Paris... agaaaaiiin???

You know, I just realized... Mother, daughter and son all have different last names!!! The Lefebvre/Menard/Bertram family enjoy a walk in Paris
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We were in PARIS! But not PARIS Paris.. Paris Beauvais... oy. So we had to take another shuttle bus (1.5hour!) which took us into Paris proper but still the other side of town from where we were supposed to be staying! And it was past 12:30 by this time so the metro wasn't running so we had to try to figure out the night bus. Luckily a local was making some of the same trip as us and helped us (we would have been utterly lost without him!!). But we missed our stop because the bus was so packed we couldn't get our stuff off in time! So we had to get off the next one, run over to the other stop and go one stop! Then we had to figure out which bus would take us to Soraryas place! We didn't get there until about 2:30AM!!!! Then we had to sit and chat for a while, since she'd been up waiting for us for such a long time. So it was understandable that we slept in the next day!!

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We went to Saint-Michel for some coffee and omelettes and Scott and I got a still-hot baguette. mmm france!

We spent the rest of the day walking around Paris, saw Notre-Dame and stopped at more cafes (oh that family of mine and their passion for coffee!!). Then guess what we stumbled upon, go on, guess...

A fashion forum! Full of independent designers showcasing their stuff and selling it (of course). So mom and I spent the rest of the afternoon there, and Scott and Chris stumbled upon a HUGE parade, celebrating solidarity against AIDS, which had huge trucks with bands on them driving down the streets, surrounded by THOUSANDS of people and dancing and jumping and cheering!

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What a thing to find accidentally!!

For supper we went back to Soraya's and made a pasta feast.

Monday we went to the eiffel tower but didn't go up because no one seemed to care enough to pay 11euros except me but I didn't care because I've done it!! So we continued walking through Paris along the Seine and guess where we stopped..betcha can't guess!!! Oh yes, Cafes!!! It was delightful! We found a second hand store but it was pretty hoity-toity and expensive but not great quality, though Yvette found a nice black jacket. Then we went to

I love you but... but... I have a tower growing out of my head....
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THE BEAD STORE!!! (sooo fascinating, I know) Well, Scott and Chris went for beer while Yvette and I went for beads and things. we got some stuff to spiff up her new jacket, though it won't be finished until I get back to Canada. After spending a lot of money there (me AND yvette, not just me!!), we walked about halfway across town, occasionally grabbing beer from grocery stores, until we arrived at Montmartre; once an area of artists, writers, bohemians, and drunks. Now, sex shops, tourist shops and overpriced cafes. Nontheless, this is where Neko Case was playing so this is where we came.

Mom and I enjoying Neko Case
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Neko Case is a Canadian Alt-Country artist, very very good. It was a pretty good venue, pretty much the perfect size in my opinion. Chris bought one of her shirts and then Yvette bought the same one (creating some funny scenarios for the next week involving mommy-son outfits!!). We bought her 'rare' CD, not available in stores, and wanted more, she put on such a good show. Or, I should say, she and her band put on a great show. Lots of funny stage banter, which Chris got involved in "encore..?" neko: "encore? question mark? that's not very enthusiastic!"

The classy candians, getting drunk outside of the cemetery
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The show didn't go super late and when it was done, chris went off partying with some locals and we went to the top of the Sacre Coeur hill to get a view of Paris which was quite nice but since it was dark and suddenly raining down on us, our excitment was a little...dampened. heh. heh.

The next day we went to the Musee D'Orsay, one of my all time favourite museums! However, it's another of those ones that is so freaking big that by the end, I couldn't care less about art. I just wanted food and sleep. Man, it's like galleries are WORK when they are that big, it's EXHAUSTING!

"Oh, Jimmy, you were so young... why? WHYYYYYYYYY?????"
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Mom and Chris bowed out early, but we stubbornly pushed on, fighting our hunger and drooping eyes to see more of the art we wanted to see.

After the museum, we sat on the steps outside and ate a snack (well, Scott sat, I passed out on the stairs in the sun- lovely really).

We met up with Chris and Yvette and went to a concert. Oh wait, it was sold out. No live music for us. And there were about 50 people outside all without tickets trying to get some so our chances we pretty slim. So we got some crepes, had some guiness at an irish pub, and went to see The DaVinci Code instead. A sad substitute, but better than just going home!

getting minors drunk is my personal favourite thing to do in France
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The next day we figured out how we were leaving and booked some train tickets, then wandered around another part of Paris that we hadn't yet seen, going into still more cafes, and random cute shops. CD stores, tea stores, etc. We had a nice french picnic and then suddenly found ourselves right by Pere Lachaise cemetery! So we went for a visit with Jimmy Mo, as chris called him. We tried to get to Oscar Wilde's grave but were turned away for closing time! Dang!!

That evening we had drinks with Soraya and played games with our favourite french girls. But we had to leave early because we had to get up at 5am!!!

Which we did, and there were no problems with our train to Cologne!