Monday, July 1, 2013

An Adventure to Paris and Parade Preparation...Day 45

I have less than a month left here in Belfast. That seems like  crazy notion as I sit here getting a wee break before our event and the parade this evening. Today being the 1st of July marks the beginning of "parade season" here in Belfast, and marks my first day back from work after a three day weekend in Paris to celebrate my birthday.

Before you ask, no...24 doesn't feel much different than 23. And I want to make a reference to Gilmore Girls as Joanna and I have come back from Paris a little more sad, as Rory says after returning from backpacking around Europe. While it was a grand whirlwind adventure, we realized that Paris is a city that causes anxiety and that you truly cannot get through without knowing French. We tried as best we could, but boy is it tough when the French speak quickly and find out you're American, therefore thinking you're really dumb. Overall, we didn't speak much to others due to the communication issue, and we got sufficiently lost a couple times. First world problems really rear their ugly head when you are functioning without smart phone mapping. But despite the complications and stresses, we had a fun time and experienced at least a little bit of France.

Friday we arrived and got sufficiently lost in the CDG Airport trying to find the trains into the city...then ran into the issue of ticket machines not taking American cards...getting on the train at rush hour, and then an hour and a half commute (complete with train transfers and getting lost in stations) to our hotel, where thankfully the front desk staff spoke English. Our hotel was nicely situated at the edge of the city, right near a metro stop, decorated like Arabian Nights, with a crazy spiral staircase winding up through the floor floors of tightly packed guest space. Contrary to the travel reviews for the cheap hotel room, it was actually quite spacious, with a fun and funky vibe and a ridiculously bright bathroom sealed by what looked like a bright blue dungeon door. After a quick crash into the room and a change from travel clothes, we ventured out to the streets around us and into a small bistro/cafe/bar type place with a dinner menu that looked reasonable, and a daily special menu...all of which we couldn't read, but thought we would try. The woman who served us realized we were trying very hard to do the dinner in French and helped us to stumble along with some throwing in of English words and speaking slowly for our benefit. All in all, we still didn't know what we were getting and ended up receiving tuna salad in half a tomato, some type of fish in a cream sauce, some greens that were like eating grass, and a nicely cooked potato...followed by a creme brûlée that wasn't very brûlée-d...Overall not a bad meal, and one of the nicest people we encountered on our trip. We followed this up with a trip to the Eiffel Tower, which took a good try on getting there via the metro, and then a good guess of what stop to get off at. The Tower is beautiful and started to sparkle right when we approached it. No, we didn't go up, but we took in the atmosphere and walked around for a while before heading back to the hotel to experiment with French television (didn't understand ONE word) and getting prepped for an early start to Disneyland the next morning.

Saturday brought my birthday and our adventures to Disney...and if you're going to go...don't take the Disney shuttle...just take the train out and back, as the shuttle is difficult to find, a time consuming journey, and puts time limits on your stay in the parks. For never having been before, it was an ok choice for us, but I wouldn't do it again. Once we made it to the parks though, even as it was a little chilly and rainy we didn't run into huge crowds and rather had a wonderful magical time, getting to most every attraction we wanted to experience. While some were very much the same as our american Disney experiences, there were some big differences and new rides that were fun and exciting. By the end of the day we were smiling far more than the French and our feet were hurting, but it was the least stressful Paris experience...until we got back on the bus and ran into Paris Saturday night traffic. Getting to a train station FINALLY, we then celebrated the rest of my birthday relaxing in the room with a cheap bottle of French wine and lounging on the bed, planning our final adventures.

Sunday began with a venture out to Notre Dame to experience a Mass there, which was lovely and done in French, Spanish, and English...meaning we knew all of two things said...but it was a very nice service, and although we couldn't necessarily understand all the language, you understand the liturgy and the main ideas. We followed this up with a French hot dog on the street (in a baguette and covered in cheese) before heading to see the architecture of the Louvre, and then trekking out to see the absolutely underwhelming and saddening Moulin Rouge in the red light district of Pigalle. We then made our way to the airport...apparently with the wrong train ticket...resulting in a lovely 30 Euro fine, and made our way back to Belfast...ready to kick off the July festivities.

Tonight marks the first parade, commemorating the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and we can expect to see a lot of party atmosphere from the protestant community as the boys march by in the parade for miles around East Belfast. This is the first year in a few that the police will be putting up screens between communities for pieces of the parade route. After the tension brought on by the flag protests, the precaution that feels like one step back seems like a solid decision among the community leadership, and we are hoping for general calm tonight as the festivities kick off. If tonight presents itself as a peaceful situation, then hopefully it will speak to what the big event on the twelfth will be like. I will most definitely update you on all the activities and pageantry that goes along with the parades in the next few weeks.

Things to note:
- the stairwell doesn't smell like sunscreen today
- yes I drank Orangina in France, and ate a baguette, and we had a croissant
- ask me for the long list of reasons the French are grumpy...we took note
- going for a surf lesson with the youth tomorrow, here's hoping we don't freeze
- 28 more days here. How crazy is that?!

That's all for now...more detail than commentary I know, but I'll post again soon!
Cheers!


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