5/8/2014 - Paris France

This morning we slept in until about 9 a.m.  Eric got up and sorted through the pictures from yesterday to post on Facebook and also posted my blog from yesterday that I was up until 2 a.m. typing.  After breakfast we decided we would go across town and see Père Lachaise Cemetery.

We followed Rick Steves’ tour in his Paris 2014 book and made our way through the cemetery.  It is an amazing cemetery.  It is hard to believe people erect such magnificent monuments to be buried in—some of them are so large and ornate they look like small churches.  It is like nothing I have ever seen in the states. 

Some of the sites we visited in the cemetery were Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Molière, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Héloïse and Abélard, Colette, and Rossini to name a few.  We also visited Communards wall (Mur Des Fédérés) and some of several emaciated statues remembering the victims of the concentration camps and Nazi resistance heroes.

After making our way through the cemetery we headed for the Rodin museum and garden.  Originally we were just going to visit the garden, but we went ahead and bought a ticket to get into both.  First we headed for the café in the garden as we were starving.  It was an appropriate weather day for a visit to the cemetery (cold, cloudy, and rainy), but maybe not the best weather for visiting Rodin’s garden.  However, we made the best of it. 

We had our lunch at the café, which was really good.  We had their plat du jour which was some type of chicken with gnocchi and salad, plus we ordered a separate larger salad with rolls and a chocolate muffin. 

After getting some food in our stomachs we headed into the museum to get warmed up a bit.  The museum was not as big as I was expecting.  It is only two floors and not very many rooms.  After that we headed out into the gardens, which were very pretty.  Many of Rodin’s pieces, like The Thinker, are actually out in the garden.  We wandered around the garden for a bit and decided to head back to the apartment to get warmed up. 

Before we got back to the apartment we hit an ATM since were running low on cash.  On our way back to the apartment we came across a Gelato shop, so of course we had to stop in and try some.  Then we made our way back to the apartment to decide what we wanted to do next. 

We decided we would have some more bread and cheese for dinner before our deux Chevaux car tour tonight at 10 p.m.  We also wanted some fresh strawberries to go with it, so out the door and down the street we headed.  We had seen a couple produce markets the other day down the street that had really good looking strawberries.

Down the street meant about a mile or so, but I figure we were burning off the calories first.  After buying our berries, we strolled along the other side of the street looking into the various store windows.  By the time we got back to the apartment Jody and Guy had gotten back from their day out and about.

We had some time before our car tour so Eric and I did some reading and relaxing and the old people (AKA Jody and Guy) took a nap.  At around 10 o’clock we headed down for our hour long tour of the city by Deux Chevaux.  They are driven by French students who speak English and are happy to show you the sights of their wonderful city.  Jody and Guy were in one car and Eric and I were in another.  Each of our guides took us on a different tour.  I am sure that have all created their itineraries they like to follow with their “secret spots” for the best views of some of the popular sights.

An hour goes by in a hurry and before you know it we were back at our apartment.  We were all pooped from our day of wandering about the city again, and of course it was almost midnight, so we all headed off to bed.

5/7/2014 - Paris France

We had decided yesterday that today Jody and Guy would go off and do their own thing.  We all pretty much slept in this morning and after lounging around a bit, starting a load of laundry (our apartment has a combination washer/dryer), and finally eating some breakfast, Eric and I finally made it out the door around 11:30.  We are starting to really fit in with the Parisians…they don’t get up very early in the morning and they stay up really late (it does not even start to get dark here until 9 p.m.)

We made our way down the street to the Velib station and rode across the Seine to Ile de La Cité where Notre Dame is located, but our main goal was to visit Bertie’s Cupcakery to each get another cupcake.  Just as we were finishing eating our cupcakes it started to sprinkle, so we put the hoods up on our rain jackets and headed on our way back across the Seine to the Marais. 

We decided to do the walking tour that Rick Steves has in his book for the Marais district.  We made our way all the way down to the Bastille and worked our way back.  We stopped into the Carnavalet museum and looked around, which was probably a good thing as it really started to rain while we were inside.  After looking around there we popped back out onto the street to find that it had stopped raining and the sun had come out from behind the clouds.  Along our walk we also passed Victor Hugo’s residence.

It was a fun walk with lots of interesting stores along the way also.  There are so many cafes and boulangeries it is mind boggling.  There is a store for everything here.  It is not like living in the US where you go to the grocery store and get everything in one stop.  Here you have a fromagerie, a butcher, a florist, a produce store, a chocolate shop, a cupcakery, an ice cream/gelato shop, etc.  Everything is so fresh here.  The produce is amazing, the cheese is amazing, and the bread is the most amazing.

After our walk we made our way back to our street where they have an open air market on Wednesdays and Saturdays and we bought some fresh roasted potatoes with onion and seasoning.  We also bought some fresh cheese and some pear cider.  Then we made our way back across the street and stopped at the boulangerie and bought a baguette, a couple chicken wraps, some flan, and some chocolate cake.  We made the short trip back to our apartment to devour at least some of our scrumptious finds. 

After filling our bellies, we decided it was time to go out and get some more exercise.  We walked a couple blocks down the road and found the nearest cat café.  They have café’s here where people who are missing their cats or can’t have cats can come and have a cup of coffee and a biscuit and pet the cats and enjoy their company. 

After taking of picture of the cats through the window, we made our way on down the street to find the nearest metro station to make our way across town to see Sacre Cœur, a working Catholic basilica.  After making a couple transfers on the metro (which is really quick) we arrived at the stop nearest the Sacre Cœur.  The Sacre Cœur is located on the highest hill in Paris.

After a bit of a hike up the hill, it finally came into view.  It is really pretty sitting atop the hill.  There are many steps that make their way up the hill and they are covered with people sitting and enjoying the scenery, taking pictures, and just hanging out.  It is kind of like a party scene.  It is hard to believe that just inside is a working church.

Besides being able to go inside, you can also tour the crypt and dome.  So we paid our money to enter the crypt and dome.  We were amazed that there was no line to get in to see either.  We entered the crypt and it was earily silent.  We toured our way around the crypt and then headed for the dome. 

It is 300 steps to make your way up to the dome at the very top of the church.  These are some extremely narrow, spiral stone steps that are well worn, but the reward is the amazing view at the top.  It is simply breathtaking.  Eric said he thought it was a much better view that what we got from the Eiffel Tower.  I got some amazing shots of the city, parts of the church, and the Eiffel Tower.

It was hard to believe that we were the only ones on top of the dome and had this spectacular view all to ourselves.  As it was evening time and was a bit breezy, we were starting to get chilly, so we started the descent back down the stairs to make the journey across town to our apartment. 

Once back at our apartment we got out the baguette and cheese that we had bought earlier and had it with some fresh strawberries.  It is unbelievable how amazing such simple food can be when it is so fresh. 

After dinner we did some housekeeping chores like cleaning up the kitchen and living room and Eric loaded up the dishwasher to run while I ran the vacuum around the apartment to clean up all the crumbs from all the baguettes we have eaten so far.  That is the only downside to such wonderful bread, it does make quite the mess with crumbs. 

After we got things straightened up in the apartment, we headed out on the town again.  It was around 10 p.m. and we headed back across the Seine on foot to take some pictures of the Notre Dame cathedral lit up at night.  It is amazing how the crowds clear out late at night.  It was almost like having the place to ourselves (much nicer than during the day).  I got some amazing pictures of Notre Dame and some of the other buildings around the Marais that are lit up at night.  I guess they don’t call it the City of Lights for nothing.

We finally made it back to the apartment just after midnight and not too long after that Jody and Guy made their way back also.  As I am typing this blog it is approximately 1:30 a.m. and I have a feeling Eric and I will both be sleeping in in the morning. 

   

5/6/2014 - Paris France

We sat an alarm clock so we could get up early, but we ended up waking up a little before 6 a.m. anyway.  We were shooting to be able to leave around 7.  After we all got ready and had a bite to eat for breakfast we managed to get out the door by about 7:20.  We headed down the street to the Metro and made our way across town to the train station.  We actually made it to the train station by 7:45.  Our train arrived and we boarded and were on our way to Vernon by about 8:20. 

The train ride to Vernon takes about 45 minutes.  The train was very smooth and we enjoyed the views of the countryside along the way.  Once we arrived in Vernon we had our choice of three ways to make the final leg of the journey to Giverny, the small town where Monet’s house and garden are located.  Our options were to take a bus, a taxi, or ride a bike.  We had decided beforehand that it would be fun to rent the bikes and ride along the river to Monet’s Garden.  This is where the excitement begins for today.

The bike rental shop (which was also a café) was directly across from the train station.  It was not difficult to find at all.  All the information I had obtained on renting the bikes I had gleaned from Rick Steves’ Paris 2014 guide book.  According to Rick Steves you “follow a paved bike path that runs from near Vernon along an abandoned railroad right-of-way (figure about 30 minutes to Giverny.)  Get the easy-to-follow map to Giverny when you rent your bike, and you’re in business.”

This sounded like a piece of cake.  So we walked across the street and rented the bikes.  We were worried about how we would lock up the bikes once we got to Monet’s garden, but thankfully they gave us locks.  So we selected our bikes from the rack and after I adjusted my seat height we were off.  We managed to make it around the corner from the shop before we got lost.  We managed to weave our way through the small town asking someone on each street corner which way to Monet’s garden. 

Before we ever even made it to the river my chain had come off my bike and we had discovered what POS’s we had rented.  The rear rims on Guy’s bike and mine were so bent that it was like riding something you would see a bunch of clowns riding around in a circus show.  Because the rims were so bent, that also meant that the brakes rubbed for half of the revolution.  As soon as I started off on my bike I also noted that the front of the seat was angled up so much I thought I was going to die from soft tissue damage. 

After weaving our way through town like a bunch of drunken tourists asking for directions at every corner, we finally found our way to the river.  That still did not help us much.  We continued to have issues finding the “bike path.”  Once we finally found the path, it was actually quite nice.  We rode down the paved path, which eventually turned into a dirt cattle path and then back to a bit wider dirt path for about 3.5 miles.  We pulled over at one point and tried to decide weather we had gone too far or not far enough.  After everyone had expressed their differing opinions on which way they thought we should go, we lucked out and a water company truck pulled up and we asked him which way to Monet’s garden.

Back on the path we went and sure enough not too much further down the road we came across the parking lot.  So it only took us an hour to get there instead of 30 minutes…

We managed to find a bike rack and locked up our bikes—not that anyone would want to steal them, though.  However, our wandering aimlessly did not end there.  We made our way down another road trying to decide where we were and where we might find the group entrance (which we could use since we had pre-purchased tickets).  We finally stumbled across the entrance, purely by accident. 

We made our way first into the walled garden.  It was very beautiful with just about every type of flower possible blooming.  After wandering around the garden for a bit we made our way into Monet’s house.  You can tour all around in the house and see his works of art and sketches (no pictures are allowed inside his house).  Then we made our way back out into the garden. 

Shortly after exiting Monet’s house, Jody realized she had lost her money belt which contained all of her money, her credit cards, her passport and also Guy’s money, credit cards, driver’s license, etc.  She thought back to the last time she had it, which was either at the café where we rented the bikes or at the bike rack where we locked the bikes up.  So they frantically raced back to the bike rack to check, while we waited for them in the garden.  We gave Jody my cell phone so we could keep in contact.  Luckily, it was still on the bike seat.  She had taken it off and laid it on the seat of her bike (it was black and her seat was black) and it was still there. 

After that crisis was averted, we all breathed a sigh of relief.  We decided after all that excitement it was time to have some lunch.  After our lunch at a café near the garden, we headed back into the garden to see the Japanese inspired Water Garden made famous in Monet’s paintings.  By this time it had started to rain lightly.  There were still quite a few people around even in the rain and we made our way around the water lily covered pond. 

It was so beautiful, words just can’t describe.  Even in the rain it was spectacular to see.  We sat on some benches for a while and enjoyed the view.  We then decided we had better make our way back with the bikes to catch the train.  At least on the way back we had a better idea of where we were going, but that did not make the bikes any better.  I finally switched bikes with Eric because I could not take the seat any more. 

Once Eric sat on my seat he discovered why I was about to die.  I think his voice is a couple octaves higher now…  He also discovered that the bottom bracket was loose, the headset was loose, and the brakes were bad.  I guess we were lucky to make it back in one piece…..Ha!!  We managed to find our way back to the café where we rented the bikes and returned them.  We checked the train schedule and we only had about 20 minutes to wait until the next train back to Paris.

Eric and I had a beverage and Jody and Guy had an Ice cream at the Café before we headed back over to the station to catch our train.  We boarded the train, found some seats and Eric, Guy, and Jody proceeded to be rocked to sleep by the train whilst I took photos of all three of them with their mouths hanging open. 

After getting off the train we made our way back across town to the 4^th district where we are staying and stopped at the boulangerie to get a couple more baguettes before finally arriving back at the apartment around 4:30 p.m.  It was another fun and interesting day in Paris.