GIVE A LITTLE WHISTLE

Had a bit of a laid-back day on Wednesday after the huge Disneyland day. All we had planned was a trip to Musee d'Orsay which is just a couple of extra minutes past the Louvre. We hit the local boulangerie for food and headed to the tourism office for our tickets. Teneille was happy our preferred boulangerie was open today - it's hours can be a bit hit and miss - but she was upset they had yet to make their ham and cheese baguettes. She settled for pain au chocolat instead.

Musee d'Orsay... Our destination for today.

We also stopped at a supermarket to get something to drink and picked up this yoplait chocolate thing we thought might be chocolate milk. Teneille has really been missing fresh or flavoured milk as the French don't really seem to use it. What we bought was definitely chocolate but it was also really thick. It was like drinking a yogo. Not quite what we had in mind.

Not quite milk, not quite yogurt.

We found the tourism office no problem and headed across the Seine to the museum. I know the Louvre is like the world's biggest and besterest museum but we liked Musee d'Orsay better. Reason one: The map makes sense and the museum isn't a freaking maze so when you think you're heading somewhere (surprise, surprise!) you actually get there. Reason two: Everything was open. None of the main exhibits were closed for restorations. Reason three: The Louvre is nice but we really enjoyed seeing the work of Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh.

The museum that was once a station.

Teneille making friends.

Teneille loves van Gogh and while his Starry Night is in New York she did get to see another version (also titled Starry Night) and it was cool seeing Monet's paintings of the bridge we stood on at his gardens in Giverny just a few days previously. We also ran into Teneille's work colleague again. Small world etc.

Teneille, still battling with having turned 29 + 1, decided to be a little childish. Today's blog is named for Jiminy Cricket's song from Pinocchio where he urges the puppet to simply give a little whistle when he feels he's about to do something naughty and Jiminy will appear to guide him. Teneille did not give a little whistle. Probably lucky we didn't get kicked out after this...

We headed for home around lunch time and stopped at a cafe near our place to eat. We weren't sure where we wanted to eat but settled on this place because the guy out the front greeting people looked like van Gogh and seeing we'd just been admiring his paintings it was only right we grace his eating establishment with our presence as well.

Our waiter/world-famous painter/time traveller...

We grabbed some baguette, ham and cheese from various shops on the way back to the apartment after lunch and that will be our dinner. We notched another 7km today despite it being more easy-going so we're on 66.5km now total.

Tomorrow we do the Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens and Moulin Rouge.

A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES

If this song from Cinderella is to be believed then Teneille's heart has been wishing to go to Disneyland for a long time. Yesterday that wish/dream came true as we spent the day at Teneille's happiest place on Earth.

We left home early-ish with the aim of being at Paris Disneyland before the park opened and leaving after it closed. That's 9:30am-8:30pm, people. We caught the train out and for the first time since arriving here the public transport system didn't hate us. Our tickets worked as expected, we didn't get lost. It was good.

Disney Paris includes two separate parks - Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. Our tickets got us into both and when we arrived and saw the front of the park Teneille kept making faces like this...

Mickey welcoming us to his place.

We headed to Frontierland first to do the Big Thunder Mountain ride which was a more than 30-minute wait. We then waited 30 minutes in line so Teneille could get a picture with Jack Skellington (that's the Pumpkin King to you mortals). So, after 1.5 hours at Disneyland we'd done two things. Not ideal. Thankfully things picked up from there.

Teneille hitting it off with Jack Skellington. He also agreed to a hug and a selfie.

We jumped to Adventureland where we did the Temple of Doom ride as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. So far, none of the rides had overly impressed us as being so-called 'thrill' rides. We also climbed the treehouse of the Swiss family Robinson.

In Fantasyland we climbed Sleeping Beauty's castle which was tres magnifique. We also ventured into the Queen of Hearts hedge maze and Snow White's dark forest. Teneille was keen to see the Princess Pavilion but it was like a 50-minute wait so we gave that one a pass. It was at this point we decided to jump over to Walt Disney Studios as they close earlier than Disneyland.

Sleeping Beauty's castle.

A lot of the rides we wanted to go on at the studios park were huge waits of 65+ minutes but the Aerosmith ride was only five minutes. We went on that twice and was the best ride of the day. Pitch black, fast, sideways, upside down, rock music blaring. It was awesome. And produces photos like this...

Back over at Disneyland some hours later we hit Discoveryland to ride Space Mountain (or Hyperspace Mountain since Disney bought out the rights to Star Wars). This was also awesome. And we saw the big parade of Disney characters up the main street.

Warning: First three rows may get singed.

The Buzz Lightyear ride... which Teneille found perplexing, evidently.

With all the exploration done we did some shopping for the kids. And Teneille. And our sisters. Then we decided to try and have some dinner before the big illumination spectacular thing-a-majig that signals the closure of the park. Oh wait. Sorry. No dinner for us. Because all the restaurants and shops and food stalls close at 6pm two hours before the park does. This makes no business sense to me whatsoever. Our feet hurt and we were hungry. What was worse: No boulangeries would be open by the time we got back to Paris so we were not happy.

The light projection/water fountain/laser/fireworks show around Sleeping Beauty's castle looked amazing. Hats off to the woman standing next to us who held her phone up for 25 minutes straight and filmed the whole thing. How her arms didn't drop off from fatigue I don't know. The only thing we didn't like about the display was how the parts they did around Beauty and the Beast had replaced the original film's footage with the new live action film.

We found a supermarket back in Paris still open at 10pm and bought a baguette, ham and cheese that actually tasted awesome. I tried to buy a bottle of prosecco to wash it all down but apparently, they can't serve alcohol after 9pm. WTF?! Why even stay open if you deny me the right to buy a bottle of wine?

I have no way of knowing how many kilometres we walked today but am going to pencil in a conservative 7km. So that's 59.5km total so far. My feet hurt.

And that was the end of a HUGE day. I asked Teneille how she rated it on a scale of one to 10. Her reply: Great!

WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK

A bit of a lazy start to Monday because it was a free day so I let Teneille sleep while I ducked out to the boulangerie to grab breakfast solo. I ordered everything in French and the staff didn't even need to break into English for me - proud moment. We phoned home to say hi to the childrens, tidied up the apartment a little and did a load of washing before organising our day - hence the name of today's blog.

A model shoot in the street below our balcony.

We decided we'd make the 3km walk up to Sacré-Cœur basilica but take our time doing so given we wanted to relax a little today. As we were meandering through the streets we forgot all about Sacré-Cœur because sacré bleu! We stumbled upon the museum of chocolate.

All you can eat!!!

Of course we went in and more fool them because included in the ticket price was as much chocolate as you can eat. Seriously. Throughout the museum, which tells the history of chocolate production since Aztec and Mayan times, there are little chocolate dispensers where you help yourself. The only rule: Don't fill your pockets or your bags. No problem! I think I scoffed half their stocks. It was awesome. The museum also had a giant chocolate Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. There was a chocolate demonstration as well. We finished with two hot chocolates. Staff essentially give you a cup of hot milk and you choose one of six flavours so they can give you a block of chocolate on a stick that you mix in your milk until it melts.

The Arc de Chocolat.

Teneille sorting out her hot chocolate.

With our bellies full of chocolate we continued our trek towards Sacré-Cœur. It was here we had our first run in with the string men. These are people who essentially block entrance to the steps up the hill and try to tie little bits of string onto your wrist, then charge you for it. And when I say string I mean shitty pieces of string. They are very forceful. When we tried to walk through I actually had one man repeatedly say hello to me then tell me I was being disrespectful for not conversing with him all the while he had his hand on my chest in a bid to stop me walking away. I was close to telling him if he didn't let me go I'd seat him on his arse. Teneille would have decked him if she'd known but was too busy fending off her own string men to realise what was happening with me.

The string men blocking the path leading up the hill.

Once through that ridiculousness we made our way to the top of the hill to see Sacré-Cœur. It is quite a lovely church. I would put it on par with Notre Dame in terms of splendour although where Notre Dame is better at stained-glass windows Sacré-Cœur is better at mosaic tableaux. I lit a candle for Nanny at Sacré-Cœur like I did at Notre Dame last week before we climbed into the dome for a view. We had been considering visiting the ugly Montparnasse tower to get a decent view of Paris that included the Eiffel Tower but don't need to do that now. Sacré-Cœur sufficed beautifully.

Sacré-Cœur is high on a hill overlooking Paris so as to be closer to God.

Lighting a candle for Nanny.

Once we'd exited the basilica Teneille bought a packaged ham and cheese baguette from a souvenir shop to eat on the hill while we watched the string men harass passers-by. The baguette was a mistake. Teneille said it was like something from Australia. We eventually packed up and began heading home with a small detour to the Louvre so Teneille could buy a jacket we'd seen at a shop along Rue de Pyramides the day before. It was here she ran into one of the teachers from her school. Seriously. Two teachers from Bradbury Public School running into each other in central Paris.

The view from the dome.

Sacré-Cœur selfie.

After purchasing the jacket we headed to the restaurant we had decided to eat at that night. We had French onion soup for entree which in France is just onion soup. I had the moules et frites (mussels and fries) while Teneille had steak that was actually cooked. All of it was delicious. Our waiter was lovely and tolerated our attempts at French. I asked for the bill in French at the end of our meal and he applauded me.

We're back at the apartment now where I'm researching how to get to Disneyland tomorrow. Teneille is running around in a cloak she bought that looks like the one Belle wears in Beauty and the Beast. She's either singing songs from the movie or saying she never wants to wear anything else ever again.

Teneille looking tres Belle.

We walked 8km today, 5km yesterday and 4km on Teneille's birthday. That brings our total so far to 52.5km.

BELLE

Sunday was a bit of an early start because we had our first big day trip outside Paris and we had to meet a coach near the Louvre for an 8am departure. We stopped at a boulangerie on the way and loaded up on pain au chocolat before finding the tour office for our trip to Giverny and Versailles.

It was good not to have to worry about transport but if we had our time over I think we would have booked Versailles as one whole day. We feel we didn't have enough time at the palace and only scratched the surface of the gardens. It was a horrible day in terms of weather though - wet and windy - so the palace of Versailles and its gardens in sunshine sounds far nicer.

Nasturtiums for days at Monet's house.

But before that we were off to Giverny about 1.5 hours out of Paris. Giverny is a sleepy little village popular with visitors because it was where Claude Monet spent the last half of his life. We saw his house and the two gardens he built, including the Japanese garden with the iconic lily pond and bridge. I'd like to say we enjoyed the scenery on the way to Giverny but Teneille and I both passed out on the coach.

Teneille standing on THE bridge looking over the lily pond.

From Giverny we ducked over to a small village called Fourges where we had a lunch at an old water mill dating back to the early 1800s. This village is why I named today's blog after the song from Beauty and the Beast where Belle sings of her provincial life. That and the water mill really looked like her house from he movie. The food was amazing and the surrounding countryside beautiful. As we were leaving we saw some cows in a paddock. Teneille lamented the fact cows never let you touch them and they only come close enough to tease. Then one with a heart shape patch on its head wandered over and let the tour guide touch it. That was it. Teneille was off the coach so fast there was a Teneille-shaped cloud sitting next to me where Teneille had been. We left Fourges late because of Teneille. I spent two years planning this trip and booking things that she's dreamed of doing and I bet the highlight of the trip will be that she got to cuddle a cow.

Where we had lunch.

The highlight of Teneille's french journey.

It was about an hour's drive from Fourges to Versailles and we fell asleep again.

Like so...

Versailles was ok but we didn't really enjoy it I think for a number of reasons. The weather was horrible and that affected the gardens experience. And the crowds were insane. We haven't had many issues with crowds... I mean Notre Dame was busy but this was on another level. I had just started blocking people outright by the end of the day and staring them down until they wilted under the cold, dead look in my eyes. There were a couple of factors causing the crowds I believe. 1. It was a Sunday. Most of our stuff has been during the week when it would be less busy I imagine. 2. We'd accidentally booked our first day out of Paris on the third annual No Car Day. This is an initiative from Paris town hall which bans cars in central Paris from 11am-6pm. The block every entry to the city and sanction people who drive without just cause. So, if you can't drive into Paris where do you go? Versailles, of course. We were slightly annoyed we also missed our one chance to wander the streets of Paris without getting mowed down.

The palace of Versailles.

Touching gold...

We moved through the rooms of the palace but didn't get to see the queen's apartments which were closed for restoration works. The gardens stretched on forever but we really didn't see much before it was time to leave. We feared the trip back to Paris would be bumper-to-bumper with everyone waiting to get back into the city once the gates reopened but it wasn't too bad. We went on the giant roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe but there were hardly any cars on it.

The gardens were amazing and too huge for our brains to

The Arc just before the gates to the city were reopened.

We stopped by a boulangerie on the way home to grab some food and hit the hay. Monday is a free day and we haven't decided what we're doing yet. We've been on the go for a whole week so might actually take it easy.

The hall of mirrors in Versaille palace.

A ceiling doing ceiling things.

I SEE THE LIGHT

Saturday was Teneille's birthday where she turned a number that I'm not allowed to mention. It has a three and a zero in it so make of that what you will. Anyway, what better way to celebrate your birthday than contemplating your own mortality amidst the slow decay of death in the catacombs of Paris?

An Aussie pub near the entrance to the catacombs.

We headed to the catacombs after a quick call home so the kids could sing happy birthday to Teneille. They were having so much fun at a sleepover they didn't care much for being pulled away to see us on a phone. Saturday was to be a big day for us because after the catacombs we were climbing the Eiffel Tower followed by dinner at the tower. The catacombs were too far to walk from our apartment and then the tower climb too soon after the tour of death so we were forced to brave the Paris train network. Someone may have gotten a little stressed and yelled at Teneille while trying to read a network map but we won't talk about that.

Teneille was the first person to take a selfie with skulls.

The catacombs tour was very cool and not just all about the bones. The story goes that when the Romans came to what was Paris they began building and expanding the area. They mined the local regions for building materials and left a bunch of holes behind. Years later, when Paris needed to expand to the south and east, all the new buildings simply fell over because of all the mine subsidence. So, they began reinforcing the holes and tunnels, creating the catacombs. Around the same time, they realised the population was expanding and all the cemeteries were full to the point of bones sticking out of the ground so they dug everyone up and moved them beneath the city. The estimate about 6,000,000 bodies are in the catacombs but our guide said he wouldn't be surprised if it was a lot more. And when you see the bones stacked up down there you see why. Piles of bones as high as a person that go back for 25m in some of the caverns.

Bones going back all the way to the far wall and as deep as a person.

Well, Teneille did it first...

We also learned the catacombs were reinforced by soldiers too old to fight but who still needed work. One of these soldiers actually spent five years creating a sculpture within the catacombs. It depicts an island in Spain where he had been held prisoner. The sculpture was of the view he had from his cell of the island bay. He loved his sculpture so much he tried to build a passage straight from the street down to his masterpiece. His tunnel caved in and he died. Oops.

The soldier's sculpture in the catacombs tunnels.

We headed straight for the tower after the catacombs where Teneille caught sight of her dream destination right up close for the first time. It was priceless. Our tour took us up to the second floor where we admired the view before heading up to the summit. Teneille was packing it while we waited for the lift to the summit but she was all good once we got up there. I was fine and amused myself by continuously barging into the annoying child in front of me who simply couldn’t walk when the line moved forward – he had to climb along the railing. After numerous selfies up top we went back to the second floor and then took the stairs to ground level. There was an old dude on our tour with a young, inappropriately dressed trollop hanging off his arm the whole time. We decided he was a sugar daddy of some description.

From the bottom...

From the top...

The sugar daddy and his... err... mistress?

We had a bit of time before dinner so we headed out the Champ de Mars to admire the tower from afar. Teneille told a number of gypsies/souvenir sellers to go away and was quite proud at how rude she had been.

Dinner was at Eiffel 58 - named because it is 58m up - and was delicious. The waiter who greeted us checked if we spoke French or English because, and I quote: "Your accent when you said 'bonsoir' was flawless". We were seated near a family from Switzerland who we got talking to. The wife was South African and the husband Irish but they live in Switzerland with their two daughters. Between them they speak about 10 languages and their girls about three or four. These kids are like 10 and 8 years old and they speak four languages. Mon dieu!

Teneille licking the Eiffel Tower.

More views from the top.

We headed back to the Champ de Mars after dinner to see the tower lit up at night and waited until 9pm to see the tower glitter for five minutes. The blog title is from Tangled and is in reference to the lights on the tower as well as the fact the song is about finding your place in the world. Given how Teneille feels about Paris and the tower it felt apt. "Now I'm here blinking in the starlight, Now I'm here suddenly I see, Standing here it's all so clear, I'm where I'm meant to be."

After we'd finished staring at the tower, and possibly because I'd had too much to drink at dinner, we decided to take our life into our own hands and get one of those pedicabs back to the Louvre. I only thought I was going to die one or two times.

Stunning at night.

The pedicab ride wasn't scary at all...

We fell into bed when we got back to the apartment because it was late but also because we had an early start the next morning for our trip to Versaille.