March 18, 2009 (p.m.)
I have to confess that I was not as excited about Paris as I was the other cities I had planned for us to visit. However, our first evening (last night) and full day have been wonderful. I guess it’s a sign of my age. The first time I came here I was 15 years old. There wasn’t really much in Paris that excited me except being able to say that I’d seen the Eiffel Tower. But now I’m a people watcher and there’s no better city on earth to do that than here. Sonya and I could sit at a sidewalk table of a corner café all day long and just watch others stroll by, commenting about what they’re wearing or who they look like. And that’s how we’ve spent much of our time.
After our train arrived last night at 6:30 p.m. we took a cab to our hotel (which was quite an adventure in itself), checked in and then immediately hit the streets looking for a typical Parisian Brasserie. The street where our hotel is located is awesome! It’s for pedestrians only and, as Rick Steves says in his “2009 Best of Europe” travel guide, “It’s so French that when I step out of my hotel in the morning, I feel like I must have been a poodle in a previous life.” Rue Cler is lined with open-air produce stands, flower vendors, bakeries, wine shops and small cafés. It doesn’t get any more French than that. What’s also interesting is the strange mix of locals and Americans. This neighborhood is close to The American Church, American Library and American University, and of course there are lots of tourists like us, so we are very comfortable here.
Last night Sonya mentioned how sick she was of subways (the Tube in London) and wanted me to consider a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Paris. I was reluctant at first, but after reviewing the brochure I agreed to give it a try. This morning we bought a two day pass for the L’Open Tour bus line and I have to admit that it was a blast. It was easy and it covered everything I had planned for us to do today with minimal wait times.
We started the day at the Louvre Museum with thousands of other people. Sonya and I are not very artsy people, but at least we can say that we’ve now seen the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. And for all you Da Vinci Code readers, I never saw the Rose Line, but Sonya did take my picture where the last scene of the book/movie took place (without ruining it for any of you who are not familiar with the book).
Our next stop was the Crypts of Paris and Notre Dame. It’s always amazing to stand in a cathedral that was built so long ago (13th century). I’m sure that Notre Dame is a significant historic landmark, but I must confess that I’m not as familiar with French and/or Roman Catholic history as I am with the reformation and protestant churches such as Westminster Abbey in London. We spent about a half-hour touring Notre Dame then hopped on the bus again, this time to Champs Elysees.
Those of you who know Paris recognize the name of this street immediately. Champs Elysees is lined with fashion boutiques, bumper-to-bumper traffic and shoulder-to-shoulder pedestrians. It also runs right into the Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by a huge round-about, on its north-west end. The highlight of the day for Sonya was visiting the Louis Vuitton store. This must be the official headquarters for LV. It was at least three stories high and filled with very expensive handbags, luggage, shoes, clothes and jewelry. And I now realize why the LV products are so expensive. There were men everywhere with black suits and ear pieces, talking into little microphones near their collars. I’ve never felt so “watched” in my life. I thought the President must have been in the building somewhere. I’m sure they have to charge a fortune for their merchandise to pay the salaries of their secret service personnel.
We ended today’s sightseeing back where we started this morning – the Eiffel Tower. After taking a lot more pictures than we needed, we were disappointed to find out that the top floor of the Tower was closed. We are going to return early tomorrow morning, hoping that the crowds are lighter, and go as high as they’ll let us.
We ended the day with our favorite activity – people watching – from a little restaurant called Café Central on Rue Cler. This time we enjoyed two safe American dishes, a BLT (Sonya) and hamburger and fries (Jeff). Afterwards we treated ourselves to a banana crepe and almond meringue. Yum, yum! Don’t tell anyone!
Tomorrow is the last full day of our European vacation. We’ll try to keep it light, covering the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb and the Catacombs in the morning and early afternoon before a possible stroll along the river Seine and relaxing at another corner café in the evening. This really is a romantic city. I’ve never seen so many lovebirds in all my life, but none who have been blessed more than the two who have celebrated 20 years of marital bliss by touring a few highlights of Europe over the last two weeks. Au Revoir!
I have to confess that I was not as excited about Paris as I was the other cities I had planned for us to visit. However, our first evening (last night) and full day have been wonderful. I guess it’s a sign of my age. The first time I came here I was 15 years old. There wasn’t really much in Paris that excited me except being able to say that I’d seen the Eiffel Tower. But now I’m a people watcher and there’s no better city on earth to do that than here. Sonya and I could sit at a sidewalk table of a corner café all day long and just watch others stroll by, commenting about what they’re wearing or who they look like. And that’s how we’ve spent much of our time.
After our train arrived last night at 6:30 p.m. we took a cab to our hotel (which was quite an adventure in itself), checked in and then immediately hit the streets looking for a typical Parisian Brasserie. The street where our hotel is located is awesome! It’s for pedestrians only and, as Rick Steves says in his “2009 Best of Europe” travel guide, “It’s so French that when I step out of my hotel in the morning, I feel like I must have been a poodle in a previous life.” Rue Cler is lined with open-air produce stands, flower vendors, bakeries, wine shops and small cafés. It doesn’t get any more French than that. What’s also interesting is the strange mix of locals and Americans. This neighborhood is close to The American Church, American Library and American University, and of course there are lots of tourists like us, so we are very comfortable here.
Last night Sonya mentioned how sick she was of subways (the Tube in London) and wanted me to consider a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Paris. I was reluctant at first, but after reviewing the brochure I agreed to give it a try. This morning we bought a two day pass for the L’Open Tour bus line and I have to admit that it was a blast. It was easy and it covered everything I had planned for us to do today with minimal wait times.
We started the day at the Louvre Museum with thousands of other people. Sonya and I are not very artsy people, but at least we can say that we’ve now seen the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. And for all you Da Vinci Code readers, I never saw the Rose Line, but Sonya did take my picture where the last scene of the book/movie took place (without ruining it for any of you who are not familiar with the book).
Our next stop was the Crypts of Paris and Notre Dame. It’s always amazing to stand in a cathedral that was built so long ago (13th century). I’m sure that Notre Dame is a significant historic landmark, but I must confess that I’m not as familiar with French and/or Roman Catholic history as I am with the reformation and protestant churches such as Westminster Abbey in London. We spent about a half-hour touring Notre Dame then hopped on the bus again, this time to Champs Elysees.
Those of you who know Paris recognize the name of this street immediately. Champs Elysees is lined with fashion boutiques, bumper-to-bumper traffic and shoulder-to-shoulder pedestrians. It also runs right into the Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by a huge round-about, on its north-west end. The highlight of the day for Sonya was visiting the Louis Vuitton store. This must be the official headquarters for LV. It was at least three stories high and filled with very expensive handbags, luggage, shoes, clothes and jewelry. And I now realize why the LV products are so expensive. There were men everywhere with black suits and ear pieces, talking into little microphones near their collars. I’ve never felt so “watched” in my life. I thought the President must have been in the building somewhere. I’m sure they have to charge a fortune for their merchandise to pay the salaries of their secret service personnel.
We ended today’s sightseeing back where we started this morning – the Eiffel Tower. After taking a lot more pictures than we needed, we were disappointed to find out that the top floor of the Tower was closed. We are going to return early tomorrow morning, hoping that the crowds are lighter, and go as high as they’ll let us.
We ended the day with our favorite activity – people watching – from a little restaurant called Café Central on Rue Cler. This time we enjoyed two safe American dishes, a BLT (Sonya) and hamburger and fries (Jeff). Afterwards we treated ourselves to a banana crepe and almond meringue. Yum, yum! Don’t tell anyone!
Tomorrow is the last full day of our European vacation. We’ll try to keep it light, covering the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb and the Catacombs in the morning and early afternoon before a possible stroll along the river Seine and relaxing at another corner café in the evening. This really is a romantic city. I’ve never seen so many lovebirds in all my life, but none who have been blessed more than the two who have celebrated 20 years of marital bliss by touring a few highlights of Europe over the last two weeks. Au Revoir!
1 comment:
Again, I was on the Champs-Elysees and at the Arc de Triomphe on Wednesday --- and the Louvre (at night!) Laughing!!!
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