Andrew Takes Paris

We anxiously awaited Andrew's arrival in Paris in mid-March.  He has been so good at taking care of our house in Salt Lake City.  He goes through the mail with me every few days via FaceTime.  With the help of dear neighbors he has kept the snow shoveled.  (It seemed to often snow on the days when he was at the fire station.)  Drew even made sure no dogs came to visit while we were gone.  He knows how I feel about dogs, especially dogs in my home!

Andrew and Kelly on the Pont Tournelle

Looking Towards Île Saint Louis

After Andrew's arrival we took our usual stroll across the bridge to Île Saint Louis and then to Nôtre Dame on Île de la Cité.

Nôtre Dame

Tower of Nôtre Dame

Andrew came to us very tired from being up too many nights at the fire station before his flight.  He slept a lot the first couple of days.  But we were able to get him to accompany my friend and neighbor, Cristie Mabey, and me up to Montmartre and Sacré Cœur.

Basilique du Sacré Cœur

Cristie and her Artist

We enjoyed looking at the artists on Place du Tertre and Cristie found a beautiful painting to buy.

Andrew on the Streets of Montmartre



View of Paris from Montmartre

Andrew kept saying he just didn't feel like he was in his Paris because we weren't in the BYU apartment in the neighborhood he knew so well.  We remedied that by taking the bus across the left bank back to avenue de la Motte-Picquet and our old neighborhood.  We stopped in front of the BYU apartment building and checked out the pastries in the window of the white bakery.

BYU Apartment
41, avenue de la Motte-Picquet

White Bakery

We returned to our favorite spot, the Café Central on the rue Cler.  Andrew chose a huge bacon cheeseburger and Cristie and I split my favorite tomato and buffalo mozzarella pizza.  We stopped by the crêpe stand Andrew frequented when we lived in the neighborhood.  It felt good to be back on the rue Cler where we spent so much time shopping, and of course eating.


Ordering at Café Central

Andrew with his Burger and those
Famous Frites

Kelly and his Croque Monsieur,
Frites et Coca

Cristie and my Favorite Pizza

Crêpe Stand on Rue Cler

It was growing dark as we left the rue Cler.  We couldn't visit the neighborhood without walking over to the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately, heightened security in Paris has taken away some of the charm of the Eiffel Tower.  No longer could Kelly run from the BYU apartment under the Eiffel Tower and over to the right bank.  The tower is surrounded by fencing and standing in a line to pass through security is now required to pass under the tower.  It is even difficult to walk around the Eiffel Tower to cross over to the right bank.  The fencing is so intrusive.  My advice is to choose which side you want to view the Eiffel Tower from and stick to that side.  It's so sad.

We convinced Kelly to wait until the Eiffel Tower sparkled at 8 pm.  It is awe-inspiring to be right there when the lights sparkle.

Sparkling Eiffel Tower

Andrew and the Sparkling Tower

On Saturday, Kelly and Andrew took the train to Saint Quentin to meet our friends, the Forgons.  They splurged an extra 5 euros on their 10 euro tickets to sit in first class.  Kelly said it was totally worth it.  Dominique Forgon has a friend who is the Lieutenant Colenel at the fire station in the nearby town of Chauny.  He had arranged for Andrew and Kelly to visit the caserne in Chauny and meet the firefighters there.  All pictures were taken by Andrew, Kelly or Dominique.

Andrew with the Chauny Firefighters

The young, 16 year-old firefighter in training spoke English pretty well.  She had been on a study abroad in York, Pennsylvania.  She was able to explain how they did things at the station, which helped because Andrew's French was a bit rusty.  They had a great time at the station and meeting the crew.  Andrew brought shirts from Bluffdale and patches from Sandy and Bluffdale to give to the firefighters and they had shirts and patches for him.

Andrew in an Engine

Andrew at the Caserne

After the tour, Kelly and Andrew had a lovely lunch with many croque monsieurs, an ice cream cake and fruit.  They ate and ate.  Marie-Jo is such a good cook.  Dominique had another surprise for Andrew.  The Lieutenant Colonel had an authentic helmet as a gift for Andrew.

Dominique, Andrew and Marie-Jo

Andrew tries on the Helmet

Dominique took Kelly and Andrew back to Saint Quentin and had a little time to visit the main town square. And Marie-Jo sent home a surprise for me-chocolates in the shape of the famous rococo portraitist from Saint Quentin named Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1744-1788).  What a treat!  I had seen a few of his portraits at the Cognac-Jay Museum in the Marais.  Because he worked in pastels, his portraits are covered in glass and it is hard to get a good picture.

Dominque, Kelly and Andrew at Saint Quentin

My Beautiful Package

Maurice Quentin de La Tour Chocolates

Portrait by Maurice Quentin de La Tour
at Conacq-Jay Museum

Of course Andrew had to check out our local fire station up the street on rue Cardinal Lemoine at the corner of rue Monge.  It is a pretty big station.

Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris

Busy with hoses on day in early March

Red outdoor staircase at the Station

Part way through Andrew's visit James Mayo and his friend Caroline Dunn came to visit as Cristie left for England to meet her husband John.  We went up the hill behind us with James and Caroline to see the steps from the movie Midnight in Paris.  They are on the side of the church Saint Etienne-du-Mont.  This is where the 1920s car with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda picked Owen Wilson up at midnight.  We also saw the Pantheon and enjoyed the view towards the Luxemburg Gardens and the Eiffel Tower.

Andrew, James and Caroline on
Midnight in Paris steps

Andrew at the Pantheon

While he was here, Andrew wanted to find an official French National Team (FFF) Soccer Jersey.  We found that there was an official FFF store on rue de Grenelle near our old neighborhood.  The new jersey for the 2018 team was not coming out for another week.  But Andrew tried on the team's black practice jersey and he loved the look and the fit.

Andrew at the FFF Store

Black Jersey for the Win!

Andrew's trip was winding to a close much too quickly.  We came home and got him mostly packed (it was crazy trying to fit in that huge heavy helmet!) while we waited for James and Caroline to return from climbing the Towers of Nôtre Dame.  We all went to Les Invalides to see Napoleon's tomb at the World War I and II Museum.  We were enjoying the blue sky and sunshine.

Drew in his new soccer jersey with Kelly at les Invalides

Napoleon's Tomb

Looking down at Napoleon's Tomb

Taxi used in World War I

At the Battle of the Marne, the French were scrambling to transport their soldiers to the front just east of Paris.  The taxi drivers in Paris famously drove the soldiers to the front.  We love this part of the museum.
We took the bus from Les Invalides to the Montparnasse Tower.  I have been wanting to go to the top and see the view.  The best part of the view from the tower is that the tower is not in your view of Paris.  It was fun seeing from above the places we go to below.  And unlike the Eiffel Tower, it is not crowded and there are no lines!

Looking towards the Eiffel Tower from the Montparnasse Tower

The next morning I rode in the taxi with Andrew and Caroline to the airport.  I brought a tote bag in case Andrew's suitcase was overweight.  We were both surprised when it weighed exactly 23 kilos, the maximum allowed.  It was sad to say goodbye as he got in line for security.  It was a sad train ride home for me.  We had such a good time with Andrew in Paris.

Snapchat of Andrew at the Airport