With the time change, we were all up fairly early, got ourselves ready for the day, and headed out by 745am.  As we weren’t in a big rush to get over to the peninsula, and we weren’t sure what our timeframe would be at the end of the week, we decided to show the girls a bit of Seattle.  Nala had been in the city once before in 2012, but was only 1 at the time.  We took I-5 up into the city, but unfortunately it was overcast and cloudy, so we couldn’t take in the scenery we love on the way up, and couldn’t see the planes at Boeing Field, which I always enjoy.  We found a parking spot just a couple blocks from Pike Place Market, one of my favorite places in Seattle.  We showed them the vendors that sell various handmade wears, beautiful bouquets of flowers, and my favorite, the many seafood vendors, including Pike Place Fish Market, known for their fish throwing and entertaining banter between the employees.  That early in the morning, the vendors were just setting up, so there wasn’t yet much going on.  We of course had to get pictures at the iconic 550 pound bronze pig at the market entrance.

We were all hungry at this point, and as usual the girls were craving pancakes.  Laura and I wanted to stop at The Crumpet Shop that we enjoyed on our first visit in 2010, but the girls weren’t interested, and it was too crowded for our group anyway.  A quick Yelp search found us a well rated breakfast spot a couple blocks away.  When we walked into Ludi’s, it appeared to be pretty divey, though was pretty full and had good reviews, so good enough for me!  Once being seated, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that along with traditional American breakfast fare, they also served Filipino breakfast food.  My favorite restaurants are those that have something traditional for the girls, but also something outside the box to satisfy my unique cravings.  While Laura had a traditional American breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and toast, and the kids split a full stack of pancakes, I went with the Combo-silog, which included three lumpias (Filipino spring rolls), two longanizas (sweet sausages), and a pork chop, served with garlic fried rice and poached eggs, all topped with a delicious house made hot sauce.

As it was now a bit later in the morning, we headed back over to Pike Place, which was much busier at this point.  The fishmongers were in full swing by now, so we spent some time watching.  The girls were amused by it, and impressed by the giant halibut and large monkfish that appeared to be alive and talk when the employees pulled the tail from under the ice and made it move around.  We walked down the block and made a stop at Beecher’s, famous for their mac and cheese, which we got an 8oz cup of.  The girls were fascinated by the windowed off area of the shop where the cheesemongers made the cheese.  We took our snack over to Waterfront Park, though unfortunately had to listen to a homeless man and woman argue the entire time.  The girls weren’t impressed with the mac and cheese, which is beyond me, but fine, as Laura and I ate almost all of it.

We made our way up the hill at Union Street to 2nd Ave, only a couple blocks away, where our van was parked.  We’d debated taking the ferry across the Puget Sound, but it takes about the same amount of time, and we enjoy the scenery, so we decided to drive.  Laura drove us down I-5 and back up north on the other side of the sound.  In just about an hour and a half, we made it to the picturesque town of Poulsbo, where my friend Jonathan who I know from a beer group on social media owns a store that has a fantastic craft beer selection.  He and I chatted for a bit, sharing a beer, and I picked up some West Coast IPA 4 packs to enjoy during the week, along with a small treat for the girls…Disney princess Pez dispensers.  Linley was a bit stir crazy, so I took her on a quick walk through town, which calmed her down a bit, and we continued the drive with Laura at the helm.

The closer to Port Angeles we got, the more the weather cleared, and was sunny by the time we reached town.  We made a quick stop at Saar’s Super Saver Foods (which was Albertson’s our first trips) for muffins for breakfast the next day and a few snacks, and ordered carryout pizza from Westside Pizza, and made the 25 minute drive to our home (hopefully) for at least one night, Lake Crescent Lodge.  As always, the first glimpse of the lake for the first time on the trip was awesome as always.  While there are usually fall specials at the lodge, and while I checked repeatedly for weeks ahead of our trip, I couldn’t find any room rates around what we usually pay this time of year.  So once we all got out of the car, I headed to the front desk to see if I would have any luck, while the girls stretched their legs and walked around a few minutes. There weren’t any deals to be had, but I decided to splurge on two nights in a Singer Tavern Cottage, just steps from the entrance to the main lodge, and therefore much closer than we’d ever been to the lake and lodge previously.  It was much more than I was wanting to spend, but for two nights in our “happy place,” it was definitely worth it.

It was a perfect, mild, sunny fall day, and the leaves were changing around the lodge.  We spent the afternoon hanging out by the lake, eating our pizza in our room, and walking the Moments in Time trail that’s very nearby and only about a mile long.  We got the obligatory pictures on the dock and inside the large hollowed out tree on the trail.  It was cooling off and getting dark by this point, so we headed inside and cozied up by the fire, one of our favorite things to do there.  The girls worked on a puzzle while I talked to other guests on the couches by the fire.  Everyone was tuckered out pretty early, so after taking Nala out to try to see the stars with some success (though not as much as previous trips), we headed in for bed.

We first went to Olympic National Park in 2010, before having kids, and fell in love.  We returned in 2012 with my mom, Laura’s parents, and her sister, with Nala, who was just over a year old at the time. We returned again in 2014 with Nala and Linley, and had a goal to return in 2016, but flights and weather kept us away.  We’d been craving another trip, so decided that we had to make it happen in 2018.  A week or so out, the weather looked marginal, but still looked worth going.  We wanted to take the new nonstop on Delta, but it left too early on Friday night for Laura to make it from work to the airport in time, and arrived well past the girl’s bedtime in our time zone, and that always made it difficult to get to the rental car and into the hotel. So, we opted to fly out mid-morning on Saturday the 20^th, connecting through Detroit, and getting us into Seattle around mid-evening our time, so very doable for the girls.

There were plenty of seats on the Delta Connection flight to Detroit, so we got a row of four across to ourselves, along with a window seat one row up, with no one in the aisle.  I sat solo with Laura and Linley behind me, with Nala and Lilah across the aisle.  The flight was uneventful, and we had just enough time in Detroit before boarding to get the girls Happy Meals at McDonald’s.  Laura and I debated food, but didn’t see anything that would be fast enough near our gate before boarding, so opted to grab food onboard.

It was a fairly full Boeing 767 to Seattle.  It was the girl’s first time on a wide-body plane, and I told them that this was the same type of plane that flies from Indy to Paris that I took in the spring. We had three middle seats in the first row behind the bulkhead behind Economy Comfort, plus two seats in the middle row behind that.  So with three kids, it was nice to have aisle access on both sides.  I sat with the two older girls, with Laura and Lilah one row back.  The flight was again uneventful, with the girls mostly playing games and watching movies on the in-flight entertainment system.  Unfortunately I was on the tail end of a bad sinus infection and had been on an antibiotic for a couple days, so had really bad earaches on the descent, and my hearing was reduced from it for a couple days.

Once getting off the plane, we didn’t have to wait at all for our bags, and easily took the shuttle to the rental car facility, and while we had a wait for a little bit, got great service with obtaining our mini-van from Enterprise.  Everyone was a bit tired, and we debated wanting to go to a restaurant with the mood a couple girls were in, so opted to grab Qdoba as it’d be quick and easy (yes, I know, not my first choice to eat at a chain when out of town, but sometimes it just makes sense).  Before that we made a quick stop at a Safeway grocery store for medicine for us and for peanut butter, jelly, and bread for the girls to have for dinner.  While Laura grabbed herself and I food at Qdoba, I booked a reasonably price room via Hotwire at the Courtyard by Marriott Sea-Tac Area a few minutes away in Tukwila.  After some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the younger girls, tortilla soup and chips and guac for me, and a burrito for Laura and Nala, we were all ready for a good night’s sleep.

With Labor Day weekend looming and nothing major going on at home, I started getting the itch to take a short trip.  While there weren’t a lot of options as far as open flights, I found that getting to Philadelphia, where Laura and I lived for a time after college, was wide open.  We went back and forth between a day trip and spending the night, though after getting up at 530am on Sunday with not quite enough sleep, we decided we’d book a hotel once we landed.

We had no problem getting seats on a direct flight, and had a full row of 4 seats to ourselves, along with two seats in front of that row.  The middle girl wanted to sit next to me, so we hung out and looked out the window, and colored the whole way there.  It was a flight operated by the airline I work for, and we had some awesome flight attendants who hooked the girls up with some extra snacks, which they were very appreciative of.

The flight was uneventful and landed in PHL half an hour early.  We made our way to the Regional Rail stop on Terminal A, and only waited a few minutes for the train to Center City.  On the train, I booked a hotel on Hotwire for under $80 for the night, which is always nice.  Upon reaching Suburban Station and exchanging our train ticket for a Family Independence Pass (good for all buses and subways for a day), we went up the elevator to street level right by City Hall, and walked along Benjamin Franklin Parkway to our hotel, the Philadelphia 201, formerly a Sheraton, and owned by Starwood.  It was a typical large, 4 star city hotel, and we had no complaints.  While they weren’t able to check us in yet as it was just past 10am, we dropped off a couple of bags, got some lengthy bathroom breaks in, I changed into shorts, and we set of around 11 to find some lunch.

We had trouble figuring out a place that everyone would be happy with, and everyone was getting hangry, so we decided to walk a few blocks to Reading Terminal Market, one of the country’s largest and oldest public markets.  It contains dozens of shops and stalls, many of them restaurants, but also produce stands, cheesemongers, fishmongers, and more.  It was very crowded, and difficult to move around, so we found a quiet table to sit down and check out Yelp for a food stall where everyone could find something they liked.  I found a place called Molly Malloy’s, a sit-down gastropub with both breakfast and lunch.  Luckily, there was no wait, and we were seated immediately.  The girls split a plate of three large pancakes, Laura got a BBQ pork sandwich, and I had a cheddar and jalapeno omelet, served with potatoes and scrapple, a Pennsylvania specialty.  The girls all did great eating their food, and were slightly less cranky after this.

Just a block away at Market Street and 11^th was the CVS Pharmacy where Laura worked during our time there, so we stopped by to show the girls.  We then headed out to Market Street and took a bus a few blocks away to the Liberty Bell.  There was a bit of a line, it was pretty hot and sunny, and not everyone was in a great mood, so we decided to forgo waiting in line.  However, we did see the bell through a window on the side of the building.  We crossed the street to Independence Hall, though tickets had sold out for the day.  We did wait in a short line to go through security so we could hang out for a few minutes in the shaded area on the south side of the building.  We told the girls a bit about the building, the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers, and the Constitution.  They’re a bit young to care too much as this point, but I’m sure we’ll be back.

The majority of the girls were over pretty much everything at this point, so I looked on Google Maps for a nearby playground, and found that Three Bears Park was a few blocks away in Society Hill.  I really enjoy this area of Philly, as there are so many historic sites, and the row houses are beautiful.  We played on the playground for a bit, and it was all great until another little girl, about 4, came up to the middle girl and pushed her off a swing she was on.  Welcome to the east coast, young one.  We stayed a bit after that to let her swing and calm down a bit.  We were all getting pretty hot, so decided to head back to the hotel, though I decided to take a bus over to Rittenhouse Square first, enticing the girls by telling them that there are usually lots of dogs and street performers there.  On the way, the oldest girl’s nose started bleeding slightly, just enough to get it on her hand and have her holding her head back.  There were only a couple of men on the bus, but I asked them if they may happen to have Kleenex or paper towels.  They both answered in the negative, but a minute later one of them took a new bag of paper towels out of his bag and handed some to me.  A few minutes later, and elderly woman got on the bus, saw that we were trying to clean her up, and gave us a small pouch of wet wipes.  Plenty of helpful people on the bus!

We lucked out when we got to Rittenhouse Square, as there was a group of about 6-8 people swing dancing to old standards in the park, and plenty of dogs as promised.  We let them dip their feet in a nearby fountain to cool off, which they loved.  While we didn’t live in Philly for long, I was really taken by this park and enjoyed visiting it once in a while, and it was nice to show it to the kids.  We remembered that on a trip here in 2009 with a friend, we found a small gelato shop nearby.  We stopped in there, where the girls split some blueberry and chocolate chip gelato, before taking the long, hot walk back to the hotel.

Two out of three girls fell asleep in the stroller on the way back, though one woke up as soon as we got to the hotel.  Laura and I both got showers after plenty of walking in almost 90 degree weather, and most of us got naps in.  We ended up being there resting up for almost 3 hours.  Around 6:30, we decided to set out for dinner.  Just prior to leaving, we determined that the youngest girl had lost a shoe somewhere in the streets while she slept in the stroller, as it was nowhere to be found in the room.  After a quick search online, I found that there were very few stores that sold kids shoes still open, so we high-tailed it to a Gap Kids, and got there 5 minutes before closing.  We lucked out and found a pair that worked, and lucked out even more when they rang up half-price.

With another crisis averted, we headed to the Walnut-Locust stop on the Broad Street subway, took the elevator down, and hopped the train a few stops up to Fairmount, a stop near our old apartment that I used to use frequently.  While the first stop had an elevator, the second didn’t, though the stroller was easy to get up the stairs when empty.  It made us realize how difficult living in a city can be if one is handicapped or relies on a stroller.  Right at the top of the stairs was Jimmy G’s Steaks, where Laura and I each got a cheesesteak (mine with onions, hers without), and hot dogs and fries for the girls.  We sat at their outdoor patio, where the girls loved seeing two little mice who were running around in a raised flowerbed by the picnic tables.

After dinner, we headed east on Fairmount Ave to see our old apartment.  While it was almost dark by then, we were able to get a picture of Laura and the oldest on the steps, much like a picture we got of her when we moved in back in 2006.  We then headed further down to see Eastern State Penitentiary, a very old and abandoned prison, which now serves as a museum, and has a fantastic “haunted house” in October.  Everyone was again over walking around by this point, so we headed back to the hotel, with a quick stop at a small beer store for a couple of cans for me to enjoy.  After another shower for me, and after watching a bit of the movie Frozen, we were all asleep fairly quickly.

While I slept through it, I learned in the morning that the middle girl got sick overnight, though was fine the rest of the day.  I woke up first, along with the oldest, so we snuck out to search for morning treats and ibuprofen for mom and dad.  After a couple of failed attempts to find small containers of Lucky Charms at CVS stores, we decided to head to Dunkin Donuts to pick up a half dozen donuts.  After yet again another shower after walking in the heat again, we got packed up, took the train back to the airport, and were through security and at our gate in minutes.  We again got a full row of four to ourselves plus a seat one row up on another one of my company’s planes, and were on the ground by early afternoon, and home in time to head to the neighborhood pool one last time before it closed for the season.

Between the heat, one getting pushed off a swing, another having a nosebleed, the third losing a shoe, and general crankiness off and on from all the offspring, this wasn’t a shining moment in family trips.  But, they can’t all be perfect, and it was nice to get back to our old stomping grounds.  We look forward to taking them back in a few years when strollers aren’t needed, and they’re a bit more interested in taking in the sights and learning about our nation’s history.

A time or two a year, Laura goes off with her sister and cousins on a girl’s weekend, and usually I stay at home with the girls and we find ways to occupy our time.  With temperatures in the 90s and thunderstorms forecast for Saturday, I decided mid-week to start looking at flight loads with the thought of possibly being brave enough to take all three girls on a day trip.  With weather forecasted in the mid-70s and flights looking open, and with times being optimal for a day trip, Boston was a pretty easy pick.  The hard part was determining if I was crazy enough to take them all solo without any help.  After asking the girls if they’d be interested, and a talk about expectations for them on the trip, we decided Friday night that we’d give it a go.

We showed up to the airport around 7am for an 8am departure, with plenty of room for all of us to sit together on the flight.  The flight time was just over two hours, getting us there just before 1030am.  I had done research and found that the Silver Line would take us from Logan Airport to South Station for free, so we navigated the stroller to baggage claim and to the bus stop, boarded the bus, and were in South Boston before 11am.  I didn’t realize that the bus runs through South Boston through an underground tunnel, powered by propane for that portion of the journey.  It was a nice ride, and it was very easy to navigate to street level when reaching South Station.

Upon leaving South Station, we walked north through Dewey Square Park and Wharf District Park.  The goal had been to swing by Trillium Brewing’s Garden on the Greenway for a pint along with food from a food truck, but the food truck was an hour from serving food.  We walked a bit further and found State Street Provisions, a restaurant near the aquarium.  When we got to our table, I found that the youngest had fallen asleep in the front seat of the stroller, so she slept on the bench of our booth while the girls had pancakes and I had eggs benedict.

She awoke upon leaving the restaurant, and from there, we walked north to The Greenway Carousel, where we payed $3 each for a ride on it.  After determining that some of the insects to ride on were too creepy for all of them, we settled on less threatening creatures, with the oldest two together on one, with the youngest on another.

After that we walked further north and walked by Faneuil Hall, and across the street to see boats on the harbor, and used the Marriott Long Wharf for a bathroom break.  The girls had been asking for ice cream all day, and while I was having trouble finding a shop, did find a 7-11 that had drumsticks, which are cheaper than and just as good to them as anything else.  We spent a while sitting near the aquarium watching boats and airplanes go in and out of the harbor and airport.

After relaxing a bit, we walked back south and crossed the Seaport Blvd Bridge into South Boston, from which we could see the Boston Tea Party Ships.  Having missed out on a pint at their beer garden, we swung by Trillium Brewing’s brewery to pick up a few 4 packs to stuff into my backpack, which I checked at the airport to take home with me to enjoy later.  By this time it was close to 2:30pm, plenty of time to head to the airport and get through security for our 4pm flight.  Finding the Silver Line stop was very easy, and getting on the bus and back to the airport, and even going through security, was fairly quick and stress-free.

All three girls were zonked, and all fell asleep on the way home.  Having left the house just before 7am, we were back just over 13 hours later, before 8pm.  While we didn’t do a ton of sightseeing or activities, the goal of escaping the heat for the day and doing something new and fun was met.  Plus, I found with the right tools (snacks, water, coloring books, tablets, change of clothes, etc), a day trip with all three of them was not only mostly stress-free, but also very enjoyable.  That said, the older they get the easier it will get, so we’ll be looking at doing more day trips in the near future.

I was awaken at 6am on the dot to what sounded like a group of college age kids singing John Denver’s Country Roads in perfect English.  If I wasn’t already in love with Paris, this sealed the deal.  I had plenty of time before needing to head to the airport, so I set out to the Metro again and took it to the stop directly adjacent to the Arc de Triumph.  As it as early morning, I had the place to myself, and there were very few cars using the extremely busy roundabout surrounding the monument.  After a quick stroll around, I took the stairs back down and the tunnel under the roundabout, and then strolled down the Champs Elyesees, which was mostly vacant of pedestrians and cars.

To save some time, I took the subway further down the avenue to Place de la Concorde, and stopped by to check out the menu at Chez Flottes, a restaurant Katherine recommended.  While it was open at this early hour, I decided to save my money and wait for the free food on the plane.  I strolled stroll through Jardin des Tuileries, which had a playground that the girls would love.  I stopped by the Pyramid at the Louvre once more, and then walkedk around a bit in search of a bakery to buy some pasteries and a baguette to take home, though the only one I found didn’t have quite what I was looking for.  I had trouble finding the Metro stop that was closest, so ended up walking even more to the stop by Opera, taking the Metro back to the hotel.  After another quick shower, I grabbed my belongings, checked out, and took an Uber a few minutes away to Gare du Nord, the north train station.  While it was huge and complex, signage made it quite easy to find the RER C, which would take me all the way to Terminal Two at Charles de Gaulle airport.  I left the hotel at 9 and was at the airport by 10, so a very quick trip.

 

I left plenty early anticipating a long wait at passport control and security, though after finding a kiosk to print my boarding pass, was able to use the Sky Priority line, and was through both in less than five minutes.  That gave me time to meet up with my new coworker friends at the gate, and walk around a bit to pick up some cheese, a bottle of hot chocolate from Angelina, macrons, and a baguette for the girls, along with a croissant and raisin roll for myself to hold me over.

After being there for two hours, boarding began just after noon.  My friends and I were all assigned seats in Delta One just prior to boarding, so we boarded immediately and settled in, enjoying some champagne and orange juice and almonds prior to departure.  We pushed on time at 1:12pm, and were airborne shortly after.  Meal service was very quick with only about two thirds of the 25 seats in Delta One occupied.  I first enjoyed the ginger marinated prawns, salad with pumpkin seeds and cherry tomatoes, and the most delicious Thai coconut soup along with a glass of chardonnay.  This was followed by cod with rice and vegetables with a Spanish Rueda, finishing with my traditional ice cream sundae and cheese plate with Tawney port.  By this point I was ready for a nap, so covered up with the nice duvet, laid the seat flat, and slept about four hours of the 8 hour flight.  One awake, I watched an episode of Good Bones (a home renovation show that takes place in Indianapolis).  It was then time for lunch, and I chose a Cuban sandwich with salad.  The sandwich was good, but the salad was frozen, so I skipped that.  We were served by Barbie the entire time, a very professional though friendly and fun Atlanta based flight attendant.  She was an absolute pleasure.

We had a nice view of the Indy 500 on the way in, and the race had just finished.  We arrived 30 minutes early, and I was one of the first off the plane, and the first to use Global Entry.  It was only about five minutes from the time I left my seat to the time I cleared customs.  I waited around for my new friends, as one was so kind as to have her ride drop my off at an Indy 500 party I was attending not far from their house.

Closing Thoughts – Going into this trip, my main goal was to be on the first ever scheduled transatlantic flight from Indianapolis, with a secondary goal of scouting for future trips with the wife and/or kids.  While I’ve heard from so many that they love Paris, I also heard from many that they believe the French are rude, the city is dirty, etc.  As with anything else, I went into the trip with an open mind.  I found the city no more “dirty” than most major cities, and that what some may consider “rude” is just different cultural norms than Americans.  I also believe that your interactions are a product of what you put into it yourself.  If you come in speaking English assuming they will also, are loud, pushy, etc, they will see you as an “Ugly American,” and reciprocate.  Like with anyone else, if you attempt to speak their language and follow their social norms, they will be much more gracious and helpful, and appreciative of your efforts.  That said, as an absolute cheese geek, someone who’s slowly discovering wine, and while lacking a sweet tooth generally, was floored by the pastries, I quickly became obsessed with French food, which I’d previously thought of as fancy and over the top.  Couple that with the beautiful architecture, streets, river, monuments, and history, I can now safely say that Paris won my heart, turned me into a Francophile, and left me yearning to explore the city and the rest of France as soon as possible.

After a good night’s sleep, I woke refreshed at about 8am.  I snagged a croissant from the hotel breakfast area (which I later learned that breakfast was 12 Euro – oops!) to hold me over, and walked to the Metro station and took the subway south to the Pont Marie stop, on the north side of the Seine adjacent to Ile Saint-Louis, a small island in the Seine.  My Facebook friend Katherine (who has visited Paris over 70 times) had recommended checking the island out, so I strolled from one end to the next, stopping at a small shop for a broccoli and gorgonzola quiche and a rhubarb torte.  From there I made my way west to the island that houses Notre Dame, stopped a few more minutes to admire it, and crossed to the south side of the Seine to the statue of Saint Michele.  It was there that I met up with Dan and Sarah, who’d arranged for us all to take part in a free walking tour given by Sandeman’s, a tour company that gives walking tours throughout Europe.  I ate my treats while waiting, both of which were delicious.  Unfortunately I had my hands full and didn’t get pictures, but they were both very appetizing.

The tour guide was Mexican, lived in the UK for a time, and had been in Paris 7 years.  The first stop was at Notre Dame, where we learned about the history of the building and some about the French Revolution.  We then stopped near the State Police headquarters, where he pointed to bullet holes that have been preserved since the Nazi occupation of the city during World War II.  We then stopped on the Pont Neuf Bridge, where we learned about King Louis IV, and about how the small half-moon cutouts were used by early day tooth extractors who used alcohol to “anesthetize” patients before hammering teeth out and throwing them in the river.  We then made our way to and across the Pont des Arts, former the “love bridge,” that once contained padlocks that couples attached to the bridge, throwing the key into the Seine, to symbolize eternal love.  Next came the Louvre, where we learned about its history, and the history of how the Mona Lisa became so famous (mostly because it was stolen and later found).  The last stop was just west near the Jardin des Tuileries, a huge city park, where we could see the Eiffel Tour and learned some of its history.  There was a wealth of fascinating information about the history of the city and each location that I’m leaving out, so if you’re ever in Paris, I highly recommend it.  While it’s free, a nice tip is fair, though even with that, it’s a steal.

After the tour, they invited me to join them, so I walked with them along Rue de Rivoli on the north side of the park, then into the square housing the Colonne Vendome, a statue of Napolean, and surrounded by 5 star hotels and high end stores.  We strolled back to the south side of the Seine, eventually finding a Monoprix grocery store to pick up some meat, pate, cheese, and baguettes, then found a small park in which to have a picnic.

After our lunch, we parted ways, and I headed back up to the Seine, and walked several miles along it to the base of the Eiffel tower.  The closer I got, the busier the walkway along the river got, and by the point I was at the base, it was packed with tourists.  By this point my feet were starting to feel the miles, so I plopped down in some grass and got on FaceTime with the girls. I had the camera set up so the tower was directly visible behind me, and the girls were all giddy with excitement when they saw it.  After chatting with them a few, I called my mom to check in with her.  By this point I was ready to stop walking for the day and have a couple beers, but not after a pit stop at the Pullman hotel nearby for a pit stop.  Bathrooms on the streets in Paris cost money, and as with many large cities, business don’t allow people to use theirs, so my standby trick of finding a nice hotel and discretely finding the toilets by the meeting rooms worked once again.

About a 30 minute ride on the RER C and then the 2 Metro, I got off in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, with fantastic smells of all types of food to match.  La Fine Mousse is one of the top rated beer bars in the city, and was a nice little spot.  There were a few bar stools, a few tables for four, and several tables for two along the window/walls that were open, as it was pleasant enough outside.  After a table beer and a Cantillon Kriek, I headed back to the 2 Metro, and took it a few stops away, and walked the several blocks back to the hotel.

After a shower to refresh after walking miles in almost 90 degree heat, I walked a few blocks to L’Ardoise Gourmande, a nearby restaurant that had excellent Yelp reviews for their classic French cuisine.  I was attracted to the prix fixe menu and reviews of excellent service, and the fact that they had duck, a favorite of mine.  I sat at a table for one on the sidewalk outside, with a nice view of an early 1800s era Catholic church.   The server (who I believe to be the owner) was quite helpful with navigating the menu and pouring me a glass of her favorite Bordeaux.  I ordered the escargot as an appetizer, and while I’m glad I got to experience it and enjoyed it, would be fine passing on it next time.  The duck (canard) was served with a red wine sauce and mashed potatoes.  The skin was crispy, and the meat was tender, so perfectly cooked.  By far the best duck I’ve ever had.

I walked back to the hotel after a loop around the church, stopping at a grocery store for a snack, and after packing up most of my belongings, was asleep pretty quickly, around 11pm.

While I had the thought to go visit the departure gate for the inaugural flight from Paris to Indianapolis, which would have been another party with the governor, speaker of the house, and other dignitaries riding along, I decided I’d rather dive into seeing Paris.  The walk from the gate to the train to passport control was long, but once there, the line moved quickly.  I was through it in about 30 minutes, which is much better than some European airports I’ve visited.  I had not yet booked a hotel for my two nights there, but was eyeing a couple not too far from the Opera House that were reasonably priced.  The Roissybus was 12.50 Euro, departed every 15 minutes, and went straight from the terminal to the Opera House, so it seemed like a logical choice.  After driving around a couple more terminals for pickups with good views of several Airbus A380s and a static Concorde, we made the hour long drive to Opera, which would probably have been about half that with no traffic.  Regardless, it was comfortable and efficient.  During the ride, I booked my hotel for $85 USD a night via Hotwire.

Once reaching the Opera House, I could have hopped on the Metro (subway) and gone a few stops to the hotel, but I opted to walk the 20 minutes along Rue la Fayette to get an idea of the area.  It was a bit confusing that the Hotel du Pre, and my hotel, the Relais du Pre, were right next to each other and had the same color awning and same font.  After going in the wrong hotel first and waiting 5 minutes for the desk agent to finish a phone call, I discovered that I still had a few more steps to get to my hotel!  I arrived around 11, and though they didn’t have a room for me yet, the agent offered to store my bag if I could come back around 1pm.  While I was desperate for a shower and had hoped they may have a room available, I certainly understood not being able to accommodate well before check-in time.

Having done research before the trip, I made my way south on Rue du Faubourg Poissonniere, southwest on Rue de Clery, and South again on Rue due Louvre before reaching Fromagiere Danard.  I was taken in by all the cafes along the way, each with the chair facing outward, so that patrons could enjoy people watching while they dined.  From the time I started crossing the street to Danard, I could smell the cheese, upon entering, I was in awe of the cheese case immediately to the right upon entering.  The dining room was small, with several tables for two, and a couple for four.  The server invited me to sit, and I asked about the Tour of France, with options of 2 meats and 3 cheeses, or 3 meats and 5 cheeses.  I initially told him I wanted the former, with a request for a blue, an unpasteurized (stinky) option, and a chevre (goat cheese), along with his favorite meats.  Upon further review of the cheese case, I decided to go big and opt for the larger portion, as a couple other cheeses caught my eye.  This was all served with a glass of Sauvignon blanc, and with baguette, which I learned was the preferred delivery method over crackers, as there was nothing to mask the flavor of the cheese using bread.  While I sat, several more couples came in, some with reservations.  One couple was from Chicago but was now living in the Netherlands.  I sat there for over an hour enjoying my food and wine, and loved every minute of it.

After lunch, I saw that the Louvre was only a few blocks south, so I took a quick stroll down to check out the exterior and to see the famed Pyramide du Louvre, before walking to the Palais Royal metro stop, taking it to Poissonniere stop by my hotel, and checked in.  I was assigned room 205, which was small but adequate.  The one interesting part was that the bathroom was tiny and there was no wall or shower curtain separating the tub/shower from the room.  Along with this, the only means of taking a shower was to use a faucet on a hose that was hung at knee level.  Needless to say, water got everywhere each time I showered.  After a shower, a nice two and a half hour nap had me feeling refreshed.

I’d been in communication with three women from my company who were on the flight over, and we’d agreed to meet up for dinner.  They were finishing up some sightseeing, and were headed toward Notre Dame.  I headed south again, taking a different route for variety.  I spent a few minute sitting in the courtyard on the west side of the cathedral admiring its grandeur, before finding the three ladies and walking with them to the south side of the Seine to eat at Hippopatumus, where one had eaten on previous trip.  We enjoyed a nice meal and good conversation.  My appetite was lacking, so I had two small plates: froi gras (I’m sure I’ll catch flack, but I wanted to try it once) and asparagus with a poached egg, along with a glass of rose.  For two of the three, it was their first trip abroad, and one of their first times enjoying their benefits. I’d like to think that by telling them of my family’s adventures, I may have convinced them to give it a try a bit more more.

Upon finishing dinner, we took the RER C train in the wrong direction for two stops before realizing our mistake, then changed platforms, and took it in the right direction to a station near the base of the Eiffel Tower.  By the time we got off the train, thunderstorms had moved into the area.  We waited in the station for a bit hoping it would clear up, but eventually donned ponchos (glad they grabbed an extra for me from the tour bus they’d taken) and ascended the stairs into the storm.  The next few minutes turned into a comedy of errors, as we tried to find out way to the base of the tower, crossing a flooded street to find no sidewalk on the other side, walking through flooded grass, finding a dead end, finally finding our way to the base of the tower, though not being able to go along the path to it, as it was flooded, getting soaked all the while.  By the end we were laughing about it.  Once going through security to go under the tower, we spent some time trying to find where to get tickets to go up.  At this point, I was soaked and exhausted, and because I wanted to wait to spend the money to go up when Laura was with me, I opted to head back to the hotel.  Luckily I found that a bus would take me from just a block away to the hotel.  Unfortunately the bus terminated service at Opera, though I caught another that took me the rest of the way.  In the meantime, waiting for the next bus, I talked to a couple from Lahore, Pakistan.  The man had attended Ohio State, so we talked a bit about the Midwest before parting ways.  After a small bottle of wine from the hotel, I feel asleep in minutes.

In September 2017, when I caught wind of a “major announcement” taking place at the airport, I drove the 5 minutes from my workplace to be present for what I rightfully assumed would be an announcement of nonstop service to Europe, likely by either Delta or a European carrier.  Thankfully, I was correct, and as soon as Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced it’d be Delta servicing Paris nonstop, I immediately determined I’d fly on the inaugural if at all possible.

Initially the plan was for the whole family to go, but we determined the logistics of taking all three kids would be a nightmare, and that we’d be better off waiting until they were older.  We had the thought of Laura joining, but her getting that Friday off would have been difficult.  In the end, she told me that she knew how much it meant to me to be on the first flight, so to go alone and scout it out for a later trip with her.

I got to the airport several hours before departure, so I strolled through the gate area to see the festivities being set up, which included drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a cake, souvenirs, a harp and accordion, a station for pictures, and more.  It was pretty empty, so I started to head to the other concourse to grab a beer, but ran into Dan and Sarah, a Delta pilot and his wife, who I met several years ago.  They were headed to the Delta Sky Club, and invited me to join.  I’m not one to pass on such things, so we headed in, where there was a large tray of macrons to greet us, along with the usual spread of food, and more hors d’oeuvres and champagne being passed around by club staff.  We enjoyed a nice hour of conversation there with friends of theirs who were taking the flight before heading back to the gate.

 

By the time we got to the gate, the party was in full swing.  Speakers included Indianapolis International Airport Executive Director Mario Rodriguez, Major Joe Hogsett, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, Delta’s VP of Network Planning, Consulate General of France in Chicago Frederic Chole, and students from the International School of Indiana.  Soon after the speeches, boarding began.  While earlier in the day the flight was wide open, there were a lot of last minute employee listings, so it was a bit dicey for a while, and for a few minutes, it looked like I wouldn’t get a seat.  Luckily, I was able to get an aisle seat in the next to last row, and most if not all other standbys got on, including a group of three other employees from my company who were only going to go if they all got on.  While they’d all worked at the company several years, we were in separate parts of the building and hadn’t met previously.   We hit it off!

Soon into the flight, we were provided with a small snack (I’ve forgotten what it was at this point), enjoyed with a Sweetwater 420 pale ale.  Dinner was a small salad with ravioli with both pesto and red sauce, enjoyed with a glass of white wine, which was soon accompanied by a glass of red wine that ended up on my tray table which the flight attendant accidentally poured for the woman next to me when he misheard her order.  After dinner service, the cabin lights were dimmed, and while I tried so sleep, I only managed two or three hours of sleep.  I also watched a few episodes of “The Detour,” a hilarious comedy about a family of four on the run who end up in Alaska.  I’ve very picky when it comes to comedy, and this one had my laughing quite a bit.  I later learned it’s available to watch on Hulu, which also happened with the TV show “Atlanta” on my last trip on Delta.  May be time to spring for Hulu.  Breakfast was a bagel with yogurt and orange juice, though I took only the juice, as I wasn’t hungry, and wanted to save room for food in Paris.  We arrived to the gate early around 8am local (2am at home), and being that I was in the next to last row, I was one of the last to deplane.

I’d been wanting to go on a special trip with my oldest now that’s she learning about things in school that we can go out and see in the real world.  My mom’s cousin lives in Atlanta, and she’d been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr in school, so Atlanta seemed like a natural choice.  We had a free weekend, and the flights were pretty open, so I told her on Friday night that we were going take a trip.

We slept in Saturday morning and headed the airport around 9.  The gate agent had already cleared us in Economy Comfort in the row right behind first class on the two-seat side of a MD-88.  I appreciated the extra leg room, and she appreciated the outlet to plug in her tablet, which she played with the whole flight. We landed at about lunchtime, so we took the train to the international terminal and stopped in The Club (Priority Pass lounge) hoping to make lunch out of it, but there was far less food there that they’d had in the past, so we snacked a bit and headed on our way.  We hopped in an Uber (her first), and took it to Uncle Grant’s, just west of downtown.

Grant would be out for the evening, but he got us set up with a house key and made sure we were comfortable with getting back in the house.  He was in the process of making huuuuuuge chocolate chip cookies for a social event he was attending that evening.  He set aside one for each of us, and three to send home to the rest of the family.  After settling in, we ordered another Uber that took us into the city.

Our first stop was at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK and his father were both preachers.  We made our way through the adjacent memorial where he and Coretta Scott King, his wife, are laid to rest.  We then walked down the street, where we found that MLK’s birth house was open to the public for two hours.  It’s not often open to the public, so we felt lucky.  The enforcement ranger outside the house said that the line was about 25 minutes at that point, so we decided we could handle waiting.  The line moved fairly quickly, and ended up being about 25 minutes on the dot.  The walk through the house was led by several rangers and volunteers who passed the group from one to the next, and told us about each room in the house.  After the tour, we spent a few minutes looking through the MLK Visitor Center, and upon leaving, she spotted a playground, where she played with some kids from all over the city of different backgrounds, which felt very appropriate to me.

It was now mid-afternoon, and we were getting hungry.  We hopped another Uber over toward the Georgia Aquarium, where I’d scouted a couple adjacent restaurants where I hoped to find lunch.  She immediately spotted a Waffle House that was located right between the two restaurants, and decided that’s what she wanted.  We ordered her chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream, and she ate almost every bite.

We then walked about a block over to the aquarium, where we paid admission and got in quickly.  We headed to the dolphin show to learn that the next and last show of the night was at 6:30, about an hour and a half away.  That was perfect, as it took us about that long to go through the entire aquarium.  There are sections named River Scout, Ocean Voyager, Cold Water Quest, and Tropic Diver.  Her favorite parts included the coral reefs, penguins, cute otters, beluga whales, and the awesome tunnel and moving sidewalk that took us under the huge Ocean Voyager tank.  We finished right in time to line up and find seats for the dolphin show.  We were seated in row 9 of 10 of the “splash zone.”  The show was awesome, and included trainers riding on the dolphins, flips, trivia, and completely soaking the first few rows of spectators.  This was her absolute favorite part of the aquarium, and she can’t wait to go back.

After leaving the aquarium, we got on FaceTime with the rest of the family and updated them on our adventure.  We then took a leisurely stroll through Centennial Park, where festivities for the 1996 Summer Olympics were held.  I was getting very hungry by this point, so we took another Uber just north of downtown where we stopped by Bartaco for tacos for me and a quesadilla for her, but only after stopping in a local craft beer store to pick up a few local cans to try, with lots of great suggestions from the staff.  While the wait for the tacos took a while, the awesome staff at the restaurant gave her a coloring book to take with us.  One more Uber back to his house, some tacos, and cookies later, and she was ready for bed after a long day.  I enjoyed my beer and hung out with Grant for a couple hours before hitting the sack myself.

Unfortunately, as flights later in the day on Sunday were filling up, we had a very short night, and had to get up at 5am to catch a 7:30am flight home.  We took one last ride to the airport, and were again dropped off at the international terminal, to avoid traffic and long security lines.  I told her our gate number and that we’d need to take the train to get there, and asked if she could find the way.  I was very proud of her when she found the train, told me to get off at the A concourse, and led me right to our gate, A12.  I feel like she’s ready to start taking trips on her own!

Although a very quick trip, we had a lot of fun, and it showed me that she is ready to do more trips like this.  I’m looking forward to more of these with her and with her sisters when they get older.  It’s very nice to have relatives in other cities that we can stay with.  With Atlanta being a short, quick flight away, I’m sure we’ll be back plenty of times.

This is an installment of Bryant Backyard Border Bouncing (BBBB).  For more information, please see the bottom of the About page.

Once again, this report is being written almost two months after our France weekend, and once again, we didn’t learn nearly as much as we would have liked about France.  Clearly I need to do better at planning these, as it seems to be a recurring theme!

Regardless, I was excited that the middle girl pulled France out of the hat, as Delta Air Lines had recently announced that nonstop service from Indy to Paris would start in May 2018, and we were planning to make the trek at some point (which has since happened, so see those blog posts also!).

We started that pleasant Saturday morning by finding France on a map, again with just a couple hints from dad.  Dad then had the idea to have the girls color plain white paper to make French flags with red and blue colored pencils, though like many things we do, they never got finished!  We did learn a few basic French words are phrases.  There aren’t many things cuter than toddlers and kids saying “bonsoir” and “merci!”

When it comes to facts, we failed pretty miserable, and ended up spending a lot of time learning about food.  But can you blame us?  We’ll try harder next time to make it more about the entire and not just the food…maybe.

On Sunday that weekend, we made the trek to the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indy, where we stopped by a French bakery, Rene’s.  We picked up some goodies to go with dinner later that night.

After that, we and were lucky to find an empty table at Petite Chou, a popular brunch spot with a French influenced menu.  There was lots on the menu, so we ordered several dishes to split.  We ordered Croque Madame, duck fat pommes fries with aioli, French toast, French onion soup, and a peanut butter and jelly crepe from the kid’s menu.  Everything on the menu looked fantastic to me, though I’d never really thought French food sounded particularly interesting before.  Everyone enjoyed the food, though I was forced to finish up everyone’s leftovers.  It was rough.

On a more serious note, I think we’ll best remember this day as the day where the oldest busted her chin open on a playground after brunch, sending us to an immediate care center, where we spent two hours waiting and holding her down to get her stitches.   While it was not fun for any of us, we at least had some goodies to look forward to when we got home.

For dinner I made ratatouille, paired with four French cheeses I’d picked up from the Murray’s cheese counter at the Brownsburg Kroger the previous day, along with the baguette we’d picked up, and some Bordeaux for dad (and a few sips for mom).  For dessert we enjoyed a croissant, pastries, an eclair, and macrons.  Having never had well made French pastries before, I determined that it would be a new addiction.

While I’m not happy with the fact that we didn’t go very deeply into history, the geography of the country, watch some videos, and do more in general, at least I know that it’s one we’ll be able to visit fairly easily with the new nonstop flight, and we’ll learn plenty in researching trips and heading over the pond.