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We woke up the next morning around 7am, and headed out for le petit dejuener, AKA breakfast.Now, some of you may know that I speak Spanish, I actually have a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, but let me tell you in case you didn't know: French is a whole different language. The pronunciation is very different, and to me it didn't make a whole lot of sense that first day. Or the second day for that matter. But I did my best, and we managed to order our very first breakfast all on our own! Croissants, cafe au lait, chocolat chaud, pain et confiture. (croissants, coffee, hot chocolate, bread and jam!)
We taught the boys how to say "S'il vous plaît" and "Merci" and even "Merci beaucoup." When Sawed Off said "Merci," it came out like "mer-whee" but he's young enough that people thought it was cute. We also taught the boys to say "Bonjour, Au revoir" and the basic greetings (which they still use occasionally months later!)
Grandpa met us at the restaurant, and we decided we'd take the metro to catch a bus tour of the city. The architecture in Paris is incredible, everywhere you look. This is the textile museum/factory just behind our hotel.
The metro was just a quick walk from our hotel too, basically just around the corner. I love that you can walk anywhere in Paris, then hop on the metro or a bus or both and get where you want to go. You really don't need a car unless you plan to travel outside of the city!
Here's "our" metro stop. Notice the beautiful tile work, such attention to detail. I love Paris.
I also love how open the French are to art. These posters were everywhere in the metro lines. I wanted to go to the exhibit, but we just didn't have time. (see my boys on the left, below!)
The boys had several discussions whether the naked person in the bathroom photo was a boy or a girl (she's mostly seen from behind, and small-breasted). And once they figured it out, they casually remarked, "oh, there's that naked girl again," but more often than not, they didn't remark at all. It just wasn't a big deal.
Can you just imagine if a photo like this was in PUBLIC in the U.S.? There would be protests and lawsuits galore. The thought of this prudish reaction makes me cringe. Truthfully, it also makes me want to plaster these posters across the U.S.A.!! Have a glass of wine and get over yourselves, people, it's a naked body. =)
Once we were on the metro, headed to pick up the bus tour, we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! The boys couldn't contain their excitement, "LOOK! It's the Eiffel Tower!!" It is their absolute favorite sight in Paris.
To Be Continued...
