I flew from Denmark to Paris where I met…my mom and brother! I get my squealing tendencies from my mother, so needless to say it was a rather noisy reunion. They were both somewhat jet lagged, but chipper, and we made our way to our first destination: Dijon. Dijon’s only about 40 minutes from me, and we had to go through there to get to Chalon. So we figured we’d stop off for a night and wander around. Though it was about 30 percent wandering and 70 percent sleeping (again, jet lag). We had planned it this way though because Dijon and Chalon (our next stop) are not very big nor have any must-sees.
The next day I got to show them Chalon, which was really fun. They got to see my apartment and experience the many miles I walk each day in order to get around town.
Next stop: Lyon, which is only an hour from Chalon. I hadn’t really explored Lyon so I was excited to get the chance. We saw the ancient roman theaters (which may have been my favorite thing), the Musée des Beaux Arts, and we ate at some Buchons, which have traditional Lyonnais food.
After this, we headed back up to Paris to spend the remainder of their trip. We also met up with my Dad, who had to come a couple days late because of work. We were staying in the Marais, which is one of my favorite places in Paris…and there are Jews there! Several of my teachers informed me that there are no Jews in Chalon (which I’m pretty sure can’t be right). But leading up to Christmas I was often met with surprise when I tried to explain to people that I celebrated Hanukkah and not Christmas. I certainly didn’t see any signs of Hanukkah preparation around (not that there is much Hanukkah preparation). So it was weird to be in a place where there were menorahs in the windows, bakeries with “kosher” signs on them, and men walking around with yarmulkes.
Our first afternoon we even went to a deli, where I got a hot pastrami sandwich! And we found latkes, though they didn’t compare to my Dad’s. You may be starting to notice a certain food related pattern. French food is amazing. Obviously. But there are just certain things you can’t find in small town France. So I had to take advantage of being in Paris.
Like, Chinese food for Jewish Christmas. Though this was only somewhat satisfying—I think I may have to give up on my great dumpling search. French Chinese restaurants just don’t compare to American Chinese restaurants…or perhaps Chinese Chinese restaurants, though I really wouldn’t know…
Surprisingly, we were able to find some great French restaurants. One of my favorites was owned by three men (we think they were brothers) who were the most stereotypical French looking people I had ever seen—complete with mustaches.
We hit up all the typical sights: Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, L’Opera, Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame, Musée de l’Orangerie, Musée d’Orsay, Centre George Pompidou. We also spent a day in Rouen, which is very pretty, and the town where Joan of Arc was burned.
It was interesting to see the things that were once different and surprising to me (and are now normal) be different and surprising in the eyes of my family. For example: having to stamp your ticket before going on a train; not receiving any cream with your coffee unless you ask; specifically saying “bonjour” and “au revoir” to any shopkeepers; dogs and cats being allowed in shops and restaurants.
It was a busy 10 days and hard to say goodbye, but I was very glad to have a French adventure avec ma famille.
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