Another moving day!  This day would take us from Paris to Caen, in Normandy, and involve yet another DENTED RENTAL CAR…..

But first, we took a quick, early-morning walk over to Notre Dame cathedral to see and explain the FLYING BUTTRESSES.  Plus, one last haul from our local crêperie.

From there, I made my way via Metro to the labyrinthine Gare du Nord, and, eventually, the car rental counter.  I was determined not to be saddled once again with a car that was too small to accommodate our growing hoard of stuff.  This involved negotiations between two competing rental car counters, each Frenchman glowing with the satisfaction that they were both milking me for all I was worth.  In the end, it was a Peugeot from Hertz.  I successfully navigated out of the Gare du Nord parking garage, and wound my way through the confusing Paris streets (it’s not exactly laid out on a GRID).  I had plotted out the route to a parking garage near our apartment ahead of time, and pulled in without incident.  However, Paris parking spaces are SMALL, and, alas, I happened to kiss a concrete pillar with the rear fender as I pulled into one.  Just a wee flesh wound, really; BARELY noticeable.

Back to the apartment, then suffered through another session of watching my wife and kids haul all our luggage down 78 steps.  Such troopers!  With all our earthly possessions staged at Rue Seguier’s edge, we looked like a band of gypsies trying to introduce Paris to the high-cultured world of the American Garage Sale.  I hustled back to my garage, retrieved the scraped Peugeot, and navigated successfully back to the narrowest street in Paris.  I managed to pull onto the sidewalk across the street from #13, and gave the signal:  “hurry, load ’em up!  NOW!”  Somehow it all fit.  At the last moment, our host, Armelle, came around the corner!  So we got to say goodbye and thank her for her wonderful apartment.

Within 20 minutes we were out of Paris proper, motoring through the French countryside on our way to Normandy.  With my strict orders about not sitting for too long, we took frequent stops and traded drivers back and forth.  Early that evening we pulled into the Novotel in Caen.  A proper hotel!  LouAnn knew that meant ONE SURE THING:  Air Conditioning!  Nope.  No air conditioning.  But there WAS a pool.  Dinner in the hotel restaurant, and early bedtimes……

This was actually the night BEFORE.  LouAnn trying to PACK us.  Our belongings seemed to multiply like wet Gremlins.  And this was just AFTER sending two big suitcases home from Salzburg with my sisters…

For those of you with 49 seconds to kill, here are all 78 steps from our apartment to the courtyard.

Look, kids – Notre Dame!

GARGOYLE

“Oh, yeah, Notre Dame.  Cool.  Another cathedral.  Awesome.  Flying buttresses?  Huh.  Yeah, that’s neat…..”

Jambon et fromage….Nutella….DR PEPPER….

Oh, this isn’t even HALF of it….

Threading the needle of Rue Seguier in the Peugeot…..

It fit!

LouAnn and Armelle, our sweet host.

Off to Normandy!

This was the scene at EACH rest stop between Paris and Normandy.

The French countryside, whizzing by

Ok this is fun.  If you’ve read earlier posts, you may remember that, while I was in the hospital in Salzburg, LouAnn took the kids to the Salzburg Marionette Theater to see Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.  They loved it, and it really stuck with them.  In the Paris Opera gift shop, Ellis found a DVD of the Met doing “Flute”, and he eagerly chose it as his souvenir.  In this video, as we zip through northern France, the kids are in the backseat watching the video.  And I’ve asked sweet LouAnn to recount the entire STORY of “Die Zauberflöte” for me from her recollection.  Listen for the children occasionally scolding/correcting her from the back seat.  You can also hear occasional interruptions from the French navigation lady. You’re a good sport, Loubie!