Parque Marquenterre - Road Trip!

Today was Saturday and we were finally able to make use of the car! We got around a 10AM start and took off in our Renault Twingo. Check out the lack of instruments on the dashboard! There were a few indicators over on the side where the radio would be but not much. We had 2 borrowed car seats, a booster for Gwyneth and a real car seat for Ethan that was large and clunky. By the end of the day we decided he was too big for it and would be safer in the booster. So we did that and let Gwyneth ride in the seat. It was about an hour drive to the Parque Marquenterre (a bird park). See http://www.baiedesomme.fr/parc-du-marquenterre-en-baie-de-somme-parc-ornithologique-oiseaux-migrateurs-animation-et-voyage-nature--ene3.html We successfully negotiated the toll highway as we were prepared with coins. Fabien told us to stay to the right and go to the human, but we saw no such person. It cost 5 euro (less than $7.50).




Once off the highway we were able to follow the signs to this out of the way bird park and we arrived around 11AM. Fabien had told us that originally it was a farm or vineyard or something like that when the owners noticed that lots of birds were hanging around. So they turned it into this really well done bird park. We saw many many new birds and if I happened to be keeping a life list - then I'm sure I would have added quite a few birds. Here are Nic and the kids at the entrance - sorry for the sideways business, I can't fix it. The park was not cheap - 27 euros or about $40 for all of us, but it was exceptionally well done. You walked around (6km) for the longest loop and most of the trails had built up sides so the water birds did not see you. Then they had about 14 bird blinds (houses with holes for looking at the birds set up) throughout the park.





Right at the beginning we were treated to these nesting white storks. There were also several of them flying around everywhere.

















At the start of the day Ethan took of running as you cans see here. Near the entrance was the only place where the ponds were open like this but we started to see birds galore right away. I can start to list them but I am sure that I can't remember them all: elegant avocet (tons of the them), shelduck, shoveler, barnacle goose, grey goose, one grand cormorant, oyster catchers, northern lapwings, 2 great crested grebes (male in their fancy plumage) - I was so happy about that one!, some common teals, and more but I can't identify them from my pictures. It seemed like once we got back to the entrance and looked at one of their bird books for the parque, we had seen almost everything that was in the book.


The park had great "signage" if I can use that as s word. All of the bird blinds/huts had signs in them to help you identify the birds. I took a picture of a few .... I probably should have taken picture of them all - then I could remember the birds!





Here is one bird photo - the elegant avocet. I have many more (of other birds) but I will have to put those on facebook.



Here are what the bird blinds looked like. I think around this point we may have stopped to eat our sandwiches. However, later on we noticed a sign that said no picnicking! Oops, missed the memo on that one, but we also weren't going to go on the 6km walk without giving the kids something to eat. Ethan only got "shooshed" once in one of the huts by a French woman and Nic got the evil eye he thinks, because Ethan was making too much noise.





To pass the time between bird huts we played some follow leader. You can see how they kept the paths well hidden from the birds. The water was just over our shoulders to the left but we couldn't see it from the path. The kids did remarkably well with the hiking. Ethan took some shoulder rides every now and again, but he did do a lot of the walking himself.












Here is some scenery. You can see all of the birds (in this particular pond) and you can see one of the other bird blinds on the left hand side.














At the end of the day we were treated to this European crane. Check out the tail! We had never seen one before and had no idea what it was. We found it in one of the bird books. Apparently it is common but it was exciting for us!

After were were done (around 3pm?) we hit their cafe for some "double cafes" or double expressos while Gwyneth got a chocolate ice cream and Ethan got an Orangina because he wanted to make burps. That is something that he has learned on this trip - bubbly water gives him the burps and it makes his family laugh. I think we left around 4pm and were struck by the numbers of people still coming in given that the place closes at 7PM. Things get going late in France we've noticed. (In fact tonight - now Monday - Veronique is picking us up to go kayaking and she is coming at 7PM).

We decided to take the short drive (20 minutes?) onto the beach in Berck that we were also considering for today. It was quite windy when we got there (in stark contrast to the beautiful weather at the bird park) so we knew that we had made the right decision. There were tons of people out doing all sorts of sports involving a sail - in and out of the water. As Fabien had told us the beach is large and it was a LONG walk to get to the water. I think that the tide was out a bit too, but not my picture of an ideal beach. Anyway, we all walked out there as it seemed like we should stick out toes in the ocean. This picture is when we are almost there.

We came back (with the kids somewhat complaining about all of the wind) and stopped to sit behind these huts that were on the beach (you cannot see them here). It got us out of the wind. Ethan found this pre-dug hole and was trying to make it bigger - ginormous - to use his words. But he didn't make to much progress. After some time in the sand we stopped at the "double decker" carousel that you see in the background for a few spins and then we were on the way home! I think we got home around 7:30 - 8:00PM after a really lovely day - thanks to everyone for such a spectacular day!

Friday June 19th - Ethan is ill

So our day did not start as expected. I found Nic and Ethan in the kitchen in the morning and Nic said he thought he was going to throw up (Ethan that is). Ethan had fallen asleep around 4 or 5PM the night before and slept until the morning. Now he was asking for water and milk and he looked really pale. This was exactly what he did the day before we left for Europe while Judy and Ed where still at our house. He had a morning of vomiting and then he was fine. Sure enough a few minutes later, Ethan threw up (into the basket) the water and milk that he had been drinking. On the positive side, since he had missed dinner there was nothing solid in it. He proceeded to throw up 3 or 4 more times, in small amounts. Nic really needed to get to the office so he went off mid morning and I stayed home with kids. I had plans to get out and get supplies for our road trip the next day but it was not meant to be.



After Ethan's puke episodes were over he was really hungry. Since we had talked to the doctor before we left for Europe, we knew how to handle it. Give him small sips of liquid (but not water since it is harsh on the stomach some how) - preferably gatorade - every 10 or 15 minutes and if he keeps it down then increase the dosage. All we had was "limonade" a bubbly water that was slightly sweetened and had a lemon flavor so that would have to do. I started him off with the dosage but he quickly said he was hungry - the poor thing missed dinner. So after a few doses I let him have dry toast and hoped for best. He did keep it down.



A little later Gwyneth was hungry and I made her a bean quesadilla. Ethan caught wind of it and of course he wanted one. So I gave it a shot as he did seem to be perking up and he kept that down as well. So slowly he seemed to be on the mend. The funniest moment of the day was when I found Ethan in the kitchen with an unwrapped candy bar (about the size of a single Kit Kat stick) and he was licking it. I think he knew that we wasn't supposed to eat it because of his tummy, and somehow licking would be okay. I started to tell him not to, but tears welled-up in his eyes .... he really wanted it. So I let him have it and everything was okay. The good news for the day was that Gwyneth finished her 4th grade Singapore math books today! She earned her Wii. (We had promised her a Wii once she finished). We also told her she doesn't have to start the 5th grade books until Andrea does or school starts again .... whichever comes first.



Nic came home around 3PM still working on his mathematics. By this time Ethan had completely recovered and Nic noted that the color was back in his cheeks. So it is a little strange he's had this same thing twice now, but I guess it is just some sort of 24 hour (or less) bug. We had a little afternoon coffee and then I went out to the grocery store. We needed some dinner and few supplies for our car trip the next day. I was also having a craving for something from a French bakery. I walked by one on the way to the store with some yummy looking cakes but I knew that I couldn't carry it and the food so I had to pass. I got some things at the Carrefour, hardly anything by American standards, but still I was the person with the most at the checkout stands. The checkout guy said something to be about the lettuce - I could gather it was about the price - but my brain seemed like it was one step behind. Then he typed something on the cash register and pointed to .59 euros and I said "d'accord". (Although I think it was really .89 euros). At the end of our transaction he said something like "have a good journey" in French and I was proud of myself for understanding even if I couldn't produce a response.



I headed home and then asked Gwyneth to come back out with me to the bakery. I thought that we could get something to celebrate her math book victory and to get an early start on Father's Day which would be on Saturday. She picked out his. (Only 20 euros, oh but worth every penny). Everything on top was edible - even the think that has the stores logo on it - which I thought was a plastic pick until I picked it up! I asked if it had chocolate inside and I understood "chocolate mousse" but I didn't catch the second statement, I just assumed it would all be good.






As you can see by the photo we didn't like it at all. And we discovered that the second description of the interior was for the meringue layers (white) that you can see.

Here is a sideways picture of everyone (except the picture taker celebrating). We didn't get Ethan dressed all day in case he was going to puke anymore. (He is wearing underwear). Nic is wearing his French Father's Day shirt "No 1 de touts les papas!". The kids had picked it out the day we got the free balloons. Gwyneth have Nic a few of her specialty hand made cards and she was excited to celebrate! After dinner we did some planning for our car trip the next day. We were finally going to be able to use Veronique's car. The scheduling hasn't worked out very well up to now. We had planned on going to the beach which was 1 hour away, but the weather didn't look quite warm enough (low to mid sixties). So we changed course and decided to go to bird park nearby that Fabien had mentionned to us. The beach was nearby so it would be possible to go to the beach for a little bit if the weather cooperated (i.e. no rain).

Thursday at the Louvre

Gwyneth and I had to get up early to be on the 8AM train. (8AM was when the reduced fares started). So we managed to get up and out of the house by 7:30AM for the walk to the train station. Here is the apartment kitty (Olympus) in the morning. He really likes the windows. In the kitchen the window has a ledge which he likes to go out and sit on. It is a bit nerve wracking! Veronique told us that when he was kitty had actually fell off the ledge. I guess he was okay as he is here today.




The train ride was uneventful and we quickly made the change from train to Metro this time as we already had tickets and we knew where we were going. We had to change Metro lines, but total it was only 8 stops and I think we were at the Louvre by 9:50AM. This picture (self portrait) was actually taken in the afternoon, so there are quite a few people there. In the morning this courtyard was quite empty. So it looks like the early bird gets the worm in Paris. You enter the Louvre through the glass pyramid and go down a level to the underground entrance center. It cost me 9 euros ($13?) to get in and Gwyneth was free. We had absolutely no waiting for security or the tickets.


We decided to get some audio devices which turned out to be quite clever. (More on that later). Anyway, we spent another 7 euros. We decided to make a bee line for the Mona Lisa and then for the Venus de Milo and then see where we are. The Louvre is a dizzying maze of rooms and corridors. Luckily to get the Mona Lisa there were clearly marked signs. You can see one on the right of this photo. Anyway, along the way we stumbled cross this magnificent statue: The Winged Victory of Samothrace. Notice that the base looks like a boat. The statue dates to 190BC.










Next stop Mona. Here is Gwyneth with her. We had to muscle our way to front a little bit but we managed. There were a TON of people in this room. I had read that flash photography wasn't allowed in the Louvre but clearly there were flashes going off everywhere. And I saw that throughout the day - but the Louvre employees were not trying to enforce the rules at all. So I played along too and used the flash on my camera when needed. We stayed a while and then decided to move on the next stop: The Venus De Milo. We had to retrace some steps and got to see a few more paintings. (It would turn out to be our last big look at paintings as later in the day we concentrated on "antiquities".) Anyway, we saw several people set up with their aisles trying to "copy the masters". How they could concentrate with all of the people I don't know.






On the way to the Venus de Milo we stopped for a little tour of this fantastic room which held the coronation crown of Louis XIV (if I remember correctly). It gave me my palace fix for the trip. I had been thinking of trying to take the kids to a palace/castle but I think that this will do.















Here is the Venus de Milo (or Aphrodite). Again it was crowded with people jockeying for position to take a photo in front of it. The statue dates to the late 2nd century BC. By this time it was 11:30AM and we were a bit hungry. So we decided to get some food and then afterwards take one of the "tours" that were pre-programmed into our audio guide. Since it was before noon the cafe was empty and we found a table easily. By the time were were finished tables were at a premium, as there were not too many at this cafe. We had 2 croque monsieurs, 2 chips, and 2 cokes. I think it cost $30. The sandwiches weren't great so a bit of a disappointment on that score!









The audio guides came pre-programmed with 4 tours. French masterpieces, Antiquities, the Palace, and maybe Italian Masterpieces. We decided to do the Antiquities tour through Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and more. The guide had a video screen with a map of the museum that you followed. Along the tour you could press on circles that would tell you about the different pieces. You could pick which ones that you wanted to listen to. The guide said the tour would take 2 hours. It started from the entrance area, and here it is looking a little more crowded in the afternoon.




At the beginning we were listening to all of the commentary, everything was so interesting. Here is Gwyneth looking at 3 Egyptian statues. The wife is on the left and the husband is represented twice on the right. They weren't sure why he was represented twice. In the same room they had the statue of a Pharaoh who was represented as an old man, which was interesting, as Egyptian art usually shows people in this ideal state of beauty. There were so many cool things I couldn't write it all here. I can say that the audio tour took us 4 hours (rather than the advertised 2 hours). This was after we had started skipping some of the commentaries because we realized that it was taking so long and also because after a while one statue started to look like another.



After our tour we decided to turn in the audio guides (around 4PM). I had hoped to maybe do another tour but there was no way that our legs or minds were going to take it. Gwyneth was terrific the whole day, she was really interested in looking at things and didn't complain once about anything. I think having the interactive guide may have helped with that. In any case we decided to get some coffee and have a little break out in the courtyard. We found a Starbucks and so I am sure that I have made my mom proud and disappointed Alvaro all with one purchase. It cost about $14 for my white mocha and Gwyneth's frappachino.



We were waiting for a 7PM train from Gare du Nord (that was when the reduced fares started again). We had to be on he Metro by 6PM to get back to the train station. That was more than enough time, but I didn't want to be late! Gwyneth wasn't up for walking around outside. I had thought that if we had taken a walk in nearby Jardin de Tuileries we maybe could catch a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe, but she was tired. So we opted for going back in to the museum to see a few things that we had missed. One was the excavated medieval castle/moat from around 1100AD and that was sitting beneath the Louvre. We also walked by the nice Sphinx which we had seen before but now no one was there and we could get a decent photo. We also wandered around a few gift shops and you can see the evidence in Gwyneth's hands.





At 6PM we walked to the nearby Metro. The Louvre closed at 6PM too. Here is Gwyneth in the station near the Louvre. Again, it was 8 stops back to the train station with one change. The only time we had to squeeze in like sardines was for our last stop where we had to change lines and go from the Gare de L'est to the Gare du Nord. I didn't want to think about what it would have been like with Ethan. The train ride home was uneventful and we were there about 8PM. Nic thought we might be able to pick us up with the car (it turned out Ethan was asleep) but we didn't see him and took the 20 minute walk home. Gwyneth was quite energized and excited. Nic remarked that it didn't sound like his first trip to the Louvre with his parents. He remembered walking back and forth from one painting to the next. I think the interactive audio guides may have improved things for us! All it all, it was a great today. However, now I am hungry for more. I think I need to go back and look at some paintings now.

Not much happening on Wednesday ....

I missed a day of blogging for Wednesday, but that is okay at nothing much happened. Somehow I couldn't muster the energy to get the kids out of the apartment. It is starting to seem like a long walk and a huge effort to get anywhere. The kids were happily playing games, doing art, and doing math so they were entertained. I tried to send a message to Nic to meet us downtown late afternoon but he never got it (something about the email in the department) so that didn't encourage me to go out.


When Nic got home he had train tickets for Gwyneth and I to go to the Louvre the next day. (We had discussed those plans already). Gwyneth wanted to go and we thought it was a good idea that she got some culture. It was clear the the Louvre and Ethan weren't going to mix. So I was the lucky one who got to experience the Louvre. I had been to France in high school on a school trip but I can't remember at all if we went to the Louvre. Anyway, I tried to make it an early bed time but it was hard and I had a little trouble sleeping. Perhaps it was the excitement of the prospect of doing an adult activity!

Boys' Day

Today I (Nic) stayed home with Ethan while Deb and Gwyneth went to visit the Louvre in Paris. The girls will have to report on that adventure. Somehow I couldn't imagine taking Ethan to the Louvre. Thoughts of chasing him through halls of priceless art didn't appeal to me. So he and I went to the zoo and the park instead, and I got to experience some of Deb's world. Today was a good day to take off as I think Fabien and I finally figured out the problem we've been working on - albeit with a counterexample, and not the theorem. It's possible that it isn't even correct as the details have not been verified carefully, but anyway I had a pleasant feeling today thinking that it was settled. It's been nice to allow myself to be consumed by mathematics again for a while and if it pans out like I think it will from here then I'll be happy and ready to come home.

At any rate Ethan and I got to the zoo around 10h30-11, although I'm not really sure as my watch stopped working a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have no concept of time. We walked around the school groups to see the animals Deb and the kids saw previously and ate lunch. Mostly Ethan wanted to climb on things so we went to the nearby park afterwards to play. There was another large batch of schoolkids there (still don't understand the French school system). Ethan had to work around them to use the equipment. One of them was a boy who was particularly interested in Ethan and I, and the fact that we spoke English. That boy pretty much followed Ethan around the whole time, occasionally asking me things in French, which I occasionally understood. He managed to say "Hello" to Ethan many times and get a hello back. I tried to teach him "How are you?" but he couldn't pronounce any of the words. In a related incident, as we started back toward home a man on a bench said something to Ethan, and I said "Il parle anglais seulement" to which he replied "Manchester United?" and "Taxi?". I guess those were the only English words he knew.

After a slowish walk home, and a little computer time, Ethan fell asleep. Now since I'm done blogging I guess I'll have to other things like the dishes...fun!

Turning 40 in France

Yesterday (Monday) was a nothing day for us. It was rainy again and not so pleasant to be outside (in the morning at least). Nic went to the office and I stayed home with the kids. I cleaned up a bit. I also struggled with Gwyneth for her to do some of her math homework. She finally finished it at 5:30PM after procrastinating all day. I had the pleasure of organizing all of the Lego's and putting together 3 trucks just to have Ethan rip them all apart and spread Lego's everywhere. Sometimes I don't know why I try.



We don't have any pictures because we didn't even leave the apartment. Nic picked up some groceries on the way home including some Andouiette sausage that we had at Fabien's house the other night. We cooked that for dinner with some hot dogs for Gwyneth. The sausage exploded (well 2 of the 3) despite my poking them with a fork - given Fabien's warning. They were still tasty and I've never had anything like it in the States. Yum-E. Eventually we all went to bed, and lately it has been musical beds around here so I can't tell you who slept where!



Today (Tuesday) as the anniversary of my birth (40 years woo hoo) and the anniversary of my marriage (13 years woo hoo)! Nic went to the office as Ethan had a hissy fit over his leaving. It involved alot of screaming "dad" "dad" dad" and crying ....you get the idea. Not the way I really wanted to start my day.


Anyway, after noontime I managed to get the kids out of the house and we decided to try the French McDonald's. Don't they look happy? It cost about $20 this time for 2 Happy Meals and an Adult Meal. The Happy Meal's were expensive compared to the US (about $6) but the adult meal was not. The actually got a nice toy with the Happy Meal - a French comic/activity book so that was good. The better news was that we discovered this McDonald's has an indoor playscape - small - but a playscape none the less. It would have been better to know it was here when we were having those rainy days.







Anyway, as a result the kids ate a few bites and then they were off to play. They had fun playing, but after I while Gwyneth got bored and did her activity book. A little later I gave them one last chance of the food which they declined. Ethan told me to throw his stuff away. So I got rid of everything except the fries and one chicken nugget. Of course when it was time to leave and he came out of the play area he wanted it all back. Nothing I could do about that, but I eventually got him some more ketchup and he finished the fries. Before leaving for good we hit the potty. Gwyneth and I went, but Ethan refused. That was going to come back to bite me.






Next stop was the post office and was the one place where the French knew how to run things efficiently. You took a number and waited for your turn. I managed a purchase of 16 stamps (I had to buy them in blocks of 8) for 12 euros I think (about $15). Expensive but cheaper than Norway! Somewhere in there Ethan announces he has to go potty. Aargh. I didn't want to go back to the McDonald's and nor did I want to go the public toilet by the Cathedral as both were in opposite directions from the apartment. I was hoping for a more leisurely walk home, but instead we made a beeline for the apartment so Ethan could pee. We got home around 4PM and there went the rest of my afternoon.



Nic came home around 5PM and we decided to squash the eating out plans due the behavior of Ethan during the day. He was in dire need of a nap. I went to the Carrefour for some food and stuff. (I have been using the kids shampoo that we bought in Norway and it has been driving me crazy! I feel like it has been leaving this residue on my hair and weighing it down). So I found some goodies and by the time I got back Ethan was asleep, so it looks like we made the right decision.





So for our birthday/anniversary celebration we enjoyed the 16 euro champagne that Nic got the other day .... and it was good! We had some steaks, chou-fleur (how could we not?), gnocchi, cheese, and bread of course. It was all yummy. Nic gave me some Amiens Macaroons and a necklace from a shop that I had been window shopping in. I gave him ..... hmm .... didn't get anything for him. I think I'll have to give him an IOU.






Lets see ... we finished the champagne for dinner. It was smooth. Soon after Nic as asleep in the chair and I started blogging. Gwyneth was reading her French Donald Duck cartoon book (oh that was the other thing we did today, she wanted to buy one she had seen before and then we bought a French (Disney) Cars magazine for Ethan which is kind of cute). I thought for sure we'd lost Nic for the night, but Ethan woke up about 10 minutes ago running around like crazy saying he had to go pee. That got Nic out of bed too. So here we all are. It is 10:15PM and still light out. I guess I can see why the French do things so late (i.e. don't start dinner until after 7PM).

Recovering from Paris and the Amiens Cathedral

We had a leisurely Sunday morning after our big (read: exhausting) day in Paris. We decided to walk to the center of Amiens and try to see the Cathedral finally, including taking a tour of the Towers. We were out of the house by noon - after a big breakfast - and on our way down. Ethan had to stop at his favorite patch of grass in the center of town. This included (what turned out to be) his last stomp-fest on the stage that you can sort of make out in the ground. He likes to run around and jump on it which makes a very loud noise. Here he is with his "Grand Master Fu" pose. Don't ask.



We got down to the cathedral around 1:30PM but the office where they sell the tour tickets didn't open until 2PM. You can go in the cathedral for free, so we went for a look. The origins of the cathedral date to the 13th century and then there were various additions. The cathedral is very large and is supposedly the largest (completed) Gothic style cathedral in France. It is very impressive. The floor had these great patterns on it, including a labyrinth in the center. Ethan spent much of his time walking around on the lines while the rest of us spent our time looking up. Not soon after this photo was taken Ethan announced that he had go poop NOW - like it was coming out. There was a public toilet nearby but even closer was the potty in the cafe that we used the other day.






So we went over to the cafe potty (back left in this photo) and Nic took him in. Actually luckily the guy that had helped me the other day was there and I asked if we could use it - including that it was an emergency - and he said okay. As I turned around from the potty I noticed that my friendly guy was intercepting another worker who was clearly come us over to get out of the potty if we weren't customers. The French don't like to let you have free use of the potty. Anyway, Ethan tried and of course couldn't go except for the little one that he had let go in his pants already. So we went back to the cathedral, but not without a picture of Gwyneth in front of the chocolate cathedral first.


We walked around some more and got out tickets for the "tour" in the office outside. It turns out that it was really just the opportunity to climb the towers on your own. (Sometimes the French loses something in the translation). Anyway, we bought the tickets and had to wait for the 2:30PM entry time. Somewhere in there Ethan said he had to go poop again so Nic took him back and this time he was successful. Yeah. Soon after it was time for us to go up the tower and we got to climb 300 steps up and then 300 steps down on a really narrow circular staircase. It really was quite a treat as the view from the top was beautiful and the kids had fun with all of the climbing!









From the front, we walked up the tower on the right, about 1/2 way up. Then we walked across the front of the cathedral on the outside just under the big circular window. Then we continued up on the tower of the left (the taller of the two). To come down we just walked down the circular staircase for the left hand tower. Of course Ethan had to walk first and so we let him on the walk up. Coming down would be a different story.

We got a lot of nice view and photos. This was taken from the outside when we had to walk across the front of the cathedral. If you look I think you can see a church steeple in the center of the picture - it is a bit far way. Our apartment is right there.

We continued to the top and were treated to more spectacular views. This one shows St. Leu or the oldest quarter in town. It has this really nice row of outdoor cafes that over look the canal. We tried to go eat there after our cathedral visit but were unsuccessful due to the time and the fact that it was Sunday. Anyway, from the top you could really see the gargoyles up close and all of the detail of the cathedral. After a looksie around it was time to go down. It was going to be a 2 way street until we got to the level of rose window. We had some discussion with Ethan and we finally convinced him that the only way we were going down was if he let Nic go first.

He finally acquiesced and here is a rare view of Ethan going second. Take note. We had to make a few passes around groups of people which was fun given the narrow quarters. It included one where the girl coming up got herself behind the rope you see (there was a little alcove for her to fit into) because she was so petrified. We made it to the level of the rose window where it was only 1 way traffic. The stairs got wider and Ethan was being careful so we let him go first. He lived to see the next day, so enough said.

We were hungry by now (around 3PM) and thought that we could go get a bite to eat at one of those nice cafes near the canal. Turns out that around 3PM no one is serving food except for beverages and perhaps dessert. The only place that had meals was "Tante Jeanne". This would have been much better if it was "Tante Judy" but it was not. I likened it to the Bennigans of French food. We should have known since it was the only thing open and the fact that there were other English speaking people eating and we rarely hear people speaking English in Amiens. So we had a long (service was slow), uninspiring meal with a kid (Ethan) who was in dire need of a nap and just couldn't control himself. So it wasn't quite the perfect end to an otherwise perfect day but we survived. On the way home we stopped at one of the playgrounds by the cathedral on the way home for about an hour and the kids ran off some steam. Then it was home, and later on into bed with a bedtime snack or two first!