Giverny

Monet's garden.

Although of historical significance, I kept thinking, "We could've just gone to the Huntington." 19th century Impressionists and post-Imps were enamored by Japanese graphic design work seen in the Ukiyo-e woodblock prints:One culture's dead-end became the other's paradise, as Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, et al, were struck by the lack of shadow and flat design of the ukiyo-e prints. I could go on about this, but will just add that this cross-cultural meeting of aesthetic purposes expressed itself in residential architecture (FL Wright, Greene brothers) and theater, as well.

Scott, our young American bike-touring guide, knew the basics, but it was hard to just stand there listening to his commentary. I rode Jack on a tandem and stopped pedaling for awhile just to see how much the little guy could support me. Bravo, Jack!

FYI, Fat Tire Bike Tours was the outfit we used, taking a train to a village where the bikes were stored, then rode out to Giverny, picnicking along the way:

Looks serene, but it was actually miserably humid.

One fallout of our lack of stability is that Michael never learned to ride a bike, so this was his debut. After a rocky start, he took his characteristic position: leader!We took our characteristic position as a family photo-op on of the Japanese style bridges. Monet was wealthy and built himself a beautiful country garden based on "strolling" garden principles: the observer becomes part of the landscape by entering it.
The train was delayed on the way back, postponing our desire to go souvenir shopping at the Bon Marche, but good down time with fellow bicyclists, ordering another round at the local cafe, watching the World Cup. The earlier days out in Paris were demanding for Michael & Jack, being out on city streets all day, entering adult spaces, so this physical outing - we've never bicycled as a family before - was a welcomed change. Next goal: hiking!

Michael

There were 3 Michaels for 3 days in Paris (not a bad opening line for a children's book?). Osman, originally from PA, has been living in Paris for 20 years, initially an art history student and painter, now custom-tailored guide - particularly good with children.
His low-key approach and street-wise knowledge of Paris was perfect for us, anticipating our taste for unusual, interesting sites, as well as making museums accessible for the kids, especially Michael. He'd come over to our apartment in the morning, and we'd plot out the day and just start walking.

Michael Osman became quite energized when explaining artwork, cleverly weaving in key works with the history of Paris and exact places we'd visited.

An outdoor installment place at the Louvre.

Concorde was one of coolest metro stops, where the entire Declaration of the Rights of Man was TILED letter by letter, including the punctuation.
Michael loved the metro, where you got to turn the handle to open the door - tiny bit of manual labor surprisingly still at work. The tickets were mechanically collected auto-turnstiles.

Joel Robuchon, one of the first celebrity chefs, had a nearby restaurant, introducing casual dining, which meant a counter style like sushi bars.

Another chocolatier, Pierre Herme,

had a boutique of chocolates in lit glass cases! Apparently Herme has brought back the macaroon into mainstream popularity. Not my taste, but M & J ate their sandwich-style confection.

We ended the second day with visit to the famous merry-go-round at the Luxembourg Gardens. The carousel is a jousting exercise; children hold batons and aim for rings held by the operator.
We were surprised to learn that the carousel was invented to curb accidental deaths during jousting. My boys' delight links to a medieval mother's sorrow, who formally ended the dangerous practice, at least by one account.

Luxembourg featured a great swinging bar ride

and a bee farm.
The scene of the exterminator in Ratatouille was a REAL pest control store with actual dead rats!

Petrified animals was a recurring motif:

displayed in this taxidermy shop.

Berthillon had remarkable ice cream

The saint of Paris (St. Denis) beheaded for his faith.

The archway doors of Notre Dame:

I was particularly drawn to the wooden reliefs, illustrating New Testament accounts.

and the wrought iron work on the doors:
Lovers symbolize their bond by locks over the Seine:

Jack's favorite meal: crepe, often served with ice cream.

Montmartre Paris

After Lausanne, we took the TGV high-speed train to Paris - about 3.2 hours.
Perhaps the complexity of this trip contributed to its hiccups: forgot my wallet (realized as I stepped out of the car at LAX) and I misplaced the TGV train tickets (not an eticket). Happy outcomes for both, as evidenced by Jack doing his beloved Kumon on the train to the Gare de Lyon.

Paris has seen the rise of quality restaurant chains and celebrity chefs, a la Wolfgang Puck. Eric Kayser is an upcoming baker/patisserie chef whose cafes dot the city, driving out of business mom & pop establishments. But the goods are consistently amazing, so it's a tough call for Parisians and tourists!

Our apartment was in the St Germaine district, pretty handy for museums and busy shopping streets, which we explored the first morning.

I did like the high premium placed on style, generally.

This chocolatier featured its molds as wall art. Chocolate watches! There was also a map indicating the origins of various cacao. People seem very interested in tracking the history of goods; a consumerism focused on lineage, authenticity.

I loved the neighborhood fish market...

and the shop's lovely fish scale tile facade.

After tanking up at EK's we set off for the Montmartre district, historically an artists quarter since the 1800s; now a charming tourist spot,

where people have portraits done:Monmartre is the highest point in Paris; we took an elevator up from the subway and had a nice view of the Eiffel

Sacred Heart Basilica at the top of Montmartre.

Montmartre was also a source for gypsum, used in making plaster ("Plaster of Paris").

My little handheld GPS was going to be the ticket for getting around, but NEVER got a satellite signal in the city. Worked in Switzerland fine, so was it too many buildings? Taxi's GPS worked fine though.
"Beat" Takeshi Kitano, a renowned Japanese film director, has been honored the highest cultural recognition by France - Commander of Arts and Letters - in keeping with a 130 year relationship between Japan and France, in terms of the arts.

CH3

L'Ecole Montriond, Michael's kindergarten class, sits across Parc de Milan, a wonderful urban park...whose fountains were great for waterplay.

Then the boys hit the equipment they remembered,
(the corkscrew well - a Leonardo invention)

stumbling across Albert, a former classmate of M's.Frederic, Albert's dad, was excited to see us and we exchanged emails, etc. I kept running into folks - Debby and Udo's adult children at different times - realizing how compact Lausanne is, since everyone uses the public spaces and transport; eg everyone has their own TV, but prefers gathering in the large monitor arenas set-up by the city to see the World Cup. Wherever you were, periodic arena yells and car horns punctuated the day or night.

We bought the boys a Tin Tin and Asterix book each, hoping that the comics would inspire French.

They are intelligently designed series popular in Europe.Asterix is set in Roman times

while Tin Tin debuted in the late '20s. Tin Tin in America features every European stereotype about the United States. Tin Tin with his dog, Milou (Snowy) below.

We are presently looking for the tiny Milou we bought Jack, who faithfully hung it around his neck. Hopefully in one of the suitcases...

Parting shot of the lederhosen boys.

After a good visit, seeing Jesus and the Spanish-speaking folks at the Pepperdine house before going to Paris. We fit in two worship Sundays at All Saints, also taking in a weekly study on friendship with one of the house groups. It was nice being able to slip into things there, already having something to build upon.