Paris in the early spring

Sunday - March 15 - Slept fairly well but got up rather late. Wasn't ready to go out the door till 11:00! DH had gone and got fresh croissants and pastries. My goodness, those croissants were the best I have ever tasted. guenmai said that croissants were meant to be eaten in the morning and I now believe that this is the actual truth! We had coffee and tea with the croissants and pastries and headed out the door. It was a beautiful morning, we didn't even need jackets. We walked to St. Sulpice which was just a block or so away from the apartment. Walked inside and heard the organ playing and as I looked to my right I saw "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" by Delacroix. I didn't even know it was there, but had studied it in an art class that I had taken. How exciting to see it in person and hear the organ at the same time. Waited by the little door to go up to see the organ, but it did not open and the mass started, so we left. Got on bus 63 and headed to the Trocadero. Got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! Another goal in my left was met. We got some wonderful pictures. DH realized that Hitler had photos taken in that same spot that we were standing. I was surprised to see all of the boys selling little souvenirs, but I bought some of the little Eiffel Tower keychains to take back to work for momentos. It was fun bargaining with the sellers. From the Eiffel Tower we headed toward the arc de Triomphe. My DH was so happy to see where the Tour de France takes place. Got our photo shots around the arc and headed down the Champs Elysee. Saw some interesting street musicians and street dancers. Found out that it was hard finding a place to eat in that area due to the crowds. We went into a McDonalds for some water and a bathroom break. As we reached Tuileries Gardens we saw some flowers in bloom. We heard the music from the puppet theater what was in the movie Charade (I think). Bought a Dove ice cream bar as I was hungry!We started walking toward the Place Concorde. We saw the granite obelisk standing in the center of this place. This is the area that Marie Antionette and William the 16th got guillotined. There was a beautiful fountain here as well. We headed down the rue de Rivoli as DH wanted to see the Joan of Arc statue. We were having such lovely weather and a brilliant blue sky! About this time I was starting to drop with fatigue and hunger, so we did stop to eat, finally. We had cheese crepes and they were really good. A little farther on the rue we found Joan of Arc. Against the blue sky, she was beautiful.

patti,
you are truly amazing.
i can't believe you have your trip report started already.
your day and half sounds wonderful.
can't wait to read more.
i will probably follow a lot in your footsteps next week.

Hi, great start on your report. I note from your profile that you're well traveled but you seem to be maintaining that wonderful gee whiz quality of a neophyte. Maybe it's that Wisconsin thing. I'm originally from Eau Claire (now live in Ft. Lauderdale after spending years in the Twin cities) From what you say in your conversation with the waiter, I'm guessing you are either River Falls or Menomonie, most likely the former. We met with AGM_CapeCod (and others) for a Fodors GTG while we were in Paris last week. Abby's husband (of AGM) taught at the University in River Falls. Small world, isn't it?

I'm enjoying your trip report, but may I ask that you insert frequent paragraphs. It makes reports so much easier to read--and it's a frequent criticism here, so it's not just me. Thanks. Keep it coming.

abranz - I wrote in my journal every night to try and keep things straight in my head. I actually carried around a little notebook to jot notes down on throughout the day. My mother always likes to read the journal as soon as we get home!

I will work on using paragraphs - I can see how it would make reading easier.

I have been fortunate to travel many places - but every time I go someplace new - I feel that excitement of a first trip!

Hi Patti - Your apartment looks cute. I think I remember from your other thread that you were happy with it. Welcome back - it sounds like your Paris week was perfect. Looking forward to reading the rest of your report.

fantastic! can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Looking forward to reading the next installment

After admiring Joan of Arc, DH and I continued our walk to the Louvre. (I will admit, I loved The DaVinci Code). The first time I saw the pyramid, I got goosebumps! I remember from the book that the police captain called it "an abomination" and I could see how it doesn't quite fit with the Louvre, but I loved it! I could not believe how huge the Louvre is. Just thinking about all of the wonderful things that were within those walls filled me with awe. There were people laying all over the grass enjoying the wonderful day. We took some photos of the pyramids and the fountain and limped back to our apartment for a rest.

DH must be in better physical condition than I am because he is not hurting at all! My hips, feet and even my toes all ache. This is the time that I wish our apartment had a bathtub that I could soak in.

After we rested for a while we went back out to see the Eiffel Tower at night. This time we took the subway (Thank you!) which cut down on the walking. This was my first trip on an underground transit system.

The Eiffel Tower was wonderful at night. At first we were going to ride up to the top and we got into the line, but the length of the line, combined with my fear of heights, combined with the fact we had not yet eaten dinner, we decided to forgo going up into the tower. As we started to walk away, I turned around to take another look and the whole entire tower was twinkling! I did not know that they had a light show. I loved it!! I took a photo on my cell phone and sent it home to my children (like they were going to be able to see the wonders I was seeing).

We took the subway back to Notre Dame to see it illuminated at night. The nighttime gives monuments a whole new life. A whole new splendor that you don't see in the daytime.

We finally decided to eat our dinner. We ate at Le Depart. It was located very close to Notre Dame (Quai San Michel). DH had samon au basellie with green beans and potatoes - 13.80 Euros. I had beef burgandy with potatoes for 12.30 euros. We also had bread to go along with the meal. I had water and DH had a glass of wine. This turned out to be my best meal of the whole trip. After this wonderful meal we walked back to the apartment and turned in for the night.

Monday - March 16th. Got up at 9:30. DH went out for apricot pastries and we had O.J. and tea for breakfast. Started a load of laundry - it is so great having a washing machine and dryer in the apartment - and left. It was another sunny and pleasant day. Each day I see more spring flowers and blossoms and the little leaves getting bigger.

We walked to the Louvre. We were able to walk right up to the ticket counter without any wait. Of course I wanted to see the Mona Lisa first. There was a small crowd there, but I was able to go right to the front by the rope. I was totally amazed that we were allowed to take photos of her. Another dream of mine had come true. We took photos of the Venus de Milo and even a back view. DH was thrilled to see the Code of Hammurabi. Since he was a history major and had studied ancient histories, he kept mumbling things like, this is huge, this is amazing. He was totally in awe of what he was seeing. We wandered around for about an hour and ate lunch at the Starbucks in the Louvre. We are more interested in the impressionists and headed out to the d'Orsay. When we got there it was closed. I had made of chart of when the museums were open and closed and we had not even looked on this morning to check. While we were there, a huge parade of costumed horse riders came by. There was trumpets playing a tune as they marched by. I'm not sure what it was all about, but they appeared to be wearing some type of period costume. They had gold helmets, red tassels and black tails on their hats that looked like horse tails.

We decided to go and see Bon March Department Store. Took the subway and found the store without any problems. It was a lovely store, but I wasn't really in a shopping mood, so we went and took a look at the Grand Epicerio store next door. What a nice variety of food items, but we did not buy a thing.

We then found the Poilane bakery and ate fresh apple turnovers - the best I ever tasted. I can't put my finger on it - but the pastries in Paris are not greasy like in the US. They are light and flaky and don't leave the nasty after taste that the greasy bakery items from the U.S. do.

We jumped back on the subway and went to see St. Chapelle. (I had a pair of scissors in my purse and had to leave them at the door, but I did get them back.) The church was very colorful on the main floor. I thought that it had an almost circus coloring to it. My feet were hurting again and DH said we should go upstairs. I really did not want to climb another flight of steps, but I decided to tough it out. There was a little, narrow flight of circular steps. I had no idea what was at the top. When I got to the top and stepped into the upper sanctuary,the glorious windows absolutely took my breath away. The sun was shining brightly through them and because they are so large and around the whole room - the effect was dazzling. We sat down for a while and just took it all in. I thought about not wanting to make the climb and realized what I would have missed.

We then walked back to Notre Dame to check out the rear view. We then found the Monoprix. It was rush hour and the lines were very long, but we were happy to have located it. We headed back toward our apartment and stopped at FranPrix to get food for supper. Stopped at the vegetable market for some fresh veggies. We had little steaks and veggies for our supper. I folded laundry while DH did the dishes. Kind of like at home. Had an early night.

I am really enjoying your report. Can't wait for the rest.

Oh, aren't those apple tarts from Poilane fantastic!! Their pain au chocolat are pretty special too.

Loving your report, Cathie

Great report! And thanks for the double-return between paragraphs--it's much easier on the eyes.

Tuesday - March 16 - Woke up to fresh croissants and bananas. Another bright and clear morning with those wonderful blue skies. We headed right out to the d'Orsey. I see more flowers blooming every day. We waited in line for about 45 minutes, so wasn't too bad. I wanted to see Whistler's Mother and was able to get a nice photo with her. She was larger than I had imagined. There were Monet's and Sisley's and Cezanne's, VanGogh's, wow! We spent a few hours there wandering through the galleries and soaking it all in.

When we left we ate lunch at Le Quai - a boat on the River Seine. (More stairs - today I really hate stairs as my calf muscles are screaming for me to stop.) I ate a small potato salad with chicken livers and DH had some kind of a crab salad. I had hot tea and he had espresso - $32.80. We walked across the river and found the Orangerie closed today. We took the subway to the Luxembourg Gardens. I found this to be a peaceful oasis in the middle of a big city. How lovely to sit there are relax. The grass was so green (we had left brown grass at home), the daffodils and forsythia were blooming and there were blossoms on some of the trees. I found it very odd that there are all of these metal chairs for people to sit on and there was not a soul on the grass. There were a lot of babies in carriages, old people and college students. We saw a lot of policeman around the park - I think they are there to shoot you if you get on the grass! We enjoyed sitting and watching some old men play a game - maybe bocce ball? I'm not certain. There was a coat rack in between the courts and they had their jackets hanging there. So interesting to me. We wandered around looking at all of the lovely statuary in the park and saw the Luxembourg palace and the pool nearby. There was one area that a ton of students were laying and sitting on this little patch of grass and I saw a sign that said you could get on the grass there. It amazed me that people obeyed the rules about the grass - I don't know why that struck me as amazing, but I can't see that happening around here. I also can't see the metal chairs staying in the park - they would disappear!

From the park we walked to a McDonalds for a bathroom break. I got stuck in there. I could not get out. I had to wait till some man came in to the men's side and left before I could get out. That was rather embarrassing. We walked by the Pantheon and then walked to the Sorbonne. Once again there were police officers everyplace. I kept thinking that some kind of a riot was going to break out. Is this just normal police presence?

We walked by the Cluny Museum and then went to St. Severin on rue St. Jacque. I guess we were in the Latin Quarter at that time, but I didn't know it till later. This church had more pretty stained glass windows. Walked to St. Julien le pauvre. It was old! I did some reading on it and it is over 700 years old!! Also took a photo of a tree in its yard that was planted in 1602. This church is very close to Notre Dame.

I don't completely have my bearings yet. In the best of times I am directionally challenged, so it is wonderful that DH has an excellent sense of direction. We wound through an ancient looking neighborhood (to the south and west of Notre Dame) taking a new route back towards our apartment. I must confess that I popped in to a few of the touristy gift shops and bought some post cards and key chains. I have not yet stooped to buying the "I love Paris" t shirt! We stopped at FranPrix for groceries and headed back to the apartment for our evening meal.

After we ate our little supper we went to MonoPrix. It is still very comfortable outside. Even later in the evening their are people everyplace. We stopped and had an ice cream (or gelato) at Amorinos - 3 Euros each for a small cone. I got vanilla with chocolate chips and a chocolate outer layer. DH got chocolate and creme. Mine was heavenly and DH really enjoyed his as well. We sat in front of the shop and ate the cones and absorbed Paris. After our treat we walked back to the apartment, up the 3 flights up steps. I had stopped at a pharmacy earlier in the day and bought some Kamol, which is similar to Ben Gay. I rubbed in on my poor shins and calves and went to sleep.

Hi there, really enjoying your report. I've tried to journal nightly while traveling but so far have not been able to keep it up. Perhaps our little excursion in May will be different as I'm really enjoying all the details you're sharing. Keep it coming!

Enjoying your report, as I love Paris. But here's my question-----Why were you stuck in the restroom at MacDonald's?

You had to buy something to get a code to go into the bathroom. So no problem getting in. I don't remember exactly, but there was some kind of a code thing you had to use on the inside and it was in French. I couldn't figure it out. I pushed and pulled and poked. The mens and womens were both in the same coded area, so when a man walked out of his side, he punched in the code and I slipped out with him. My poor DH was just coming down the steps to check on me, wondering what was taking so long.

Last year we stayed in an apartment on Blvd St Michel probably just near where you would have exited the gardens to go to McDonalds. There was a temporary concert venue set up in the gardens that week and each night we could hear lovely classical music performances (Tales of Hoffmann). We didn't bother with tv, just opened the windows and listened. We also had a lovely view over the gardens and finished each days exploring with a wander through the garden. The French are amazing the way they sit on the chairs and not on the grass. We loved watching the children play with boats on the water. It is a gorgeous park, I think it leaves the Tuilleries for dead.

Hi Yellowrose - Thanks for posting more details on your trip to Paris!
I want you to get out your map of Paris and look for the Champs Elysees. You will see that when you walked down towards the Place de La Concorde (where the Egyptian Obelisque is) and before you got to there, the gardens you entered after the main shopping area of the Champs were not the Jardin des Tuileries, but the gardens of the Champs-Elysees. I wrote about them in some detail in my trip report from last year. The little puppet theatre where you heard the music coming from is called 'Vrai Guignolet' and has been running since 1818. (It's quite charming - I went in and photgraphed it as there was nobody there.)
When you walked down Rue de Rivoli the Tuileries Gardens were elevated next to you behind the hedge.
Am I right or just misread your post?

Looking forward to the next instalment!

tod - do you have a link to your Paris trip report or the title. I scrolled through your posts but didn't see it (perhaps it's too early for me!). Thanks! The Champs-Elysses gardens are on my list for my next Paris trip and would love to read your description.

With pleasure Adrienne:

Here is the link - should be able to still see photos as well.
http://tinyurl.com/ctrgyp

Great! See you had a wonderful time which I knew you would. I'm back off to Paris at the end of the week. Happy Travels!

I'm really enjoying your report!
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

I have to say I remember how much my feet hurt during our week in Paris. My daughter and I would take turns massaging each other's feet at night!

Looking forward to the rest...
Thanks!

tod - You are right! DH just thought the Tuileries kind of started on the Champs-Elysses and made a turn I guess! Thanks for straightening us out. And are we right in thinking that this was the puppet theater in Charade? And I totally agree with cathies - the Luxembourg Gardens are far superior to the Tuileries, in my opinion. I couldn't figure out why there was so must dirt and so little grass in the Tuileries. Maybe it improves in full summer - but in the early spring Luxembourg was much nicer.

tod - thanks for the link to your report. I now remember reading it last year.

Patti - I think the Luxembourg gardens are much nicer than the Tuileries except I love the sculpture in the Tuileries. There's also a puppet theatre in the Luxembourg gardens at the southern end.

I don't know if the little Vrai Guignolet in the Champs Elysees gardens was the one featured in Charade - the puppet theatre in the Luxembourg gardens is huge by comparison.

Wedneaday - March 18 - Got up at 9:30 this morning. Had coconut activia, toast and marmalade for breakfast this morning. Jumped on the St. Germaine metro to Montparnasse station. Tickets to Chartres cost 25 E each round trip. We were a little confused by the tickets as they didn't say Chartres, but we soon figured out that the tickets stated the end of the line city. Asked a couple of nice ladies who didn't speak English very well, but they were very kind and helpful. While waiting for the train there were some young men in camo walking through the station with these huge assault looking weapons. I was a little scared at first until I figured out that it was probably French military keeping things safe. It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to arrive at Chartres. We enjoyed seeing some of the French countryside outside of the big city. I saw Versailles as we passed by.

We were enjoying another brilliantly blue sky and were glad because we had been told it was best to view Chartres in the sunlight. It was in the 50's and very pleasant. We got off the train and it was easy to see the spirals of the Cathedral. The walk to the cathedral seemed like only a couple of blocks and of course we took many photos before going inside. I have learned that I love gargoyles! I got some great photos of the Chartres gargoyles closer up.

As usual, there were several people begging by the entrance. I feel sorry for these people and want to give money to all of them, but then I am not certain if they are truly in need, or just trying to make extra money.

When I walked in I was surprised that it was so dark. I think that I expected the same brightness that I had experienced at St. Chapelle and this had a whole different look to it. I saw Malcolm Miller sitting and talking with a group of people and knew that if we wanted we could catch his tour in the afternoon. We listened in a little bit and could tell that he was very knowledgeable. He seemed to be entertaining his group and I heard him talking about St. Chapelle.

I asked where the veil of Mary was and was extremely disappointed when I was told it was not on display due to the renovations going on in the cathedral. Since there was scaffolding up in the sanctuary I wonder if that made the cathedral a little darker than it might have been otherwise. They had a little picture of the veil and that was the closest that I got to seeing it.

We wandered around and marveled at the carvings all around the church. We talked about the carvings more than the windows. I still have a difficult time getting my brain around the fact that all of the churches and cathedrals that we saw were so old, yet had such amazing, intricate work. How on earth were people so many years ago with probably more crude tools than we have today, able to make such creations? How did they get to the top of the cathedral? How did they get the materials up there and how long must it have taken and how many lives must have been lost in these endeavors.

After we wandered around for a while we decided to go outside for a bite to eat to warm up. We ate at LeSerpente across from the cathedral. We sat outside and chatted with a couple from Canada. DH and I had ham sandwiches - and when the menu says ham sandwich, that is what you get. Bread and ham. They were $5.80 E each and were good.

After lunch we went back into the cathedral and decided to not take Malcolm's tour. He was going into such minute detail with the other group, that we decided we didn't want that much detail and wanted time before we left to walk around the town.

We looked at the windows more closely this time and also remembered to look at the labyrinth on the floor. The windows were beautiful and I loved the Chartres blue color. We picked up one of Malcolm's book and will study it more in detail later.

We stopped by the tourism office and got the map for the walking tour. My shins still are hurting and DH decided to take the LONG walk. Once again there were steps and stairs - many of them! But what a quaint little town. We walked down by the river and just say a while and absorbed some serene France. How peaceful it was here. There were old, old cobblestone roads and some extremely old looking buildings. The swan floating on the river just added to the peace we were experiencing.

We finally decided to head back and noted that our return tickets had the wrong time on them. We had asked the girl at the ticket counter to return at 5:00 and she had given us tickets for 15:00. We figured it would not be a problem and stopped at a little patisserie where I got a huge meringue to eat and DH got something chocolate.

When we got to the station the conductor said to just take the next train that arrived heading to Paris which we did. No one ever checked out tickets coming or going. We spent about 5 hours at Chartres and was a lovely day.

On our return to walked to MonoPrix to get some food for our evening meal. I had a turkey fillet and DH had fish. I was very hungry for baked beans and bought a little can of what I thought was regular baked beans. Turned out to be what we call, beanie weenies. We also had corn, bread and apples. We did some laundry and I ironed and checked emails. Called home and found that everything was fine there. We had an early night.

tod - I did some research on line and can't figure out which puppet theater was used in that old movie. DH thinks it was from the Champs Elysses park - but I'm going to watch the movie and figure it out for myself! I loved the music that was playing while we were in the park from the puppet theater.

yellowrose, I am contemplating day trips for a visit in May. It sounds as if Chartres itself is charming as well as having the cathedral. That's sort of what I'm looking for, a pretty town with something *major* to see. Would you agree that Chartres fits the bill?

We loved going to Chartres. We debated Versailles or Chartres and we happy with our decision. The town itself is charming and it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Paris. I was born a country girl and it was so nice to see some of the rural parts of France, even if by train. I certainly would recommend Chartres as a day trip.

ttt

Nice report! It is almost a year since we were in Paris and it brings back wonderful memories.

yellowrose, I am really enjoying your trip report! I am also glad to hear that your dealings with parisbestlodge and Thierry were so positive, as I am renting from him in August. Looking forward to reading the rest of your report!

Thierry is the nicest person!

travelgirl, which apartment did you rent? I once rented the Studio Rivoli and it was excellent!

travelgirl - you will not have any problems renting from Thierry! Which apartment did you rent? I really debated about the studio we rented and his crazyview one.

Thursday, March 19 - Strike day! Got up and emailed Thierry and took my shower. When I got out of the shower I already had my answer from Thierry. According to his daughter, the metro was running and she had not seen any problems. DH went out for breakfast - fresh croissants, eclair, fresh strawberries and daffodils. Ahhhh, spring.

We left for St. Denis. We got on the Odeon metro line to Duroc and then took line 13 to St. Denis. We walked by an open air market which seemed a lot like a flea market from back here at home. We went into the travel office to discover that because of the strike the bascilla was open, but the crypt was closed. Darn! We were able to go into the bascilla and looked at the effigies. It was another beautiful church - but DH was especially disappointed we could not see the crypt of the dead kings.

We headed to Invalides and the Dome Church. We found the Dome Church open. DH thoroughly enjoyed seeing Napoleon's tomb and the W.W. I and W.W. II museums. Because he had been so patient when I wanted to go into tourist shops, I wandered around with him without any complaining. I enjoyed seeing the old uniforms and the old American flag with less than 50 stars. After spending time with Napoleon and the wars, we headed back to the apartment. I might mention that once again we were blessed with gorgeous weather. We headed back to the apartment and ate a lunch of bread, cheese, tomatoes, yogurt and strawberries.

We rested for a while and headed back out. This time we walked along the Seine to the Orangerie. It was closed due to the strike as well. Will tray again tomorrow. Walked through the Tuilleries gardens and sat down for a while and watched the children playing in the playground. It was so comfortable and pleasant sitting in the park. I continue to marvel at our fortune of having such a blue sky every day. We walked to St. Roche on rue St. Roche near the Louvre. This was not in the Gothic style but appeared to be Romanesque. It was a nice change in architecture. It had a wonderful painted dome and more lovely stained glass windows. It was peaceful. We sat in the sanctuary and rested for a while. Then we left and headed to Germaine aux Erboisjust east of the Louvre. My heel began hurting after all of the walking so we returned to the apartment. I got on line and read my Fodors mail and received a good tip for a restaurant for dinner this evening.

We walked around the corner to l'Insulaire. Madame was outside on the sidewalk drumming up customers. It was a very small little quaint place, but since it had been recommended we were willing to give it a try. DH had escargot and I had the French onion soup for starters. We had chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce. I had creme brulee for dessert and DH had apples flambeau with rum. It was so cool when she set it on fire at the table! This was an excellent meal and very reasonable at only 17 E each. We walked back to the apartment and read more Fodors mail and discovered that we are in a very historical part of Paris and had been walking past historically significant cafes each and every day and didn't even know what we were looking at. Turned in for the night.

Friday, March 20 - Got up around 9:00 a.m. It has been so pleasant to sleep until I wake up and not have the darn alarm clock clang me awake every morning at 6:30 a.m.! We ate breakfast in the apartment again - strawberries, yogurt, orange juice, bread, tea and coffee. We decided to return to St. Denis because it was so important for DH to see the crypt. The subway ride takes a while, but I find it enjoyable to study the other people on the subway. When we got back to the Basilica, we were able to get our tickets for the crypt and headed right in.

DH was enthralled with the crypt. He read all of the names and tried to take photos, but they did not turn out very well. I didn't like it all that much and at one point almost had a claustrophobic attack when a tour group gathered in a little room with us and blocked the exit.

We went back up into the Basilica and found that we were able to get much closer to the effigies than we were able to the day before. We walked around for a good hour looking at all of the effigies and getting some excellent photos. I got some photos with the sun coming through the stained glass on the effigies - so pretty.

This day was perfect weather wise, again. The blue sky made it difficult to take a bad outdoor photo. The temp was a little cooler than yesterday, but still in the 50's.

We got back on the 13 line and took the 2 line to Montmartre.
There were a lot of little ratty looking shops and a lot of tourist shops. It looked like there were some used clothing shops as well. There were many fabric stores there which I could have spent hours in since I am a quilter - but I decided that I could buy fabric at home, so I made myself walk past them!

This part of Paris is what I have always imagined Paris to be like with the artists painting and people singing on the streets with their little crank organs and people standing all around on the square watching them and people playing guitars. I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

We looked up at Sacre Coeur on top of the hill and started climbing steps. My shins are feeling a lot better and I am able to climb without as much pain as the previous few days. We took it slow and periodically turned around the take a good look at the view. There was somebody playing the guitar on the steps as we walked up and there were many people sitting watching him. I wondered if he might be somebody half famous because he was really good!

After we got to the top we realized there was a little tram that would bring you up to the top of the hill! Oh well, good exercise - get my another eclair.

We went into the church and for the first time we were not allowed to take photos. I watched one lady try to take a picture and a little church lady ran up to her and waved at her to stop and waggled her finger at her. The interior of this church was not as spectacular as many of the others that we have seen. We also went into the church next door - St. Pierre de Montmartre - the sign said it was the second oldest church in Paris. It was dated from 1133. It also was not all that impressive to look at, other than being so old. We walked down the hill on some of the side streets and back into the tourist area. We are lunch at Bouillon. Darryl had Spaghetti bolognese and wine and I had a ham/cheese omelet. It cost about 25 E. We sat next to some young students from Canada and had a very nice visit with them.

We got back on line 2 to 4 to 3. At one station, Reaumur Sebastopol, I was scared as there was an argument going on and a crowd was gathering. Fists were being raised and we got out of there! We came out at the Opera Garnier. Oh my goodness, what splendor!!

We paid the 8 E to go through to see the grand staircase, library and audotorium. This is my definition of opulence. I was fantastic - but I didn't see the Phantom. Did see the great chandelier and watched the stage hands raise a background scene. It was fun seeing some of the costumes and head pieces and jewelry which were displayed. I loved it!

We decided to head back to our area. We got off the metro at Odeon and walked down Cour du Commerce - St Andres and took photos of the old cafes there - so much history in this area.

We stopped at Franprix for food and water. Got back to the apartment and soaked my left foot in cold water and did a few stretching exercised.

We read in one of the Paris books that the Orangerie was open till 9:00 p.m. on Friday, so we decided to go back there. DH did relent and we took the subway this time - but there was still a lot of walking! It was closed again - 3rd time. I guess it doesn't stay open late any more. We walked down the rue de Rivoli and stopped at Angelina's. We had to wait in linve approx. 15 minutes to get a table. We had her famous hot chocolate africans. It was thick, and creamy and delicious. They brought whipped cream and water along with it. I could have drank 3 little pitchers of it!! It cost 6.50 E each. So good!!

We walked back through the Louvre area and saw the Eiffel tower at sunset. Tried to get some photos, but you know they will not turn out. It is so impossible to capture the true feeling of what you are seeing.

Went back to the apartment and DH cooked hamburgers, fish, and green beans for supper. Night time - only one more day before we return home. Why do vacations go by so quickly? It just doesn't seem fair.

I hate the end of vacations! Thanks for continuing.

Saturday, March 22 - DH got up and went to Paul's for pastries. We decided to have a day of trying to see what we might have missed close to the apartment and for second visits to some of our favorites sites.

We went to Place Furstenberg and looked around. We walked to St. Germain des pres. We had walked by it countless times during the week but had never gone inside. It had shells when you walked in for the holy water and they were very pretty. I guess this is supposed to be the oldest church in Paris - I have been confused during the week because so many of the different churches have boasted about how old they are. We spent a little while there and then headed for the metro.

We went to the Latin Quarter to see Louis D'ile church. There were many large paintings there and it had a dome. It also had a beautiful organ. There were chandeliers by the alter. There was a small sunburst at the alter and there were gold accents on white marble everywhere. It seemed very lonely there. There was actually an extra set of organ pipes on the side of the sanctuary. I would have loved to have heard the organ play.

We then walked to St. Gervais church. This is where Catherine de Medici called for the slaughter of the Huguenots in 1572. It was located on 13 rue des Barres. There was metal work in this dome which was different from the other domes that we had seen. It also had stained glass. There were many large figurines in the church. There were a lot of young men there in long black robes and young women with long blue apron type outfits and white coverings over their hair. I imagine they must be students perhaps learning to be nuns or priests. There was a beautiful starburst stained glass window.

When we left by the front door we heard yelling. There was an older man yelling at a younger man and a younger girl to the side. I got kind of scared and stayed in the doorway of the church so I could go back in if things got ugly. At one point the older man went to the younger woman and took off his backpack type thing he was wearing and went after the younger man and they got into a fist fight. They slammed each other into the cars until another young man in a suit came by and got between them. At that time my DH and I walked in the opposite direction.

At this time we got tickets for the Batobus at the Hotel DeVille. I had bought a 2 GB memory card for my camera and could not believe that at this point, I had to change memory cards as it was full. Thank goodness I brought along another card. I can't believe I had taken that many photos.

We had to wait about 10 minutes for the batobus and decided to go and try the Orangerie for the 4th time! This time it was open. I was very happy because I really wanted to see Monet's water lilies. We did not have to wait in line very long - maybe 10 minutes. The museum was smaller than I had expected, but seeing those huge water lily painting was a highlight for me. I love Monet. DH enjoyed Chaim Soutine, an impressionist artist that he was not familiar with. After going through the museum we headed back out for the batobus.

We decided to go to the Eiffel Tower for a closer view during the daytime. It really is magnificent. We had the clear blue sky again and temps in the 50's. This was our last day of sightseeing and was so grateful that we had much a wonderful spell of wonderful weather. We ate lungh at a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower called Castel Cafe. I had marguerite pizza - cheese and tomato and DH had a ham and cheese sandwich. $23 E.

As we were talking at lunch we talked about the other day when we were walking along the Seine and saw a girl laying on a bench with the top off! This was eye-opening for us as in America you would get arrested for exposure! It is so great to travel to different cultures and explore how other people live. I think that this world would be a better place if everybody did some international travel.

We walked around the Eiffel Tower after our lunch and returned to the batobus. We traveled to see Notre Dame for the last time. We walked down some very old streets, rue de pretres, saint severen, rue della harpe - on the way back to the apartment.

We ate our evening meal at Le Procope. It was an old, elegant restaurant where Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin had eaten. It was expensive as we had just missed the special. I had coq au vin and DH had trout. $52.40 E. The waiter was very efficient - but not rude. We had been told to watch out for rude waiters in France, but we never experienced any rudeness from anybody.

We stopped for another gelato at Amorino's. Gosh I wish I could get this at home. I love it. We returned to the apartment and packed for our return trip home.

Sunday, March 23. Had to get up really early, 5:45 a.m. The taxi was right on time at 7:15 and got to the airport in plenty of time. There was no traffic to speak of. Going through customs I lost my jelly that was in my carry on - but the kind customs man gave me one jar back along with a wink.

This was not a sunny day. There was a lot of fog and I was concerned that the plane would not be able to take off. After such a great week of weather, I found it interesting that the day we were departing there was crummy weather.

The flight home was non-eventful. We arrived in Detroit at the same time as 3 other international flights, so we had a really long wait to get through customs and reclaim luggage and get them re-checked. Luckily we had a 4 hour layover!

Arrived in Minneapolis at approx. 8:30 p.m. and my brother was waiting to pick us up. Our Paris adventure was over, for this time.

Really nice report Yellowrose. Thanks for bringing us along. Loved your reactions to Paris--such a great city.

Excellent report yellowrose, I can see that you had a great time in that beautiful city.

--gatorbill

YR:
I loved the installments of the TR. It was very detailed and you have a great knack for conveying your thoughts. I esp liked the price points thru your TR; It is comments like that (in yours and others) that take me from thinking of my next trip to Paris, to actually planning my next trip to Paris. As it stands, I am shooting for Oct. Again, thanks for your time and dedication to writing all that out!!!

~Jay

I am very impressed by your perseverance: all the way back to St. Denis the next day to get into the crypt, and four attempts at the Orangerie before you found it open!

St. Denis WAS a long ride on the metro - but something that DH really wanted to see. I didn't mind because we had already done everything on our original agenda. Because we both wanted to see the Monet stuff at the Orangerie it didn't seem like such a hardship to check back again and again and again! It was not all that far from out apartment. 3 times we actually walked there and once we took the metro. I am so happy that I have now been to Paris. It's something I had always dreamed about - and the reality lived up to the dreams.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36791678@N06/

I think that this will take you to my photos. Let me know if it doesn't work. Thanks

Link works fine

Enjoying your pictures right now...

Great, glad you can see the photos. I am very happy how most of them turned out.

Great photos, yes indeed they "turned out." Nice color and sharp. Thanks for sharing them!

Great photos,Yellowstone. I'm in Paris at the moment. Flew in a few hours ago from Venice. It's unfortunately cold and rainy. The weather was gorgeous in Italy. Smiles. Happy Travels!

guenmai - I thought you were going to Asia!

I will be there in three weeks and can't wait - even more so after looking at your great photos!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report... thanks!

Yellowrose-

I've been following your trip report since you began. I will be in Paris in 2 weeks. I'm printing off your report for reference. You've really captured Paris. I can't wait to get there! Your pictures were wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing!

These are wonderful. Just gets me so excited for our trip in May. Thanks for sharing.

can't see your pics, but im sure they are great!
(flickr is banned by Dubai ISP )
been following ur trip too... hope I can do half as much as you did (i only have 4 full days)!

3sica - So sorry you can't see the photos. I hope you have a great trip. You can do a LOT in 4 days. We did everything on our agenda and a lot more because things are pretty close together and you can walk so many places. We loved it. I hope you all have as nice a time as we did.

Hi Patti & Darryl - Thank you very much for the wonderful photos! Your smile Patti did not reveal one sign that your legs were hurting!
I can't wait until we tread in some of your footsteps!
4 weeks until we fly!

Yellowrose- I go to Paris in the spring and Southeast Asia in usually the winter and summer. Smiles. Happy Travels!

Thanks for all the compliments on the photos. I have so many of them. We are working on labeling the churches since we will so quickly forget! I had such a great time that even though my legs were killing me at times, I didn't really care. I was kind of surprised myself how relaxed both my DH and I looked in the photos. I am a caregiver for my mother and have a 21 year old daughter and 27 year old nephew living with us. Was a great break.

guenmai - do you go to Asia on business? My son and DH will be going to Taipei in May. I don't get to go this time.

I really enjoyed your trip report and the photos were fantastic. We'll be in Paris for a week starting May 1!
Thanks