Paris Part One

We arrived in Paris on a Tuesday morning in time for the morning commute.  I didn't sleep at all on the plane and it was just 11pm back home so I was starting to be sleepy.  To win against Jet Lag, we figured we had to stay up until the sun went down.  That was a long time away.
The RER train and Metro got us to the hotel with little difficulty.  But Kayak.com had let us down.  They didn't tell us that the hotel had informed them that the credit card did not go through and the reservation had been canceled.  So beware of booking hotels with Kayak.com!  The hotel was fully booked by this point but there was a room in a nearby branch just two stops down the M6 line.  That was fine...though the rooms were smaller it was closer to the Eiffel Tower.  We made it there, and got into our very tiny room.  I wanted to collapse, so we took a walk.
Paris is so much better for having hundreds of years of history.  So many different cities in the US disappoint me by being cookie cutter versions of each other...the same box stores and fast food dives block after block.  But Paris is not like that for all it's McDonald's and Starbucks locations.   
We found a baker we thought we'd try and had two of the most yummy baguette sandwiches which would serve to set the bar high for the remainder of the trip.  I filmed a bit of the bustle at the place...definitely a popular place with the salary folks.
We continued to walk around window shopping until Dylan declared that he had hit a wall.  My feet were beginning to talk to me too so I agreed to return to the hotel and crash. We did nothing but sleep that day.  I was up quite early to chat with Mom via iMessage but I kept trying to sleep some more.
By 6am, we both agreed it was impossible to lie in bed further.  We showered and headed down to breakfast in the hotel.  Got there at 6:45am, and they served us even though the breakfast started at 7am.  I had to ask them if it was too early.  I suspect they did not wish to attempt to explain it to us.  The breakfast was yogurt, a basket of bread which included a baguette and a croissant, coffee and orange juice.  I was pleased to practice greeting everyone in French.
That morning, we walked to the Eiffel Tower and took many pictures from the Peace memorial to right under it.  We marveled at the length of the line and agreed we would need to stand in it at some point.  We walked to the bank of the Seine river and down to the area with the river boats.  At this point a Foxity bus which was parked nearby began moving toward the road up and our location.  I pointed to it and mentioned to Dylan that such a tour would be a good idea to get the lay of the land.  The bus driver spotted us and pulled over to ask us to board.  We took little convincing as a trip around the major areas was only 13 euros each and there was an included audio tour in English.  So we saw all of the places we would go back to in the next few days.
I had found and chatted with by Facebook, a local puppeteer who did regular shows in a permanent puppet theatre at the Buttes-Chaumont Park. His company is called "Les Petits Bouffons de Paris"--isn't that a great name?  The website said we could see a show at 4:30pm in good weather.  I messaged back and forth with Pascal about the weather, and in the end we determined to go to the Park because the rain had not yet come.  The show went on!  It was delightful.
The story was about the Marquis' Singing Competition in which he insisted that Guignol, the black-capped hero, participate. Guignol had planned to spend the day chasing butterflies but alas, he had to instead deal with a slapstick wielding Professor of singing!  He convinced his pet cat to sing as well.  Guignol's cat spoke very little, mostly "Meow put put".  This phrase lived in conversation between Dylan and I from that point forward and should anyone ask you to do karaoke, I suggest you too say "Meow put put!"
Guignol and his cat had all the children torn as to which puppet should win the singing competition...they easily triumphed over Madame Begoody (her name means Mrs Curlers) and the young boy, Felix.  I think the Marquis had to call it a tie between them but I'm not sure.  Either that or the cat won...hard to tell.  But the Professor had to make one more attempt at seeking revenge...this time both Guignol and his cat worked together to see the professor off with a soundly smarting pate!  The end!  Hooray! Meow Put Put!
After the show, Pascal asked me back to see the stage and puppets.  He and I talked for some time and I gave him a Hobey Ford Peeper puppet as a thank you.  He gave me several posters of Guignol to take home.  I think both Pascal and Bernard were pleased to have the Peepers.  I gave Pascal a brown pair and Bernard a yellow and blue pair.  Bernard did not talk to us much until that point.  But he was very pleased at the gift and found many different ways to use the peepers.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the beautiful Buttes-Chaumont Park until my feet hurt, then we had another sandwich at a baker just outside the park.  After that, we headed back to the hotel.