Following our trip to Vietnam and Bangkok, we spent six weeks in the USA during Jessie's summer break. On our way to the USA we stopped in Paris for four days. We had never been beyond the airport in Paris, and we wanted to experience a corner of the city of lights. As luck would have it, we left Paris a couple of days before the Iceland volcano shut down air travel into / out of Europe. So, fortuitous timings! We left Bengaluru at 1:30 a.m. April 9 saying goodbye to a sad Imtiaz, who had to spend the next six weeks in his office doing taxi work, and he was not happy about that.
Day 1 - April 9, 2010
We found the bike rack in an area bounded by St. Germain, St. Michael, St. Jacques, and the Seine. The area is walking only streets, full of shops and lots of restaurants / cafes. We wandered around the area with Jessie adding to her Paris look as we went along. Stopping at a cafe, we had a gyro from what looked like folks of mid Eastern heritage, but it would seem that everyone in Paris, regardless of heritage, has to do something special to the food rather than stick to traditions. Edible, but not exceptional. Allison noted a couple of restaurants, and we returned to the area that night for dinner. Alli had fondue, I had a steak, and Jess didn't like her pizza so she helped mom out eating the fondue potatoes.
We arrived into CDG on schedule and found our way to French immigration fairly easily. However, finding baggage claim was a little confusing. With all baggage accounted for and on a cart, we attempted to hook up with the transport service to take us to our hotel, which took several calls to let them know we were there, and where we needed to be for pickup. Once resolved, a short wait, and we were in a bus moving towards the city. The trip from CDG to our hotel was fairly long (2 hours) as the traffic was very busy, which I interpret as Paris must have very busy traffic all the time as it was only 11 am. Arriving at the hotel, the driver would only accept Euros for payment, so I needed to find and ATM fast, which I did, and the driver was off again. I did try to find an ATM at the airport; however, they are non-existent in the arrivals area.
Our hotel was Hotel Abbatial St. Germain, which is located on the corner of St. Germain and Rue des Bernardins. Since we could not check into our room until 2pm we stashed the baggage and went in search of food. Having learned in Thailand that the girls require food for mood, I was taking no chances with stress levels following an 11 hour flight and two hours in a bus. Luckily, there was a cafe / bar next to the hotel, which served pizza, beer, and of course wine. We walked in - a bit early by Parisian standards for lunch, and sat down at a table in the sunshine. The waitress came over and took drink orders and left menus. She then went to the rear of the cafe and proceeded to have a major shouting match with the cook. The yelling and screaming went on for about 10 minutes, and I am surprised dishes were not broken. She returned to take our orders, shrugged it off, and went back to place the order. The food was mediocre at best. Here is Alli's April 9 FB entry regarding an offensive pizza:
"I realized immediately I needed to acquire a French to English dictionary after receiving a Mushroom, Eggplant, and Tuna pizza with a barely fried "sunny side up" egg plopped right in the middle for lunch in Paris. (NOT joking and NOT yummy!) I thought maybe Julien meant it would have ham on it. I guess it was just the name of that combo. bluk"
We left the cafe, checked into our room, and immediately went in search of a French / English dictionary to avoid future culinary erreur. The Hotel Abbatial has a small lift that can accommodate one person my size and two smallish bags, or you can load it up with all the bags stacked like cord wood, send the lift up, and race up the stairs (third floor) to catch it before someone else calls it. Either way, single / multiple trips, you're breathing deep by the time the bags are in the room. So, like Sa Pa, Paris makes you work for your crepes.
Ah, yes, the hunt for the dictionary. Well, it turns out the St. Germain area has a number of book stores close by, and most seemed to be the same retailer. However, the stores were topically separate. I guess that was the Parisian answer to the urban big box. But, before we figured that out we had wandered through 2-3 stores. Finally, we chose one (of the last two) that seemed like the best fit, but chose wrong. You would think it would be logical to put language dictionaries next to the street maps of the world, wouldn't you? At any rate we found a usable dictionary, and so, no more culinary erreur for Alli. Larrie was safe, beer is beer wherever you go, and there is no French word for hamburger.
We next headed out to discover what's up in the neighborhood, and since we were only two blocks and over the river from Notre Dame, we figured it would be a good target for a first foray off St. Germain. I headed off in what I thought was the correct direction, but after a block Alli asked "why are we climbing a hill, shouldn't we be going down to the river?", and sure 'nuff, I had headed in the wrong direction. So, we reversed tracks, and went down the hill to the river, and ta-da, there was Notre Dame. Crossing the river, we walked along the river side of the building in the late afternoon sun with a cool breeze coming off the Seine and sending a chill through our Bangalorean baked bones.
As we approached the front of the building we pondered the length of the queue pending admittance to the building. Ugh! Too late in the day, and too cold to spend too much time en queue. Time to punt, so we devised the plan of doing the building early the next morning on our way to the Louvre, and then we walked across the street and the river (see, Notre Dame is on a island, which is why we crossed the river twice - you wondered, didn't you?) to the Hotel Deville where Jess and Alli rode the (first of many) carousel several times. I observed the people in the area while the girls rode the ponies, and one little girl, who must have been a tourist, was decked out in her Parisian best. Looking every bit of Madeline with Pippi Longstocking accents to differentiate herself from the locals - this little girl was enjoying Paris to the max. The fever must have rubbed off on Jess as she slowly acreted her Paris look over the next four days.
After several trips on the carousel jet lag hit us like a Bengaluru power outage, and we wandered back towards the hotel, found a different cafe to have dinner at, ate, went to the room and crashed - hard; although, no evidence of pillow drool in the morning. Eight pm, and we were gone. It was at this meal that Jess discovered the Parisian version of a club sandwich, and Alli discovered ham and cheese on a baguette. No dictionary required to translate these delicacies, which they ate several of during our time in Paris. After Alli's experience with the pizza, I was taking no chances and stuck to burgers-n-bier; not much you can do wrong with that.
"I realized immediately I needed to acquire a French to English dictionary after receiving a Mushroom, Eggplant, and Tuna pizza with a barely fried "sunny side up" egg plopped right in the middle for lunch in Paris. (NOT joking and NOT yummy!) I thought maybe Julien meant it would have ham on it. I guess it was just the name of that combo. bluk"
We left the cafe, checked into our room, and immediately went in search of a French / English dictionary to avoid future culinary erreur. The Hotel Abbatial has a small lift that can accommodate one person my size and two smallish bags, or you can load it up with all the bags stacked like cord wood, send the lift up, and race up the stairs (third floor) to catch it before someone else calls it. Either way, single / multiple trips, you're breathing deep by the time the bags are in the room. So, like Sa Pa, Paris makes you work for your crepes.
Ah, yes, the hunt for the dictionary. Well, it turns out the St. Germain area has a number of book stores close by, and most seemed to be the same retailer. However, the stores were topically separate. I guess that was the Parisian answer to the urban big box. But, before we figured that out we had wandered through 2-3 stores. Finally, we chose one (of the last two) that seemed like the best fit, but chose wrong. You would think it would be logical to put language dictionaries next to the street maps of the world, wouldn't you? At any rate we found a usable dictionary, and so, no more culinary erreur for Alli. Larrie was safe, beer is beer wherever you go, and there is no French word for hamburger.
After several trips on the carousel jet lag hit us like a Bengaluru power outage, and we wandered back towards the hotel, found a different cafe to have dinner at, ate, went to the room and crashed - hard; although, no evidence of pillow drool in the morning. Eight pm, and we were gone. It was at this meal that Jess discovered the Parisian version of a club sandwich, and Alli discovered ham and cheese on a baguette. No dictionary required to translate these delicacies, which they ate several of during our time in Paris. After Alli's experience with the pizza, I was taking no chances and stuck to burgers-n-bier; not much you can do wrong with that.
Day 2 - April 10, 2010
The destinations for day 2 were Notre Dame, McDonald's, and the Louvre. However, one cannot get going without breakfast which began at the hotel, was interrupted by Notre Dame, and concluded at McDonald's. Alli really, really, really wanted a true Egg McMuffin.
The breakfast area in the hotel was in the basement, which is representative of a dungeon as all the walls are stone and arches to transition from room to room, and you must descend a narrow curving stairway that wraps around the lift. It is well lit and well tended by a nice older lady who learns your likes and orders on the first day. On the second day, she already has the coffee to you before your buns came to a rest on the chair. We ate late, around 9:30, and headed out into the blustery day around 10:30. 'Twas cold, cloudy, with winds howling through the canyons of stone, which set the mood for Notre Dame, the cold dark monolith of stone and gargoyles upon the banks of the Seine. Brrrr.
As we had hoped, be it weather or time of day, the queue pending admittance was non-existent, and we walked right in. Notre Dame is like, really huge like, and it takes your breath away pondering the accomplishment of creation before moving onto pondering the origin of passion required to build such a structure. Of course, looking back a thousand years with 21st century perspective tends to blind one to the emotions necessary to construct buildings such as this. Still, one has to wonder if the creators had invested the energy required to build all the stone churches into other proactive civic projects, would Paris be a different place in the 21st century?
Spending about an hour touring the 'warmer than it is outside' building, we exiting for our dash up to McD's and a date with a McPuck. Sated, we headed for the Louvre along Rue de Rivoli; however, bracing against the wind and cold, we headed into the shelter of buildings in search of hot coffee. We found this nifty little park nestled in some trees where Jessie played for awhile, and this is where we first noticed the Velib' bike rental rack, which incensed Jess with a quest to ride one of the unique looking bicycles. More on that as we go along.
The park was part of the roof of the Forum des Halles, which is an underground shopping complex, and we would return to it on our last day in Paris in hopes of getting a Velib' for Jessie to ride. Continuing on, we found a little cafe for espresso and a pastry before we crossed Rue de Rivoli to the Louvre.
Ok, the Louvre. Like most attractions in Paris, it is really huge and attracts a large number of people, and by the time we got through ticketing, the rest of humanity had awoken and decided to do the Louvre, too. So, as we entered into the glass pyramid, we did so with about two gazaillion of our distant relatives into the heat generated by two gazillion people under pyramidal glass blocking the wind but not the sun. Now, you would thinks folks who have lived in Minneapolis and Bengaluru would not be set off their vibe by a goodly sized crowd. Au contraire, mon ami! Large crowds are absolutely draining.
Jess wanted to see the Mona Lisa, so we struck out for the Italian wing. Wandering through a hall of statues, the notion struck me that Italian sculptors were solely interested in anatomical correctness, and were struggling to get it right. So, they practiced a lot figuring that if they did a great hair do, maybe no one would notice the anatomical incorrectness. Up stairs were the paintings, and we quickly maneuvered to the Mona Lisa. Yup, there she was. Like most celebrities, she is smaller in real life than we are led to believe in print and cinema. We took all of one minute to observe the grand old dame before moving on. I wanted to look at some of the other art pieces in the collection (I mean, after all, this is the Louvre, eh), which Jess tolerated for about 15 minutes, and then it was time to move onto the next attraction. So much for the Louvre - it is a digital world, and what's next is the mantra of the young. Recommendations for visiting the Louvre - you must enjoy art, and don't take your kids. Our visit was just the right amount of time for all concerned.
We had worked up a hunger jockeying for position within the Louvre caverns and halls, and so upon exiting, we went in search of food in the labyrinth that is across Rue de Rivoli to the North. It took a bit of wandering to find a cafe with available seating, and while we were searching we happened upon a street orchestra playing Pachelbel and Mozart. Very nice! Lunch was club and ham-n-swiss sandwiches (again), and then we returned to the front courtyard of the Louvre.
The Jardin du Tularries stretches out in front of the Louvre towards the Champs Elysees, and it is a most wonderful park and garden. A vendor rents sailboats that you can cast into a pond and let the wind catch the sails. Jessie spent the better part of an hour chasing her sailboat around and keeping it moving. We tried to get on the pony ride, but it was way over booked, or under ponied. However, we discovered another carousel. Uh, I forgot to mention, carousels are always accompanied by a cotton candy vendor; so, do the ride, get the candy was Jessie's modus operandi - 2 Euro, 2 Euro, easy math.
At the far end of the garden, towards the Champs Elysees, we glimpsed our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, but we saved the trek for the next day. I had been tracking our movements with my GPS, and we were about 10 km into the day. With that knowledge we began to wear out, and it was a long walk back to the hotel. So, we began the long trudge back. By the time we had trudged the seemingly growing distance to the hotel, the sky and our spirits were quickly darkening, and we had gone about 15km total for the day. Our poor old dogs were really sore. [Don't do the math with the quoted distances, it'll strain your brain - you have to see the map of meandering.]
Around the corner from the hotel was a Mexican restaurant, which was well recommended in the tourist books. So, we decided to give it a try. A hotel in Bengaluru, that has a French restaurant within, hosts a Mexican food night on occasion (with Indian chefs), so we figured that if we went to a Mexican restaurant in France (with Mexican chefs), maybe the absence of the Indian influences would make the food better. It did, but it was not what we were expecting our Mexican fare to be. Oh well, too tired to worry about it, we trudged the old dogs up to bed.
The breakfast area in the hotel was in the basement, which is representative of a dungeon as all the walls are stone and arches to transition from room to room, and you must descend a narrow curving stairway that wraps around the lift. It is well lit and well tended by a nice older lady who learns your likes and orders on the first day. On the second day, she already has the coffee to you before your buns came to a rest on the chair. We ate late, around 9:30, and headed out into the blustery day around 10:30. 'Twas cold, cloudy, with winds howling through the canyons of stone, which set the mood for Notre Dame, the cold dark monolith of stone and gargoyles upon the banks of the Seine. Brrrr.
Spending about an hour touring the 'warmer than it is outside' building, we exiting for our dash up to McD's and a date with a McPuck. Sated, we headed for the Louvre along Rue de Rivoli; however, bracing against the wind and cold, we headed into the shelter of buildings in search of hot coffee. We found this nifty little park nestled in some trees where Jessie played for awhile, and this is where we first noticed the Velib' bike rental rack, which incensed Jess with a quest to ride one of the unique looking bicycles. More on that as we go along.The park was part of the roof of the Forum des Halles, which is an underground shopping complex, and we would return to it on our last day in Paris in hopes of getting a Velib' for Jessie to ride. Continuing on, we found a little cafe for espresso and a pastry before we crossed Rue de Rivoli to the Louvre.
Jess wanted to see the Mona Lisa, so we struck out for the Italian wing. Wandering through a hall of statues, the notion struck me that Italian sculptors were solely interested in anatomical correctness, and were struggling to get it right. So, they practiced a lot figuring that if they did a great hair do, maybe no one would notice the anatomical incorrectness. Up stairs were the paintings, and we quickly maneuvered to the Mona Lisa. Yup, there she was. Like most celebrities, she is smaller in real life than we are led to believe in print and cinema. We took all of one minute to observe the grand old dame before moving on. I wanted to look at some of the other art pieces in the collection (I mean, after all, this is the Louvre, eh), which Jess tolerated for about 15 minutes, and then it was time to move onto the next attraction. So much for the Louvre - it is a digital world, and what's next is the mantra of the young. Recommendations for visiting the Louvre - you must enjoy art, and don't take your kids. Our visit was just the right amount of time for all concerned.We had worked up a hunger jockeying for position within the Louvre caverns and halls, and so upon exiting, we went in search of food in the labyrinth that is across Rue de Rivoli to the North. It took a bit of wandering to find a cafe with available seating, and while we were searching we happened upon a street orchestra playing Pachelbel and Mozart. Very nice! Lunch was club and ham-n-swiss sandwiches (again), and then we returned to the front courtyard of the Louvre.
At the far end of the garden, towards the Champs Elysees, we glimpsed our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, but we saved the trek for the next day. I had been tracking our movements with my GPS, and we were about 10 km into the day. With that knowledge we began to wear out, and it was a long walk back to the hotel. So, we began the long trudge back. By the time we had trudged the seemingly growing distance to the hotel, the sky and our spirits were quickly darkening, and we had gone about 15km total for the day. Our poor old dogs were really sore. [Don't do the math with the quoted distances, it'll strain your brain - you have to see the map of meandering.]
Around the corner from the hotel was a Mexican restaurant, which was well recommended in the tourist books. So, we decided to give it a try. A hotel in Bengaluru, that has a French restaurant within, hosts a Mexican food night on occasion (with Indian chefs), so we figured that if we went to a Mexican restaurant in France (with Mexican chefs), maybe the absence of the Indian influences would make the food better. It did, but it was not what we were expecting our Mexican fare to be. Oh well, too tired to worry about it, we trudged the old dogs up to bed.
Day 3 - April 11, 2010
The agenda for day 3 was river bus to the Eiffel, doing minimal walking for the day as we were still pretty sore from the previous days walk. So, we began the day with the same routine - start breakfast at the hotel, and finish it at McD's. Backtracking to the river, we caught one of the river buses that run up and down the Seine on the up river side of Notre Dame.
Once on the boat, we had to go upstream a bit to an open area beyond the islands upon which Notre Dame and other buildings perch. Reversing, we then "floated" back down towards the Eiffel. The river bus stopped periodically allowing folks to get off / on. The pass you purchase is good for all day, so you can get off/on as often as you would like. Also, this was the day of the Paris marathon whose course came down by the Seine, and a number of runners plodded along as we floated along at about the same speed. The terminal end of its loop was the Eiffel, where it again reversed course to go back up stream to Notre Dame. Believe me, this was a much easier option to get to the Eiffel than pedestrianism.
The Eiffel Tower was as busy as the Louvre, and the day was colder and more blustery that the previous day. We walked up from the river, stood underneath, looked up, looked around, and said "Nah, we don't need to queue up for hours just to go up, let's go find some sunshine and get warm", which is what we did. The Eiffel is river side to the Parc du Champs de Mars, and we wandered out into the park for a bit seeking sun and a good vantage point for pictures to prove we had actually been there.
Jessie spotted another kid friendly park to check out before we were forced to move due to wind and cold. However, before we completely left the Eiffel area, another carousel / cotton candy venue required our attention and Euros. Walking across the Seine towards the Palais de Chaillot we discovered yet another carousel / cotton candy opportunity. We had to maneuver through the marathon, which took some time. Again, chased out by the wind and cold, we headed back across the Seine towards the river bus terminal, where we stopped for a much needed hot beverage inside a floating cafe.
We headed back upstream with the goal of letting Jessie ride the Veilb' bikes. We took the river bus back to the Hotel Deville with the idea that we would return to the park by the Forum des Halles. But again, hunger, cold, and wind forced us to take shelter in a cafe. After another lunch of club / ham-n-swiss sandwiches, we headed back to the hotel in search of warmer clothing. We hung around the room a bit warming up, layered up, and headed out again in search of a closer-to-the-hotel Velib' bike rack.
I suppose I should describe the Velib' business model because it was at this juncture in our travels that it became apparent how this company makes money. You see, they have these racks of bicycles attached to a payment station. At the payment station you can purchase the right to use a bike hourly for an unspecified amount of time, or a monthly pass, and you purchase by credit card, which means they have your CC number. The rub is that in order to return the bike, you have to find an open spot in one of the many racks that are available, and if the rack is full, you need to find another rack. We discovered another element about this business, not all racks are open. We ran across a number of racks that were "locked out" of accepting a bike. So, while the map shows lots of bike racks, not all are available, and in high tourist areas, it is nie onto impossible to find an open spot. Once they have your CC number, the meter runs until the bike is returned, which makes this a rather expensive bike ride, contrary to their marketing brochures. We did find other bike racks closer to our hotel, and that was when we discovered the impact of their business model. So, we compromised with Jessi to wait until the next day, and we would return to the Forum des Halles area to see if by getting out of the mainstream we would still have a slot to return the bike to.
Once on the boat, we had to go upstream a bit to an open area beyond the islands upon which Notre Dame and other buildings perch. Reversing, we then "floated" back down towards the Eiffel. The river bus stopped periodically allowing folks to get off / on. The pass you purchase is good for all day, so you can get off/on as often as you would like. Also, this was the day of the Paris marathon whose course came down by the Seine, and a number of runners plodded along as we floated along at about the same speed. The terminal end of its loop was the Eiffel, where it again reversed course to go back up stream to Notre Dame. Believe me, this was a much easier option to get to the Eiffel than pedestrianism.
Jessie spotted another kid friendly park to check out before we were forced to move due to wind and cold. However, before we completely left the Eiffel area, another carousel / cotton candy venue required our attention and Euros. Walking across the Seine towards the Palais de Chaillot we discovered yet another carousel / cotton candy opportunity. We had to maneuver through the marathon, which took some time. Again, chased out by the wind and cold, we headed back across the Seine towards the river bus terminal, where we stopped for a much needed hot beverage inside a floating cafe.
We headed back upstream with the goal of letting Jessie ride the Veilb' bikes. We took the river bus back to the Hotel Deville with the idea that we would return to the park by the Forum des Halles. But again, hunger, cold, and wind forced us to take shelter in a cafe. After another lunch of club / ham-n-swiss sandwiches, we headed back to the hotel in search of warmer clothing. We hung around the room a bit warming up, layered up, and headed out again in search of a closer-to-the-hotel Velib' bike rack.
I suppose I should describe the Velib' business model because it was at this juncture in our travels that it became apparent how this company makes money. You see, they have these racks of bicycles attached to a payment station. At the payment station you can purchase the right to use a bike hourly for an unspecified amount of time, or a monthly pass, and you purchase by credit card, which means they have your CC number. The rub is that in order to return the bike, you have to find an open spot in one of the many racks that are available, and if the rack is full, you need to find another rack. We discovered another element about this business, not all racks are open. We ran across a number of racks that were "locked out" of accepting a bike. So, while the map shows lots of bike racks, not all are available, and in high tourist areas, it is nie onto impossible to find an open spot. Once they have your CC number, the meter runs until the bike is returned, which makes this a rather expensive bike ride, contrary to their marketing brochures. We did find other bike racks closer to our hotel, and that was when we discovered the impact of their business model. So, we compromised with Jessi to wait until the next day, and we would return to the Forum des Halles area to see if by getting out of the mainstream we would still have a slot to return the bike to.
We found the bike rack in an area bounded by St. Germain, St. Michael, St. Jacques, and the Seine. The area is walking only streets, full of shops and lots of restaurants / cafes. We wandered around the area with Jessie adding to her Paris look as we went along. Stopping at a cafe, we had a gyro from what looked like folks of mid Eastern heritage, but it would seem that everyone in Paris, regardless of heritage, has to do something special to the food rather than stick to traditions. Edible, but not exceptional. Allison noted a couple of restaurants, and we returned to the area that night for dinner. Alli had fondue, I had a steak, and Jess didn't like her pizza so she helped mom out eating the fondue potatoes.
Day 4 - April 12, 2010
The goal for day 4 was simple, ride a bike. As usual breakfast started at the hotel and was topped off at McD's. On our way to the Forum des Halles, we went past this little art shop that Jessie had spotted two days earlier, which was now open. Jessie has spotted this wooden figurine to aid in drawing, and she just had to have one, so as luck would have it, they were open, and the figurine was in stock. Where else but Paris to get art supplies, eh?
By now we were familiar with the route over to where the bikes were, and found our way quickly. Upon arrival we noted that there were several slots open to return bikes to, and the area seemed safe to actually ride a bike; so, we decided to check a bike out. Remember, I said they use credit cards, well the last straw was that Velib' would not accept our credit cards, and we tried several. But, alas, we were thwarted in our attempt. Mierda! Jessie was very disappointed, and we started back to the hotel area as we wanted to go down towards Jardins du Luxembourg.
Along the way we stopped for a hot drink and a crepe, and we walked along the North side of the river finding a number of pet shops, which was a big hit with Jess as she got to see lots of puppies. (Jess is really campaigning for a dog.) Chihuahua males go for around EU 2,800 (about $3,500 at the time); amazing! We crossed the river on St. Michael in the direction of Jardins du Luxembourg, and continued on till we found it.
The Jardins du Luxembourg is a kid friendly place, but it has a really wimpy carousel. Finding a major play area, Jess enjoyed about an hour making new friends and enjoying her age. It is surprising to note yet again that kids are kids regardless of their ability to communicate. The park had a number of new playground things that Jess had not ever interacted with. Also in the park were a pony ride with a short line; so, Jess had motive and opportunity to enjoy several rides.
Shadows were lengthening, so we left the park and headed back towards the hotel via the Panth'eon, which was up the hill from the hotel. Finding the University of Paris along the way, we had occasion to observe college kids behavior in a big European city - they drink wine on the street - with all the behavioral modification that come with that activity. Passing several enticing shops, we arrived back to the hotel tired and hungry. So we headed back for more fondue (at a different restaurant). The next day we were off to USA early, so, packing, showers and sleep capped day4.
By now we were familiar with the route over to where the bikes were, and found our way quickly. Upon arrival we noted that there were several slots open to return bikes to, and the area seemed safe to actually ride a bike; so, we decided to check a bike out. Remember, I said they use credit cards, well the last straw was that Velib' would not accept our credit cards, and we tried several. But, alas, we were thwarted in our attempt. Mierda! Jessie was very disappointed, and we started back to the hotel area as we wanted to go down towards Jardins du Luxembourg.
Along the way we stopped for a hot drink and a crepe, and we walked along the North side of the river finding a number of pet shops, which was a big hit with Jess as she got to see lots of puppies. (Jess is really campaigning for a dog.) Chihuahua males go for around EU 2,800 (about $3,500 at the time); amazing! We crossed the river on St. Michael in the direction of Jardins du Luxembourg, and continued on till we found it.
The Jardins du Luxembourg is a kid friendly place, but it has a really wimpy carousel. Finding a major play area, Jess enjoyed about an hour making new friends and enjoying her age. It is surprising to note yet again that kids are kids regardless of their ability to communicate. The park had a number of new playground things that Jess had not ever interacted with. Also in the park were a pony ride with a short line; so, Jess had motive and opportunity to enjoy several rides.
Shadows were lengthening, so we left the park and headed back towards the hotel via the Panth'eon, which was up the hill from the hotel. Finding the University of Paris along the way, we had occasion to observe college kids behavior in a big European city - they drink wine on the street - with all the behavioral modification that come with that activity. Passing several enticing shops, we arrived back to the hotel tired and hungry. So we headed back for more fondue (at a different restaurant). The next day we were off to USA early, so, packing, showers and sleep capped day4.
Day 5 - April 13, 2010
We were up early (5am) to get to the airport by 6, and we arrived early at CDG with plenty of time to spare. CDG is another of those huge airports the world is blessed with, and it took a bit to figure out when and where to check in. Finally figuring out how/where to check in and clearing security (another grope), we waited in the lounge until our flight loaded. We left Paris at 11am, but not until another security grope was administered in the gangway. I wonder why it is that all the airports of the world choose to grope US citizens - maybe they think we like it, or it is their revenge for Homeland Security. Oh, well.
Impressions of Paris
Paris was an interesting place - with lots to do, lots to eat and drink, it is expensive, and there are multitudes of people. We felt secure walking around as the people were friendly and helpful. We enjoyed (for the most part) reasonable food, but we did not attempt to eat high end, so I would rate the culinary fare as marginally acceptable. For the tourist, Paris is very expensive - you have to shop for bargains. St. Germain is a good area to stay as it is situated close to many of the main cultural offerings, and the hotel was resonable place to stay - cost and all things considered. Paris is a big place with lots of security (police, heavily armed police, regular army with machine guns); they take security serious; although, we did encounter a fair number of winos on the streets. Paris was reasonably clean for a big city, and there were lots of garbage bags to collect refuse and people seemed to use them without thinking about it, as-well-as on street recycling centers. I suppose that only the ground level of the buildings were shops, as it seemed everything above the ground level was apartments, which would explain the high use of the recycling centers. We liked Paris; however, having said that, I don't think I need to return soon. Even with it's size and many old world cultural offerings, it is not 21st century, which is where I am.
2 comments:
Dear Allison and Co
Just to say how much I am enjoying reading about all your excursions, I too have a Blog page and found yours by accident. Since reading it that first time I now regularly tune in to see what you have done next.
It is very enjoyable reading, keep on writing it please xxx
This is the great destination for any potential traveler due to all its attractiveness and liveliness and all the marvelous places to visit as well.
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