Day Six: Au Revoir France - Cheerio, England!

Happy New Year, 2017! Let me try to get this spelling French thing correct, Bonne Annee!

Doing New Years in France:

It should be done, at least once in a lifetime. I've done New York in the past with my high school theater group (1996--woot, woot! Love you, Mr. Johnson!), and so I can see a big difference in the way things are done between the two countries in their iconic places of new year celebrations. France is great. It lacks some pizzazz. That's the thing about France though. In our opinion it relies too heavily on it's monuments and not enough on including contemporary flare to it's festivities. This may be why we felt we left our hearts in Belgium. In Brussels the history is seen in the background; the smells and sounds, the entity of the people moving together as one unit, are contemporary, alive, inviting. There is nothing smug about Belgium. So, when you arrive back in France on their biggest night you expect some fanfare, some music, some confetti shooting off the buildings---none of this. They wait until thirty-minutes before the shebang and then convert the Arch d'Triumph into a mega-tron showcasing various French iconography and then begin the countdown from the last digit of the new year. So, we were waiting and rehearsing our countdown from ten in French when suddenly there was a seven and then down the clock dwindled. The crowd was equally confused and unprepared so it seemed quiet for such a celebration. The fireworks were wonderful and we really appreciated being where we were. Unforgettable.

Oh, here's the confetti. New Year Hangover in France no where near the Arch d'Triumph 2017

Travel tip: You will want to remember that you should dress very warm before leaving for the evening. Everyone will understand this except for your teenage daughter who will throw a fit about having to add more layers (function over form will elude her, she will kiss and make up with you later, I promise). Even with the added layers, super awesome long johns, gloves, ear warmers, hats, scarves, boot socks, boots, and heavy coats, you will think you are freezing to death. Try this: Burn calories by jumping up and down in place. Wear yourselves out, you still have almost two hours to go before the countdown. Instead, enjoy how close your angry (cold) teenage daughter is getting and how close your second born son is getting and then get a selfie, they may never be so willing to get this close again.

Brrr! Cold in France on New Year's Eve 2016

 Although unplanned, we realized that our mishap from the day before (sleeping in until after 10am and being wakened by the maid in Brussels) ended up working well for staying up until 1am in France for new year's. The one thing we did plan for was keeping ourselves busy at least until two hours before the countdown. We took a "snacking cruise" on the river Seine from 7pm to 8:30pm. Really, it's more of a dinner cruise but in bag lunch form. They hand you a huge bag of food (four types of sandwiches, a banana, and a skewer of macaron cookies each (that's 20 sandwiches, 5 bananas, 25 cookies). All of the sandwiches except one is some kind of salmon salad, pate, or clam chowder type of filling. They are great though. Adults get a glass of champagne, kids get sodas. Before the cruise the kids will say, "Why are we getting a snack on a cruise when we should be getting dinner," after the cruise the kids will say, "That was way more than a snack."

The bridge just ahead has the letter 'N' on each side. River Seine Cruise 2016

River Seine Cruise Travel Tip: Go upstairs after you eat, enjoy the brisk air, listen to the history being told over the speakers about all of the buildings on the Seine ("The Louvre on the Left Bank puts only 14% of their art on display for the public....") But, don't forget to take a blanket to wrap around you (even in all your extra clothes you'll need it). Realize, just for a moment, that there is snow falling on you. Marvel for minute about the snow that morning in Brussels while you got your breakfast waffle and how the Belgian lady said, "Oh my, it hasn't snowed in Brussels in two years."

Afterward, walk up and out through the Trocadero. See the Eiffel Tower sparkling and hear the crowds cheering every time the lights blink. Follow the crowds, they are headed to the Champs Elysee and toward the Arch d'Triumph. Be happy, you have arrived before brunt of the crowds. You are very close to the Arch. You won't realize this until you look behind you.

Ahead of you. 

Behind You

Travel tip: There are bag and coat checks throughout while getting to the Arch and no glass bottles allowed. They don't just have you drop your alcohol at the check point, there is no trash, you just get turned away. We breezed through while others went away.

Okay, so it's the new year. The crowd is dispersing. You are 25 minutes, at least, from your hotel by foot. You think, maybe a taxi? And then realize just as quickly that at least 300,000 other people might think the same thing. You are happy when you settled in for the hike when you breeze past all the taxis trying to get through traffic. Plus, if you hadn't walked, you would have missed this final attraction:

RIP Lady Diana

Travel Tip: If you are a big fan of Lady Diana, you can also hang a love lock on the chains around her memorial.

In the morning on the first, you wake late, but it's okay. The breakfast starts late. You have also prepared for this fairly well, your Eurostar tickets aren't until 2:30pm. You stow your luggage in the Bagagerie by the front desk and go on a final walk about. It is 11am, you think there has been an apocalypse and your family are the only survivors because on January 1st in Paris, France, everyone is still sleeping at 11am, and all the shops are closed, but you remember too that this January 1 is on Sunday. Is this what Sundays are like in Paris? You keep moving, enjoy the peace and quiet. You think you've found yourself in France:

James in France 2017

You are getting sentimental. You can see yourself driving around the city on a Vespa.

The boys and their Vespa, France 2017

After all, you already know where the laundromat is, because this is where you did the laundry yesterday (thank James!!! Doing laundry while I was writing the blog post yesterday). Travel tip: Bring your own laundry detergent (we brought travel Woolite, yay me for reading other travel blogs in advance).

Laundromat France 2017

So, you begin to think: I can live here. And then you open your mind up to this idea and see the real estate postings in the window. It's meant to be. But, wait, C'est combien? For 290 square feet (two hundred and ninety, just to be sure), you pay 1,250 euro ($1350 US) per month. Well, it was nice imagining France for a moment, but that closet space is just going to have to wait until the next life. Travel tip: remember, you liked Belgium better anyway and so you head to Paris Nord (train station) and get your passport stamped twice (bye, bye France; hello, England). And then hop on the Eurostar, you're headed for the Chunnel, no looking back.

1,250 euro for 290 square feet apartment in France

Kids waiting for the Eurostar at the train station France 201

***Any misspellings are only due to lack of ability to access proper Internet for research. But, we apologize if we look daffy in any of our foreign spellings, it's hard not to be a stupid American from time to time.