Paris

Your day can be full yet leisurely. It can wear you out and still be without stress. For me, Paris offers exactly that: a richness without the pressure to accomplish the impossible. Snowdrop and I did a lot, though only one thing could count as being rather touristy (I'll let you guess which one checks that box!). And yet, we weren't taxed or hurried and many of our best moments developed organically. They got tossed our way. We did not go to great trouble to find them.

And the day did not start early. Unbeknownst to me, the girl stayed up late reading. I had absolutely zonked out by 9:30. She promised she was almost ready to sleep. An hour later I opened my eyes to see her still reading. Well now, she is only 9. 10:30 is not a good bedtime for her! To compensate, I let her sleep in.

Breakfast, downstairs, with French usuals -- croissants, yogurts, fruits. For her -- added bacon!

Snowdrop has her ideas of a perfect Parisian day, but I have to say, most are memories snitched from warmer visits. She'd never been in Paris on the coldest of cold days. 

 

 

 

There are limits to what you want to do when there are patches of ice and snow still on the ground. Still, high on her list is a trip to the Eiffel Tower and hey, wouldn't it be cool to have a picnic there? Okay....

We set out.

I take the route that has us pass this beautiful bookstore. I nearly always come here just to admire the books. Kids books, adult ones too. It all takes me back to the days when bookstores were such a huge part of my life. Perhaps I dont read less or more than I did then, but I certainly loved those years where you picked up and admired mountains of books that you did not necessarily buy or read. You sampled and eventually you settled on the best, the most likely to grab you once you got home. Snowdrop's reaction to this place? Too bad they all have to be in French! 

The store does have some good gift items to take back home. Somehow I manage to fill this bag...

 

(We talk about the way people dress here. Like, for example, this rather casual person, whose shoes alone put her in another league. Me, I wear the same old Duckfeet shoes when I travel. It never varies because when I try something new I regret it.)

We stop at the Bon Marche food halls. To admire. To pick up some fruits and a baguette.

And now we are where she wants to be!

The "picnic by the Eiffel Tower" idea would have been sensible if she'd stick with the bench. But to her it means sitting right down on the (wet cold) grass. Fine, you do that, Snowdrop. 

But I'll just stay in my sunny spot, standing up.

(On our walk back...)

We make a few stops as we retrace our steps, including at a souvenir store, where they happen to be selling Paris 2024 Olympic t-shirts. You will not believe the price of a kid's short sleep cotton t. You will not! After my expressed shock and horror, I got it reduced to 45 Euro (which is close to $50). The clerk kept saying -- I can't help it! This is the official one! This is what they are selling for!

Ah, the Olympics! I have to wonder how many Parisians are still excited about the coming of the games to their city this summer.! My hotel manager, a person whom I respect and admire tremendously, told me that the city will be transformed -- many of the streets closed off to traffic. You and I may find that to be cool, but she tells me she wont be allowed to drive to work. Velo or walk! I suspect everything will be harder for those who live and work here.

 

We continue. Past the Rue Cler market...

 

 

 

Another we make another stop: at Bon Ton, a high end kids clothes/toy store. She loves it of course, but she knows to restrain herself with me at her side. Still, she convinces me that these greatly reduced muffs are what she has been longing for forever!

And now we are at the Cafe Varenne, which is exactly where I want to be at lunchtime. Typically Snowdrop gets her favorite here -- pasta with parmesan cheese. But it just so happens that they had mac and cheese on the menu and the obliging waiter brought her that instead, thinking surely she'd prefer that to plain noodles. It was fine, but I'm sure I liked my meal of lentils and an egg more than she liked her mac and cheese (which in France comes with... well, different cheese).

One more stop: the chocolate shop across the street from Varenne!

At "home," it is so tempting to stay cozy in our beloved hotel room. And we do. For a while. I, for one, have a very important call to attend to -- my younger daughter has a birthday today! As tradition would have it these years, I'm not there for it. Proper celebrations will have to be taken up later in the month. In the meantime, I'm with her totally in spirit! Happy happy birthday, little one!

After a brief rest and warmup at the hotel, Snowdrop and I set out for the park. 

The girl very much wants to play in the large playground of the Luxembourg Gardens, but by the time we get there, it's closed. She settles for the merry-go-round. An old fashioned one where the horses dont bounce around, but instead a man stands and you collect his rings from the side. She collected twelve of them. Does it mean anything at all? Nope.

(Park is closing in 5 minutes!)

In the evening we go to Brasserie des Pres. I like the vibe there, I like the food. Much like Les Editeurs, it doesn't reach for great heights, but it draws a huge crowd of mostly locals, mostly my kids' generation. Will Snowdrop take to it? This is too unpredictable for me to worry about. At worst, she'll eat fries!

She ate the fries (and to her credit, the chicken wings that came as an appetizer).

Tomorrow, we attend to the two remaining items on Snowdrop's list. Tonight? I'm keeping an eye out on the girl's goodnight time! 

with love...

leaving Chamonix... to Paris

Leaving is not easy. The destination before you can be exciting, much anticipated, beloved, but first you have to leave. Home maybe. Or another spot which, chances are, was also lovely, enjoyable, stellar even. I used to move around a lot when away from home. See this place, go to that one, escape for a while to another. These days, I'm slower to leave, more deliberate and very very careful. Especially when traveling with Snowdrop. She's great on the road, but she is a child. Freshly nine. She can be tough on food, jumping from low appetite (just when we are at a place where she can eat) to high appetite (just when we are away from eating options). Too, she keeps herself busy, but lately, she depends a lot on her tablet. If there's reliable internet, she is in her own story bubble. If it's spotty, well, the trip then feels that much longer, for her and for me. Finally, there is the matter of luggage. We travel light -- we have to. I'm responsible for transporting us, packs, bags and all. Snowdrop is reliable with attending to her own stuff but at other times she needs help.

 

We are leaving Chamonix today after breakfast. My daughter (Snowdrop's mom) has already left. She's returning home, we're going to finish the week in Paris. By train, it's about 3.5 hours from Geneva. So, first a glance outside, at the wet, fogged in mountains...

... then breakfast.

One more check of the room, and another, just to be sure, and yes, a third time as well, and finally we're off. Past waterfalls, past towns without snow, feeling lucky because we had it, and we had sunnier days, and we had the views. Of Mont Blanc. Just not today.

 

 

 

I have to wonder -- will I be back in Chamonix? Last year I faced the same question, the same dilemma. There is so much that's right for a visit here with Snowdrop! And yet, there are other places, other destinations. The girl told us that maybe someday she'd live in Chamonix (for one thing, she could then join all those who raise huskies here). That is her best rating of a trip: if it warrants her return, not just next year, but much later, when she is older and living and traveling on her own.

 

Back to Geneva we go, this time to the train station. We have a bit over a half hour before our train leaves and we wander over to Sprungli -- that Swiss chocolate shop that promises you perfect confections. A few tidbits for the road...

... and now they've posted the track, and we find our train and get on -- a double decker car and yes, I picked the upper level, but that means I have both our cases to carry up. And the tote bag with all our winter and ski stuff. Moving around in the winter poses its own challenges! And still, I find train travel to be so much easier, saner, gentler (to say nothing of the environmental issues) than flying or even driving. Yes, I'll lug those cases to our seats. And then I will sit down, take in the others around me, imagine their stories, their journeys, look out the window and admire all of it -- how it is that we all came to be here, zipping at 200 miles per hour to our next place in life. 

We arrive on time at Gare de Lyon, Paris.

 

 

We cab over to our hotel. Le Baume. I will never stay anywhere else, because Paris is no longer just a place to visit. It's a city that allows me to exhale and not worry about anything. And the hotel is my most perfect Parisian place for that. They do everything to support the idea that here, I need not fret about anything anymore. The room is lovely as always, the street is quiet. Thrilled to be here again! As is she:

(They always leave Snowdrop a book or two of crafts and she always loves them!)

We are lucky to have pretty good weather for our brief Parisian weekend. No rain, partly sunny skies. Back in Wisconsin, it was so cold that the heaters could not keep schools warm enough and they sent the kids home. Here, it's just a hair above freezing. They think it's positively Arctic! For us? A lovely winter day.

I coax Snowdrop out for a walk to the Luxembourg Gardens before they close up for the day. It's been a while since I've seen it with a crunchy smattering of snow.

 

 

 

Always beautiful, always giving me that broader horizon that is so often lost in crazy busy cities. Nearly empty today, and in that, too, lies its serenity.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner at Les Editeurs, because it's around the corner and she and I will always find something to eat there that will be satisfactory to both. (We eat French green beans at the start, then she opts for scallops and French fires and I stick with the fish.)  It's an interesting restaurant, because no one can say that their kitchen is spectacular or out of this world. But it's solidly good! And that's why, when we sat down at my preferred table (reserved, way in advance) and I looked around me, I heard nothing but French. A packed room, full of Parisians. Because they dont seek out the spectacular. (They dont need to, they live here and can find it anytime.) They want what you and I want when we go to our local eateries back home: solid, good food, good atmosphere, camaraderie.

 

(Snowdrop gets really into sketching out a graphic story)

(she does think their fries are under-salted!)

(crowds)

Tomorrow we will engage with Paris. Tonight? I close my eyes and think back... And exhale...

with love...

Chamonix

Some mysteries in life are never solved for you. I will never know why I finally got a good night's rest last night (as opposed to the night before and the night before and the night before...). On the other hand, this morning, I did read in a magazine about the Mer de Glace glacier and why we could not descend in a small gondola to the steps that would lead into the mouth of the glacier yesterday. Turns out they are dismantling the current gondola and building a new one that takes you to a new viewing platform, without the necessity of walking down six or seven hundred steps to get up close and personal to the glacier. I read that it will be better for the environment, though I'm not exactly sure how that works, but I do know that the national parks here (and elsewhere) maintain a high standard of care and so I have to assume that this will be a saner solution, rather than adding steps each year because of the melting of the glacier. At some point you have to worry about having people go down 1000 steps, because, well, they then have to turn around and climb up again and not everyone that does this is exactly sportif.

This morning it did rain and today it will continue to rain -- right through tomorrow. 

 

 

 

No matter. We go down to a leisurely breakfast...

And I note with deep appreciation that the girl is her old self again. Her bug lasted only a day, but her pep had been depleted somewhat, despite her enthusiasm for all that we did. Today, I see no trace of fatigue.

(I take care of various details at the hotel desk, mommy and daughter continue reading the Benefits of Being an Octopus in the hotel's living room...)

We put off until this last day the shopping for small souvenirs -- for her brothers and, too, endless incarnations of huskie key chains etc for Snowdrop's closest friends.

And a chosen stuffie from this pastry shop for her own special souvenir...

(giving me a chance to ogle these...)

(walking the streets of Chamonix, mingling with the mountain guides of yore...)

The three of us eat lunch at noon at Casa Valerio again. It was a lovely pre-skiing lunch before, and it is equally lovely today. Pizza for the girl, salads for us guys. And a few more chapters about being an octopus.

(Walk back to the hotel)

Now for the ski lesson: will it take place, given that we are experiencing on and off showers? Thomas texts -- what would you like to do? I say go for it!

Thomas is here at 2:30 and we are off! To Les Houches by car, then up in a skier's gondola to the vast ski area. The one where Snowdrop can try other ski lifts besides the rope and the dreaded t-bar that smacked her face the other day.

Me, I love this place! I came here last year by train and I hiked a beautiful trail on the mountain ridge, in and around the ski runs. It's a treat to be back, even if the weather is... iffy. Periods of rain, some sleet. 

But it's as if the world does belong to the brave: within a short while, the rains pause. They give us a good couple of hours of peace and quiet. So that she can ski and I can walk, take in the mountains, catch glimpses of her on the trails.

Later I ask Thomas -- why is it so empty? The weather? The restaurant where I paused for tea was packed last year. Inside and out. This time? I was the only one there.

What a difference a few weeks makes! He tells me soon the February school breaks will come and with it -- the crowds of French families. Others too -- many European school systems give time off for midwinter vacations.

For now, the slopes are nearly empty.

He has her get on the chair lift. It gives the longest and best runs down. And she does it. And she is so proud!

Thomas, dad to two kids, the older 6 year old very much a skier (she does too much of it! That's great, no? Well, if she wants to spend her life just skiing!), talks about the sport, the environment, the future of skiing. Despite the fact that his work so depends on snow, he is against snow blowing entire mountains so that people can ski. (It's so dirty! Maybe we should do something else...). He admits to being in the thick of the ski industry, but he worries about what his generation, our generation will leave for his kids.

Still, the snow has been good so far this year and Snowdrop surely picked up a sport that can in fact be a beautiful one, a healthy one, a confidence building one. Looking at her face in the gondola going back down, I see the joy. For this alone, I'm glad she had her ski days here.

In the evening, we go for our final dinner of just the three of us -- at Maison Carrier. Despite the fact that last year I groaned about aspects of dining here, in the end, I do believe that of the mid-price range places in Chamonix, this place is special and not only because it is in a restaurant group along with the more famous, more expensive, Michelin starred Albert 1er. It makes an effort to move beyond a tourist mecca. Locals come here for a special meal. A group of men for their evening meal out. A date. An older pair. A party of... many. Everyone knows of it, likes it. And the dessert buffet is beyond fabulous.

Snowdrop ends her Savoy eating with fondue, and especially with the dried beef that she grew to love here. 

 

(desserts)

(my plate)

We say goodnight and goodbye to Snowdrop's mom tonight (she leaves early tomorrow morning to catch her flights back home). It was such an incredible surprise and such a memorable trip for the three of us. For the ages. Thank you, for all who made this possible, not the least my daughter, who scrambled to take off when we needed to take off, and who faces piles of work that accumulated in her absence. It was surely worth it, a million times over.

With so much love...