Paris, France - Day 2

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Hello from Paris! We started our day at an airbnb in Paris’ 3rd arrondissement. Our sleeping accommodations were comfortable, but noisy as people walked and talked outside our ground-level apartment windows throughout the night. And, due to a miscommunication with the house cleaner and this airbnb not being ready for check-in when we arrived, we too were awake into the early morning hours.

Nevertheless, the four of us were ready for the day at 9:00am. Paris has been at the top of Tory’s travel bucket list, and she was excited for a day of sightseeing. Poor Aden, though, looked miserable this morning. He complained about his ears popping and hurting on the journey from Frankfurt, Germany to Paris yesterday, but I figured it was likely due to the pressure of the train car. This morning, he said his right ear was radiating pain.

Andi suggested we find a doctor in Paris to have Aden’s ear checked out at as soon as possible. If he had an infection and it’s left untreated, his ear drum could rupture when we fly home to the USA in a few days. Andi hopped on his computer and found a local doctor’s office nearby with same-day appointments, but we couldn’t get one until 2:30pm this afternoon. We took the open appointment, but decided to go in person to see if there was any chance of being seen sooner. Our thoughts were, if it was indeed an ear infection, the sooner we started antibiotics, the more time the medicine would have to do its job before our flight leaves on Monday.

The four of us walked several blocks away to the doctor’s office. It was a beautiful spring morning in Paris with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60’s. Aden was really struggling and looked ghostly white and it was evident he was in pain. We hoped the doctor would be able to see him sooner than this afternoon.

While Andi took Aden into the clinic, Tory and I waited nearby at the beautiful Square Émile-Chautemps. There were two water fountains in the park, several park benches underneath large, shady trees, and many families playing on the playground. The square is surrounded by Paris’ iconic building architecture.

Unfortunately, there were no earlier doctor’s appointments at the clinic, so we kept our 2:30pm appointment with the doctor. We also decided to try another doctor’s clinic that Andi found located a few blocks away. Here, there was a medical doctor’s placard sign on the door, but it looked like it was an apartment and the door was locked. Andi tried calling the number posted on the sign and rang the doorbell several times, but there was no answer. After about 20 minutes trying to get ahold of this doctor, we moved onto another idea.

Sometimes, a pharmacist is helpful in other countries. We decided to find a pharmacy nearby to see if we could get a recommendation for Aden from an English-speaking pharmacist. We found one a few blocks away, and Andi and Aden explained his condition to the pharmacist. The pharmacist sold Andi some drops that he thought might help Aden until we could be seen by an real doctor.

By now, three out of four of us were very hungry for breakfast, and interested in finding a cafe with coffee, crepes, and croissants. There's nothing quite like the flaky, buttery taste of a Parisian croissant! We found a place nearby called Cafe Botteli with available outdoor seating. The breakfast menu at this cafe was small, but fit the bill for what we were looking for. We ordered four breakfast combos which included a choice of baguette or croissant served with butter and jam, and a coffee or hot chocolate. We also ordered a Nutella crepe to share. One of Tory’s “wish-list” items in Paris was to eat croissant while sipping hot chocolate at an outdoor cafe — check!

Aden was asking to go lay down, so the four of us walked back to our airbnb to re-group. I did a load of laundry while Andi settled Aden onto the sofa with a blanket and a television show.

Very few houses have dryers in Europe; most people line-dry their clothing outside or on a folding rack inside the house. This method takes forever though. Often, we’re not staying in a place more than a day or two so I don’t have the luxury of time to wait for our clothes to dry. Luckily, some of the European airbnbs we’ve stayed at have towel dryers in the bathroom, and I discovered that I can hang our clothes to dry on there. It takes some babysitting as I’ve got to rotate the clothes around on the rack and can only dry a few pieces of clothing at one time, but hey — it gets the job done faster than air-drying alone.

Around 12:30pm, Andi, Tory, and I decided to walk around Paris and to do a little sightseeing before Aden’s doctor’s appointment at 2:30pm. We set Aden up on the sofa with his iPad and the television remote, and gave him strict instructions not to open the door for anyone. He could use his iPhone to call us if he needed us; we wouldn’t go far. Luckily, several of the major Parisian landmarks are located within a 20-minute walk from this airbnb.

Tory was so excited to be in Paris, and it was a perfect weather day to be here. The sun was shining brightly and the air was warm, but still had a crisp, spring-like breeze. There was good energy from people on the streets as it was one of the first warm days that Paris has had all year. There were lots of cafes filled with people laughing and talking, and big smiles on people’s faces as we passed them on the sidewalk.

“Boba first?” Andi asked Tory as the three of us walked down the street from our apartment. An authentic Taiwanese boba shop called Xing Fu Tang was close to our house in the 3rd arrondissement. These boba drinks were quite different than the ones Tory likes to order at the local coffee shop in our small Wisconsin town. An employee was stirring a big pot of tapioca boba in a pot when we walked into the store.

Tory ordered a strawberry boba drink which came with a little rabbit on top. I have no idea what the bunny was made of (looked sort of like white chocolate?), but Tory was wow’d by it. She happily sipped her drink while the three of us made our way toward The Louvre.

Along the way, we saw Hôtel de Ville which was decorated for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. There were a few people lounging on park benches outside the famous city hall, but mostly people were passing through the courtyard.

Ok, Ok — Andi and I admitted that Paris wasn’t so bad! The last time we visited this city, it was in December and it was cold and icy. Visiting Paris in late spring with gorgeous temperatures in the 70’s felt like a much different experience. To be honest, there’s no way we would have chosen to visit Paris again had it not been a city on Tory’s wishlist to see. As it turned out, I’m glad we did come back to Paris as we were able to see & experience the city in a whole new light.

Not only was it warmer, but it was actually HOT outside! After an hour of walking alongside the banks of River Seine, all three of us were sweating. We made our way to The Louvre and purchased three bottles of water from a street vendor set up near the entrance. As Andi walked away he realized the vendor overcharged him for the waters. He went back and requested his correct change be given. The vendor smugly did as he was asked. “I wonder how many times a day that happens to other tourists?” Andi asked us as we walked into the Louvre courtyard. I bet a lot! How many times do you just assume the vendor gives you back the correct change without counting the change yourself?

Anyway, the three of us sat in the shade and cooled off a bit. This was a great spot to people-watch all the tourists visiting the museum. We took the clique photo of Tory pointing to the top of the triangle.

The three of us decided not to go inside The Louvre. Tory said she didn’t really care about seeing the Mona Lisa painting, and Andi and I already been in the museum when we visited in 2012. There were lines of tourists queued up at the entrance. It was just as enjoyable sitting outside on this gorgeous spring day soaking up the outdoor view.

Besides, we needed to get back at the airbnb for Aden’s doctor’s appointment at 2:30pm. Andi, Tory, and I walked through the Tuileries Garden between The Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. Andi and I had never walked through this area before, and it was gorgeous! Tons of people were enjoying the day by picnicking in the grass and walking around to admire the sculptures. It felt like a “pinch me” Parisian moment listening to a man playing his accordion.

Andi called an Uber to take us back to our airbnb apartment. With traffic, it probably took us the same amount of time to drive as it did walk, but it was nice to see things from a different perspective.

We found Aden in the same spot we’d left him two hours ago — laying on the sofa watching his iPad. Andi and Aden walked to the doctor’s appointment while Tory and I stayed back at the airbnb. I helped myself to the last of the German dips for a scrappy lunch while I did a second load of laundry.

This is not something we set out to do, but we’ve visited a doctor in three different European countries now. Andi said this private doctor’s clinic was very nice. The doctor spoke English, and was very professional in diagnosing Aden’s condition. She confirmed that Aden had an ear infection, and gave him an antibiotic (Amoxicillin). We paid cash for the doctor’s visit — €43.

After taking the first dose of antibiotics and resting for a bit at the apartment, the four of us decided to venture out to see the Eiffel Tower. Our goal was to see it both in the daylight, and lit up at night. We took an Uber to Rue de l'Université to get a beautiful street view of the iconic landmark. The architecture of this residential street perfectly highlights the Eiffel Tower at the end leading up to Champ de Mars Park.

Inside the park, there were lots of people spread out on the grass with bottles of wine or baguette sandwiches. We wandered through the park, admiring the Eiffel Tower from different angles. The last time Andi and I visited here, we were able to walk right up to the tower and even underneath it, but now that’s all blocked off with fencing.

Today, we saw construction crews setting up the beach volleyball courts for the Summer Olympics.

There were lots of people around, but it didn’t feel overwhelming. After we made our way around the entire structure, we walked to an area with several restaurants. Andi wanted to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant called Ma cantine Viet. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the food was quick and the restaurant had immediate seating.

As soon as the sun went down, the four of us walked back to Champ de Mars Park to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. It was equally beautiful, and just as busy.

Andi called an Uber to take us back to our airbnb apartment in the 3rd arrondissement. Our driver was so nice, and spoke great English. Andi asked him if he’d be available to drive us to Charles de Gaulle Airport early Monday morning. The driver said he would be, so scheduled the pick-up and took down his phone number.

Today was a long, but fun day sightseeing in Paris. I wish Aden had felt better, but thankfully he already seemed to be perking up after the first doses of antibiotics. I hope tomorrow will be more promising for him. We have one more day left in Paris, and one more day left of this entire trip. It’s hard to believe our time in Europe is coming to a close.