Paris – Perfectly wonderful Paris!!!

We worked really hard on the library before we left and actually have 2/3 of the library entered into the computer, re labeled and shelved; unfortunately there are books in two other rooms from the other library we have to work with and integrate. But – we’re getting them done as we speak. Our little excursion to Paris was much needed and we really had a wonderful time. And thanks to Kathryn – who found awesome deals including our train tickets on the TGV (high speed train). It only took 3 hours; the train goes to speeds up to 200 mph.

The weather forecast for Paris was pretty dismal, but when we got there, the sun was shining and after finding our hotel (way up on the North side), we headed out sightseeing.

We started at Sacre Coeur – or in English: Sacred Heart – from there we went to the Bastille/Marais area seeing – the Vosges and the statute of Bastille. We had a wonderful dinner and went to our hotel to rest up for our next three days. For those of you who haven’t heard – Debbie is a relentless tourist, being armed with a booked itinerary, full of museums! We definitely got our moneys worth from buying a museum pass…….

The second day might wear you out just listening to all we did – are you ready?…….We started with Rick Steve’s walking tour through Paris, starting at Notre Dame. From there we went to the Deportation Memorial to remember the 200,000 French Jews who boarded boats never to be free again. Then we went to the Latin Quarter, Saint Chapelle, – which is a two-story Cathedral having stained glass from top to bottom on three sides, then to the Concierge Museum -where Marie Antoinette and Louis the 16^th were imprisoned before

 being executed. Then we went to on to Port Daphne and Pont Neuf- which are along the Seine River. We took a break for lunch and then headed to the Cluny Museum – to see the famous Unicorn tapestries and the Pantheon. Kathryn was concerned because we still hadn’t seen the Eiffel Tower – and would you know – the Pantheon is on a hill on the left Bank and as soon as we walked out the door – there she was – the tower!  

We took lots and pictures and then continued through the Luxembourg Garden, Tuilleries Garden, toured the Orangerie Museum and then to the Louvre.  We were beat, but managed to find a two story diner that’s been around for over a 100 years. You don’t necessarily have a private table – especially for parties of two. We joined a cute Finish couple and after they left – a very nice couple from New York joined us. Since you sit very close you get to see what everyone orders. The man from New York ordered Tripe. We were adventurous, but not that adventurous!

Day three was supposed to include the Eiffel Tower  - but the weather forecast included rain – all day – so we thought Versailles might be better since it would be mostly indoors. After saying a quick prayer asking God for guidance, we decided that since we didn’t hear any voice and since we went to so much trouble planning our entire trip – we better stick to our original plan. Well half way on our Metro ride – at a scheduled stop – everyone was asked to disembark the train, and board the next one. Coincidentally – it was the same stop where we had to change trains if we were going to go to Versailles! We felt like God couldn’t have told us too much clearer – so we boarded the different train and headed forVersailles. God has a sense of humor –we know this for a fact.Because as we got to Versailles, it began to SNOW – really snow – huge, wet flakes!

 And of course everyone said – it never snows here! We told them about the snow we received in Aix and that they are never supposed to get snow either – and they quickly decided that we brought the snow!!!Versailles was still fun – for a little while we thought we might actually get to stay overnight! No one was allowed to go outside to the gardens – because it was snowing pitchforks and baby buggies. But by the time we finished the tour – the snow had stopped. Safely back in Paris, we went to the Musee D’Orsay. Kathryn really liked the Impressionist Paintings. The museum was closing before we had time to see the whole thing, but that was the beauty of the museum pass – we decided to go back first things in the morning to finish. 

We started the third day with breakfast at a famous restaurant known for their hot chocolate and a pastry called Mont Blanc. Cocoa Channel is among the famous who have sipped chocolate there. It was very good, but we were glad that we only ordered one hot chocolate and a coffee. Two chocolates would have been a little too much- it was rich, but delicious. We went back to the Musee D’Orsay and finished up, and as we were walking through the gift shop we noticed several famous paintings on post cards we hadn’t seen – only to find out we missed an entire wing – so back in for the third time! Third times a charm is our story at the Musee D’Orsay!

When we finally left the Musee D’Orsay, we made a quick detour to  the Rodin museum to see the statute 'TheThinker.' And as the sun was shining brilliantly, we headed to the Left bank for some lunch, and then onto the Tour Eiffel! We got our tickets and it was about an hour wait to go to the top – but so worth it! We had a Maroon, Chantilly crepe afterwards. We walked to the Arc de Triumph and went to the top – if you can believe there’s a bathroom at the top of the arch and we used that too! We walked down the Champs L’Eylsees and then home – it was another big day!

Well we found out during the night that Kathryn is allergic to Maroons – more commonly called Chestnuts which was the filling in our wonderful crepe at the Eiffel Tower.  And let’s just say she had a rough night. She felt a little better in the morning and was able to continue our power Paris trip. We went to the Pompidou Museum and the Picasso museum and then we had the best Shwarma know to man – Kathryn found out about it on the internet. They were awesome. We would both take the three hour train ride back to Paris right now just to have another one. It is a lot like our Greek Gyros sandwiches, but this had cabbage and cooked eggplant, chicken, lamb and a very special sauce all wrapped up in a warm naan!

We took pictures of all our food – just about. Paris has better food at a better price than Aix for dining out. Aix is actually very expensive.We are back to our books and on a really icky section- being really tough.

We wish we could bring everyone a Shwarma, some hot chocolate and a Mont Blanc from Angelina’s!