The Jarvis Holiday - Fratta Fun in Paris

It is always fun to meet up with friends.

We seem to find our friends the Frattas every year, somewhere.

 Two years ago in Italy and then last year in Montreal.

This year in Paris. Ana Carina Fratta, my Colombian-Italian-American-Canadian Friend just happened to be in Paris this week.

We saw them on Sunday, but decided to get together for another day this week to do something with the kids.

Eric Jarvis and Timothy Fratty both had to work - but if you have to work, couldn't be a more interesting place than in Paris.

Ana Carina and I set out with the kids for our first adventure of the day.

Check out Eloise's rolling shoes (see the photo above). Now that is the way to travel the streets of Paris.

Hebe and I were both wishing we had a pair. Our first stop of the day was at the local Patisserie. Check out this giant Macaronnade Cake.

Tempting.

We bought baguettes and sandwich fixings, then let everyone choose their favourite pastry for dessert. It's always fun to see which treats people choose.

After a lunch at our cockroach infested apartment, we headed out to the Pantheon.

On the cockroach front, the house cleaner came to "take care of the roaches this morning." That amounted to spraying aerosolized "bug spray" under the cupboards of the kitchen.

I mentionned to her that we had in fact found roaches inside most of the cupboards so I didn't think simply spraying under the cupboards was going to solve the problem.

She insisted that the visitors came in through the window that overlooks the garbage bins, "when the last tenant forgot to close the window."

When I mentioned we had seen more than 20 roaches, she seemed a little surprised.

A metro ride took us to the Pantheon (Latin: pantheon, from Greek πάνθειον (ἱερόν) '(temple) to all the gods'[1]).

From Wikipedia you learn that the Pantheon "was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens."

My first time at this glorious temple to the secular world. Of course outside of the Pantheon, across the street, is the Law Faculty of the Sorbonne. Above it's doors is the famous motto of France - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. (Translation: Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood.) Wonderful ideals borne of the French Revolution.Here is the whole gang outside the Panthéon.

Thanks to Camilla Fratta who took this great photo.

Finally, I'm in a non-selfie photo. Camilla also taught us how to put the "grid on" the iphone. The grid helps you with the rule of thirds.

 If you want to learn more about the rule of thirds check out this photography 101 article. https://www.thespruce.com/rule-of-thirds-in-photography-2688819

This is the painting that met us inside the Pantheon.

I was surprised by the headless man in the centre who was reaching out to collect his head.

Ouch.

Hope that's not what usually happens to one inside this secular temple.

I said, "well that's a great example of the French Revolutions search for equality".

Ana Carina's quick comeback was priceless. "No that's Fraternity- Brotherhood."

So cheeky!!

One of the highlights of the Pantheon was climbing up for the view from the dome.


Look, I'm already practising my rule of thirds.


Thanks Camilla.


Who knew I was going to get a photography lesson today?

Here are two photos from the roof of the Pantheon Dome of the 7 smart and capable girls/women I was travelling with today.


Thomas was avoiding my photos, especially when I tried to take anything that resembled a selfie.


What's wrong with selfies?

One of the most intriguing things to see inside the Pantheon is Foucault's Pendulum.


"The Foucault pendulum, named after the French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth."


Here is is swinging from the central dome.


And now, the pendulum hypnotizing our group. 

"You are getting sleepy. You are getting very sleepy."

After checking out the crypts in the basement (of the famous french dead including Vicotr Hugo and Marie Curie) we headed outside where we decided to play a game - "The Floor is Lava".


This is a game where everyone has just 5 seconds to find a way to get off the ground or pavement.


Easy and fun just outside the Pantheon where they have made a ton of benches out of old stone carvings and blocks collected from inside the Pantheon.


How much fun is that to play "The Floor if Lava" and get to jump on old statues or stones.

There is never a bad time to stop for a crépe in Paris.



What kind of Crepe would you choose?

Some like salty, others like sweet.

Our final stop of the day was at the Jardin Luxembourg. This was my first visit to this iconic garden.

However my first introduction to it was in the Madeleine books I loved to read as a child.

My favourite book being the story of Madeleine getting out her appendix.

 No one can easily forget the following line.

"In the middle of the night
Miss Clavel turned on her light
and said, "Something is not right!"

Well for Hebe something was not right at Jardin Luxembourg. She wanted to sail the USA boat across the fountain.

Here she is with Sophia and Heloise, watching other kids push their boats across the water.

When it was their turn to choose a boat, Hebe had just one boat in mind --USA. 

No such luck.

 USA was in use and her second choice, Canada, was snagged up by another child right under their noses.

 There were few options left. In all her disappointment, Hebe ran away to "Florida". Thank Heaven's AnaCarina is a good runner, and that there is an oceon in the way.

 Ana Carina caught up with Hebe and brought her back for a second try.

 Eventually Argentina was choosen and the girls headed for the fountain.

 The next series of 4 photos shows how the girls enjoyed the boat for their allotted 30 minutes -4 Euros of fun.

"In an old house in Paris

that was covered with vines

lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.

In two straight lines they broke their bread

and brushed their teeth

and went to bed."

It was impossible to leave this garden without at least one photo of girls in two straight lines.

Glad Thomas got out of line, so we would in fact know for sure that he in not one of the little girls.

To finish off the day, we needed one last selfie, so here we are in the metro.



(You don't see Hebe here because she is driving the train.



We're on one of the driverless trains in Paris where you can actually stand at the front of the metro car and feel like you are the conductor.



Loved that Heloise spotted a rat on the tracks when she took a go at it. Yuck.

Good bye Fratta's. Where will we see you next?

Catherine