"Stop That Boat!" or how I abandoned my children on the Seine!

Eager to tackle Paris we are up early and in the city. No problem with the driving and we snag a parking place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower! Whoot! Bad news for my plans to climb the tower, only one of the four elevators is in operation, so even for people who are going to climb the first two sections the wait is over 3 hours! After a quick confab we decide that this is Not Worth It! After all, we can see it and take photos of it, and we plan to climb the dome of Sacre Coeur and view Paris from on high, so we should be all set. Plan B is to walk down to the Seine, just across the street and grab a river tour. After we buy the tickets we find out we have a half hour until the boat leaves and I decide, no matter how pricey, I will sit in the outdoor cafe that is riverside and have a cup of coffee. We all sit down but the kids are ancy and so Jerry and I give them their tickets and tell them to go get some seats. The boat leaves at 11:30 and it is 11:10. Ah, a moment for the parents, and we toast each other with our coffees and smile. "ToooT ToooooooT" says a boat whistle. "Isn't it fun to hear that" I cheerfully say. Our coffee finished we decide to join the kids on the boat. It is 11:13. We walk over to the dock, it is 11:14, and the boat is 5 feet away from the gangplank. WHAT? "our kids are on the boat" we shout in English, and the dockworker just gives us a shrug, a French shrug, you know the one I mean, and waves at the pilot to keep on chugging away. Molly begins to cry and Charlotte has a look of shear terror on her face. At this point, knowing we have no choice, we start yelling "Molly, stop crying, you are fine! Charlotte, get out your camera, take pictures! Danny, have fun! Enjoy! We will see you when you get back!"  And off they go down the river! We are stunned. We get hold of a person from the ticket booth who speaks English and she says "the schedule needed to change".  "Um, okay, but what about our kids?" "They are fine" she says, probably thinking we are paranoid helicopter type parents and gives us 5 more tickets so we can ride together later in the day. I calm down, give our two tickets to a young family waiting on line and go back for another coffee. Well, what could I do?!

now sit right down and I'll tell the tale

the tale of that fateful trip

that started from a French port, aboard a tiny ship!

Safely on land, the kids are all smiles!