Aquaboulevard: Two Years Ago, Paris
/Original post can be found here.
It hit 92 degrees today (yes, still measuring in American). We knew this was coming, so we headed out to
on the outskirts of Paris.
It only took us two trains and 35 minutes to get there. Essentially, it’s an indoor and outdoor water park. The place is like a little city. There is a sports club, a sporting goods store, restaurants and a movie complex.
When we arrived, we went straight to Decathalon, the sporting goods store. My swimsuit was very much the worse for wear, and we had read you needed a swim cap for the pools in Paris. There were more suits than I’d seen in one place. Mine cost only 9,9euros, Isabella’s was 4,5euros. Really some of the best fitting suits we’ve had, as well. We also got swim caps, goggles, a towel and a pair of flip flops for me. Thus outfitted, we set out to find the entrance to the pool.
We got to the dressing room and found pandemonium. I never thought I had a problem with crowds, but I guess I do. Though, there maybe a difference between European personal space and American. There was some unknown bagcheck system which took us 45 minutes to master.
Then we headed out to the pools in Aquaboulevard. Oh man, it was great. There was a wave pool that activated every thrity minutes or so, with teenagers mobbing the deeper end and kids, parents and grandparents on our end. We went down two water slides each and tried for another one, but it was way too crowded.
There was a professional photographer making souvenir photos. I noted his lens and camera set up and thought we’d give it a go. The results were very good, actually, and Isabella is very happy to have our three commemerative shots as a keepaske.
After the dressing room, we needed to eat. The food available was not great, and so, sadly, we ended up at McDonald’s. They have a fourth course to their Happy Meals here, fruit. And, an alternative to french fries, potatoes deluxe. We ate, got our pictures taken care of and left.
Outside, a thunderstorm had been brewing and so, we walked back to the train in the rain, dealt with rushhour on the Metro and recounted the fun we had along the way!