Paris ~ Killorglin
Sunday playdate with friends
A quiet Sunday was called for after the excitement of the two week break, and in advance of back to school on Monday.
A trip to the Motte Piquet markets on Sunday morning for Charles and Simon to pick up some cheese for the afternoon tea coming up with the de la Boulayes.
Charles not impressed with the pigs ear & trotter stand at the market butchers…
Pierre, Aude, Thäis and Olivia lived in Sydney for many years where Pierre worked with Simon at McKinsey. They are now back in Paris and the two girls have recently been joined by a baby brother, Jacques.
The day started out rainy and dull, but we were well stocked with cheese so well placed to wait it out before heading to the park for some quality soccer and chasings.
Niamh had brought some bubbles to the delight of the kids:
The girls got on like a house on fire, and a great day out had by all.
Fantastic to see the de la Boulayes in such good form, kids all in great health, transition back to Paris has gone really smoothly by all accounts.
Nice for us to have a Sunday afternoon with good friends. Just what was needed after our busy travel schedule – kids slept well again that night.
Computer says “maybe”
Time at last for our first real interaction with the (in)famous French government bureaucracy. Niamh and the kids are EU citizens via their Irish passports, and as the spouse of a European Simon has the right to live in France – pending confirmation of his status at the Préfecture.
It wouldn’t be a true French experience without throwing yourself at the mercy of the French bureaucratic machine at some point or other, so off Simon went! He showed up an hour before the office opened (as advised) to stamp his feet in the frigid air along with everyone else, and was about 20th in line (and evidently the only applicant not from north Africa).
Some enterprising person had started a paper list at the front of the queue to add your name to – although subsequently clear not everyone was in the loop on this system. Eventually doors open and there is a remarkably orderly process by which the person in charge of the list shepherds everyone in the alleyway into the correct order in line at the door so we could each go in and take our ticket.
The most important weapon against the French bureaucratic system is a good book. Once inside, settle in patiently for the long wait…
Eventually called to the triage desk around lunchtime, Simon is told that his documentation looks like it is in order, however time is up for being sent upstairs for the second document review today, so please try again tomorrow morning.
Then in an act of unusual goodwill, the officer behind the desk scribbles a note to be shown to the security man the next day that is a pass to skip the queue to get in and the triage and come straight to the secondary desk.
Niamh and Simon decide to immediately declare this a victory not a defeat, and head out to lunch to celebrate.
Using the trusty Fourchette app, found a local bistro serving hearty country fare.
Simon was unconvinced at first, but quickly won over by a fantastic veal lunch served by a wife and husband team who clearly relished their food and put great care into preparing it.
A great little find.
Return visit the next day mercifully unremarkable, with security guard convinced, and exactly the same documents presented to second official who was sufficiently convinced to give Simon a “récépissé”. What is a récépissé, you ask? It is a little certificate to confirm that you have applied, that all your documents are in order, and earned the right to… a third meeting with another official with exactly the same documentation to entitle you to the actual carte de sejour.
Let’s review this process which is almost poetic in its beauty and symmetry: you queue up to present your full documentation to an immigration officer at the triage desk, who confirms that everything is in order and you have the right to a carte de sejour. This entitles you to a second meeting with another immigration officer on a different day to look at exactly the same documentation and confirm again that you have the right to a carte de sejour. This in turn entitles you to a third meeting with another immigration officer on a third day to look at exactly the same documentation and… you guessed it, confirm you have the right to a carte de sejour.
Monty Python couldn’t improve on this.
Oh, and were you wondering what that “good book” was on this occasion?
This little 1921 gem from Simon’s grandfather’s library.
Written as a concise and accessible summary for early teenage kids, what it lacks in accuracy it makes up for in amusement in its tone and certitude.
While the cat’s away…
This week Niamh made a trip back to Kerry to see her Mum – one of the great advantages of being so close in Paris. Flying out on Wednesday, back on Sunday and placing unexpected confidence in Simon to feed, clothe, entertain and get children to and from school!
Wednesday afternoons are family time, as Aisling doesn’t have school and Charles is off on Wednesday afternoons. Fortunately the skies had cleared, so we headed out with scooters into the Champ de Mars for a scoot around, and then a treat – a trip to the marionette theatre in the park.
The ever-present main character Guignol made his customary appearance, though without the up-front film documenting the life of the chief puppeteer like last time! Charles and Aisling enjoyed the show, the only non-French kids in the audience.
Throughout the week, lots of after-school fun to be had, from playground stops to mandatory photos outside our favourite flower stall…
Finding lots of ways to pass the time until Mum returns.
Saturday movie date!
On Saturday morning Charles had a birthday party at the movies to see Cro-Man (“Early Man”) by the Wallace & Gromit crew.
The rain had returned, so Simon and Aisling entertained themselves for a while in the adjacent shopping centre…
Then over a quick lunch, we decided we didn’t want to miss out on the fun at the movies, so we made a plan to head back next door and slip into the session after Charles and his mates had gone.
Bit confusing for Aisling to follow along in French at times, but with only 5 people in the cinema, it was fairly easy for Dad to pass along the essentials 🙂
A great Saturday date for all concerned!
Then it was off to pick up Charles, one more time past the statue of Liberty, with Aisling glad to oblige as she flew past on her pink flash of a scooter.
Check out that stylin’ helmet! The other cats in France might be scooting around helmet free, but we value our head and they’ve got nothing on us for style.
Meanwhile in Ireland…
Meanwhile, Niamh was catching up with family in Ireland where there was beautiful weather over the lakes and rivers of Kerry…
And at the end of the visit, a chance to catch The Gloaming in concert in Dublin with some family and friends.
The Gloaming are known as the “masters of tradition” in Ireland, playing traditional Irish music with the skill of concert virtuosos.
Martin Hayes on the fiddle as always the star amongst the star-studded cast. Worth a listen on youtube if you get the chance – try the Sailor’s Bonnet for instance, one of Niamh’s favourites.
Meanwhile in sculpture land…
And back in sculpture land, Simon continuing to work away each Tuesday night – and this time a bit in between times, having taken the plaster base back home to work on the painstaking wave formations.
Work on the water surface finally now finished, and holes in place for securing the wire frames for the cliffs. Next session will be time to secure the armatures in place and build up the rock surfaces…
Ending on a high note at the circus!
Always important to end the week on a high note. The previous Sunday we heard from the de la Boulayes that they were heading to the winter circus this Saturday night, so Simon, Charles and Aisling decided to tag along.
Le cirque d’hiver Bouglione is a Parisian institution that operates in a permanent building opened by none other than Napoleon III in 1852, and dedicated to the cirque d’hiver since 1870! Not an experience we could miss during our time in Paris, though the circus show itself looks like it evolved for the first 100 years then got stuck in about the 1970s 🙂
We have dancing girls (some in flashing LED dresses):
Lions and tigers (at pains to emphasise European born and bred):
And did we mention trained rats (Charles convinced he spotted Ratatouille but not Rami…) and a human (lady) cannonball. Luckily she hit the mark…
And lots more besides. Men and women doing tricks on horses – back flip from standing on one running horse to land on a second running horse not a bad trick in a ring. Lots of juggling, strong man displays, rope acrobats, etc. A fine show greatly enjoyed by all ages.
As the show went on it also became clear why this is a cirque d’hiver. The building design did not run to vents at the top of the vaulted ceiling, so the place quickly became a furnace! Any show where the outside temperature was above zero would test the limits of endurance. We shed all our outer clothing and lost a few pounds during the course of the show as a nice little fringe benefit.
Back home on Saturday night, with the hourly light show on the Tour Eiffel in full display just as we arrived at the front door.
Happy children at the end of another eventful week…