Photo: Paris swarming with tourists, French husband in the middle scouting to find us. Can you see him?
Paris was crawling with people. In all the years that I lived in Paris and the many times I have gone back, I have never seen it that crowded. The line to go inside Notre Dame seem to extend to the Louvre, then continued down the Champs Elysee, it wrapped around the Arc de Triumph and shot straight to the base of the Eiffel Tower. Like a dot-to-dot drawing, the famous sites were connected, creating an unsurmountable waiting game.
"If you get lost, stay put- I will re trace my steps until I find you." That is what I use to tell my children when they were little. "If you get lost- don't panic, stay put… I will find you." Luckily now that Chelsea and Sacha are teen agers there isn't any need to remind them of our "getting lost" rule.
However while in Paris I never lost Chelsea nor Sacha…though we were always losing French Husband.
…luckily he would find something nearby to stand up on, and then look around for us. We often spotted him just by turning around and looking up.
Once in a large grocery/department store Chelsea (who was two or three at the time) announced to me that she had lost her favorite stuffed toy. I knew that without it many sleepless nights would occur, crying would prevail and that my sanity would crack. I knew that I HAD to FIND her missing security blanket, which was disguised as a worn, little bunny, called Bun-Bun!
Since we lived in France, and my French language skills at the time were next to nothing… I had the wee little Chelsea tell the salesclerk in French what happened. The salesclerk made an announcement:
"Une petite fille a perdu son doudou…"
You could hear a needle drop, a silence, and a sigh went through the department store. It seemed every person stopped what they were doing and started to search for Chelsea's Bun-Bun.
Eventually, the favorite stuffed toy was found in the vegetable section. A chuckle went out when the salesclerk announced that the doudou, a worn little lapin of the Petite Fille, had been found in the carrot bin. The department store was amused. Chelsea sat on the counter like a prize trophy with her bun-bun, while the French admire the little girl's amazing communication skills: Elle parle Anglais aussi bien!
French Husband, lost and found in Paris. A prized carrot to be sure. Hey, wasn't I lucky that none of the women in the photo were looking at my main attraction… nor for a French Husband? I suppose they thought he was another lost tourist in Paris.
p.s. As we'll be on the road heading back to the south of France… tomorrow there will be a GUESSING GAME.
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