So it was finally here, Michael’s last day off in Paris…a Monday…and on Monday Versailles is closed and the Veuve Clicquot estate is also closed in Champagne. No matter! The O’Donnells are no strangers to first world disappointment. We press on.
Nanny Rigsby wanted to climb to the top of Notre Dame to take in the view of Paris. So I packed up the boys and the baby and I ran around the square in front of the Cathedral (I had already hoofed it up to Sacre-Coeur with a baby, I didn’t need to hoof it to the top of another Cathedral), look closely and you can see us (and you can see the stroller fell over—dang Maclarens)!
Here, by the way, I got to watch all the tourists taking those photos where it looks like they’re pinching the top of Notre Dame…you know the ones…I think it started with people looking like they were holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This sort of thing has spread to all kinds of monuments now. But the worst/best/worst again thing we saw was a woman…not sure if she was a tourist or a Parisian native…who was tearing up pieces of bread and placing them all over her shoulders and her lap so that she was literally covered in pigeons. She was covered in them. As I looked on in horror, she placed a piece of bread in her mouth while a pigeon hopped up on her shoulder and nipped the bread out from between her teeth.
Moving on.
The views from atop Notre Dame were amazing…
We had a picnic lunch on the banks of the Seine and it was so lovely we decided to hop on a boat and tour the river. After all of this relaxing fun we went home to the most delightful message on the Skype voice mail. They offered Michael the job of Resident Director of Les Miserables. We jumped up and down screaming with delight while Nanny reassured the baby that his parents were indeed happy, they had not just lost their minds. It could have been construed either way.
We decided a celebration was in order and purchased a very nice bottle of champagne, then headed to the Arc de Triomphe.
It seemed fitting at the time.
Michael wants to be sure you know that he took all of these photos…
