I just wanted to say that this was a wonderful, fulfilling trip, especially with 2 great friends Bob and Carol who were wonderful travel mates. We enjoyed being with them as much as we enjoyed what we saw.
Also, there was a large glitch in WiFi availability this trip. The second rental place in Aarromaches Normandy tried but failed to secure a consistent source of internet. So I had to improvise and do my daily blogs on WORD and copy them to the blog when internet was available. I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Again, to say that the trip was really great, I recommend anyone who is confident enough to take on France as an independent traveler.....it was quite easy....ESPECAILLY with our wonderful GPS...Jane!!!! She came through like a champ.
See you next trip!!!!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Day 16
Day 16
This was our last day in France OFFICIALLY. We moved out of our rental house around 9:30
am and headed southeast to first Rouen a gorgeous…oooollldd….city north of
Paris. It was about 2hours away and we
found and parked downtown with not problems at all. We just started walking with the goal of
finding the main cathedrals of the city….there are 3 of them. Plus we wanted to just see the old buildings
in the old part of the city. Let me say
that some of them were really old, they had to date to the 10th Century….or
even before. They had that typical
French beamed and plaster look to
them. We strolled through the old city
and easily found our main destination.
Too bad it was in major renovation mode and not much to see. The cathedral itself is in really bad shape
but it carvings and design are simply magnificent. The church dates to the 9th
Century and even before when the Roman were here. Like I said this was an ooooollldd city. We also found a very familiar cathedral that
if you are a Monet fan or know anything about his work you will recognize it
immediately. It is the one that he
painted several times from the same location but at different times of the day
to get a real feeling of the incredible eye he had for light. After lunch and a
large number of pictures we were off to our final destination….Giverny….again,
the home and famous painting location of Claude Monet.
WE were up, ate some breakfast and were off to the airport
and flights. No problems (except for the
excruciating long lines…….seemed like half the world was flying someplace that
day). The flights were perfect, no delays and we made it home (with
the help of some great neighbors who picked us up at the airport) and were home
around 9:00. So total about 17 hours on
the road we were home safe again…..a quick cocktail to wind down, an hour of
Breaking Bad (we still have not seen the end yet) and to bed with the wonderful
help of Ambien!!!!
Some interesting observations I made.
1)
The women have some really great fashions
there….and dress much more fashionably that we do.
2)
People were INCREDIBLY FRIENDLY. For example we got lost (no map) in Rouen and
an young girl actually guided us back to our parked car. She walked a quite a ways out of her way to
help 4 oldies. But everyone one was so
nice, friendly and warm. We did not have
one nasty situation the entire trip!!!!
3)
Paris is very easy to get around….the metro is
very easy….AND IS IN ENGLISH!!!!
4)
Prices are very high…..you just have to bite the
bullet and do it if you want to enjoy the country.
5)
The wine was very very good AND CHEAP. WE never bought a wine more than 3.50 Euro
and most were 2 Euros. Even beer was
relatively cheap too.
6)
People are much more relaxed there than
here…..cafes, restaurants are always full….all day and night.
7)
French drivers are very good……they do not speed
or are not nasty out there on the road.
We drove over 1000 miles and never had any problems with arrogant or
nasty drivers.
8)
Driving is easy in France…..the roads are very
well marked, the speed limits are relative and gas is available often. WE had a diesel car and it got incredible
mileage having to fill up only 3 times and the last simply to top off the car
to return it to the rental office.
9)
Food is really good, especially the breakfast pastries. The dinners were excellent (we did not have a
bad one) and the selection of types of food were really good. Lots and lots of fish and shellfish. The muscles were the best we all have ever
had…..ever. So we had them several
times…even for appetizers. When you get muscles,
they come in a huge pot and you use the lid for the wasted shells. Cool idea.
The fish were unique to area being ones that I had never had before….and
the meat (especially the duck) was just outstanding. But to say that the
best the most famous…..the true French
food is their French baguette. We had it
every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner……they were always perfect and of
course they are fresh EVERY DAY. WE want
out every morning to a local bakery (there are thousands of them) and bought 1
or 2 for the day. I must admit that I
plan to do the same as long as I don’t get lazy. WE have a local grocery here 5 minutes away
and they have them. But the couisonts
were also outstanding and always warm and fresh. We had crepes also a few times and they can
be eaten anytime with any filling….really cool.
So cool that I bought a recipe
book for making and different fillings.
10)
We often thing that we have the best of
everything and the most modern, but they have a lot of things we could
definitely copy. They also have more
design oriented items and equipment and utensils. They just have some great creative ideas for
designing things
11)
Lastly I noticed that almost everywhere we went
(and we did go almost everywhere) everything was clean, neat and very
nice…..they recycle more than we do, they use items of less energy than we do
and they definitely are thinking of the effect on the environment more than we
do.
All in all it was a fabulous and incredibly interesting and
informative trip. I strongly recommend
this trip to anyone, rookie or experienced traveler….especially Normandy and
the WWII history. It is just incredible
what the allies did that year…..1944!!!!!
Day 15
Day 15
Our last full day to roam!!!!! WE decided to take it slow and easy and just
go to the nearby city Bayeux. It is only
7Km away and is a gorgeous small city.
If you remember we went there a few days ago to see the cathedral and
tapestry but did not go downtown. Sunday
is a bad day to go because only a handful of establishments are open for
business, but we did find a wonder bakery with all kinds of French pastry and
also a really beautiful coffee shop where we stopped for a cup and to
relax. We walked the streets and
“window” shopped…..just slowly walking and enjoying the gorgeous sunny
day. Did I mention that no matter where
we go we see post cards and all kinds of signs noting that rain is a given fact
in Normandy but we have been soooooo lucky that it rained only a few minutes
just one day. Some days have been some
clouds but most have been sunny and bright…..nice.
So once back to the car we got our homemade lunch and found
a nice park bench to eat the baguette sandwiches and those wonderful French pastries
we bought…OMG were they wonderful. We
knew the British cemetery was nearby and it was the only one we had not
visited, so off we went. It was only a
little out of town and just like all the others were sooooooo moving. This time 6,000 British soldiers and sailors
are buried. And like the others it is so
well kept and gorgeous. As they say….WE SHALL NEVER FORGET.
Annnddd, next door just down the road is the Normandy museum
which covers the invasion and all the battles after to liberate France.
WE stopped thinking, “oh an hour so here” and it turned out
to be incredible. By far the best museum
on the war we had seen so far. I had
EVERYTHING. The bios of all the leaders
on both sides, a movie of all the battles to liberate the country, walls and
walls describing all the battles, how they were fought and won and in between
we saw cabinet after cabinet of how they the soldiers dressed (both sides) and
many pieces of equipment including many weapons vehicles, trucks, tanks and
even a bulldozer.!!!!! We ended staying
almost 4 hours there!!!!! It was just
soooo interesting. As one of our friends
noted that “it was overwhelming”!!!!
Back home in a few minutes we decided to shop one more time
downtown and I found a couple nice gifts for my grand children……and a few more
pictures of the beach, the caissons still stranded on the beach and the
surrounding town from the low tide points way out to sea. More great photography.
Now home and we plan one more nice meal downtown to
celebrate a wonderful and truly educational trip and to get some more of that
wonderful seafood!!!!
Tomorrow we wanted to stop at Govern on the way to the
airport but found it is closed on Mondays….so we will plan something. Then to the airport hotel to overnight and
catch our plane home tomorrow.
IT HAS BEEN A TRULY AN INCREDIBLE TRIP…….GREAT FRIENDS,
GREAT FOOD, GREAT SIGHTS AND GREAT WINE!!!!!!
Day 14
Day 14
Today we were off to the east and to try to follow both the
route de frommage and the route de cidre….which is the route of cheese and the
route of cidar. We followed a website
article which named the routes and towns one would pass through. It was not so much like a wine tour but to
just see the country and towns where a lot of the raw materials, like milk and
etc.
The towns are SMALLLL AND OOOLLLDDD. But very beautiful in their simplicity. We did not get too far after traveling
through several villages. But we did
find at one village factory and store and bought a couple types of cheese,
camonbert a famous type only found here in this area. But we bought a couple other cheeses to
accompany the camonbert.
Once done, we decided to go the cider route and followed the
road signs through the area. This was
the real treasure. We came upon one town
which on its name sign it was “ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOWNS IN
FRANCE”!!!! And it was!!!!! We must have spent almost an hour just
walking all round, in front and behind the buildings to take pictures. It was absolutely gorgeous. Others must have felt the same because there
were a good number of French tourists stopping by too.
WE worked out way home driving through many towns and
villages. All, so old and beautiful
buildings. It was truly a photographers
dream……just like the day before at Deaville and Honfleur.
Home, relax and we fixed our own dinner with pasta, sauce
and some wonderful salads and wine!!!!
Bed early because we were all tired.
Day 13
Day 13
Today was the eastern part of the Normandy……..First was
Deaville and finally Honfleur!!!
Both are about an hour’s drive away and of course no main
road does the GPS take us. But the
ride was nice and OMG the weather has been fantastic for us….today it was in
the mid 70s and all sun. So the ride was
nice and scenic as usual. First to
describe the area a little. Around us
the land is flat, super flat and all farms and pastures with hedges to block
the houses and to divide the properties.
But as we worked our way east the landscape changed to become more hills
and rolling farmland.
We reached Deaville around 11:00 and the city is right on
the water and quite large for towns on this shore. But what we noticed the most was the area had
very large luxury housing, all along the beach line. Large gorgeous older style homes that must
belong to the wealthy and their second homes, because 90% were boarded up for
the winter. And as we drove we saw very
few people…..like the city was abandoned.
But as we got into downtown it became livelier and more city-like. We parked and walked along the main streets
and found a flea market. It had almost
everything from clothing to shoes to gloves to food and wine. It was fun just walking around. Deaville is a large city and downtown is not
quite on the beach like other towns and cities.
We finished and ate lunch in the local park with our usual sandwiches,
cookies and chips. Then it was off to
the one spot we all wanted to visit…….Honfleur.
This place was just like the travel books say it
is…………absolutely beautiful. Probably the
most beautiful town we have visited in both Normandy and Brittany. It was breathtaking as we drove into
downtown We parked (which was warned to
be very difficult) and ran to the water ‘s edge to take photos. The sun made it even more beautiful. WE walked to downtown area where all the
action was and there was certainly action.
There were people EVERYWHERE. But
the way the town was laid out and next to the water was incredible. Also it must be noted that the houses and
buildings are much different than all others in Normandy. They were like Netherland buildings….narrow
and tall and all next to each other. Oh
Diana and I were in photograph heaven.
We just kept taking photos….IN ALL DIRECTIONS. WE then spent most of the day just walking
around and noting how beautiful and old the buildings looked….they will
definitely be part of my year’s calendar.
WE shopped, window viewed, people viewed and just enjoyed the area. But we did have things to see. Our first stop was Boudin Museum…..he was the
father of Impressionalism…..the style that Monet, Renoir and others took up
. But he was really the first to use
it. We saw many of his works at the
museum plus others similar to him. Then
we went to the cathedral…..what a surprise….NOT LIKE ANY OTHER CATHOLIC CHURCH
WE HAD EVER SEEN. It was old and really
neat looking. After all that it was
around 4:00 and about time to head home.
WE decided to take the faster route home using the major
highways…..which there are not many up here.
Most roads are narrow, windy and made for local traffic. OUR HIGHWAY…..Route 514 is the road that
covers most of the Normandy coast….so we are on it a lot. WE got home around 5:30 and relaxed…..a big
night tonight at our favorite restaurant in town. We ate there the other night and liked it so
much we wanted to eat there again. WE
had reservations for 8:00 so we did a little shopping downtown at a great
clothing store prior to going to the restaurant. Diana bought some stuff while I strolled down
to the beach to just wonder at the glory of the sea and beach and town. Ammoraches is a gorgeous gorgeous little
town…..we are so glad we decided to us it as our base of operation. It is large enough to enjoy but small enough
to feel comfortable and the people are soo
great. To give an example we walk
to the bakery every morning to get baguettes for breakfast and lunch. It is that kind of place.
Tomorrow we try the market in Bayeux and maybe drive to see
some places we missed so far. It will be
Saturday, so it is more relaxed day. We
have only Sat. and Sun. left before we drive back to Paris. We want to stop at Giverny on the way to
Paris to see Monet’s gardens……
Night all!!!!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Day 12
Today was Mont 'St. Michel day......it is a monastery located in Brittany an area of France just west of Normandy. It is about 50 miles away from our home base but took us a couple of hours to transverse across the land because our GPS would not take the main roads. WE have a Garmin which I call Jane and our French one in the car dash that I call Francois. Well, they both wanted to take us on the longest most indirect route one could do. they disagreed a lot but got us there after a tour of every small town in France (it seemed). WE finally arrived and saw our hotel which was just a mile or so from the famous island. The hotel is right across from the bus stop that picks people up to take them to the abby and town. WE ate a delicious lunch we made ahead and headed for the bus and the monastery. One thing, lets say we would hate to be here in HIGH SEASON because it was very very crowded IN SEPTEMBER......believe it or not, 80% were Japanese!!!!
WE entered and walked up that famous "street" up to the Abby. Up, up and up.....stairs and ramps and more stairs up to the abby. Once there we paid our fee and got the self direct audio sets and set out. It was quite interesting and to hear about all their different constructions dating back to the 10th century!!!!!!!!
After a great tour we walked down and down again past all kinds of souvenir shops and restaurants back to the entrance and back to the hotel....around 4:00.
Our original plans was to drive over to a small town about 30 miles away for a very very famous dinner at a Michelin 4 star place but when we looked at the map we saw it would take over an hour....more like 2 hours to get there. So we called and cancelled and figured we could eat nearby.
We relaxed with our friends over a glass of wine and cheese and decided because we walked so much to just eat in the hotel restaurant. We wanted to eat outside and the menu was extensive especially guided to seafood. WE all got the fixed menu which was 5 course meal. For starters we got what they called "fruit of the sea" or fruit de mer!!! Which was a HUGE dish of all types of seafood. It was incredible....so gooooood. Then we moved on to the entre, then the apple sorbet with calvato, then a huge cheese plate and finally with dessert. OMG were they all good. So we did not feel any guilt missing out on the fancy meal over an hour away.
We all wanted to see the Mont St. Michel by night, so we grabbed our cameras and went to the best viewing spots for pictures. Now we are back in our hotel room relaxing and I am finishing up on the blog.
Tomorrow we plan to visit some towns nearby and head back to our headquarters in Ammeraches.
I think was plan to work east to see more towns and cities on the east side of Normandy.....in the days to come.
See ya.
WE entered and walked up that famous "street" up to the Abby. Up, up and up.....stairs and ramps and more stairs up to the abby. Once there we paid our fee and got the self direct audio sets and set out. It was quite interesting and to hear about all their different constructions dating back to the 10th century!!!!!!!!
After a great tour we walked down and down again past all kinds of souvenir shops and restaurants back to the entrance and back to the hotel....around 4:00.
Our original plans was to drive over to a small town about 30 miles away for a very very famous dinner at a Michelin 4 star place but when we looked at the map we saw it would take over an hour....more like 2 hours to get there. So we called and cancelled and figured we could eat nearby.
We relaxed with our friends over a glass of wine and cheese and decided because we walked so much to just eat in the hotel restaurant. We wanted to eat outside and the menu was extensive especially guided to seafood. WE all got the fixed menu which was 5 course meal. For starters we got what they called "fruit of the sea" or fruit de mer!!! Which was a HUGE dish of all types of seafood. It was incredible....so gooooood. Then we moved on to the entre, then the apple sorbet with calvato, then a huge cheese plate and finally with dessert. OMG were they all good. So we did not feel any guilt missing out on the fancy meal over an hour away.
We all wanted to see the Mont St. Michel by night, so we grabbed our cameras and went to the best viewing spots for pictures. Now we are back in our hotel room relaxing and I am finishing up on the blog.
Tomorrow we plan to visit some towns nearby and head back to our headquarters in Ammeraches.
I think was plan to work east to see more towns and cities on the east side of Normandy.....in the days to come.
See ya.
Day 11
Today was finishing off WWII!!!
WE drove to Utah Beach and it truly was the most
elaborate. The museum was absolutely awesome. It was very large and truly covered all the
branches of service involved…..Navy, Army, Air core, Medical care, Engineers……everyone,
with vehicles, pictures, movies and even a plane. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It is
interesting that the Utah part was very successful and really assisted in the
success of operation.
We also watched several movies which told even more details
of the operation. It was great. Once done we traveled into the nearby town
(no idea the name) and ate lunch and walked
around and came upon all kinds of small signs that told unheard of stories of
what happened in that particular town during the invasion….it was really
cool. This was the area where the
paratroopers landed and all kinds of situations occurred. Some cool, some cruel. We wanted to see the town where the famous
paratrooper dropped and got caught other church steeple. We found it and they ACTUALLY HAVE A
REPRODUCTION OF THE PARATROOPER HANGING FROM THE CHURCH STEEPLE……cool. WE walked the town and also read small signs
that told unheard of stories of what happened.
It is sooooo cool that one could spend days traveling the area town to
town researching the history. But we had
lots to do, so we were off to Bayeux to see the famous tapestries. It was only a few miles away and we arrived
and parked near the place, which happened to be right near the huge Notre Dame
of Bayeux. So we visited the tapestry
museum which was really good. ….not at all what I expected. It is a like 100 foot long tapestry that they
made in 1060s to celebrate the victory of William the Conqueror over his
brother at Hastings. It was really
interesting and quite informative. After
we walked over to the cathedral and went in…..it was really a nice example of
ancient churches. Back to the car and
home……we got home around 5:30 and OOOOOH YEAAA….relaxed with wine, cheese and
tonight a delicious hard sausage. WE sat
outside on our picnic table and really enjoyed this wonderful warm and sunny
day end. For dinner we had a wonderful
salad with local veggies and chicken we bought cooked. But dessert was a real treat. We bought strawberries yesterday and with
some cut up apples (from our back yard) and nectarines we enjoyed a wonderful
local meal. Now they are watching FRENCH
TV while I type and off to bed soon. NO
ENGLISH TV HERE!!!
Tomorrow we are off to Mont St. Michel the famous monastery
west of us. We plan to stay overnight
there so we will have to pack nights worth of clothes. WE want to get the most out of it plus we
have reservations to a 5 STAR restaurant on the water nearby…..for you Anthony
Berdain fans, it was on one of his shows.
It will be a real treat to our trip.
I must say now that we lost our internet about 30 minutes
after it was restored and so now I am doing it on WORD and sending it
later. WE, I guess just gave up on it after
awhile. They are just not into the
internet like we are.
I really cannot say much about the local color other than
everyone we meet are sooooo nice and 90% speak English. WE got gas (really diesel) today and every
customer at the pumps helped us out getting filled up. Oh by the way for you gasoline (diesel)
fans…the bill was around $70 for alittle
over a half tank to fill!!!! So be happy you live in the US and have our
prices!!!!
One really negative thing is that our cards just do not work
here in France….IN MACHINSES. I have one
with the new “chip” but it did not work either, so cash is the main go here!!!!
So maybe tomorrow in our new hotel in Mont St. Michel will
have WiFi and I can send these out…..we will see.
Good Night!!!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Day 9
Day 9
Today was our first REAL D-Day adventure. We are right in the middle of the “war”
concentrated on the town of Arromathe.
WE walked into the town in a heavy morning fog….typical of a gorgeous
northern coastal city. We hit the
Ammermathe museum first which described and explained the massive port building
project that made sure the invasion went as planned.
Just a small description……
They needed a port to make the invasion a success because
the troops needed supplies for support.
But all the regular ports on the northern coast were very heavily
protected by the Germans. So they picked
this area because it was weakly supported and it had the perfect setup for
being a port. So they actually MADE a
port….in less than 2 weeks!!!! Right
after the invasion they sank about 50 old ships that the British had to make a
breaking line in the harbor. Then they
built and towed about 115 concrete barriers across 100 miles of water and sank
them too…..all in a line. Then they
brought in 3 rows of “bridges” that were towed in and hooked up in line to make
3 “roads” for the trucks and tanks and supplies were driven on shore. It was one of the greatest feats in modern
history. So this museum showed and
explained it all. It was really
incredible feat.
We also saw 2 movies that also explained and supported the
feat. Then we walked up a beautiful hill
to look over the town and go to the 360 degree theater to see the reenactment
of the invasion. After the movie one
really felt the sorrow and happiness of such an experience. WE then ate a great homemade lunch
overlooking the bay and then walked our way back to the car to continue our
adventure. We decided to head east
because most of the beaches were the British and Canadian fronts. We stopped at Gold Beach and Juno Beach where
the British and Canadian lost thousands of soldiers in a horrible attack. Each had museums and monuments and bunkers to
visit. It was quite powerful. Also, a very interesting note after the
fact. After the war no credit was being
given to the Canadians for their
contributions, so the Canadian government took it upon themselves to build a
monument (a huge cross) and a museum at their beach to commerate their
contributions. It was appalling that the
leadership ignored Canada in such a way.
We wanted to visit the Canadian cemetery but we were running out of time
and headed home. The reason was that we
asked to have the landlord visit and try to fix the WiFi that did not
work. So we headed home so we would meet
him.
Ah to get back to our place….we just love it….a small
cottage with all we really need to live comfortably in Normandy. We all decided to stay in tonight and so on
the way home we stopped and bought some really great pasta, sauces, and such
for an evening in.
Tomorrow I guess it is time to really get serious and hit
the western area where the Americans attacked……Utah, Omaha and etc. We really cannot wait to see them and the
solemn cemetery. I do hope the weather
holds out (remember we do not have internet now to check the daily weather.
Oh by the way….they could no fix the WiFi!!!!
Day 8
Day 8
Today was travel day.
We awoke, packed and after saying goodbye to our renter host we were off
to the airport by taxi to get our car.
It was a little hassle there because not knowing but we headed to
Terminal 1 and our car was at Terminal 2.
But in the end after an hour we were rewarded with really a bigger and
better car.
We drove out of the garage expecting our GPS to start right
up and head us in the right direction to Normandy. Weeeellll, that did not happen. While our friend drove I sat in the back seat
trying over and over again to get the GPS to find our destination
town….Arromanches. As we drove further
and further out of the way, I frantically worked on the instrument. For some reason it would not find any of the
reference names I put in. I really
thought we were in deep deep doodoo. But
finally I got it and “Jane” (I call all my GPS’s Jane) got us going in the
right direction and in about 3 hours we were pulling into our town. A gorgeous sunny day awaited us and the sea,
the English Channel lay ahead of us. We
were so excited about getting there, we did not stop and so arriving at 5:00 PM
we had not eaten all day. But when we
found our rental house we were absolutely flabbergasted. The house was so gorgeous. A little cottage set on a small hill
overlooking the town. Two bedrooms, two
bath with all the amenities. It was
fabulous. WE unpacked fast and headed to
town to eat. But as we got to town we were overwhelmed with the gorgeous beach
and the WWII sights. The town has one
main street and a small boardwalk along its beach. The beach was huge and had all kinds of WWII
debris from the invasion. But what
caught our eye were numerous “dead bodies” stenciled in the sand. People all over the beach were stenciling
different “dead bodies” on the beach to depict the fallen soldiers on
D-Day. It was over powering. Also, we saw families walking and bathing on
the beach, we saw people riding horses on beach. It was quite a sight. Being 5:00 no restaurant served dinner yet,
so we stopped for a bottle of wine with conversation about our trip and the
town. We decided to go to the
supermarket before it closed and get breakfast food and return in an hour or so
for dinner. We spent about 70 Euros on
food and of course wine….and coffee and returned and found a wonderful
restaurant on the town’s main street. We
all had mussels for appetizer and WOW they were terrific. I had salmon tartar for my main meal while
others hungered for a hamburger (which they said was quite good). After we strolled back home and after trying
to get the Wi-Fi to work we went to bed…….this is why there was a long delay in
my blog because the Wi-Fi did not work and we had to call the owner to get
assistance.
Tomorrow we are off to explore the area. We have read that Arromanches was the “center
of the storm”. And so we are off to explore.
Hi, Diana here. This town is awesome, beautiful, historic,
and much more. The home we rented (on
Homeaway) is really nice. We celebrated Carole’s birthday this morning, fun!
Tomorrow’s Bob’s birthday, more fun. Very foggy this morning but we’re hoping
it’ll lift, eternal optimists. Starting WWII history today, we’re off!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Day 7
What a great last day. First and foremost it was a GORGEOUS day. We did have a scare because we called the airport car rental to confirm our reservation and they had never heard of us. We had to call the US and get it straightened out. Then we had to reserve our cab to the airport to get the car. That done we all headed out to do some last minute shopping at places we had seen before and wanted to return. I got 2 really cool French shirts with designs on them....not your typical US style. Wait Naples, here I come. Even Diana bought one with ice cream bars as a design.
For lunch we all decided to go to the Jewish area to get a falafalah (sp). We wanted to go on Sunday, but it was a Jewish holiday and it was very crowded, so today was more civil. It was really quite interesting with sides of bread, hummus and cucumber salad. That area is so lively and so many small shopping stores....it is a great area to walk around.
Our friends headed back to rest some more while D and I decided to go to the Mont Mart to see the famous church and the art experience. We took the metro and actually WALKED THE FAMOUS STEPS. The church and surrounding views were spectacular and what I like the most was the tacky souvenir places and the center square with about 50 or more artists working and showing their art. It was sooooo much fun. It was getting around 4:00 and so we took the funicular back down (saved our legs some) and took the metro back home....to rest and get ready for our big dinner. We made reservations at this really nice place in the center of the city, midpoint between all our friends' hotel and places. We met 2 sets of friends, one set from Naples and New York and the other set from Boston. One set was had just got in from London and the other from Israel. So we had lots to talk about. The dinner was everything we expected and more and seeing everyone and talking nonstop was great. After we took a taxi back home and we FINALLY got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up..........what an experience. So was the Opera House which was also spectacular. Back home to rest and tomorrow is a big big day. We have to get to the airport, get our car and head out to Normandy!!!!
One very important thing I must say before we actually leave Paris. One hears about and gets advice from friends about how rude and unfriendly the Parisians are. Well.....all we can say that for us it was farthest from the truth. Our visit has been absolutely spectacular. The people have been super friendly, polite, no anger, no rudeness, just nice smiles and also 99% of people we dealt with all spoke English!!!! EVERYWHERE, supermarkets, stores, on the street, in all the restaurants, in public places and even in the metro. Polite, courteous and really REALLY nice.
So off to Normandy.........and oh, the weather report is mid 70s and sunny for the next 5 or so days..............YAHOO!!!! If they are like today, the Normandy visit will be incredible.
Bon Soir!!!
For lunch we all decided to go to the Jewish area to get a falafalah (sp). We wanted to go on Sunday, but it was a Jewish holiday and it was very crowded, so today was more civil. It was really quite interesting with sides of bread, hummus and cucumber salad. That area is so lively and so many small shopping stores....it is a great area to walk around.
Our friends headed back to rest some more while D and I decided to go to the Mont Mart to see the famous church and the art experience. We took the metro and actually WALKED THE FAMOUS STEPS. The church and surrounding views were spectacular and what I like the most was the tacky souvenir places and the center square with about 50 or more artists working and showing their art. It was sooooo much fun. It was getting around 4:00 and so we took the funicular back down (saved our legs some) and took the metro back home....to rest and get ready for our big dinner. We made reservations at this really nice place in the center of the city, midpoint between all our friends' hotel and places. We met 2 sets of friends, one set from Naples and New York and the other set from Boston. One set was had just got in from London and the other from Israel. So we had lots to talk about. The dinner was everything we expected and more and seeing everyone and talking nonstop was great. After we took a taxi back home and we FINALLY got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up..........what an experience. So was the Opera House which was also spectacular. Back home to rest and tomorrow is a big big day. We have to get to the airport, get our car and head out to Normandy!!!!
One very important thing I must say before we actually leave Paris. One hears about and gets advice from friends about how rude and unfriendly the Parisians are. Well.....all we can say that for us it was farthest from the truth. Our visit has been absolutely spectacular. The people have been super friendly, polite, no anger, no rudeness, just nice smiles and also 99% of people we dealt with all spoke English!!!! EVERYWHERE, supermarkets, stores, on the street, in all the restaurants, in public places and even in the metro. Polite, courteous and really REALLY nice.
So off to Normandy.........and oh, the weather report is mid 70s and sunny for the next 5 or so days..............YAHOO!!!! If they are like today, the Normandy visit will be incredible.
Bon Soir!!!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Day 6
Ahhhhh a day without rain!!!
Today was day 2 of museum pass. Our friends had other plans so D and I headed out after a nice home breakfast to the Eiffel Tower to get some close up and personal pics of the iconic tower. The weather was pretty nice but chilly and the metro was very easy. It seems that not many people use the metro....most people either walk or drive around the city. The sight was just unbelievable. It is soooo large and one can see it from almost every point in the city. What a fabulous idea for a symbol of one's city. We got some great shots and decided to walk across the street to see a beautiful carrousel and a stand that sold what we had been wanting for almost a week now.....crepes. I must say that I was still in control and ordered a jambon and fromage crepe....but Diana went over the edge and ordered a strawberry, chocolate and whipped cream crepe!!!! Guess who enjoyed HERS more. After a nice quiet lunch next to the river, we were off to the Rodin Museum. He is one of Diana's favorites and it is set in a gorgeous house and garden. I must admit that many in the garden were absolutely gorgeous and even better we had seen many of the plaster casts in the Musee Dorsey which was really neat. After a nice walk past the Invalid complex we rode our metro back to the Notre Dame station and tried to see the Notre Dame Chapel (not it real name) but the line was tooo long and it did not accept our fancy Paris Pass. So we skipped it and went on to the Pompeidu Museum......the modern museum of Paris. But WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. All the permanent exhibits were not there and only two were there.....a Lichtenstein exhibit which cost another large Euro cost which we just would not pay.....remember we were riding our Paris Pass. And to replace the permanent exhibits was a what I would call an ultra modern contemporary art exhibit. From the start we just were not impressed. There were many but just none impressed us at all. Remember now that we are really into contemporary art but this was just not our style. They were not impressive or even logical. So we had to really struggle through it.
Once done, we headed home.....it was about 4:30 by now. We of course had to stop for food and wine at our local store and headed home to meet our friends who had their own great day of mostly shopping.
We brought out the wine and cheese and compared notes on the day. WE all were so happy there was no rain, I think it was our first without any rain. We also compared pictures as we ate and drank.
We were all exhausted (it is getting tougher each day to get out there) and so decided to eat in tonight. Remember last night was a 200 Euro meal (did you look up cheval???). We had a really good salad from a huge lettuce head we bought with bread, and torttelini (sp) we popped in the microwave. Now they are watching the BBC news and finishing up the wine!!!!
Tomorrow we planned to go to Reims but will cancel because we have to be back for a big dinner with friends from Boston we are meeting. Also, we all wanted to rehash some steps for shopping and seeing if we can see places we missed or could not see because of the long lines. One bad thing is we do not have our wonderful Paris Pass anymore (it was for 2 days only).
One more thing........I was asking people why they think the people who swim in the river are crazy.......we were told that it was because they were....IN SEINE!!!!!!!!
Today was day 2 of museum pass. Our friends had other plans so D and I headed out after a nice home breakfast to the Eiffel Tower to get some close up and personal pics of the iconic tower. The weather was pretty nice but chilly and the metro was very easy. It seems that not many people use the metro....most people either walk or drive around the city. The sight was just unbelievable. It is soooo large and one can see it from almost every point in the city. What a fabulous idea for a symbol of one's city. We got some great shots and decided to walk across the street to see a beautiful carrousel and a stand that sold what we had been wanting for almost a week now.....crepes. I must say that I was still in control and ordered a jambon and fromage crepe....but Diana went over the edge and ordered a strawberry, chocolate and whipped cream crepe!!!! Guess who enjoyed HERS more. After a nice quiet lunch next to the river, we were off to the Rodin Museum. He is one of Diana's favorites and it is set in a gorgeous house and garden. I must admit that many in the garden were absolutely gorgeous and even better we had seen many of the plaster casts in the Musee Dorsey which was really neat. After a nice walk past the Invalid complex we rode our metro back to the Notre Dame station and tried to see the Notre Dame Chapel (not it real name) but the line was tooo long and it did not accept our fancy Paris Pass. So we skipped it and went on to the Pompeidu Museum......the modern museum of Paris. But WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. All the permanent exhibits were not there and only two were there.....a Lichtenstein exhibit which cost another large Euro cost which we just would not pay.....remember we were riding our Paris Pass. And to replace the permanent exhibits was a what I would call an ultra modern contemporary art exhibit. From the start we just were not impressed. There were many but just none impressed us at all. Remember now that we are really into contemporary art but this was just not our style. They were not impressive or even logical. So we had to really struggle through it.
Once done, we headed home.....it was about 4:30 by now. We of course had to stop for food and wine at our local store and headed home to meet our friends who had their own great day of mostly shopping.
We brought out the wine and cheese and compared notes on the day. WE all were so happy there was no rain, I think it was our first without any rain. We also compared pictures as we ate and drank.
We were all exhausted (it is getting tougher each day to get out there) and so decided to eat in tonight. Remember last night was a 200 Euro meal (did you look up cheval???). We had a really good salad from a huge lettuce head we bought with bread, and torttelini (sp) we popped in the microwave. Now they are watching the BBC news and finishing up the wine!!!!
Tomorrow we planned to go to Reims but will cancel because we have to be back for a big dinner with friends from Boston we are meeting. Also, we all wanted to rehash some steps for shopping and seeing if we can see places we missed or could not see because of the long lines. One bad thing is we do not have our wonderful Paris Pass anymore (it was for 2 days only).
One more thing........I was asking people why they think the people who swim in the river are crazy.......we were told that it was because they were....IN SEINE!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Day 5
Wow, it was a great day and a bad day.
Today was museum day. We had a 2-day pass which gave us a fast entrance and a discounted entrance to all the museums. We started with the Louvre. OMG what a crowd. Of course we cruised in but hit the wall right after entrance. There were literally thousands of people already there. It was hard just walking around. The crowd made India look like a deserted island. We really had only one objective, to see Mona. WE found her and even a bigger crowd. We could not even get close to her....but we did see and take a couple pictures of her. Then as we said, "lets get the f&^%k out of here. But we all agreed that the building and rooms were magnificent!!! Our next stop was the museum up the garden from the Lourve (forgot the name) and some Monets and really some great artisst who we had not heard of. Then off to the MO....or as they say Musee d'Orsey. It was around 1 when we got there so we went straight to the restaurant which was a gorgeous French traditionally designed room with huge mirrors and chandeliers...just fabulous. The menu its quite unique and we had to try all kinds of things. It was so neat sitting there overlooking the inside of the museum. After (we hated to leave) we headed for first the art deco area and then off to what the museum is all about....impressionism. Lots of Monets, Gaugon (sp) Renoirs, VAn Gogh and etc. The thing that hit me the most is to see so many iconic paintings IN THE FLESH, as they say. I have seen these paintings hundreds if not thousands of times over the years but never "up close and personal". It was just overpowering. Then to go and see SO MANY incredible impressionist paintings actually got overwhelming. Literally hundreds of them IN ONE PLACE. But we loved it. And the building, what can one say about the architecture of the old train station. JUST UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
By this time it was around 4:00 and we said, tooooo early to quit. So we decided to head out by metro to the ARch of Triumph. One interesting thing about the trip was that I can say that it was probably the longest metro station I have ever seen, we walked and walked and walked underground until finally we got to our destination.
The weather was changing rapidly....cold and very dark. We knew that rain was on its way. With our pass we got VIP treatment and off and up to the top of the arch for a bird's eye view of the city. It was absolutely spectacular views. I had been to Paris several times before but never to the top of the arch.....fabulous. Of course VIP up....and peasant....down. We had to walk down the windy, narrow steps. But it was worth every step.
Now a dilemma, do we take the metro back with all that walking or do we try the hop on/off bus that is free with the Paris Pass. Ah, lets try the bus. OMG what a mistake. The rains came and quite hard and here we are sitting in the top area of the sightseeing bus (the bottom area is filled full). With our rain coats on and my umbrella up, we are off SIGHTSEEING the city on the bus AT RUSH HOUR. Of course we are on the opposite side of the city and the bus goes 8 stops before it reaches our area. Wind, cold and lots of rain hit us, on and on....so we just started to laugh outloud at our situation. But, we did get to see the Eifel Tower at least 5 different views.....but in a rain storm!!!!!
Freezing and tired we finally reach our goal of Notre Dame stop and what.........we have no breakfast food for tomorrow....so after this we have to go food shopping. We did it and we got some really really good cheese and baguette for a quick rest and appitizers before we headed to dinner at really our first REAL French dinner restaurant. Our reservation was for 8:00 and we finally got home around 7:05. So, after a nice glass of wine and some cheese we were off to The Yellow Taxi for dinner. It was just down the street and on this "alley". A very small place and no English menu....and rarity so far here. The owner came out and helped us with the menu and the main reason we picked this particular place was what it served.....cheval. I ordered it. I will not tell you what it translates to in English....look it up. But it was deeeelicious. WE also had duck and lamb.....and lots of wine and OMG the desserts!!!! So I can add another new item" to my "did that" list. We all agreed that we want to go back if we have time.
We got home around 10:30 and everyone was ready for the big bed!!! So, it was quite a day indeed......lots and lots of art, really really great food and an experience that we will laugh about for years to come.
See you tomorrow......more museums tomorrow....especially the Pompidu (sp)!!!
Today was museum day. We had a 2-day pass which gave us a fast entrance and a discounted entrance to all the museums. We started with the Louvre. OMG what a crowd. Of course we cruised in but hit the wall right after entrance. There were literally thousands of people already there. It was hard just walking around. The crowd made India look like a deserted island. We really had only one objective, to see Mona. WE found her and even a bigger crowd. We could not even get close to her....but we did see and take a couple pictures of her. Then as we said, "lets get the f&^%k out of here. But we all agreed that the building and rooms were magnificent!!! Our next stop was the museum up the garden from the Lourve (forgot the name) and some Monets and really some great artisst who we had not heard of. Then off to the MO....or as they say Musee d'Orsey. It was around 1 when we got there so we went straight to the restaurant which was a gorgeous French traditionally designed room with huge mirrors and chandeliers...just fabulous. The menu its quite unique and we had to try all kinds of things. It was so neat sitting there overlooking the inside of the museum. After (we hated to leave) we headed for first the art deco area and then off to what the museum is all about....impressionism. Lots of Monets, Gaugon (sp) Renoirs, VAn Gogh and etc. The thing that hit me the most is to see so many iconic paintings IN THE FLESH, as they say. I have seen these paintings hundreds if not thousands of times over the years but never "up close and personal". It was just overpowering. Then to go and see SO MANY incredible impressionist paintings actually got overwhelming. Literally hundreds of them IN ONE PLACE. But we loved it. And the building, what can one say about the architecture of the old train station. JUST UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
By this time it was around 4:00 and we said, tooooo early to quit. So we decided to head out by metro to the ARch of Triumph. One interesting thing about the trip was that I can say that it was probably the longest metro station I have ever seen, we walked and walked and walked underground until finally we got to our destination.
The weather was changing rapidly....cold and very dark. We knew that rain was on its way. With our pass we got VIP treatment and off and up to the top of the arch for a bird's eye view of the city. It was absolutely spectacular views. I had been to Paris several times before but never to the top of the arch.....fabulous. Of course VIP up....and peasant....down. We had to walk down the windy, narrow steps. But it was worth every step.
Now a dilemma, do we take the metro back with all that walking or do we try the hop on/off bus that is free with the Paris Pass. Ah, lets try the bus. OMG what a mistake. The rains came and quite hard and here we are sitting in the top area of the sightseeing bus (the bottom area is filled full). With our rain coats on and my umbrella up, we are off SIGHTSEEING the city on the bus AT RUSH HOUR. Of course we are on the opposite side of the city and the bus goes 8 stops before it reaches our area. Wind, cold and lots of rain hit us, on and on....so we just started to laugh outloud at our situation. But, we did get to see the Eifel Tower at least 5 different views.....but in a rain storm!!!!!
Freezing and tired we finally reach our goal of Notre Dame stop and what.........we have no breakfast food for tomorrow....so after this we have to go food shopping. We did it and we got some really really good cheese and baguette for a quick rest and appitizers before we headed to dinner at really our first REAL French dinner restaurant. Our reservation was for 8:00 and we finally got home around 7:05. So, after a nice glass of wine and some cheese we were off to The Yellow Taxi for dinner. It was just down the street and on this "alley". A very small place and no English menu....and rarity so far here. The owner came out and helped us with the menu and the main reason we picked this particular place was what it served.....cheval. I ordered it. I will not tell you what it translates to in English....look it up. But it was deeeelicious. WE also had duck and lamb.....and lots of wine and OMG the desserts!!!! So I can add another new item" to my "did that" list. We all agreed that we want to go back if we have time.
We got home around 10:30 and everyone was ready for the big bed!!! So, it was quite a day indeed......lots and lots of art, really really great food and an experience that we will laugh about for years to come.
See you tomorrow......more museums tomorrow....especially the Pompidu (sp)!!!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Day 4
Well, I guess this is kind of my day!!!! I had two quite interesting and quite improbable experiences today. First, while we were in the metro station a young Asian girl approached me and asked in French if I could help her. I said I spoke only English and she asked....ME... to assist HER in getting a ticket in the ticket machine. I had just done that for our own and so I went ahead and helped her. But after I thought......she is asking ME to help her with getting a ticket in the Paris underground....my first time in like 30 years!!!! Quite an unusual experience. Then later in the restaurant for lunch I ordered a salad nicoise and the waitress said, your French is impeccable....the pronunciation is PERFECT. Well, let me tell you I was floating around for an hour after that!!! I have not spoken French since high school. So, yes, this was my day.
So, lets start by saying we shopped today....that is it. There is an area where there are several famous and really nice stores....lets simply say quite upscale. So the first FLOOR of Printemps store was huge but all they sold were hand bags.....women's purses. Thousands of them....at astronomical prices....then we found out that there were TWO COMPLETE FLOORS with only purses. It was truly incredible. Most sales people were Asian and 90% of the customers were Asian. There was every famous designer known on sale. It was really something. Then we hit the 3rd floor and the ENTIRE FLOOR was watches.....again, every upsale brand that one could imagine...with prices in the many thousands. Again, most cumstomers were Asian. So the Japanese and Chinese must be doing well. But the best one was as I walked along beside one watch counter was a cabinet of phones made by the watch company and one phone that I saw was...........$25,000!!!!! So, you all better trade in your 4S Iphone for this new model!!!!
WE checked out the women's floor and the men's departments and moved on to Lafayete another famous department store. They had 3 BUILDINGS....one for female items, one for men and one was for household items....and each one had like 6 floors. Before getting too far into it we stopped for lunch nearby at a crowded, noisy restaurant and had some great food. This time it was my salad nicoise that made me a French icon!!! Then back tto the store, first the female building, then the men's and finally the household items. WE all bought "something" for gifts or for ourselves, but the icing on the cake (literally) was the mezzanine, which was a huge floor with ONLY CANDY AND COOKIES. I was so overwhelmed by it that I had to take a picture. They did have a small wine shop but 95% was candy and/or cookies. It was incredible. And of course lots of gift ideas. Looking at the items gave me a perspective of an example of the idea that something being gourmet is totally relative. I saw a box of Kelloggs cereal that costs 12 Euros or about $15 a box!!! Of course this common cereal to us is quite a gourmet item in France where it is not available except for stores like this. Cool!!!
After in the late afternoon, we worked our way home stopping at knock off purse stores all along the street....all owned & operated by Chinese. They all were wholesalers but of course would "this time only" sell one or two purses. They really did look nice though, really quite nice. So back we are and now relaxing and awaiting doing dinner with some wine, figs and cheese. I guess I may wait until later to do a addendum to Day 4 if dinner is worth mentioning.
Tomorrow we are doing the first museum day and have to plan it well so we get our Paris Pass money's worth. But, I probably will "see" you later to explain dinner.
One more thing....the area around these department stores were just full of people buying....it was not just crowded but really overwhelmingly full of people....and most had fancy shopping bags under their arms!!!
So, lets start by saying we shopped today....that is it. There is an area where there are several famous and really nice stores....lets simply say quite upscale. So the first FLOOR of Printemps store was huge but all they sold were hand bags.....women's purses. Thousands of them....at astronomical prices....then we found out that there were TWO COMPLETE FLOORS with only purses. It was truly incredible. Most sales people were Asian and 90% of the customers were Asian. There was every famous designer known on sale. It was really something. Then we hit the 3rd floor and the ENTIRE FLOOR was watches.....again, every upsale brand that one could imagine...with prices in the many thousands. Again, most cumstomers were Asian. So the Japanese and Chinese must be doing well. But the best one was as I walked along beside one watch counter was a cabinet of phones made by the watch company and one phone that I saw was...........$25,000!!!!! So, you all better trade in your 4S Iphone for this new model!!!!
WE checked out the women's floor and the men's departments and moved on to Lafayete another famous department store. They had 3 BUILDINGS....one for female items, one for men and one was for household items....and each one had like 6 floors. Before getting too far into it we stopped for lunch nearby at a crowded, noisy restaurant and had some great food. This time it was my salad nicoise that made me a French icon!!! Then back tto the store, first the female building, then the men's and finally the household items. WE all bought "something" for gifts or for ourselves, but the icing on the cake (literally) was the mezzanine, which was a huge floor with ONLY CANDY AND COOKIES. I was so overwhelmed by it that I had to take a picture. They did have a small wine shop but 95% was candy and/or cookies. It was incredible. And of course lots of gift ideas. Looking at the items gave me a perspective of an example of the idea that something being gourmet is totally relative. I saw a box of Kelloggs cereal that costs 12 Euros or about $15 a box!!! Of course this common cereal to us is quite a gourmet item in France where it is not available except for stores like this. Cool!!!
After in the late afternoon, we worked our way home stopping at knock off purse stores all along the street....all owned & operated by Chinese. They all were wholesalers but of course would "this time only" sell one or two purses. They really did look nice though, really quite nice. So back we are and now relaxing and awaiting doing dinner with some wine, figs and cheese. I guess I may wait until later to do a addendum to Day 4 if dinner is worth mentioning.
Tomorrow we are doing the first museum day and have to plan it well so we get our Paris Pass money's worth. But, I probably will "see" you later to explain dinner.
One more thing....the area around these department stores were just full of people buying....it was not just crowded but really overwhelmingly full of people....and most had fancy shopping bags under their arms!!!
Day 3 and..........
Day 2 continued........
I forgot to mention that while we walked in the Bastille area, we came upon the largest market in Paris....on Sunday. A huge farm market with every kind of food one could imagine and of course it was very crowded. Of course I got lots of pictures of the colorful fruit and veggies and meats.
Now to Day 3.
It was really a true walking day yesterday. We started by walking to the tourist office to pick up our museum passes which gets us in the museums at a discount and without any ques. Of course it was quite out of the way for us in the northside of the city.
Then we all wanted to ride the Paris' version the ferris wheel which had always been down by the Louvre. So off we went downtown to the Lourve and of course when we arrived the wheel was no where in sight. We were told that it was taken away for the winter. But the Louvre was absolutely gorgeous. The sun shown on the pyramid and surroundings and the area was very crowded with tourists. As we had only a 2 day pass and once started it had to be used, we decided to take some pictures and wait until another day to do all the museums at once. So we were off to the Latin Quarter which is on the left bank. Oh, at the Lourve we got our first view of the grand lady....the Eifel Tower. No matter how many times one sees it, seeing it live is such a thrill. Even though we were still quite a ways away from it.
The Latin Quarter is really 2 separate areas. This is an area where all the big time high end shops are located and window shopping is a thrill, but also once off the main streets, there are gorgeous narrow streets and walkways with quaint shops and cafes all around. Here we stopped for lunch at a true French restaurant. Of course it was packed with workers and busy and loud. Their menu was varied and the choices were again quite French-like. No burgers here. I had the traditional jambon and fromage bagette and one friend had a beef baguette. While our other friend and Diana had gorgeous huge salads. And for dessert, again wonderful French desserts.
More walking along these wonderful quaint streets and window shopping stopping at the most unique stores to browse and even buy a couple of things. Finally working our way back to the Notre Dame and back home to rest and have some cheese and wine. After a couple hours of rest we were off again for dinner nearby (could not walk much after this day). WE chose a place called "Spice" which was absolutely wonderful. I could not pass up some escargot which was done in a great garlic sauce and D and I had a very unique curry ravioli. The unique side is that each ravioli was no more than a centimeter in size....really cool. Back home just in time to see the horrible news about DC Navy Yard and the good news about the Italian cruise ship. Bed felt really good this time. Funny though on the way home on our street which is a very narrow one lane street there was a huge party on one building with lots of people and music....really quite cool. We wished we were invited!!!
Some insight on Paris.
It is an absolutely gorgeous city. Very very clean with no high rise buildings. Seems there are apartments in every building and each one are the same size and very similar architecture. There are large streets and some that a car cannot fit in. The "rent a bike" system is really popular here and there are these stands and bikes everywhere. Similarly, there were very few people with their own bikes. The rent bikes are uniquely designed and stand out easily. Also, there are many 3 wheeled motor bikes here. Motor bikes that have 2 wheels in the front for a more stable ride. And also a large number of motor bikes with roofs....yes, a roll bar style that went over the top of the rider. Good for rain and safety.
Speaking of rain, there was a lot off and on all day but not enough to drive us inside. It would rain for 5 minutes and then sun, then rain then sun....very strange but not bad with our umbrellas. Also, Paris is an umbrella city.....That is simply all you see, no ponchos or coats...everyone just pops the umbrella and are all pros at walking the sidwalks with them.
Well, better go now....we off mainly to shop and see more of the city.
I forgot to mention that while we walked in the Bastille area, we came upon the largest market in Paris....on Sunday. A huge farm market with every kind of food one could imagine and of course it was very crowded. Of course I got lots of pictures of the colorful fruit and veggies and meats.
Now to Day 3.
It was really a true walking day yesterday. We started by walking to the tourist office to pick up our museum passes which gets us in the museums at a discount and without any ques. Of course it was quite out of the way for us in the northside of the city.
Then we all wanted to ride the Paris' version the ferris wheel which had always been down by the Louvre. So off we went downtown to the Lourve and of course when we arrived the wheel was no where in sight. We were told that it was taken away for the winter. But the Louvre was absolutely gorgeous. The sun shown on the pyramid and surroundings and the area was very crowded with tourists. As we had only a 2 day pass and once started it had to be used, we decided to take some pictures and wait until another day to do all the museums at once. So we were off to the Latin Quarter which is on the left bank. Oh, at the Lourve we got our first view of the grand lady....the Eifel Tower. No matter how many times one sees it, seeing it live is such a thrill. Even though we were still quite a ways away from it.
The Latin Quarter is really 2 separate areas. This is an area where all the big time high end shops are located and window shopping is a thrill, but also once off the main streets, there are gorgeous narrow streets and walkways with quaint shops and cafes all around. Here we stopped for lunch at a true French restaurant. Of course it was packed with workers and busy and loud. Their menu was varied and the choices were again quite French-like. No burgers here. I had the traditional jambon and fromage bagette and one friend had a beef baguette. While our other friend and Diana had gorgeous huge salads. And for dessert, again wonderful French desserts.
More walking along these wonderful quaint streets and window shopping stopping at the most unique stores to browse and even buy a couple of things. Finally working our way back to the Notre Dame and back home to rest and have some cheese and wine. After a couple hours of rest we were off again for dinner nearby (could not walk much after this day). WE chose a place called "Spice" which was absolutely wonderful. I could not pass up some escargot which was done in a great garlic sauce and D and I had a very unique curry ravioli. The unique side is that each ravioli was no more than a centimeter in size....really cool. Back home just in time to see the horrible news about DC Navy Yard and the good news about the Italian cruise ship. Bed felt really good this time. Funny though on the way home on our street which is a very narrow one lane street there was a huge party on one building with lots of people and music....really quite cool. We wished we were invited!!!
Some insight on Paris.
It is an absolutely gorgeous city. Very very clean with no high rise buildings. Seems there are apartments in every building and each one are the same size and very similar architecture. There are large streets and some that a car cannot fit in. The "rent a bike" system is really popular here and there are these stands and bikes everywhere. Similarly, there were very few people with their own bikes. The rent bikes are uniquely designed and stand out easily. Also, there are many 3 wheeled motor bikes here. Motor bikes that have 2 wheels in the front for a more stable ride. And also a large number of motor bikes with roofs....yes, a roll bar style that went over the top of the rider. Good for rain and safety.
Speaking of rain, there was a lot off and on all day but not enough to drive us inside. It would rain for 5 minutes and then sun, then rain then sun....very strange but not bad with our umbrellas. Also, Paris is an umbrella city.....That is simply all you see, no ponchos or coats...everyone just pops the umbrella and are all pros at walking the sidwalks with them.
Well, better go now....we off mainly to shop and see more of the city.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Day2 Paris
Well, a day 0with lots of sunshine. We decided today was "going east". We started working our way to the east side of the city, walking and admiring all the gorgeous neighborhoods. Being Sunday, we thought, "oh it's going to be quiet and not many crowds".....oh what a mistake. It seemed like half the city was out and about and enjoying the gorgeous sunny day. But before we left we had our first "continental breakfast". We did get a late start simply because we were all still suffering from jet lag. But off we went and there were families, couples, people of all kinds just enjoying that Sunday morning. WE tried the Picasso Museum but found out when we arrived that the building was closed for renovations until 2014!!!! So, off to more neighborhoods and streets, stopping for photo ops and finally stopping for a delicious lunch at a.....yes, a Spanish restaurant. We had tapas, paeja and beam fish. Then we worked our way south to Ils de St. Louis. It was WONDERFUL. This is a small island in the Seine River and one main street with all kinds of shops and restaurants and most of all.....ice cream shops. I can truly say the at least 50% of all the people on the streets had ice cream cones. There must have been 20 ice cream shops on the main street. Yep, of course we were also one of those 50%. This time pistachio. We worked our way to the end of the island and across the bridge to the Notre Dame island. But as we got across we came upon a huge band concert with at least 500 or more people watching. And another mob walking, sitting, and just enjoying the day. Bottom line, the city was just jammed with people....tourist, locals alike just enjoying this gorgeous day. We slowly worked our way home and stopped for some wine. We arrived home, relaxed and just could not get up again to go for dinner. So we improvised and found a package of sausage in the frig and some tomato sauce and after a couple bottles of wine we had a wonderful sausage/sauce dinner as we sat around the coffee table, talking and drinking wine. Now it is about 10:00 and believe it or not, they are watching Jimmy Fallon on TV. So tomorrow, we are working our way west......and hopefully south to the Latin Quarter on the left bank. As you can see we are really not so much interested in specific sites but more just to get the feel of the city and its people......and of course its food and wine. So, off to bed and I see more rain tomorrow.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
First day in Paris
Day 1
Well we made it!!!! N0 problems, no issues. It was funny because the trip from Phillie to Paris was only 6.5 hours, very quick. In fact we had time for only one movie and a hour or so sleep before we were ready to land. Weather horrible today....drizzle all day. But it certainly did not dampen our enthusiasm. We met our friends soon after landing and got our luggage. We arrived in perfect timing to go to the apartment we rented to meet our landlord and get all the needed info to live there our week. We dumped our luggage (they still had to have the place cleaned from the previous renters) and took off exploring our neighborhood and beyond. We found many more tourists than we ever expected for this time of year.
We visited Notre Dame and around that area, we stopped and had a wonderful lunch at a tiny restaurant where the waiter was also the chef!!! We walked all over and saw down on the river a small food fair. So we went there and found some incredible samples of meat, foi gras (sp), cheeses, wine and chocolate. So of course we had to buy some for our quick dinner this evening. We all decided that we would bring home some cheese, bagettes, and some meat and wine for dinner so we could all go to bed early. Remember we all got about 2 hours total sleep. We finally, around 4:00 got to see and move in our place. It was fabulous, just out of the story book of what a Paris city walk up would look like. Very small but very efficient. It was like an old "shotgun" house from New Orleans, with one long hallway and rooms off to one side. It had 2 bedrooms and 2 baths with showers. But the bad thing was it was 4 flights up......a very narrow, windy, circular staircase. And the street it was on (Rue de Chapon) was again out of a Paris story book. We unpacked, and sat around eating our wonderful bagettes and cheese and meat with some excellent wine and now at good old 6:00 PM we are all ready for bed. So by 7 will should all be out of it until morning.
Tomorrow the weather is perfect...sunny and mid 60s, perfect for touring. Tomorrow we plan on the Picasso museum and just walking around that area.....eating and drinking our way along. So far Paris has been absolutely wonderful......and for those who are always skeptics, we had 2 people who volunteered to help us when we were lost and when Diana got her bag caught in the metro gate. That is another story....nothing awful but we did need help. So Parisians are not as bad as many say they are. Also, we must get used to it......it is an expensive city. Oh oh.....we stopped for ice cream at a stand and it was INCREDIBLE. We got a caramel cone and it was so tasty we plan to visit the same place every day if possible. They have about 20 flavors!!! hehehehehehehhehhhahhahah
So good night all!!!
Well we made it!!!! N0 problems, no issues. It was funny because the trip from Phillie to Paris was only 6.5 hours, very quick. In fact we had time for only one movie and a hour or so sleep before we were ready to land. Weather horrible today....drizzle all day. But it certainly did not dampen our enthusiasm. We met our friends soon after landing and got our luggage. We arrived in perfect timing to go to the apartment we rented to meet our landlord and get all the needed info to live there our week. We dumped our luggage (they still had to have the place cleaned from the previous renters) and took off exploring our neighborhood and beyond. We found many more tourists than we ever expected for this time of year.
We visited Notre Dame and around that area, we stopped and had a wonderful lunch at a tiny restaurant where the waiter was also the chef!!! We walked all over and saw down on the river a small food fair. So we went there and found some incredible samples of meat, foi gras (sp), cheeses, wine and chocolate. So of course we had to buy some for our quick dinner this evening. We all decided that we would bring home some cheese, bagettes, and some meat and wine for dinner so we could all go to bed early. Remember we all got about 2 hours total sleep. We finally, around 4:00 got to see and move in our place. It was fabulous, just out of the story book of what a Paris city walk up would look like. Very small but very efficient. It was like an old "shotgun" house from New Orleans, with one long hallway and rooms off to one side. It had 2 bedrooms and 2 baths with showers. But the bad thing was it was 4 flights up......a very narrow, windy, circular staircase. And the street it was on (Rue de Chapon) was again out of a Paris story book. We unpacked, and sat around eating our wonderful bagettes and cheese and meat with some excellent wine and now at good old 6:00 PM we are all ready for bed. So by 7 will should all be out of it until morning.
Tomorrow the weather is perfect...sunny and mid 60s, perfect for touring. Tomorrow we plan on the Picasso museum and just walking around that area.....eating and drinking our way along. So far Paris has been absolutely wonderful......and for those who are always skeptics, we had 2 people who volunteered to help us when we were lost and when Diana got her bag caught in the metro gate. That is another story....nothing awful but we did need help. So Parisians are not as bad as many say they are. Also, we must get used to it......it is an expensive city. Oh oh.....we stopped for ice cream at a stand and it was INCREDIBLE. We got a caramel cone and it was so tasty we plan to visit the same place every day if possible. They have about 20 flavors!!! hehehehehehehhehhhahhahah
So good night all!!!
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