Good morning everybody. Time to explore more of Paris – but not as much as yesterday. We might have overdone it a little. Breakfast with fresh baguette and croissants. Then new tickets and back into the city,

The whole family is meeting at Place des Vosges in the center of Paris. New tickets for the day and then we will go to the Metro station. But there are people waiting at a small bus stop in front of our apartment complex. Let’s try something new. You see a lot on a bus ride and it will stop at our Metro station. But the bus is not coming. 8 minutes to late, 10 minutes. Some are leaving. But then the bus is there and it is free of charge. Nice offer for the locals to get to the shopping area, the metro etc. Unfortunately, they do not announce stops – so we miss ours and have to wait for the next Metro station. We get off early of course and walk instead of waiting for the bus to stop in front of the metro. Not my fault…. Google maps fault!

But then we get out metro no. 7 to Sully – Morland and walk up to our destination. And the other two are also there shortly after. Many parks do not allow dogs, so we walk around the park here. A lot of art shops. Very interesting.

We just walk through the streets now. Exploring. No real goal where to go to. Small shops, cafes, nice houses, not so nice houses – a good mixture. I have a little problem with my foot and feel a little unwell, but a Paracetamol helped in the end. We come to Paroisse Saint-Paul Saint-Louis – a Parish church. We also go to a Jewish bakery (La Boutique Jaune) with a long line of people in front of it. They all want sandwiches – we want a bread so I find the shortcut.

More walking and after some time a rest at Le Drapeau for a warm chocolate or whatever we fancied.

More to see. We are close to Notre Dame and île de la Cite. More tourist stuff. Over the square at the Hotel de Ville (City hall), over the bridge passing souvenir shops and then to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. The cathedra is still under construction after the fire (it was just a coincidence that I was in Paris that day on my way to Canada!) and there is a big fence around. But they have build stands for people to sit and look at the building site. I will leave no further comment about this. But we try to explore the small island. Walking along the river Seine, passing Pont Saint-Michel and Place Dauphine to Pont Neuf.

Crossing the bridge into Saint-Germaindes-Prés. Nice little area with a lot of shops. Not to many tourists here. But the main goal is the Quartier Latin that my parents heard about and that is said to be nice. After more walking we get to what the guides say is the main area of the Quartier Latin. My Lars and Chris are doing their stuff, while we want to explore.

Let’s do a short version – total crap. Very disappointing. We try a little bit of the main area – I find a Bubble Tea shop that earns some money.

Paris is a big construction site. I don’t know if it is the Olympic games later this year, but they are digging everywhere. And they cover it with a type of wooden boards and on top some plastic boards. Suddenly my mother hits the ground. SHEEP DOWN! Some people try to help, but we manage to get her up. And she seems to have hit her arm hard. First inspection with my old first aid experience – all is moving, no immediate pain, just when you press on spot on the arm. Maybe not a big problem, just a bruise. And the foot is sore of course, but she can stand and walk. We go to the Square René-Viviani – a small park to sit a little bit down to rest after the fall. But it hurts and we are not sure what it is. Maybe best to get it checked. I walk to a close by pharmacy to ask for the closest doctor/hospital. We are pointed to the Hotel Dieu (sounds better than it is^^). Lars and Chris are back. The hospital (it is definitely not a hotel) is directly at the cathedral. Needs some looking for the entrance, but in the end we find the emergency room. I stay with my parents for being a translator, while the other two go home.

Very friendly staff. They even have German forms for registration. Some wait, first check and then I am more of a wardrobe than a translator. I have all the backpacks etc. My father calls me in to help tell the doctor that my parents are normally in a mental hospital… 😀 No… just known medical conditions, medication etc. And waiting again. Then second translation session (I do not get payed for this). Arm broken, they are waiting for an orthopedic surgeon to look at the x-rays and see, what has to be done.

While in there, my brother came back with some food that he bought for us, since we have no way to buy anything. The doctor says that there is nothing to be done at the moment. My mother gets a prescription for pain medicine and a sling to hold the arm still. It is the right arm – that is a pain. No money spent at the hospital. They eventually will send a bill which the insurance will cover. EU for the win.

It is now after 10 pm (22:00). We need to find a pharmacy. Non around, but I find one at the Champs-Élysées. We see the Eiffel Tower light show on the way to the metro station. “Just” two different metros away. That is an underground walking marathon. No escalators, it might have been faster walking.

The pharmacy does not have the sling, we should try the English pharmacy op the Champs-Élysées. More walking, but we are lucky. They have what we need. 26 Euros. While my parents think about how to best get home, I have ordered an Bolt (a European form of Uber) to get us home. It is a 17 km ride around the city and it will only cost 21 Euro. How does that poor guy live of that? A ride around the Arc de Triomphe and then straight home. A 25 % tip is the least I can give the guy for that ride. We are a little bit out of energy. Just some LIDL pizza that fill the stobach before bed. The day ended a little bit different than planned.