'I love Paris in the springtime'. . .
Well actually, we missed spring by a few weeks, but it was still a great trip despite the shaky start. It was one of those busman's holidays, but after I bought my ticket the bus changed routes! It worked out in the end by Dale changing onto the other airplane and hanging out with me after all. I arrived the day before him so had time to go to the gym then walk around Place Charles de Gaulle and the Arc de Triumph after a wonderful breakfast. When Dale arrived we went for a walk that turned into a marathon, as it seemed like just around each and every corner was another beautiful building worth investigating. We started on the Champs-Elysees and had lunch at Chez Clement - the pumpkin soup was fabulous. We then wandered over to the Grand Palais, Le Pont Alexandre III, the Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde - with the famous Luxor Obelisk - to Saint Mary Magdalene Church and Saint Augustin Church. If you followed our route on a map, you would see just how far we strolled.
Several hours later we met up with Jeff and the crew from another airplane for dinner and to celebrate Jeff's Captaincy. Several hours and several bottles of Champagne later we ended up back at our hotel for a nightcap. I was done in so we left the rest of them finishing things off and solving the world's problems.
We were warned that Sunday is a very busy time for all venues in Paris as the locals use this day to sightsee themselves. Not wanting to give in entirely we headed over to Le Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre. From this famous and gorgeous church is a lovely view of the city. We then headed over to the Catacombs but the line-ups were so long we went for lunch then hot chocolate at Amorino's - a lovely ice cream and chocolate shop.
We took a bus back so we could see the sights along the way, including a stop at the Opera & Academie de Music. Supper was at the Brasserie Lorraine near our hotel. I had the hazelnut-encrusted cod on a bed of spinach after the complimentary comfit of tomato and red peppers - yum. We were very full, so we had to share a Grand Marnier Mousse.
Monday was set aside for the Louvre and yes it can be done in a day - if you don't stop and admire each and every piece. We did of course spend a bit more time at the Mona Lisa and dragged Jeff over to see the Venus de Milo before he called it a day. And the building itself was certainly worth more than a cursory glance. The introductory tour wasn't very informative, but it did help us find our way around, including a couple of sections that I had missed in our initial wanderings. Very glad to have had the whole day, although my feet were definitely complaining at the end.
The next day we were off to Versailles, which was a quick train trip away and again, well worth the visit. We were there within 45 minutes of leaving our hotel. I couldn't believe the crowds since we were off-season. I don't think it would be good to do in the summer heat with even more people - although we did miss seeing all the fountains. Other than that, they had a good audio guide and there was a tremendous amount to be seen.
I had to be up early and off to the airport on Wednesday, so no gourmet breakfast for me. The flights were uneventful; mind you I only had my carry on luggage since they misplaced my luggage for the whole of my last visit to Paris. So, back at home now and the usual social routine. Dale made it back on Saturday and has a couple of weeks here before he is off again. We'll let you know if I get to go somewhere exciting with him again next month. It does make his job way more fun.
Take care and bye for now.
Love,
Laurel
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