Well, we made it home from Paris and I’m finally getting around to blogging about it. The little bit of time that I spent at the computer yesterday was completely taken up with looking at all the pictures we took and deciding which ones to put into the web album. Now, I should probably warn you before you go any further that this will probably be a rather long blog. There are just so many things I want to talk about!
We arrived in Paris around noon on Friday. We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel. We drove around the
Arc de Triomphe. As you’ll see from one of the pictures I took, there are no lines that indicate the driving lanes – there could be 3 or 6 lanes depending on how much traffic there is. As we went around it and another car almost ran into us, I had a flash from
National Lampoon’s European Vacation. I’m so glad I wasn’t driving!
After we checked into the hotel, we walked up
Champs-Élysées Avenue. After stopping for a quick lunch, we made our way back to the Arc de Triomphe. We bought our tickets to the top and then went up a flight of stairs. We assumed that the elevator was up on the next level – no such luck. The lift was closed so we took the 284 steps to the top. It was worth it; we had a great view of the city.
The
Eiffel Tower was next on our list. We only had to wait about 30 minutes before boarding the lift. We spent quite a bit of time at the top and at the lower level. It was really cool. After we got both feet on the ground again, we walked through the
Champs de Mars – a large public green space on the southeast side of the Eiffel Tower. We got some really nice pictures. We also took a picture for some other tourists. They offered to take our picture as well, but they cut off most of the Eiffel Tower behind us – I’m sure that the one Michael took for them turned out much better.
As we walked through, the park we were also approached by a woman asking if we spoke English. When we said yes, she produced a piece of paper that was hand printed in English. It was a plea for money – she claimed she was 2 months pregnant with no money, etc. We didn’t give her money. I felt kind of bad about that until we were approached by 2 more women the next day and another on Sunday – all trying the same scam.
We walked back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. By the time we went out for dinner, it was raining, so we found a restaurant that was close by. Our waitress didn’t speak much English, but she was very nice. The food was very good - especially dessert.
We finally made it back to the hotel and had to stop and talk with one of the hotel employees. As soon as she realized we spoke English, she just kept talking! I think she wanted the practice!
On Saturday morning we slept in until about 9 and then had breakfast at the hotel before heading out for more sight seeing. Next stop:
Notre Dame Cathedral. The walk along the
Seine was very nice. We passed the
Musée d’Orsay on the way; the clocks on the outside were really cool. The Cathedral was beautiful. Very ornate – every window was stained glass. It was very elaborate and, well, gothic looking. It was very dark inside and the camera flash didn’t work because the ceilings were so high, so some of our pictures didn’t turn out very well. We were able to get a few nice ones from the interior, though.
After leaving the cathedral, we walked up the right bank of the river and stopped at a restaurant at Pont Neuf. The waiter at the restaurant didn’t speak much English and was very rude; maybe he didn’t like it that most of his tables were either Brits or Americans speaking English and looking through Paris guide books. Oh well, the quiche was fabulous and more than made up for his attitude.
After lunch we went to the
Louvre, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Of course we saw the
Venus de Milo, and the
Mona Lisa. The Venus de Milo might have been more impressive when she had both of her arms and was painted and decked out with jewelry, but now just seemed pretty plain. There were other statues that I enjoyed much more. As far as the Mona Lisa, at least now I can say that I’ve seen it. I didn’t understand the people waiting in line forever just to be able to stand 6 feet directly in front of her. We were just as close, but slightly to the side. The best part is that we didn’t have to wait in line at all. As with the Venus de Milo, I felt somewhat disappointed. It was a nice painting, but again, there were others that I enjoyed more. I suppose that’s because art truly is subjective; I just don’t feel like I have to follow the crowd. So other people can spout off whatever they think they know or have been told about how “wonderful” certain pieces are, but I’ll just stick with my own opinion, thanks!
My favorite thing was the
Code of Hammurabi. It dates to 1760 B.C. and is one of the earliest known recorded set of laws. The entire statue is inscribed with the code which details the law and punishments or settlements for different infractions of the law. It was very cool.
After leaving the Louvre, we walked passed the
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, through the
Tuileries Gardens and back to the hotel. After freshening up and changing clothes, we headed out for dinner. We found a little restaurant away from the main strip. Only the hostess at the door spoke a little English, the waitress didn’t at all, but the service and the food was all phenomenal!
On Sunday after breakfast we set out for the
Musée du Vin (Museum of Wine). As we were looking for it, an older man - who obviously did not speak much English - approached us and asked for our help. Of course we looked at each other thinking, “This is probably another scam”. But, we listened to him and finally understood that he wanted help getting his moped scooter up over the curb. He wasn’t strong enough to push it and it was a very small entrance from the road onto the walkway area where he was trying to go. We helped him push the bike until he was on a level surface and could maneuver it on his own. He thanked us over and over and it felt nice to help someone.
Once we were at the museum, we enjoyed walking through the old cellar, learning about the history of wine, and seeing some of the tools used for wine making. After the self guided tour of the museum, we enjoyed a pleasant wine tasting in the restaurant.
We continued down the Left Bank. We found an artist selling his paintings and bought 2 great acrylics. We can't wait to get them home and have Chris and Michelle frame them for us! We continued walking along the river and took some more pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the
Grand Palace, and the
Pont Alexander III Bridge. We also found a few other souvenirs from vendors along the river. We stopped in a little hole in the wall Italian place for lunch – great pizza! After lunch we ended up walking back to the streets around Notre Dame where we remembered seeing some souvenir shops the day before.
After we finished shopping, we tried to get a taxi back to the hotel, but the traffic was horrible, so we just decided to walk. It was just a couple of miles, so we knew that if we didn’t stop anywhere else we should make it back just in time to get our bags and head for the airport.
As we came to the
Place de la Concorde, we realized why traffic was so bad in the center of the city. There were police and military vehicles and personnel as well as news cameras, vans, and reporters everywhere. In the center, a large group of people were around the fountains – some of them carrying large French Flags. We just tried to make our way through the crowds and the traffic and get back to the hotel. We found out later that we had walked through a
political riot over the outcome of the French presidential election.
We finally made it back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, got a taxi and headed for the airport. The taxi driver was great and wanted to practice his English as well.
Over all it was a great trip. We spent Monday catching up on laundry, and just recuperating from the trip. We walked about 25 miles in 2 and a half days! After the laundry was done, I made a batch of homemade pretzels. (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that I’ve been trying my hand at homemade bread – some success, but I still need some practice!) Then we packed Michael’s suitcase and went to bed early because he had to leave for Madrid at 6am on Tuesday morning.
Well, I hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip. Enjoy the pictures, and if you have time you should really check out the Wikipedia links to some of the things we saw. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting reading. I’m flying back to the States on Saturday. Hopefully Michael will have a little time to blog while I’m gone for the next three weeks. I’ll miss him and I’ll miss getting to go out and see new things, but I also can’t wait to get home and see my nieces and nephew! I haven’t even gotten to meet my newest little niece yet! I’m sure that the time will fly by and that Michael will get along just fine without me for a few weeks.
In June we’re planning a 3-day road trip through the English countryside and into Scotland. In July we’re taking a 4-day trip to Rome. We haven’t decided if we’re going to take a trip in August. It might depend on how much company we have and how much travel Michael is doing for work.
That’s all I can think of for now. I hope I haven’t left anything out. If so, I’ll have to add it later. Take care everyone! Happy reading!
