Paris Day 4, also known as "Dissapointment Day''

I swear Paris was a wonderful city. It's everything you expect and hope it to be. The cobblestone streets, the landmarks, the friendly people, the amazing food, the parks...but I can say from experience, being pick pocketed kinda put a damper on everything else.

We woke up Wednesday excited to finally go to the Louvre. I was going to school for Art Education, B was going for Graphic Design...needless to say, we were both excited to see everything the Louvre had to offer. So we woke up on Wednesday with our first stop being the inside of Notre Dame and the Louvre being our would-be final destination.

While we had been to Notre Dame several times by Wednesday, we had yet to be inside. We were always there too late and the Cathedral was closed. So it was exciting to see the inside.

It was beaufiul! The stained glass was amazing, there was a mass going on at the front of the church but we were free to explore the front area. Originally we had planned on climbing the bell tower but it was raining and we were excited to go to the Louvre.

From Notre Dame, we took the Batobus to the Louvre...I'll be honest, I really wasn't feeling good this morning. I had a bad headache and severe cramps. To say I might have been PMSing, is a huge understatment.

Once at the Louvre, we were shocked to discover that it was closed! At the time, we didn't know why. All the guardsmen would say was there was an unexpected staff meeting. I was super disappointed. I'm not gonna lie, I cried.

We tried to make the best of it. We ate lunch in the area, took a bunch of pictures, hit up some other musuem full of jewelry and textiles, then walked back through the Jardin de Tuilieries to the Orangerie Museum.

Once home, this was all over the news:

Yeah, pretty ironic that on Monday, we didn't get to go to the Louvre because I was cancelling my cards and talking to insurance, after being pickpocketed...on Wednesday we couldn't go to the Lourve because of a walkoff protesting, Pickpocketing.

The Orangerie was nice; it was very crowded due to the Louvre's closure but we got to see Monet's 360 rooms of the waterlily series, as well as several Picasso's. When we left the Orangerie, it was raining. We needed to go back to the Eiffel Tower to file a police report for my stolen wallet. But because Paris has so many different little districts, we had to go back to where the crime happened. So we were told.

Well it was raining and there were no cabs available but there was a TukTuk...a little 3 wheeled car/cart similar to those used in Asia.  So we took the Tuk Tuk back to the Eiffel Tower.

The kids loved it!

Of course, it was downpouring when we arrived.

So we get out, get to the base of the Eiffel Tower where there is a police station. Finally get an officer who speaks English and tada, I can't file the report there. I have to go to the main headquarters "Located by Les Invalides".  So it's pouring, the kids are beyond fussy, I'm in a pissy mood....and a HOHO bus just pulled up to the Eiffel Tower. It just so happens that 2 stops later is Les Invalides, so we opt to ride the HOHO bus to Les Invalides. Once there, I approached some young(er) french men who I assumed knew some English (I was correct) who told me, the police station was about 10 minutes by foot. 

Did I mention I was pissy and it was raining? Sissy had just dropper her snack on the ground, B realized he had lost his lens cap and we had another 10 minutes of walking. So we set off on foot in the direction he tells us.

We get to the 'back' of the Les Invalides "complex" (for lack of a better word) and there is the Army Museum.

We scope that out for about 2 minutes and continue to find the dang police station. Finally we see the street we were told it's on so we start walking down it and the numbers only go even...I'm looking for number 9. Say what? On the other side of the street is just a huge field/park. I cannot make this up people.

Oh wait, there's a tiny sign...we get closer to discover that the police is there, just UNDERGROUND. So we descend down the steps and file the report. I approached the receptionist, explained why I was there and she simply handed me a bilingual theft report and told me to fill it out. I do that and she says to "take a seat". So I sit. And wait. And wait some more, until finally 45 minutes have passed. An officer shows up, approaches the desk, stamps all the forms I filled out, makes a copy and hands them back to me.

Done.

No statement, no explanation. I asked if they had a lost & found or what happens if my documents show up. He said that documents would be turned into our Embassy if they showed up, and the ring? "Sorry, it is gone".

By this time, we're tired, we're hungry. It's now after 5pm. It's raining, again. Ironically enough after walking to the Concorde, taking a tuk tuk to the Eiffel Tower, walking from Les Invalides to the Army Museum to the Police Station and we come out of the police station, walk about 30 feet only to realize we are literally, right back by the Concorde...just across the street. Ugh! We found a TukTuk, paid him €20 to take us back to St. Micheal and called it a night. We picked up pizza on the street where we were staying, went home and ate it. I did take an hour to myself after dinner and walk around, then to Laduree. When all else fails, eat macaroons right?

Once back to the aparment we did baths and bedtime, then started to pack up. While our flight didn't leave until 3:50pm the next day, we had to be out of our apartment by 10am. We had 2 carry-on bags, 4 kids and it was raining...again. We opted to call a taxi and head straight to the airport. Our HOHO passes were expired, our musuem passes were expired...there wasn't much else we were able to do all with our luggage. We ate lunch, watched planes and relaxed. Until our flight was delayed a full hour because Air France couldn't find a cleaning crew to 'ready' the plan for takeoff.

So we get back to Venice an hour late, go to get our van and realize...my parking ticket for the long term parking lot...yeah, it was in my wallet. The one that got stolen. (Why was in in my wallet and not in the car you may wonder? Well in Italy you have to pay for parking right outside the airport, walk to the north 40 to get the car and then insert your validated parking ticket on your way out). So we have to find the main parking ''cassa'' or cashier which is in a parking garage that I didn't realize existed. I show him the police report and my passport and 15 minutes later, he backdates me a parking ticket. We finally leave the airport.

An hour later and we picked one dog up from the sitters, we are home and we discover...darkness. Um, okay. So I get upstairs only to find that while we were in France, our power went out. Everything in our fridge and freezer was beyond rotten. Our entire house stinks. And while we had stopped and bought milk for a cereal dinner, we have no way of storing the milk because my fridge was warmer than my house (which was 12 degrees celcius because the power had been out). Luckily a friend who had watched the other dog, was able to bring him home as well as a cooler bag full of ice.

Like I said, the trip didn't exactly end on a high note. But despite the pickpockets, the weather and the unexpected strike at the Louvre, it was a great City!

An American {pickpocketed} in Paris

Monday at 11:30 we had reservations for the Eiffel Tower. We did not stay close enough to walk, but I consulted my trusty Rick Steves guidebook for a list of bus routes near us that went to the tower. Come to find out they all picked up near St. Sulpice which was perfect because we wanted to stop and see the Church as well. 

First we stopped for Venti Caramel Frappachino at Starbucks, then we stopped at an adorable little bakery and picked up some breakfast goodies for our walk. 

St. Sulpice is much bigger than I had imagined. It's almost the same size at Notre Dame, making it the 2nd largest church in Paris.

You may recognize it from the book and movie "The Da Vinci Code". While we didn't get to go inside, it's the Church in the novel where one villain goes in search of the "keystone" revealing the location of the Holy Grail. He finds a hollow space under the floor next to the obelisk and breaks a tile to obtain the keystone. I won't spoil the book, but it was neat to see the Church (even if we didn't get to hear the organ). Immediately in front of the church we hopped on a bus and rode it right to Champ de Mars.

First peek...

Tada! I will say after being slightly disappointed at the actual size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower does not disappoint. It is just as tall as you would think!

And for a exorbitant amount of euro, you can buy lollipops in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. Then 30 seconds later when your 2 year old drops and breaks hers into a million pieces before even getting the wrapper off, you can go buy her another one. She is a wee bit spoiled by her Daddy.

They are working on the first level of the tower, I was told that there is an ice rink there in the winter (or will be) so they had these work elevators going up the middle.

We got to the tower a few minutes before 11am but couldn't ascend until our reservation time of 11:30. Once up there you can stay as long as you like but they only let you go up during your 1/2 hour reservation block. We still ended up going up around 11:20 but there isn't much to do under the tower itself. You can wait in line and not have a reservation but I would not recommend it. The lines were INSANE. Its rumored you could wait in line 3+ hours.

Excited to go up!

The views from the 2nd level were pretty amazing. The building with the gold top, is Les Invalides ( it is a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.) To the left and north of Les Invalides, you can see the 2 towers of Notre Dame.

When we purchased our tickets online, I bought the tickets that went to the Summit level, the 3rd level, at the very top. Once we were on the 2nd level, I quickly realized this was plenty high. I'm not typically afraid of heights, but having the kids peering out the 2nd level fencing, feeling the wind and seeing how crowded it was....my desire to go any higher was immediately squelched. B however went to the top. Here is is on the upper 2nd level, before getting in line for the lift.

Sissy celebrated her half birthday the day we arrived in Paris, so I made sure to take our bear with us and snap a photo on the Tower. She is a lucky little 2.5year old!

We ended up eating lunch on the tower (sandwiches) and then descending. The 3 younger kids all wanted to ride on the carousel, so I took them while B and Bubba explored the river and took photos.

I would love to say that our awesome day in Paris continued on to the Louvre...but it did not (though that was the plan). Sadly enough after these photos were taken, I was a victim of pickpocketing. It is a horrible problem in Paris, and there are signs everywhere. Luckily we were not hurt and our passports were not stolen.

Here is what happened: we purchased tickets for passes that allow you to ride the Hop On, Hop Off double decker bus tour as well as the Batobus, the water boat tour. We purchased the tickets and got in a short line to wait for the boat. I was wearing a crossbody bag (you can see it in the photo above), against my body that zipped shut. Inside was my wallet, some babywipes, a few snacks, my camera and phone. We were the second family in line and when the attendant approached, I took out my wallet to get our passes. I removed the passes from my wallet, stuck the wallet back in my purse, then gave the pass to the attendant. He handed them back, I took Peanut's hand and helped him and pushed the stroller up onto the boat. As soon as we were on board, I went to put the passes back in my purse and my wallet was gone. It literally happened in less than 45 seconds. My HUGE mistake was putting the wallet back in my purse, but failing to zip it right then. I was worried about getting the kids on the boat and didn't think about the fact that I made an easy mark.

I immediately told the attendant my wallet was missing, we looked on the ground, we asked the English family that was in front of us in line if they saw anything (they didn't) and we asked the people behind us. The single man said "No, but you have a lot of kids...is it in your stroller.' Which B had already completely emptied, it wasn't. The couple from Indiana who was behind him, didn't notice anything either but helped me look all over the floor of the boat, the ramp, etc. Everyone was helpful, but no one saw anything or had it {supposedly}. I filed a report with the Batobus company and the kids and I headed back to the apartment to call and cancel my cards. B continued to ride the boat for the rest of the tour, just to make sure it didn't show up or get dumped in the trash. It did not.

Lesson learned. It sucks but we were all okay.

Luckily before we left home, I had switched wallets and taken only my essentials needed to travel. My ID card, drivers license for Italy and 2 debit cards. I had less than €80 in it so it wasn't a huge loss. Thankfully my stateside drivers license, my emergency credit card, all my personal momentos and american dollars and our passports, were not in it. But I was a total airhead and earlier in the day, my hands were extremely swollen. In the bathroom stall, I had removed my wedding rings and zipped them up tight in my wallet, as my fingers were hurting from wearing them. You see where this is going, my rings were stolen when my wallet was taken. I filed a claim with USAA, who informed me that I would need to go to the police department to file a report, in order to file the claim.

By this time it was 5pm, we were exhausted. I was an emotional wreck who was trying not to let this ruin the whole trip, the kids were tired, and we ended up getting dinner from a store right there on our block, eating at home and going to bed early. We knew we would have to file the report, we just knew we were not getting to it that day.