We spent almost two weeks in Louveciennes, and it was just the “break” we needed. We found time to relax, but we also had plenty to keep us occupied. My dad would be arriving soon, and we had to iron out our accommodations for his visit, along with the logistics of how we would fit in everything he wanted to do. Not only that, but we basically had to finalize the trip planning for the rest of the time we would be in Europe. Since we would be heading to the UK in high season, we didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Between England, Scotland, and Ireland, we needed flights, trains, buses, and a rental car. Of course we were excited about seeing the British Isles, but coordinating all of this, while trying to be somewhat cost conscious, was quite a chore. I was a little bit stressed about getting it all done, but David is a planning whiz and kept us on track.
For most of the time we stayed in Louveciennes, our French family was out of town. Cecile said, “stay as long as you like,” which made us feel good. I guess when you become an au pair for a family you earn trust very quickly. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t see more of them, but Stephanie, Cecile’s sweet goddaughter, was there to keep us company. Each day she would return from work to a TravelWeeds prepared dinner, and we would sit down to chat. The evenings were gorgeous, with the patio doors thrown open to let in the pleasant summer air.
We were enjoying being domestic- cooking dinner, shopping for groceries, picking up around the house, and most of all, sleeping in the same bed every night. I was surprised at how good it felt to do small chores every day, since those are usually the things that can pile up and make you feel overwhelmed in daily “normal” life.
Since David was “the man of the house” with everyone else gone, he got to take care of all the little honey-do issues that came up around the place. One night a (possibly phantom) mouse gave Stephanie a scare in her room, and another night Stephanie’s curtain rod came crashing down. She was always very cute and very apologetic when asking for help, but David got to be the hero, so he didn’t mind at all. I have a vivid memory of standing at the sink washing dishes and listening to David upstairs thumping around while trying to find the mysterious rodent. “Where did you see it last?” Thump. “Over there, I think!” Thump thump. I wondered if this would be what having a family would be like.
One of the other best things about our Louveciennes break was the chance to go running every day. The huge park near the house was the former hunting grounds of the king (not sure which one), and it was a great place for a run. Imagine a mile long green rectangle with copses of trees scattered around, plus elaborate fountains and sculptures. The trail went around the entire park, with some crazy hills on either end that David enjoyed climbing. The chance to exercise on a daily basis and make our own meals was definitely helping us both feel healthier.
When Cecile and her younger son Tim returned from their holidays, we had a great time hearing about their trips. This was after David got over the shock of seeing Tim as a tall, serious 18 year-old. The last time they’d seen each other, Tim had been a little kid, and not nearly as solemn. Tim is very involved with the French scouting organization, which seems to be like the American boy scouts in some respects, but radically different in others. He’d just returned from a camping trip with several other scouts, where they’d slept in an abandoned castle with no adult supervision. Part of their charge is to meet people by asking them to camp on their land or to use their kitchens to make food, or to do work to earn their bread. This is obviously not the way American scouts get their merit badges. However, the guidelines for developing young people and teaching them core values seem to be a similar goal for both groups. I was impressed with how focused and committed he seemed to be. When we visited Tim’s brother Elliott in Strasbourg, he’d mentioned what a great guy Tim was, and how serious he’d turned out to be. We agreed.
Cecile had just returned from a holiday in the South of France, and was relaxed and tan when she arrived home. Of course, she always looks beautiful, but the rest and sun complemented her. She’d been in touch with us throughout our trip, so we told her about the latest stops. Then, we all got out our laptops and shared pictures of our recent trips. That was fun because they were so different from each other- snow covered cathedrals, castles in the mountains, and Basque beaches.
David and I love Paris, and we wanted to make sure we went to the city a couple of times during our stay in Louveciennes. We would be spending time there with my dad, but we also wanted to do a bit of unscheduled wandering, just the two of us. I was also yearning to go to a movie, since it had been 5 months since we had seen one. The final installment of the Harry Potter franchise was out, and I’d been campaigning for David to take me. With my popcorn in hand and Ron, Harry and Hermione on the screen, I almost felt like I was at home. Hearing that much English spoken by that many people at once was strange, but nice.
We didn’t spend all of our time in the theater, though. We wanted to go and see the place on the Ile de St. Louis where we got engaged all the way back in 2004. On that summer evening 7 years ago, David had chosen “the spot” for its romantic qualities; proximity to Notre Dame and the waters of the Seine, and to a beautiful bridge nearby where a man was playing the accordion. He’d also chosen it for its lack of homeless people, pee smell, and drunk teenagers. When we returned there on a sunny afternoon, the only person competing for our spot was a middle-aged fisherman with a long pole. We sat down on the stone wall and just enjoyed being together in our favorite city. It’s a total cliché, but I swear its true: just being in Paris is romantic. You don’t even have to do anything except let the city be itself, pee smell and all.
No wandering afternoon in Paris would be complete without a treat, so we stopped in a small bakery for pastries. It was hard to leave them wrapped in their crinkly paper until we got to a park, but we managed it somehow. We sat on a bench and laughed at each other as we tried to eat these sugary, creamy, flaky concoctions without making a mess. We failed, and we both looked like toddlers, our faces covered in goo and chocolate. The man on the next bench greeted us in French, and then told us in English that he was glad we were enjoying the city. It made me feel a little conspicuous, but welcomed all the same.
Riding around the metro around the city was another treat, strangely enough. I never get over how cool it is to be able to buy a ticket then have someone else take you where you want to go. For a person from Texas, this is almost magical. “You mean I don’t have to drive myself there?” Of course there is walking involved, sometimes a lot of walking between stations, platforms, and lines, but I prefer walking to driving any day. Not only that, but I remembered many of the stations and lines, so I found myself actually navigating a bit. On previous trips, I spent most of the transit time following David around like a lost puppy. I guess five months on the road helps with your sense of direction.
Some other highlights of our Paris time were a very beautiful, very empty cathedral neither one of us had seen before, and a beach volleyball tournament in the middle of the city. We watched the action for a while, until David was satisfied that the people playing were “chumps,” and then we moved on.
Leaving our comfortable home in Louveciennes was one of the harder departures of our six months, probably because we’d had time to settle in there and develop a routine. We were comforted by the fact that we would still be in Paris, and we’d have another chance to see Cecile and Stephanie before we came home. Now we were ready for a high speed ten days with my dad.
The TravelWeeds 
Posted on October 24, 2011
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