three steps forward, two steps back: Hotel de Ville

This morning we started our day at a bakery with pastries and a cappuccino for Mama. We sat on bridge of the Seine while we ate and listened to a street musician play the trumpet. The heat at 10 o’clock foreshadowed a scorching day. (Though I must admit that Seattle’s 90 degree weather is likely to beat our Paris highs!!)

Owen had the best pastry that I have ever tasted. It was a flat pastry filled with raspberry sauce and white chocolate. I went with an orange brioche, which was very very good, but it was hard not to be jealous after I tried a bite of Owen’s… we will definitely be going back to that bakery…tomorrow morning!

We then headed to Hotel de Ville to see an exposition of photos and articles from the deportation of French Jewish children from WWII. A little bit of a downer, I know, but this topic is something that I have been interested in for quite a while. I was pretty sure that the photos wouldn’t be graphic and that I could share only what the boys’ were ready to know.

I was hoping that there would be some audio guide or an English brochure, but there wasn’t one. I am guessing that the exposition was put on the government to inform it’s citizens more than anything – so translation wasn’t a high priority, but I would have loved to read everything! There were school records, family photos, and letters written to family members from children who were not living with them.

I know quite a bit about this period of history, so I could make a fairly educated guess on much of the information. In the end I wasn’t able to learn anything new, but it was very interesting to see the photos and articles anyway. My little history buff asked millions of questions, and Jack was happy enough to look at things, but he probably wouldn’t have lasted if I could have read anything…

Afterwards, we popped into a post office to get some stamps. With my postalphobia that was passed down from my mother, the stamps will probably never get used. But she also passed on great optimism, so I bought them anyway. Those who email me their address (don’t post in the comments!) will be the most likely to receive a post card Smile

As I waited in line, I noticed a funny sign and was reminded of a cool thing about the French. They take good care of their preggos. You don’t have to wait in line if you are disabled or preggo – any line, not just the ones at the post office. How cute it this stick figure?!

Hm, I would have liked to know that this package including a phone and a sim card was available with 15 euros of time for just $29. Could have been useful!

Just outside Hotel de Ville, was a section of the Paris Plages (beach) that had a fake beach with umbrellas and huge bean-bag chairs. This looked very inviting, so we sat down for a rest and a snack.