Foo La Fa Fa

June 29-July 2
Foo La Fa Fa Fa Fa (Fa)… We were constantly singing this little ditty that John and Evan introduced me to while walking around the streets of Paris. Either that, or just as often, Edith Piaf’s “Mi Lord” to da, da, da… And if we weren’t singing then we were posing for pics, or dancing or watching John jump or oh là là-ing about how beautiful and charming the city is.

A wonderful few days with my friends Evan and John in Paris they were. (I know Evan from school. He’s also my colleague.) They invited me to stay at the fabulous little apartment they’ve rented for the week. It was in Montmartre, very close to the Moulin Rouge and many, many tourists. I showed them all of my favourite spots…well most. We didn’t get to Berthillon’s ice cream parlour on Ile St Louis….oh and we missed out on the best falafel too. But that’s ok because we did so many great things.

A Marais walking tour of old hotel mansions and the very busy Place des Vosges where Victor Hugo’s house was, dinner in Montmartre with strains of the soccer game somewhere off in some local bars. We met a traveler from Australia at this restaurant and chatted while we each had our dinner. Notre Dame tour, with beautiful California high school choir bringing the sacred into the tourist filled church. (Though it was not as bad as Westminster Abbey last summer with Helen) We walked at length through the Latin Quarter where I used to live, had crêpes and drinks right across the street from my place, bread and yummy stinky cheese in a nearby park overlooking ND. Afternoon rest at the Jardin de Luxembourg, the St Germain des Près and more café time, sore feet, drinks on docked boat restaurant, dinner at Pompidou while watching all the Pompidou boys also enjoying the evening. Quiet day at Père Lachaise visiting with the likes of Chopin, Rossini, Balzac, Morrison, Piaf, Wilde and many others and their families who rest their beautifully. We were saddened though to see the graffiti on Oscar Wilde’s grave and the neihbouring grave to Jim Morrison’s. Very distasteful and disrespectful we agreed. Lovely lunch at a local restau there, nap in the aft, and then walked down towards the Champs Elysées.


We bumped into Giovanna before the allotted time. We had a foo la fa fa dinner on the Champs Elysées. It was very lovely. We tried to not talk about school but that didn’t always work either. After dinner we walked back to Giovanna’s little apartment she’s rented near the Jardin des Tuileries and oohed and ahhed over the Eiffel Tower all lit up with its bling bling lights.
The next day we managed to get up early enough to meet under it…though that almost didn’t work out. We actually almost missed each other which is virtually impossible to do when you decide to meet under the Eiffel Tower. But that would have to mean that both parties are actually under the ET. In the end it all worked out. Evan and John took the stairs up to the first level. We had a photo op with the French teachers under the Eiffel Tower and then headed towards the Arc de Triomphe. I left E and J there. I still wanted to get a couple of things, none of which I could find and so all I got was quite wet in the rain. Train off to Holland in the afternoon worked very well.