a Matisse exhibit.  Because they were so well -behaved and didn’t break their audioguides, I told them we could get cocktails on the roof terrace of Le Georges, the museum restaurant.  After twenty minutes of no service, we left, but not before taking some sweet pictures.

And instead we got some fabulous gelato back on the ground, so BOOYA Monsieur Pompidude!

I told my son to pick out something nice for graduation.

One night we took a boat cruise, which has always been a totally family-friendly activity in the past.  However, it seems that when the weather first gets warm in Paris, the banks of the Seine become a popular venue for various forms of sexual pleasure.  So the lesson is that the last cruise of the evening is definitely not going to be rated “G”.  Now we know.  And I pray that the parents of the girls who were with us on the Party Deck never find out about this blog.

My sweet friend Laura arrived on Friday morning, when the high for the day approached 70 degrees.  She was not allowed to plead “Jet Lag” , and we took her back to the top of the Pompidou for dinner her first night .  The service was only slightly better than it had been a few days earlier when we stomped out.  Here’s the thing about the wait staff at Le Georges: they are all drop-dead gorgeous and ever so glamorous, and they would rather be striking poses at Fashion Week than carrying trays of champagne and sea bass.  Here are a few shots of the funky interior of the restaurant.  You might notice some of the waitresses in the background.  They don’t look busy.

The last day the kids were here the weather returned to her old self, meaning that the temperature dropped 20 degrees and threatened rain.  Unfortunately, that was also the day we were scheduled for an all-day bike tour in Versailles with Fat Tire Bike Tours.  Nothing to do but layer the clothing and pray it didn’t rain on us, which we did and it didn’t.  If you ever are in Paris  (or London or Barcelona or Berlin), you should look into Fat Tire Bike Tours.  We rode a train 20 minutes to Versailles and then walked to a storage facility and received our bikes for the day, which we rode all over the grounds of Versailles before touring the inside of the chateau.  We had a great time, despite the weather, and were home in plenty of time for our 7:30 dinner reservation.  We were able to see much more of the grounds than we ever could have on foot, and had a great time doing it.

This photo explains why I was not thrilled about visiting the Hall of Mirrors that afternoon.

Pretty sweet digs, Louie!

As I said way back at the beginning of this long post, the kids are all on their way home, the air mattresses have been deflated and put away, and we are left with a very quiet apartment and lots of this.

Laura will be here for a week, however, so we will try to find some things to do that will interest you.

Gotta go.  We’re trying to make the last boat tour of the evening.