Shopping and Triumphe

We are winding down our visit here in Paris, and we board the plane in the morning to come home. It has been a wonderful week here and although it was cold, that didn't stop us from seeing everything we wanted to see.

Today we spent the day shopping and walking around, snapping some last photos of beautiful Paris before we leave. Here is one that's a favorite:

Tomorrow morning we must board the train to the airport with all of our belongings, which is always tricky, and there is concern over what types of foul odors await us...

This blog posting will also serve as a due process announcement for the lovely folks that work in the Costco photo department. Please get your rest in the next couple of days. I'm coming home, and you will be busy.

Au Revoir from Paris!

Montemarte and More Steps

Today we visited the oldest neighborhood in Paris, Montemarte. This neighborhood is the quintessential European village, complete with cobblestone streets and village cafes. It also is the location of the Sacre Coeur Cathedral, which is massive. We arrived well before the village was bustling, which gave us a really unique view of it when it was quiet. We were able to walk around and take pictures without a lot of people, which was a fantastic opportunity.

Yesterday, stairs were mentioned. This must have pissed off the stair gods because they set up Sacre Coeur to mock me.

There are so many steps that the Paris metro built a subway car that will take people to the top.

Did we do this?

No.

We began the journey up the steps to this beautiful cathedral. Five hours later, we arrived.

Kidding.

It was magnificent. The wonder of the building outweighs any cursing done as you climb the multitude of steps, and if so desired, confession is available if you feel your expletives were overheard.

After visiting the church, we headed back down towards the village.

The famous Moulin Rouge is located in Montemarte, so we headed in that general direction. The path took us through lots of cafes and shops, including some of the most delightful bakeries ever seen by humans.

We are beginning to wind down our visit here.

What does this mean?

Shopping!

We are in the shopping capital of the world, and plan to do our part to contribute the French economy.

Tomorrow's plan includes more shopping and preparing to come home, as we leave Paris on Thursday.

For those that were concerned that the foul odor smelled here would go away, never fear. It makes an appearance at the worst of times and ALWAYS smells the same.

Tomorrow's forecast: 37 F and rain/snow.

Bon soir!

Mona and Stairs

We visited the famous Louvre Museum today, and it is magnificent. It holds some of the most famous artwork from all of the world, spanning centuries. Needless to say, it is probably the largest museum on this Earth.  The map they hand you when you visit the information desk has four sections, so you had better have had Wheaties for breakfast. The building appears to be like any other fortress from the outside, but inside is actually a complex set of corridors with room after room after room of art and sculpture, along with artifacts and special exhibitions. We started the day in the 16th, 17th, and 18th century Italian paintings. Miss Mona Lisa was in the house, looking bemused as usual. We also saw some more famous pieces in the mix, including Venus de Milo, and some other recognizable pieces. Some pictures are below for your enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving the Louvre we headed towards the direction of the Hard Rock Cafe. Little did we know that we would be in for a treat, completely by chance. While walking on the sidewalk, we came upon a completely unimpeded view of the Eiffel Tower:

This completely made up for the fact that we were unable to climb to the top when we visited it the other day. As you can see, the weather has not improved, so we will most likely be unable to climb the tower.

Between the Louvre and the metro stations and the perusing of the neighborhoods, an important conclusion has been arrived upon. The French are not thin because they avoid the finer things in their country such as wine, pastries, cheese, and the like.

Nope.

They are thin because there are flights and flights and flights of stairs in this country. Stairs everywhere.

That is all.

Tomorrow's plans include a trip to the oldest Paris neighborhood. Moulin Rouge is located in this area, along with cobblestone streets, quaint shops and cafes.

Tomorrow's forecast: 32 F and Cloudy

Cake and A Marriage Proposal

Today was another very busy day in the life of two American tourists in Paris. We got another early start so that we could head to Versailles, which lies about thirty minutes outside of the city. We took the metro to the train station and then took a train ride to the train depot located about five blocks from Versailles.

We were a little disappointed to learn that the famous Versailles gardens and Marie Antoinette's private quarters were closed due to weather, but we were really eager to get inside the palace. The amount of excess contained in the palace is phenomenal. Since there is no longer a ruling family living in the palace, it has been converted to a tourist attraction, and more importantly, a collection of France's history. Here are some pictures from our visit:

After leaving Versailles, we headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral. This is a gigantic gothic cathedral that is nearly one thousand years old, and they still hold Catholic mass there several times a day. The pictures below can hardly do justice to the sheer size of the cathedral itself. This is where the fictional Hunchback of Notre Dame would climb the tower to ring the bell each day. We walked inside and it was interesting to see the swell of tourists circulating around the church goers. Here are some photos from the cathedral:

It was quite a day. We are finding that most people are willing to help us in our complete ignorance of their language. Particularly in the tourist spots people are most accommodating.

An interesting contrast to last year is that as a general rule, British citizens are rude but their accent gives them a tone of friendliness.

In France, this is not the case.

If someone is displeased or thinks someone an imbecile, they make no attempts to hide it. In fact, the French accent accentuates this. This has been most obvious on the public transportation. This is not directed at the tourists necessarily, but at each other. It is an interesting people watching experience.

Today some pastries were sampled at a bakery that has been in business since the nineteenth century. Marriage was proposed to the pastry selected by Allison. The pastry accepted. Details will be forthcoming.

Tomorrow's plan includes a visit to the Louvre Museum, which should occupy most of the day. We have no delusions about making it through the entire museum.

Tomorrow's forecast: 30 F and mostly cloudy.

Bon soir!

Museums, Monuments and Wrinkle Cream

Today was a great day here in Paris! We got an early start and decided to head to the Orsay Museum first. This is one of the most popular museums in Paris, and holds art from artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and the like. So we were very eager to see it.  After a delicious breakfast, we headed out of the hotel. As we exited the front doors, we looked up and it was snowing! A very pretty snow was falling and it was still early enough that the sun wasn't quite up yet. It was a beautiful sight.

We had been given pretty specific instructions on how to get to the Museum, so we felt pretty confident.  We boarded the train and got to our destination stop without any issues, although the odor from yesterday did make another appearance shortly before our destination. We were very glad to exit the metro.

We arrived about 45 minutes before the Museum opened, so we had some time to kill and it was freezing outside. We found a little cafe across the street from the museum and headed inside. Some tea and coffee ordered and we were good to go.

One thing that was noticed in England last year was the plethora of amusing signage. It seems the trend will continue here in France, as the picture illustrates a sign posted on the cash register in the little cafe.  I believe the translation is "Watch Your Dog."  One might wonder why one would bring a dog into an eating establishment in the first place, but there you are.

Once we headed inside the museum, we were amazed at the building. The Museum is an old converted train station and the architecture is amazing. We spent the better part of three hours at the museum and captured some amazing photographs of some wonderful art.

When we were done at the museum, we decided to head over to the Eiffel Tower, as it was not a very long metro ride. However, once we exited the metro at our stop for the Tower, we had about a ten minute walk to actually get there. It was at this point that I came to the conclusion that it is not the cold that kills people; it is the wind. It was only about 25 degrees and with the wind it was likely in the teens. This would prove to be some interesting foreshadowing, because when we arrived at the Eiffel Tower (faces frozen in the last expressions we were able to move them into), we were told that it was closed for the day due to the wind and snow.  We did manage to get some pretty amazing pictures of the tower from the ground. We are planning to try to get to the top another day while we are here.  We were pretty cold at this point and the idea of grabbing some lunch indoors with heat was starting to become very appealing. We headed back to the metro station with the intention of finding some food. As usual, the afternoon was about to get a little weird.

As we waited for the metro, a man approached Laura and started making conversation. I have learned that this is not entirely unusual, particularly when people overhear us talking--they can immediately tell that we are Americans. He began socializing with her and was being very friendly. When the train arrived, he got on with us and continued chatting. It was then that he suggested he and Laura exchange phone numbers. Laura is not enjoying the conversation but is trying to be polite. I am elbowing her as subtly as one can do such a thing, because I am starting to have that feeling that this guy is looking for more than a phone number. She wisely does not give hers, of course, but he writes his down. I then announce "Oh, here's our stop, Laura. We must go." Apparently I have become the cruise director on our trips, and I am usually in charge of the maps. I know very well that this is not our stop but I want to get away from this individual as quickly as possible. As we go to get off the train the man yells that it was nice meeting her and her daughter.

Stop.

This is not the first time, nor the first country in which Laura has been mistaken for my mother. This upsets her a great deal, and she spent an hour later that evening in a store looking for wrinkle cream not available in the US, presumably to combat what she feels is the source of the constant confusion surrounding my parentage.  Her self-esteem was somewhat renewed upon receiving several cat calls later in the evening.

But I digress.

As we waited for the next train, we decided that henceforth, Laura will claim to be Canadian.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Versailles and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Forecast: 28F and snowing.

Bon soir!

Toothpaste and the Metro

We've made it safely to Paris and checked into the hotel. What a day it has been...we left Phoenix at 10am local time and flew to Houston. We were due to depart around 3:30pm but did not leave Houston until 4:30pm.  The flight to Paris is a nine hour flight, so we were on our way!

As is common in most trips, we began to meet some unusual people immediately. My seatmate on the behemoth plane to Paris informed me that she was from Africa and was going home to see her mother via Paris. We had a lovely conversation, and she also informed me that she was going to pharmacy school.

She seemed normal.

My level of patience with this individual was tested sorely when halfway across the Atlantic she roused me from a Tylenol PM-induced slumber to inquire if I had any toothpaste.

I was not amused.

I informed her that I did not have any toothpaste. Of course, no one goes to France without toothpaste. But I am not one to share such things, and certainly not at this point. She went back to sleep.

I did not.

So I amused myself by taking photos of the screen in front of me, which detailed our journey. It was a bit chilly outside at 35000 feet.

We landed safely in Paris and then went through immigration (yay for stamps in the passport!) and claimed our luggage.

Now here is where the afternoon took a turn for the unsanitary.

We boarded a train that would take us into the heart of the city, as the airport is quite far outside the city to the north. Taking the train into Paris would then allow us to navigate the metro (subway) and get wherever we needed to go within the city.

We felt like we had this part down, since we were such pros by the time we left London last year.

We were wrong.

The train workers are on strike. Which meant that instead of running every ten minutes, we waited about an hour for a train. Of course, we are not the only ones waiting for a train, so by the time one finally came, there were quite a few passengers on it.

At each stop along the way, however, there were more and more passengers added to the train. It was standing room only to begin with and we were clearly violating some kind of fire codes. At about the fourth or fifth stop on our way to the metro station, an extremely foul odor begins to permeate the train. It is unbearable. I am breathing into my scarf and there is still no escaping it. I look at Laura and it appears as though she is a lovely shade of puce.

We are suffering.

In addition to the aromas, I am being accosted on all sides by men and women I do not know. We are so tightly packed that it is not possible to not touch someone else. However, there was one man in particular, who so completely invaded my personal space that he ought to have had the common courtesy of introducing himself and quite possibly purchasing dinner.

Needless to say, we were much relieved to exit the train at our stop and proceed to the metro station.

We had a short ride to our stop, and exited the metro smack dab in the middle of the Champs-Elysses, perhaps the most famous road in the city of Paris. Our hotel is right on this main thoroughfare and it was a short walk to the front door.

Now comes the four-hour-nap portion of the afternoon. Laura and I were feeling the jet lag, so we gave in and racked out. It was a great decision, because we awoke feeling refreshed and ready to do some exploring.

By this time, it was dark, so we bundled up and headed out to walk the Champs-Elysses.

At one end of the Champs-Elysses is the famed Arc de Triomphe, which Napoleon had built as an homage to his perceived awesomeness. It is an architectural wonder, and it looks amazing at night with the lights. We plan to visit it again during the day and hopefully get a closer view.

We are planning our day for tomorrow, and so far the agenda includes shopping, as well as the Eiffel Tower. We will try to visit that at dusk since we have heard that it looks spectacular as it lights up. We are also planning on visiting the Orsay Museum

Tomorrow's forecast: 22 F and snowing.

Au Revoir!