We were on the TGV from Geneva to Paris excited to spend our last weekend in Europe visiting our friend, Amelie in Paris. We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour express train to the City of Lights. We nibbled on some snacks tucked away in our backpack and sipped on some beers. Before we know it, we’re in Paris!
We quickly gathered our things and walked off the train to the end of the platform were our Amelie—a native Parisian—greeted us. We hopped on the RER and found ourselves in the 17th arrondisment of Paris (close to the Arc de Triomphe!). Amelie prepared a delicious meal for us that included a fine bottle of wine, which we took from her family cellar.After dinner we wanted to go for a nightcap. Jaren sifted through the backpack to find our stash of Euros, which was located in our documents holder, but there was no documents holder to be found as well as no Euros and more importantly, no Passports. NOTHING!
AHHHHH!
We quickly called the TGV to see if there had been any lost and found objects left from our train. There was nothing but a recording saying the business hours are from M-F, 9-5pm. (By this point it is nearly midnight on Friday). Next step, we called the American Embassy. Jaren spoke to an American, but is told there is nothing that can be done until Monday morning at 9am. (typical French). But, she is told that we have to file a police report indicating that our Passports are lost, if not stolen.
We tried to recall our events from when we gave the conductor our tickets from the documents holder and us arriving at Amelies. There were 2 possibilities: 1) The documents holder fell out of our bag on the train; or 2) The document holder was stolen from us on the TGV unbeknown to us. Either way, we lost our money and our passports.
Friday night, there was not much else we could do. Amelie escorted us up to the “chambre de bonne” where we had a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower and where we (tried) to get some sleep that night.
Saturday, we woke up and went back to Gare de Lyon in search of our passports. Again, NOTHING! Then we went to the local Police station to file the report of our missing passports. After that, we knew there was nothing else we could do until Monday morning, so we let Amelie take us on a native’s tour of the city.
First stop, Place de la Bastille! It marks the site of the prison known as the Bastille, which was stormed by the Mob in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.
Followed by that, we walked our way through Place des Voges, where Victor Hugo lived as well as several other famous Parisians. We stopped and took a brief nap in the green lawn.From there, we walked through Le Marais, which is an area that has quaint shops and stores and is also home to the old Jewish quarter.
Le Marias led us to L’Hotel de Ville, which is a beautiful ornate building in the heart of Paris. Then, we walked across the bridge to Notre Dame, where our digital camera died and we had to buy a disposable camera (thus one reason for the long delay in providing pictures). |  |  |
From there, it was through the latin quarter, followed by a walk through the University area.
A picture of a typical Parisian patisserie, boulangerie, cafe. |  |  |
We were walking towards the Centre Pompidou when we realized we were close to "Les Halles", the area in central Paris that used to house the daily markets. We are huge fans of Tony Bourdain--the smug New Yorker who travels the world in search of local foods and traditions. Well, we're fans of the show and we wanted to see the inspiration for his NY restaurant. So, here is Steve under the arches of "les halles".Then, we were in dire need of a rest, so we trekked to le Centre Pompidou, where we went to the roof deck bar and had ourselves a drink before hiking all the way to the Opera and to Amelie’s restaurant of choice for dinner where we met our old friend from Geneva, Ariana and her boyfriend Greg. There we had a delicious Parisian meal followed by a night of drinking and playing darts (why? Because it was fun!).
Sunday was a bit rough to get up. It was the first round of Elections for the upcoming French Prime Minister! Woo Hoo! Us International Relations nerds love this stuff. We went with Amelie to cast her vote to her local poll.This is a window display in a local flower shop saying vote. The Parisians are passionate about their politics
From there, we went off to Sacre Coeur and the Mont Martyre area for a walk about and a bite to eat—cheese and a baguette. We took a nice long break on the steps to reflect on the beauty of the city.
Et Voila the city of Paris from afar!
Then, we began to walk toward the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. We got an espresso at a mid-afternoon break somewhere between the river and Mont Martyre before catching a bus to Les Invalides. There we explored the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed each other’s company in the City of Love before we headed back to chez Ropert for the results of the first round of elections.
| From below; Jaren & Steve; from the other side of the river | ||
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A brisk walk back, we made it just in time for dinner where Amelie’s parents made a feast and Amelie gave us our wedding present. It was absolutely amazing to experience a typical French meal in the home of such a wonderful and loving family. That is a memory we will remember for years to come.
Soon after dinner, we enjoyed watching the election results (in French) with her family. To see the media portray the election, the results as well as speaking to her family was unbelievable.
Monday rolled around bright and early for us. We said our goodbyes to Amelie, who had to leave for work and we found ourselves on the RER to Gare de Lyon, where we wanted to check with the lost and found about our passports. Of course, they were nowhere to be found. Thus, our next step was to the US Embassy where we had to be issued an emergency passport. We wait, and we wait…half the day gone waiting in a typical US bureaucracy building—blue walls, waiting lines and loud Americans. Finally, we are issued 1 year passports (of course, no good to us since we’re leaving for the Peace Corps in just a few months for 2 years…) and we were able to buy tickets on the next TGV train to Geneva.
We had a wonderful, as well as a memorable trip!
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