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.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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)!!!
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