Paris and Honfleur - complete opposites

So, I have officially left St. Étienne. I trekked my way up to Paris with Melissa to meet up with her dad and brother. It was sooo hot!! It hit 37degC while we were lugging our entire appartements across the country! So painful. In the metro, traveling across the city to the hotel, w had to take a break. Just like a pair of old ladies. We finally made it and were greeted with many big smiles and greetings of welcome.

We toured Paris for two days, seeing all of the must sees. We started at the Arc de Triomph, walked down the Champs Elysées, toured the Louvre gardens and the entrance - both impressive. After all of this walking we were in dire need of a "Starbucks Experience". I love that place. We then headed for a fancy french dinner. French cuisine has definitely grown on me, I don't know what I'm going to do with hamburgers or steaks.  The next day we hit up the Tour Eiffel, even going up the tower. It was super cool. You can see almost all of Paris. We then picnicked in the Jardins de Luxembourg. It is absolutely beautiful there. The trees, grass (some of which you are allowed to sit on), the ponds and just general nature. We followed that up with a shopping trip for the men. They both needed dress shoes. Incredibly, we found them both a pair in the first shop that we went into on Rue Rivoli - a famous shopping street in Paris. There are all kinds of sales going on right now. I think it is a governmentally forced sale. I don't really mind saving money. I then found some much needed thongs. They are now the most comfortable footwear that I own : no more blisters, no more bleeding, it's a beautiful thing.

On Friday, we all caught a train in the direction of Caen, a seaside city, rented a car and drove to Honfleur. The village is an amazing little medieval seaside port. There are sailboats everywhere. Mr Verhey and Roland are both big sailors and therefore are enjoying scoping out all of the boats and noticing the winds and remarking on the locks, etc. They are thoroughly enjoying it.

Saturday, there was a big market just outside of our hotel. We (Roland and I) slept a little longer than the other two - who took in the whole of the market and made some wonderful discoveries. I met up with Melissa and Mr Verhey a little later and Roland came along a little later. After lunch we went for a drive to Deauville, another port city, in look for a sailboat to rent or take a ride on. We had no such luck but we did discover that the city had a distinct character and the fishing boats there are weird looking - short and fat as opposed to long and skinny. It is just interesting to see how other cultures do things that one would assume are universal. We made it back to Honfleur in time to catch the local boat cruise of the area. It was great to get out onto the water, especially after spending so much time discussing sailing.

Today we went to mass. It was the first time that either Roland or Mr Verhey had ever been to one. It was quite the experience. Even amongst the Roman Catholic churches there are differences to their traditions. This one used alot of incense and they sang songs in Latin, where others have dropped the dead language years ago. We then headed up to the highest point above the city where there was an old church - built in 1054. The view was spectacular and the weather perfect. We sat on a park bench and ate a picnic - baguette, Camembert, wine, cucumber and red peppers. It was delicious. We lounged around for the afternoon, trying to nap. We then went for a longer drive through the countryside. The French are serious into their hedges, fences and stone walls. We stumbled upon the small town of Villerville. It had a beach - when the tide was down - and people were everywhere. Kids were running in and out of the puddles, screaming and just generally joyful. It was a great Sunday, full of relaxation and enjoyment for this Creation.