Popping Into Paris

Talk about a shock to the system! From the quiet of Guadeloupe to the peace and tranquility of the Marne Valley to....the hustle and bustle of Paris - ouch! Cars, roads everywhere, people dashing and rushing all over the place. It was all very overwhelming to us small towners!

Still, it was nice to wander around Paris on a summer's evening, with the realms of people sitting on the pavement (well not literally!) outside of cafés and bistros enjoying the beautiful hot weather that we have been blessed with ever since our return. I'm always glad I don't live in Paris but it does have its charms and beauty, especially at this time of year.

Something that caught our eyes was the relatively new bicycle scheme here. You get a card, take a bike for half an hour (free) or longer (a euro or two) and putter around to wherever you happen to be going, then park the bike at the nearest bike point. Simple! And according to the number of empty spaces and all the people we saw on their bike, very popular. Helmets appear not to be so in favour though.

Our actual purpose in town was an evening bowling with the family. Unfortunately an earlier puncture meant the spare wheel was in operation as was an 80 kph speed limit even on the motorway, so a very lengthy journey in. Probably the longest car journey the kids have had in over a year!

Next we struggled with the intricacies of the Parisian parking system. Pay at the machine? Oh no, far too simple! Go and visit all the neighbouring tabacs to try and purchase a ticket only to find they are either closed down or no longer selling any. We gave up in the end - it would seem that the Parisian ticket attendants are not quite as fervent as their Londonian counterparts!

Bowling was great fun. Bertie smashed us all, with a stunning 145 and several strikes. I, ehem, came gloriously last with about the same score as my age and the humilation of several gutter balls (nul points!). The girls had a great time running around, tidying the balls for us and taking the occasional shot. Thier joy was complete with a late-night trip to McDo afterwards and the lengthy journey home saw them all blissfully fast asleep!

Car Mad

I have been meaning to mention this for ages, as it is really the highlight of CassCass' little life: cars. And who they belong to. It is incredible how she remembers not only who's who in her whole huge family but on top of that she has learnt which colour and type of car each drives!

We first borrowed a white car, and that has been classed as "our car". Nevermind that it belongs to a friend of Bertie's sister who was on holiday and we will never drive it again. When we go to the town centre and see it parked streets away, there are shrieks of joy at "our car". For a while, LissaLou and then CassCass kept talking about the "nik nak". It took me quite a while to catch on that they actually meant zig zag - can anyone use this information to identify what car this one is?? I failed miserably, thinking it was a Fiat.

Next we borrowed Tatie Pierrette's car. That was very exciting too. Now CassCass simply hears it outside and immediately speeds out to shout "Tatie Pierrette's car!" Several times. And very loudly.

We have never borrowed it, but she is completely familiar with Papy's car and can identify when it returns home, something I again can't manage. It never ceases to amaze me when she turns out to be right!

Tatie Nadia's car rates highly on our list, with its air con and overall newness. After using that, it was hard to get CassCass in any other.

Tatie Felicianne's car is known as Meddy's car (her cousin) and again she knows the type and colour. Sorry, I have forgotten again what she drives! But I can tell you it is green.

Penultimately our current car is Tonton Richard's car. It's a....oh, ask CassCass, I really only notice the colour. This one is currently missing a part which Bertie needs to fix and CassCass spent several anxious days asking why it was broken. But in the meantime we get to drive our friend Agathe's much newer car, and I suspect it will be a sad moment when we say goodbye again to it!

When we see any car resembling any of the above, it will be commented on by CassCass. As well as those resembling our lovely car in London (that we miss soooo much!). Her idea of bliss is a trip out with Papa in "our car" wherever he happens to be going. There was a very sad moment the other day when she had been disobedient so he didn't take her, and she was stood at the gate watching him leave holding her bottle of water, flip flops and knickers, all ready to leave!

Rereading this entry, it has also struck me once again how generous people are here with their cars, and we are ever so grateful for that. I am not quite sure how the insurance works, and Bertie never seems to know either, but it looks like most people get multi people cover for their cars. Oh, and we might not be going anywhere soon, as the island is currently in the middle of a petrol strike. As someone commented to me today, you always know when the strikes start here, but you never have the least idea when they might finish. (Hence the bus strike that went on for months a few years ago, at which point everyone bought cars and the island became more congested than the M25. Bring in the congestion charge I say...)

Transport En Commun

Given our lack of car, on Tuesday we decided to go off to Pointe à Pitre by bus. This used to be a terrifying prospect, but they have been making improvements to the system so it was quite enjoyable.

Buses here (no trains in our country, sniff!) are coaches and often belong to an individual or family. They follow their own rules and timetables, don't run after about 7pm and are quite unique. In true French style, they also have a tendency to strike - often for months on end! Hence the excessive number of cars on the tiny island.

With the old style, you board either the front or back door, then pay the driver on getting off. The new ones who have been officially registered take payment at the front only (90 cents rather than a euro!) They even give a receipt; we mused over whether ticket inspectors haev arrived in Gudeloupe! The old depend on open windows for air com, the new are full of mod cons such as air con and seat belts.

All coaches have one thing in common though - music blaring out loudly! Tough if you don't like it! Previously, they had pull up seats that meant there was no aisle, a nightmare to get out of if you were unfortunate enough to be in the middle of the bus. Happily for us with three kids and buggy in tow, the aisle has now returned! I still don't think I could do the journey alone though. Buggy friendly buses have not reached the island!

Here is a picture I found on the web of one (We were too busy juggling baby, bag, buggy to take one!)

On the way, Bertie told me that the driver was one who, in his prime and when Bertie was at lycée, a good 15 years ago, all the girls fancied and waited just to take his bus! There is a front seat and a soft middle bit you can sit on if you know the driver and fancy a chat, and apparently this was the goal of his female classmates!

Our mission was to get new flip flops for the girls so we went to rue Frébault. I am not exaggerating when I tell you there were 20, possibly more shoe shops in that one street! It is very long and busy, just think a narrower version of Oxford Street. Many shops have MCs who stand at the door with a mike trying to entice you in!

Letting the girls loose in the shoe shop was like all their Christmasses come at once! Shoe after shoe went on their little feet, each showed off to us and duly admired before the next came on. I can see that being a good place to go on a wet day! The ones we bought were very tame compared to the ones tried!!

We tried to sort out a bank account but unfortunately Bertie's French bank - Crédit Lyonnais - is astonishingly the only one who doesn't have a branch or even partner in Guadeloupe! Then we popped to the market and bought a delicious but heavy water melon, before getting the bus back. The bus station is also new and very organised, with a different lane and sign for each destination. Though you do have to wait a while for it to actually leave. We then got dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the road back home. Definite improvements, but getting the bus is still a somewhat hazardous affair!