StCirq

Chunnel is about 20 years passé. he BBC has just learned this? Funny

Yes, the tickertape signs in the Paris buses are absolutely brilliant. Unless there's a strike......and you find yourself somewhere you never wanted to be because your bus can't go where it's supposed to go. Doesn't happen often, except to us.

Leely2

Such fun to wander through Paris with you.

TDudette

I’m home and at my computer. Unlike the Kindle, it will add an accent aigu on the word café!

I forgot the Concert at Ste. Chappelle in the short portion above. Sorry.

Go over to bus stop (so great to plan bus trip online) and look for the 95. This is great. It passes (and stops nearby) Deux Magots (mobbed), Rue Bonaparte (great shops in that area), over the Pont de Carousel, the Louvre (almost mobbed—here you need to pre-purchase a ticket) and Palais Royal where I alight.

Misunderstood directions and map reading made me walk around a block searching for the Royal Palace (“RP”). I finally stop at an internet café, got a coffee, and did the map walking directions. Had I gee’ed instead of hawed, RP would have appeared fairly quickly.

Unless I totally messed up, the Passage runs parallel to the RP gardens. I neglected to say that it is a gorgeous day. 70s and sunny. Many of the Passage shops were closed but the open ones could empty your wallet quickly! One vintage shop had some YSL dresses in the window. They did not call out (there will be a photo). Several restos with folks eating outside.

See if you can google the gardens. Nicely manicured and inviting. I guess we all take the same photo of the neat rows of trees. Hoping my shot of the signage comes through.

I basically strolled and window shopped until hunger beckoned so I decided to go back to the bus stop going back to St. Germain (because I looked for it as soon as I got off the bus earlier). Louvre is now engulfed with people. As is Deux Magots and Café de Flore next door so I cross the street and spy Café Lipp. I don’t remember eating there before so look at the menu and gulp. A plate of asparagus vinaigrette was 23, 50 euros. Now you know why.

The formule menus on chalk boards sound similar. In fact, I think they did on our last visit. It was baked chicken (giant yums) with frites then. This time it was canard in some fashion…with frites.

Café Louise’s calls out and, after I get seated at a perfect for people-watching little corner table, the waiter says “Dites moi, Madame” (which I made “talk to me lady” and loved). I say I have chosen and rattle off (hah!) my order and wait and relax. This is a great street. Lined with trees. A student vibe. The hordes seemingly only at the cafés mentioned above.

Not so many henna hairs this time. Many more casually dressed people. There is a couple next to me. He wears a wedding ring; she does not. After he pays the bill, he gives her several bills. Hmmm. They don’t hold hands as they leave and I lose them in the crowd. Another couple is walking by—she has an infant at her chest and he has a toddler on his shoulders. The toddler is fighting to stay awake.

The food is very good. The lamb just as I asked for. Sorry, but I like pink middles not red and it’s difficult enough to make that understood in English, eh?

Back to the bus and ‘home’. It has taken this long for me to automatically turn the right way toward hotel. Decided to eat in the room before the concert tonight so stopped at Eric Kayser for sandwich for my picnic.

The 58 and 95 busses go to the Ile de la Cite but it looks like the 58 will be closer to Ste. Chapelle. At well before the appointed time, I toodle back to the bus stop. Alas, I cannot locate a stop for the 58. I walk about 15 minutes before getting testy and grabbing a cab. He let me off right by the door! One would be lucky for many busses to do it.

I’m still 20 minutes early so stop at a café and get a glass of vin rouge de la maison, et l’addition en meme temps, svp. No one ever presses you. You ask for the bill when you are ready. Amazing. As I sit and sip, the 95 bus stops across the street. Right by the Palace of Justice gates….

elberko

Still enjoying!

On your Fire, hold down the "e" to add an accent aigu.

jubilada

TDu, I was taught that a point plus is what you want if you want no red but pink.
A little red( medium rare) is a point.
This works in France in my experience.

I am enjoying your report.

annhig

oh yes, I am right with you in the Cafe Louise, TD. Next time we're in Paris, I shall insist that we make a bee-line for it.


i admire your use of the buses - despite the no of visits we've made there, I've never been on a Parisian bus, as we have stuck to the metro. Next time.....

DonTopaz

annhig, do try the buses -- I find them to be lots more useful than the metro, unless I have to go from one end of the city to another. For those of us whose knees are cranky, the big advantage is no stairs.

The Paris transit system, RATP. has a fantastic travel planner app that I used for the first time when I visited last month. The app knows where you are -- just give it the address (or place name) where you want to go, and it shows you the best route, including a map on how to walk to the bus stop or metro station. Strongly recommended!

annhig

don - my last visit was pre app [for me] so I can see that that might help. Thanks for the tip.

yestravel

Welcome home! Charming weather, huh? I think I forgot what the sun looks like.

I love your descriptions of the people you see. I started taking the buses a few trips back and much prefer them to the metro. As said above for some of the stops, the steps are a killer. We also generally stay in apts without elevators so maybe the extra steps with the metro are just too much of a pain when it's so easy to hop on a bus and you get the bonus of looking out the windows.

TDudette

THANKS, elberko!

I will try à point plus next time, jubi, and thanks also.

annhig, don’t get the sole….

DH and I road busses a lot so we could see things. Before the electronic signs, it was a challenge unless we could see the building or particular sight.

Good info, DonTopaz. I never got back to that resto, sorry. Are you still in Paris?

Thanks, yestravel. DC area has broken a record for the most consecutive days with measureable rain. Amazing. Stairs can be a breathing challenge for me going up and a knee thing going down. Although this time I did so much better.

BTW, I did not bring my nebulizer or my little French dictionary on this trip.

TDudette

Did I mention that I made a reservation for Saturday night dinner at Café Louise? It will make a perfect last night in Paris.

As soon as folks started lining up (8) at the door to the left of the big gates at PJ (Palace of Justice), I went on over and chatted with a Canadian couple. Do you feel ridiculously grateful to hear someone speaking English in another country? We get wanded, sent through the x-ray thingy, and our belongings sent through airport type other thingy. And then we walked, and then we waited and then we walked some more. There is a little lift but I’d suggest you find out about pre-arranging using it. We are seated at close to 8:30.

On one of my leisurely mornings, I played Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” as it had been a while since I’d heard it and for some reason I couldn’t locate the album at home just before the trip. Found a 1955 Glenn Gould you tube recording and, although astounded by his piano playing, found the piece to be boring. The group tonight is a trio—violin, viola and viola de gamba. Since I have little to no discrimination about most things, it all boils down to “like it” or “don’t like it” without much thought. I didn’t like it that much. Many of the variations were muddy sounding. The violin drowned out the others in parts. I would choose the Vivaldi “4 Seasons” often presented here.

But OMG such a gorgeous place. It doesn’t sound right to say anything negative. DH and I first saw it with the sun coming in just the right way and vowed never to return—just keep that visual memory intact.

Anyhow, I sit as still as possible. By body language and shared looks of others, I can see how sitting in this jewel (to use DK book description) of a church with music surrounding will be a magical memory to them.

Out to the bus stop and the 95 appears (along with a guy in an orange jump suit, with big bee wings on his back, his arms chained in front of him, and his face in zombie make-up) and off to Montparnasse. The area just over the Ile de la Cite is awash with youngsters and tourists. If you want some action, you might check it out. We passed a store called “Twin Set” in St. G. de Pres that had some cool stuff.

At 10, I am home and say Bon Soir!

TDudette

Day 13, Saturday 7 Mai 2016, Sunny and 70s

Short:

Sight: Bayeux Tapistry

Breakfast: Water and 2 madeleines from Relay at Gare gets a B-

Lunch: Tourist place outside Bayeux Tapistry place (forgot name): Bacon omelette, coles slaw, frites, house red (B)

Dinner: Café Louise: Pichet Saint-Emilion Grand Cru aoc Chateau Bellerose-Figeau, Sole Meuniere, pommes vapeux, Raspberry cake tart (A for fish; B for dessert as cake part a bit dry but custard atop yummy)

Long:

Up and out for Bus 101 Finals. Catch the 95 at 8:10 and am the only passenger on it. At the Gare St. Lazare at 8:40 for the 9:10 train to Bayeux. Time to buy breakfast and take a leisurely stroll to Voie 23—one of the last on this floor. My track karma is never good!

It is a 2 hour, 10 minute ride with a stop in Caen before to Bayeux. We pass a couple of sweet looking suburban towns and a few rivers that seemed too close to the edge of a couple of them (note to check a map).

We arrive on time and it doesn’t look like a huge town (why hadn’t I checked this before?). Looking at the map in the gare, I head via foot-mobile toward the centre ville. And arrive at a sweet, albeit replete with bright signs for hotdogs but subtle ones with directions to the tapestry, sweet town built of stone.

The cathedral appears to be empty and again, I don’t know why I didn’t check before but will read later that the tapestry originally lived there. I am inspired to read again/more about the history between England and France.

You must google the tapestry. It is about 230 feet long (70 meters) and is an embroidery on linen showing the Battle of Hastings in four basic stitches. You get a set of headphones which guide you at a pace set for you along the tapestry. Very interesting. If you are interested in textiles at all, this one is cool.

There were about 30 people in line but it went fast. I forgot to check the time but would estimate an hour from front door to the gift shop to which one is automatically guided (imagine that).

Outside it is sunny and lovely and my stomach says eggs. Crepe place is full so I start up the hill a bit to the left and find a place. The wait staff are very friendly and owner is Irish. I had missed the film about the tapestry (that’s a first) but one of the women said they weren’t really certain who did the piece. “Some say it was the soldiers at night. That’s why it took so long.” said one gal. Booklet I bought suggested it was commissioned after the fact and sewn by womenfolk.

I took the opposite way back to the gare. [Oh, on the way into town, there was a big and very clean complex of outdoor toilets between the Rue de Nesmond and the park you can walk through to get to tapestry. I saw a sign for a Caillebotte exhibit—my poor planning once again.] It took about 20 leisurely minutes on a slight incline passing by sweet stone houses to get to station. I passed a gite called carolla eure. It is online in case you have interest.

My coach was ‘ferme’ so quite a group took empty seats in the next cars. At Caen usurpers good naturedly found other seats and the trip back was uneventful.

Back to room to dress for my last dinner in Paris. What a good trip. This time I really missed DH’s planning backup. I goofed up with my visit to StCirq and Steve and totally dropped the ball with charming Bayeux. Saint-Emilion and environs beckon.

Back again to the bus and a wonderful dinner at Café Louise. Weather is still lovely so I sit outside. The sole comes intact but there is no place for my wait person to do the fileting honors. A sweet couple from SC sit down next to me.

Americans tend to talk to each other in close quarters, yes? The French allow each other privacy, oui? It is their 2nd Paris trip and they are staying in an airbnb so we chat about that and illegal apartments.

My dinner was so good. Although it took the waitperson a while—she said it was her first fish. Only found 2 bones!

Bus back and everything repacked. A final bon soir.

But wait. I am going to be ill.

TDudette

But wait. After stomach surgery for reflux, it is just about impossible for me to ‘ralph.’ Rather than risk TMI, I will only tell you that my next 5 hours were not comfortable.

After a couple of hours of sleep, cab the front desk had arranged picked me up. 8:30 for my 12:20 flight. It was plenty of time. Traffic really was fluide. Sunday a.m. good for rides to and from airports. The cabbie did not accept credit cards (you probably have your own app for the G7 cabs so don’t need to depend on front desk) but I had saved the fare just in case. It was a flat €55 as the trip into Paris.

I could see NO SIGN for the United airlines desk nor was there a machine to print a ticket, but with asking for directions, I got it done. My over all green color may have helped. The French are much more civilized with moving sidewalks than they are in Dulles. I rested as we were automatically moved toward the gates. Security not bad.

I was an hour early at the posted gate so sat and read on the Kindle and prayed that the flight and my body would be uneventful. Which they were. I actually slept most of the way home. A huge first and a miracle in this situation.

It took a long walk through a narrow hall to even reach the little bus thing that takes you to the actual terminal. I yearned for a moving sidewalk. Unlike my return from England in 2014 where just the Pilot and I went through the Global Entry line, the Pilot, the crew and about 5 of us travelers did this time. Everyone else was in another line. At least there were toilets in this room.

We arrived on time at 2:40 and I was home at 5:30. About 1.5 hours driving home. The rest was getting from the plane to my car in the economy lot (if you consider $150 for 2 weeks parking an economy).

Thanks for reading along with this. I hope it gave you some food for thought if you are a DIY traveler. I did a list of tips as I went along and will post it separately as I saw someone asking for them.

There's no place like home--not even Paris!

annhig

I am inspired to read again/more about the history between England and France. >>

well that should keep you busy, TD - there's a lot of it. I was brought up on the Battle of Hastings and the Bayeux tapestry but now I have a confession to make - I've never seen it. Perhaps it's something DH and I should prioritise on our next trip to France, especially now we have your tips on how to get there.

So sorry you were ill - but thanks for sparing us the gory details. you are sure it was the fish? Certainly there is nowhere like home, but particularly if you're not feeling well. Welcome home!

TDudette

LOL annhig, there IS a lot of England/France history. Do you ever wish you'd listened better in your history classes?

I don't know about the timing involved in food reactions so it could have been anything.

annhig

LOL annhig, there IS a lot of England/France history. Do you ever wish you'd listened better in your history classes?>>

sadly TD, my history lessons didn't include that much about the history of relations between England and France. Apart from 1066 and all that virtually all I know comes from Shakespeare and historical novels. And Robin Hood of course!

Now if you want to know about the battles between the Italian states of the C15 & C16, I'm your woman!

AGM_Cape_Cod

TDudette, sorry that the visit ended with that upset. It is hard to fly in that condition.

I finally talked my DH into trying the bus system. Of course the first bus we hopped on was headed in the wrong direction. Since then we have taken a lot of buses. One of the first things I do in a new neighborhood is look to see what bus lines have stops nearby. Then when we are out and about and want to come home I can check nearby stops for that line.

jubilada

I love busses, and always find it worthwhile to figure them out.

TDudette

" Of course the first bus we hopped on was headed in the wrong direction. ">>>>>

Always the challenge, AGM!

TDudette

Here's a try for some photos. Have only labeled a few. Wasted time trying to rotate Monet's gorgeous desk.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32219995@N07/albums