Bonjour!

I'm reviving my blog to chronicle my family's first (of hopefully many) trips to Europe! The initial purpose of my blog was to be a personal style blog. This was suggested as an alternate/modern version of a writing portfolio as I was trying to get back into copywriting seven years ago (see my first ever post from 2010). I learned that I do not like taking pictures of my self and do not particularly have fantastic style. That kind of wiped out the "personal style" theme.

I went from blogging daily to eventually going dormant with occasional A-to-Z challenges (last post). Most of this was via my phone while commuting to work. Now, without further ado, in harmony with the "whatever" part of my blog title tagline, I present to you the Paris leg of our trip (also posting via mobile phone).

TIPS FROM A FIRST-TIME TRAVELER TO EUROPE | PARIS EDITION

Train: When desiring to depart the train, push the button on the doors and be quick to disembark once the doors open. Otherwise, you might stand there for a while then when you figure it out, your husband might be on the platform and you yank your child from the closing doors and you and your two teenagers are on the train unable to reopen the doors. It's possible. It's also possible that you have no mobile phone service and try to find wifi hotspots and after a comedy of errors, you meet in front of Notre Dame. Or something like that.

Dining: Try the formule from the menu if you are very hungry. It is typically more economical (by Paris standards) and often consists of an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Takeout type  counters may offer a main item (sandwich, salad, etc.), dessert, and a drink.

We ate at Le Symposium which was in a very touristy area of Saint Michel on Rue de la Huchette. We usually check TripAdvisor first but had no data service and were getting hangry. It only has a 2.5 rating but we enjoyed it.

Husband's appetizer. Escargots!

Fondue Savoyarde.

Crême Brûlée 

Eiffel Tower pictures

Free: Trocadero. Short walk just across the Seine. 

Decent fee: Montparnasse Tower. Take the elevator to an enclosed observation deck at the top of this office building. Climb a few flights of stairs for the outside terrace. Don't worry, there is an enclosure. 

Speaking: Give an effort to speak some French, even if it's to say that you don't speak French. I took three years of French in high school with a gap year in between years two and three. I also took a quarter in college which was equivalent to a full high school year. That was over 25 years ago!

Still, I was a little surprised at what I remember. I started out saying, "Je parle Français un petit peu" (I speak French a little bit). But then the person would speak a bunch to me and I couldn't translate fast enough, if at all. So I started saying, "Je ne parle pas Français bien" (I don't speak French well). Then the person would commend me on what I could say...and they would continue graciously in English. I called my attempts "Frenglish" and would usually receive a smile in response. If I were able to speak a wee bit more French (or be less shy about it), I'd call it Franglish.

C'est tout pour maintenant!