Cruising the Seine

One of the best things about showing Paris to a newcomer is that you don’t need an excuse to do a few “touristy” excursions. I always start arrival day with a trip on the Bateaux-Mouches. After an eight-hour plane trip the chance to sit back, relax, and see Paris float by is a welcome change. I never plan more than the boat tour and a nice dinner at the Isle Gourmand on the Isle St-Louis. This relaxed arrival day matches extremely well with jet lag.   When I took my oldest daughter to Paris for the first time, it was mid-afternoon when we reached Pont de l’Alma. It was February 1998, just a few months after Princess Diana’s death, so of course we had to have a look at the ad hoc memorial at the Statue of Liberty torch. The International Herald Tribune donated the torch to Paris in 1987 to commemorate newspaper’s 100th anniversary. Although it was five months since the accident, the masses of flowers, notes and graffiti were just incredible.   We spent so much time at the torch that we had to run to catch the next boat tour at 4:00 p.m. As we were the last passengers to board, the selection of seats was slim. I finally found two seats up top, next to an older woman with a young girl. Most of the boats are equipped with a text display and an audio announcement system, which is synchronized and provides commentary on the passing sights in several languages. The boats have a passenger capacity of 250 to 350 people.   Have you ever wondered about these boats that cruise the “Grande rue de Paris”? The oldest and most famous cruise line, the Bateaux-Mouches, got its name (literally “fly boats“) because the first boats were built in Lyon, on the Quai de Mouches. The marshy area of the Rhône River valley around Lyon was called “mouches,” and these shallow-hull boats were well suited for navigating the “mouches.” During the Universal Exposition of 1889 the boats became part of the “Paris experience.” As their popularity increased, so did their breadth–so much so, in fact, that the arches of the Pont des Arts had to be rebuilt to allow passage.   Today there is much competition for the original Bateaux-Mouches. All of the lines navigate essentially the same route, but I have to admit I am a faithful Mouches passenger. As a result of the boats’ popularity in Paris, other cities use the Bateaux-Mouches as a tourist venue, including Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nantes, Montreal, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle. During the summer the boats depart every 30 minutes, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:0 p.m. The winter schedule of confirmed departures is 11:0 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:0 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. The cruises last about one hour.   As the cruise commenced, I found myself smiling and explaining the landmarks, and of course my daughter was grinning from ear to ear (remember your first visit to Paris?). About half way into the tour the older lady next to me turned and asked if we were Americans. I smiled and replied to the affirmative. She said “I thought you might be Americans because both of you are smiling so much.” “You could tell we were Americans just because we smile?” I asked. “Oh yes, you see you would never see a French person smile so much. We have to have a reason to smile. It is because we are not happy. But the Americans must always be happy, because you are always smiling. Don’t be embarrassed; we only envy your carefree style. It is most refreshing.”   Now this was at least my eighth visit to Paris, and I had never noticed the solemn faces on the Parisians before (too busy looking at other things I guess; sometimes we artists see beyond what is right in front of us). Ever since that day I make an effort to curb my smiles (after all, I want to fit in) and I began to pay more attention to the long faces around me. I am always on the lookout for “French smiles.” Sadly they are few and far between. But we Americans? I can pick “us” out in an instant…we’re still out there in front when it comes to smiles! As a young girl, all Debbie ever wanted to do was go to Paris; she thinks perhaps the movie “GiGi” might have had something to do with it. Her art has won many awards and been accepted into many juried shows and competitions. She’s completed two pastel series, “The Gardens of Paris” and “The Flower Markets of France” (12 pieces in each series). She is contemplating an upcoming series, perhaps about the gardens at Versailles.