Postcards from Retirement
Nov 2nd, 2012 | 09:30 AM
#81
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Joined: Jun 2003
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Day 24 Thursday, September 27 th
Another rainy day in Paris so it was ideally suited for museum exploration. After breakfast at home, which included fresh orange juice from the bakery, we set out for Musee d'Orsay, stopping for coffee on the way. Our timing was perfect and we arrived just after it opened. This museum is housed in an old train station which is exquisite all on its own. We spent the morning walking through all the impressionist galleries, including a special exhibit of fashion. Among the Cezanne, Renoir, Monet and Manet paintings, as well as others, there were examples of the dress worn at the time. In fact one dress was featured in one of the paintings. There was also an exhibit of men's fashion as well, called dandysme! All I can say is that these women were sure small. I could have easily put both my hands around their waists.
We next went to the regular Impressionist galleries where we saw many famous works of art. It is amazing to me that you can get so close and no one is really watching what is going on. I think my favourite was Starry Night over the Rhone by van Gogh.
When we emerged it was raining fairly hard. We waited it out for a few minutes and then made a mad dash to a restaurant that we had noticed up the street. By the time we had had our lunch, it had stopped raining. We walked over to and through the Tuileries and then went to l'Orangerie to see the post Impressionism period of art. The key feature here was the Water Lilies, housed in two oval rooms. These paintings are absolutely stunning, but, if you get up close to them, you cannot tell what the subject matter is. You must see them from a distance. To encourage this, there is seating in the middle of the room. We then moved on to Modigliani, Guillaume, Cezanne, Picasso and others. We were not allowed to take pictures in either of these museums.
When we were finished at l'Orangerie, we walked out to the Place de la Concorde, past the obelisk and started up the Champs Élysées. The first part is a park like setting and then you hit the heavy duty shopping area. There is everything from Mercedes Benz, to Cartier, to HMV to McDonald's. In fact the McDonald's is the most profitable store that McDonald's has! It should be, it was packed. Our ultimate goal was L'Arc de Triomphe, another monument on a grand scale. You cross down under the street and emerge practically right underneath the monument. For E9,80 you could have the privilege of walking up 200+ steps to the top. We passed on that one. Once we had looked around it was time to make our way home on the Metro.
The Metro is very easy to navigate as long as you have a map of the various lines. The main yellow line has glass barriers along in front of the tracks. There are doors that open only when the train is there. I guess it stops anyone who could be inclined to jump in front of a train. Seems like an excellent idea, but they are not in place on all lines.
We got home around three, an easier day than yesterday. The sun had also started to peak out. Stew made a bakery run to get more orange juice.
We decided that we had recovered enough (and so had the weather) to go out for dinner. This was also calculated to keep us awake past eight pm. We walked back to the left bank, to the Latin Quarter and found a place to have fondue. By this time, the sky was completely clear and we could see the moon. We decided to take an evening boat cruise on the Seine. It lasted about an hour and you come close to the illuminated Eiffel Tower which is spectacular. Otherwise I would take this trip in more daylight as it was hard to see some landmarks. On the other hand, our first experience of Paris at night was awesome. It took about twenty minutes to walk home.
Tomorrow we are off the Versailles.
Another rainy day in Paris so it was ideally suited for museum exploration. After breakfast at home, which included fresh orange juice from the bakery, we set out for Musee d'Orsay, stopping for coffee on the way. Our timing was perfect and we arrived just after it opened. This museum is housed in an old train station which is exquisite all on its own. We spent the morning walking through all the impressionist galleries, including a special exhibit of fashion. Among the Cezanne, Renoir, Monet and Manet paintings, as well as others, there were examples of the dress worn at the time. In fact one dress was featured in one of the paintings. There was also an exhibit of men's fashion as well, called dandysme! All I can say is that these women were sure small. I could have easily put both my hands around their waists.
We next went to the regular Impressionist galleries where we saw many famous works of art. It is amazing to me that you can get so close and no one is really watching what is going on. I think my favourite was Starry Night over the Rhone by van Gogh.
When we emerged it was raining fairly hard. We waited it out for a few minutes and then made a mad dash to a restaurant that we had noticed up the street. By the time we had had our lunch, it had stopped raining. We walked over to and through the Tuileries and then went to l'Orangerie to see the post Impressionism period of art. The key feature here was the Water Lilies, housed in two oval rooms. These paintings are absolutely stunning, but, if you get up close to them, you cannot tell what the subject matter is. You must see them from a distance. To encourage this, there is seating in the middle of the room. We then moved on to Modigliani, Guillaume, Cezanne, Picasso and others. We were not allowed to take pictures in either of these museums.
When we were finished at l'Orangerie, we walked out to the Place de la Concorde, past the obelisk and started up the Champs Élysées. The first part is a park like setting and then you hit the heavy duty shopping area. There is everything from Mercedes Benz, to Cartier, to HMV to McDonald's. In fact the McDonald's is the most profitable store that McDonald's has! It should be, it was packed. Our ultimate goal was L'Arc de Triomphe, another monument on a grand scale. You cross down under the street and emerge practically right underneath the monument. For E9,80 you could have the privilege of walking up 200+ steps to the top. We passed on that one. Once we had looked around it was time to make our way home on the Metro.
The Metro is very easy to navigate as long as you have a map of the various lines. The main yellow line has glass barriers along in front of the tracks. There are doors that open only when the train is there. I guess it stops anyone who could be inclined to jump in front of a train. Seems like an excellent idea, but they are not in place on all lines.
We got home around three, an easier day than yesterday. The sun had also started to peak out. Stew made a bakery run to get more orange juice.
We decided that we had recovered enough (and so had the weather) to go out for dinner. This was also calculated to keep us awake past eight pm. We walked back to the left bank, to the Latin Quarter and found a place to have fondue. By this time, the sky was completely clear and we could see the moon. We decided to take an evening boat cruise on the Seine. It lasted about an hour and you come close to the illuminated Eiffel Tower which is spectacular. Otherwise I would take this trip in more daylight as it was hard to see some landmarks. On the other hand, our first experience of Paris at night was awesome. It took about twenty minutes to walk home.
Tomorrow we are off the Versailles.
Nov 5th, 2012 | 08:06 AM
#83
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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Day 25 Friday, September 28 th
Finally, a mostly sunny, lovely fall day and we went out to Versailles on the train. It takes about 40 minutes to get there and then there is a short walk to the palace.
What a place, liberally decorated with gleaming gold. They have been undergoing an extensive restoration process, so most areas are sparkling. Our museum pass let us skip the line, and after passing insipid security, we started our tour. It was fairly crowded, but we were able to get a reasonable view of most things. The art and sculpture are amazing and of course the place is an homage to excess. No wonder they had a revolution. We worked our way through most of the rooms, stopped for a coffee break, and finally saw the Hall of Mirrors. That is really the only thing I remember from when I was here before (50+ years ago). Well, I guess I remember the gardens a bit as well.
I have to complain at this juncture. We found quite a bit of very modern, fibre art installed from the ceilings of various rooms and galleries. I am not opposed to modern art at all, but it seemed so completely out of place here. Also, it was installed in such a way that it obstructed your view of some of the masterpieces.
After we finished inside the palace, we started out to tour the gardens which, although it is late in the season, are still beautiful. We had our lunch and worked our way out to Marie Antoinette's summer cottage, a humble little confection of pink marble. We explored the gardens out there as well. Finally, we caught the little motorized train back to the palace to save ourselves a further 45 minutes of walking. (We had already been on our feet for more than 6 hours.)
We arrived back in Paris around 2:30. After a quick break we set off to a Sephora store to pick up something for my cousin and walked back, shopping for some groceries for dinner. And more wine! You have to love a country where wine costs less than water! We are staying in tonight...chicken and salad for dinner.
Finally, a mostly sunny, lovely fall day and we went out to Versailles on the train. It takes about 40 minutes to get there and then there is a short walk to the palace.
What a place, liberally decorated with gleaming gold. They have been undergoing an extensive restoration process, so most areas are sparkling. Our museum pass let us skip the line, and after passing insipid security, we started our tour. It was fairly crowded, but we were able to get a reasonable view of most things. The art and sculpture are amazing and of course the place is an homage to excess. No wonder they had a revolution. We worked our way through most of the rooms, stopped for a coffee break, and finally saw the Hall of Mirrors. That is really the only thing I remember from when I was here before (50+ years ago). Well, I guess I remember the gardens a bit as well.
I have to complain at this juncture. We found quite a bit of very modern, fibre art installed from the ceilings of various rooms and galleries. I am not opposed to modern art at all, but it seemed so completely out of place here. Also, it was installed in such a way that it obstructed your view of some of the masterpieces.
After we finished inside the palace, we started out to tour the gardens which, although it is late in the season, are still beautiful. We had our lunch and worked our way out to Marie Antoinette's summer cottage, a humble little confection of pink marble. We explored the gardens out there as well. Finally, we caught the little motorized train back to the palace to save ourselves a further 45 minutes of walking. (We had already been on our feet for more than 6 hours.)
We arrived back in Paris around 2:30. After a quick break we set off to a Sephora store to pick up something for my cousin and walked back, shopping for some groceries for dinner. And more wine! You have to love a country where wine costs less than water! We are staying in tonight...chicken and salad for dinner.
Nov 6th, 2012 | 06:52 AM
#84
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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Day 26. Saturday, September 29th
We were up and out to the market this morning, only the market wasn't there. Not only that, our favorite boulangerie where we get our fresh squeezed orange juice, croissants, etc. was closed...aarrgghh! Don't know what happened to the market, but there is a big celebration in the same place tonight so perhaps they cancelled it.
We found a local place for breakfast and it worked out well. Then we took the Metro over to the Rue Cler area and explored the market there. It is more of a permanent market but the food is lovely. We looked at everything and finally bought fresh vegetables and fish for dinner tonight, and an already prepared osso buco for tomorrow to have with a salad. We brought everything home to put in the fridge.
Next we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. We took the Metro to Trocadero and walked over the bridge. It was a mostly sunny day so the view of the tower was awesome. The lines weren't too long, so we decided we would wait and take the elevator up to the second stage. While we were waiting, and just about the time we got to go up, the clouds rolled in! At least it didn't rain. We spent an hour or so, looking all around at Paris. It is interesting because the buildings appear predominately white from a height. We had gone up in an elevator but we walked down. That's a lot of stairs, even when gravity is on your side. There is considerable construction/refurbishment going on at the tower so pictures were more of a challenge. You really don't appreciate the intricacy of the construction until you up inside one of the pods. By the time we came down it was about 2:30 and we were starving. Nothing around the tower looked too appealing, so we walked over to a neighborhood cafe and had wine and a club sandwich. We took our time and watched the people go by in the sunshine.
After lunch we walked by Les Invalides, but decided we didn't need to see Napolean's tomb. We were tired and we just jumped on the Metro and came home, stopping for a bottle of wine. The area is just teeming with people. All the cafes are full. We are only one block north of Rue de Rivoli with all its shopping, so I guess these folks are shoppers enjoying a break. We bought a couple of interesting things for dessert that look yummy. Except for gelato in Italy, we really haven't had much in the way of sweets or desserts. This is a treat.
Stew cooked the fish, with vegetables, for dinner. We shared a palmier and a piece of apricot and custard tart. They WERE yummy! There is a big event, about the history of Paris, going on at city hall, one block away, but we decided that it would be crowded, in French and we were too tired to go. Maybe we'll hear it from here.
Tomorrow we are off to Montmartre and Sacre Couer.
We were up and out to the market this morning, only the market wasn't there. Not only that, our favorite boulangerie where we get our fresh squeezed orange juice, croissants, etc. was closed...aarrgghh! Don't know what happened to the market, but there is a big celebration in the same place tonight so perhaps they cancelled it.
We found a local place for breakfast and it worked out well. Then we took the Metro over to the Rue Cler area and explored the market there. It is more of a permanent market but the food is lovely. We looked at everything and finally bought fresh vegetables and fish for dinner tonight, and an already prepared osso buco for tomorrow to have with a salad. We brought everything home to put in the fridge.
Next we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. We took the Metro to Trocadero and walked over the bridge. It was a mostly sunny day so the view of the tower was awesome. The lines weren't too long, so we decided we would wait and take the elevator up to the second stage. While we were waiting, and just about the time we got to go up, the clouds rolled in! At least it didn't rain. We spent an hour or so, looking all around at Paris. It is interesting because the buildings appear predominately white from a height. We had gone up in an elevator but we walked down. That's a lot of stairs, even when gravity is on your side. There is considerable construction/refurbishment going on at the tower so pictures were more of a challenge. You really don't appreciate the intricacy of the construction until you up inside one of the pods. By the time we came down it was about 2:30 and we were starving. Nothing around the tower looked too appealing, so we walked over to a neighborhood cafe and had wine and a club sandwich. We took our time and watched the people go by in the sunshine.
After lunch we walked by Les Invalides, but decided we didn't need to see Napolean's tomb. We were tired and we just jumped on the Metro and came home, stopping for a bottle of wine. The area is just teeming with people. All the cafes are full. We are only one block north of Rue de Rivoli with all its shopping, so I guess these folks are shoppers enjoying a break. We bought a couple of interesting things for dessert that look yummy. Except for gelato in Italy, we really haven't had much in the way of sweets or desserts. This is a treat.
Stew cooked the fish, with vegetables, for dinner. We shared a palmier and a piece of apricot and custard tart. They WERE yummy! There is a big event, about the history of Paris, going on at city hall, one block away, but we decided that it would be crowded, in French and we were too tired to go. Maybe we'll hear it from here.
Tomorrow we are off to Montmartre and Sacre Couer.
Nov 12th, 2012 | 06:27 AM
#85
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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Day 27 Sunday, September 30th
We slept in a little today. Stew made us our usual Sunday breakfast of fried eggs and toast. We started out on the RER and Metro to Monmartre about 9:30. When we arrived we had the option of walking UP the steps or taking the funicular. Well, the morning was yet young, so we walked.......and walked. We got to Sacre Coeur after about 15 minutes of climbing and were able to get in without too much of a line. It is, of course, another spectacular cathedral but no photos allowed. When we came out, the place was just mobbed. There was going to be a mass in about 20 minutes so perhaps everyone was arriving for that.
We walked back down and found a place for coffee. I had remembered all the artists when I was here before but we hadn't seen any, so we asked our server. Turns out they are up at the top, behind the church. Funicular here we come! When we got to the top again and went behind the church there were several artists wanting to draw your portrait. It seemed a bit meager, but we thought we would just explore some side streets. We came around a corner and voila, packed with artists of every type as well as cafes, souvenir shops and galleries. Bonanza! It was also filled with tourists, but we made our way around and poked in and out among the booths. We enjoyed ourselves exploring the area for an hour or more and then found a spot for lunch and a beer. It turned into a lovely, warm, late summer day.
We wandered back down the hill on little winding streets until we got to Pigalle which is an area known for sex shops of every description. They were certainly there! We walked by Moulin Rouge and got the picture of the red windmill. We continued walking as far as Galeries Lafayette but all the stores are closed on Sundays. After that we grabbed the Metro and came home, picking up some decadent dessert on the way.
We decided to hang out at home for a while because we knew we would be going out again after dinner. Dinner was great, Osso buco, salad and yellow beans. Dessert was a raspberry custard tart and a chocolate eclair which we shared. MMMMM.
After dinner we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. It is spectacular. There is light show for five minutes on the hour, every hour, so we waited about 25 minutes to see it. We walked back to Trocadero and people were dancing in the square. We just grabbed the Metro and came home. We got home about 10 pm. This is the latest we have been out and we noticed that there were several homeless people all set up for the night in the doorways of the big stores on Rue de Rivoli. We are thankful for our little apartment.
One more day in Paris...what will we do???
We slept in a little today. Stew made us our usual Sunday breakfast of fried eggs and toast. We started out on the RER and Metro to Monmartre about 9:30. When we arrived we had the option of walking UP the steps or taking the funicular. Well, the morning was yet young, so we walked.......and walked. We got to Sacre Coeur after about 15 minutes of climbing and were able to get in without too much of a line. It is, of course, another spectacular cathedral but no photos allowed. When we came out, the place was just mobbed. There was going to be a mass in about 20 minutes so perhaps everyone was arriving for that.
We walked back down and found a place for coffee. I had remembered all the artists when I was here before but we hadn't seen any, so we asked our server. Turns out they are up at the top, behind the church. Funicular here we come! When we got to the top again and went behind the church there were several artists wanting to draw your portrait. It seemed a bit meager, but we thought we would just explore some side streets. We came around a corner and voila, packed with artists of every type as well as cafes, souvenir shops and galleries. Bonanza! It was also filled with tourists, but we made our way around and poked in and out among the booths. We enjoyed ourselves exploring the area for an hour or more and then found a spot for lunch and a beer. It turned into a lovely, warm, late summer day.
We wandered back down the hill on little winding streets until we got to Pigalle which is an area known for sex shops of every description. They were certainly there! We walked by Moulin Rouge and got the picture of the red windmill. We continued walking as far as Galeries Lafayette but all the stores are closed on Sundays. After that we grabbed the Metro and came home, picking up some decadent dessert on the way.
We decided to hang out at home for a while because we knew we would be going out again after dinner. Dinner was great, Osso buco, salad and yellow beans. Dessert was a raspberry custard tart and a chocolate eclair which we shared. MMMMM.
After dinner we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. It is spectacular. There is light show for five minutes on the hour, every hour, so we waited about 25 minutes to see it. We walked back to Trocadero and people were dancing in the square. We just grabbed the Metro and came home. We got home about 10 pm. This is the latest we have been out and we noticed that there were several homeless people all set up for the night in the doorways of the big stores on Rue de Rivoli. We are thankful for our little apartment.
One more day in Paris...what will we do???
Nov 12th, 2012 | 06:53 AM
#86
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 31,183
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Can't wait to find out! Very enjoyable report.
A guy did my portrait in pencil at Place du Tertre. Hub rolled it up and it was sticking out of his shoulder bag. Someone lifted it! No time to go back. Don't know what the thief will do with a picture of a stranger!
A guy did my portrait in pencil at Place du Tertre. Hub rolled it up and it was sticking out of his shoulder bag. Someone lifted it! No time to go back. Don't know what the thief will do with a picture of a stranger!
Nov 18th, 2012 | 11:21 AM
#88
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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Day 28 Monday, October 1st
Our last day in Paris! We slept in a bit and then Stew went out for our fresh squeezed orange juice and croissants which we had with scrambled eggs. I know, eggs two days in a row, but we had to use them up.
We headed over to the left bank where we were looking for a particular book store that sells French cookbooks en Anglais. After a coffee, we walked about a mile only to find that the bookstore had turned into a Subway sandwich shop! We asked the lady in the pharmacy and she says it has been gone for about 6 years. Quite disappointing.
We started to walk back , passing the Pantheon and the Sorbonne. They won't let you go in a wander around the University but we saw lots of students outside working on their graduate degrees in smoking! You could hardly breathe.
From there we headed into Jardin du Luxembourg and spent some time sitting in the sun (sunscreen and Tilley hat fully installed) watching a guy sail a little boat on the pond. The garden has a lot of palm and citrus trees and they were starting to bring them in for the winter. They should hurry; it's been quite cold at night.
After a little rest we stopped and toured St. Sulpice and then headed to the bookstore of last resort on St. Michel. We found it, in fact several of it! There were actually about 7 different stores all belonging to the same company and housing different types books in each. We finally found a cookbook for Stew, but not the one we were actually looking for. I'm sure something yummy will come out of it. We had our last Parisian lunch in the Latin Quarter, French onion soup for Stew and pâté de la compagne for Jane, all washed down with a lovely glass of white wine.
We had to walk by Notre Dame to get home so I took a quick trip inside again while Stew waited outside. I thought I might get a better picture of the rose window today because it is sunny. It had been raining when we were there earlier.
We had picked up a couple of small souvenirs so we decided to drop our purchases off at home. By this time Stew, who has had some Achilles tendon problems, was starting to want to rest. I left him at home and made a quick trip by Metro to Galleries Lafayette but didn't actually buy anything.
Riding the Metro has been great except for one thing. I spent my entire life giving up my seat on buses and subways to "old people". Now that I AM an "old people", I find myself still standing. I guess times have changed. The Metro is very efficient and easy to navigate, but very grubby. I always want a shower when I get home. My hand sanitizer has certainly had a workout!
We went out to dinner a bit early, so we could come home and get everything packed up. We had been given an English speaking number for the taxi but it wouldn't work...all you got was a message in French that I think said the number I had dialed was not in service. Our landlord was on his way over to return our deposit cheque, so we phoned him to help us. He has ordered our taxi (which we decided to take because it is supposed to be raining) and we have a confirmation number. I have no idea what we would do with that if they don't show up! We ordered the taxi for 6:30 which still gives us time to go on the train if it doesn't pan out.
Well you know it is time to go home when your Paris map falls apart and your pills run out! Also, there are high cirrus clouds which signal a change in the weather. It is supposed to start raining over night and will be raining for the rest of the week. So we are packing up for a very early start on our trip home. We have to be at the airport by 8:00 am, leaving at 11:00, and are scheduled in to Toronto at 1pm. I imagine we'll keep waking up too early for days. I hate flying west.
Our last day in Paris! We slept in a bit and then Stew went out for our fresh squeezed orange juice and croissants which we had with scrambled eggs. I know, eggs two days in a row, but we had to use them up.
We headed over to the left bank where we were looking for a particular book store that sells French cookbooks en Anglais. After a coffee, we walked about a mile only to find that the bookstore had turned into a Subway sandwich shop! We asked the lady in the pharmacy and she says it has been gone for about 6 years. Quite disappointing.
We started to walk back , passing the Pantheon and the Sorbonne. They won't let you go in a wander around the University but we saw lots of students outside working on their graduate degrees in smoking! You could hardly breathe.
From there we headed into Jardin du Luxembourg and spent some time sitting in the sun (sunscreen and Tilley hat fully installed) watching a guy sail a little boat on the pond. The garden has a lot of palm and citrus trees and they were starting to bring them in for the winter. They should hurry; it's been quite cold at night.
After a little rest we stopped and toured St. Sulpice and then headed to the bookstore of last resort on St. Michel. We found it, in fact several of it! There were actually about 7 different stores all belonging to the same company and housing different types books in each. We finally found a cookbook for Stew, but not the one we were actually looking for. I'm sure something yummy will come out of it. We had our last Parisian lunch in the Latin Quarter, French onion soup for Stew and pâté de la compagne for Jane, all washed down with a lovely glass of white wine.
We had to walk by Notre Dame to get home so I took a quick trip inside again while Stew waited outside. I thought I might get a better picture of the rose window today because it is sunny. It had been raining when we were there earlier.
We had picked up a couple of small souvenirs so we decided to drop our purchases off at home. By this time Stew, who has had some Achilles tendon problems, was starting to want to rest. I left him at home and made a quick trip by Metro to Galleries Lafayette but didn't actually buy anything.
Riding the Metro has been great except for one thing. I spent my entire life giving up my seat on buses and subways to "old people". Now that I AM an "old people", I find myself still standing. I guess times have changed. The Metro is very efficient and easy to navigate, but very grubby. I always want a shower when I get home. My hand sanitizer has certainly had a workout!
We went out to dinner a bit early, so we could come home and get everything packed up. We had been given an English speaking number for the taxi but it wouldn't work...all you got was a message in French that I think said the number I had dialed was not in service. Our landlord was on his way over to return our deposit cheque, so we phoned him to help us. He has ordered our taxi (which we decided to take because it is supposed to be raining) and we have a confirmation number. I have no idea what we would do with that if they don't show up! We ordered the taxi for 6:30 which still gives us time to go on the train if it doesn't pan out.
Well you know it is time to go home when your Paris map falls apart and your pills run out! Also, there are high cirrus clouds which signal a change in the weather. It is supposed to start raining over night and will be raining for the rest of the week. So we are packing up for a very early start on our trip home. We have to be at the airport by 8:00 am, leaving at 11:00, and are scheduled in to Toronto at 1pm. I imagine we'll keep waking up too early for days. I hate flying west.
Nov 18th, 2012 | 11:24 AM
#89
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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Day 29 Tuesday October 2nd
We were up just before six, after a somewhat restless night. You know that kind of night when you are afraid you will miss your alarm so you keep waking up to check.
We had some fresh orange juice, got organized and went outside to wait for our taxi. As it happened it was not raining, so we could have walked over to the train station after all, but the taxi arrived right on time and it was pouring by the time we got to the airport. I had told the driver that we were going to terminal 2A but we ended up at 2E. I realized that it was because “A” in English is the sound for “E” in French. We were able to walk to where we needed to be in about 10 minutes.
We got through security quickly and had some breakfast.....aahhh, coffee! Our flight ended up leaving about 50 minutes late as the aircraft was late coming in. Otherwise, it was a smooth trip and we landed in Toronto just before two. Immigration and customs were a breeze and we were back home, after stopping for a Timmies to go, at around 4:30.
So, it's all over but the laundry! It feels so good to be home. We had a wonderful trip, but there comes that moment when you mentally shift gears and look forward to your own bed. That moment happened for me yesterday afternoon after I came in from shopping. I started to think about packing and getting ready to leave. Although we went out for a nice dinner, our thoughts were turning towards home.
Everything about our trip worked out well and we feel so fortunate to have been able to have such a wonderful experience. There really isn't anything we would change, except maybe staying in the cave!
We were up just before six, after a somewhat restless night. You know that kind of night when you are afraid you will miss your alarm so you keep waking up to check.
We had some fresh orange juice, got organized and went outside to wait for our taxi. As it happened it was not raining, so we could have walked over to the train station after all, but the taxi arrived right on time and it was pouring by the time we got to the airport. I had told the driver that we were going to terminal 2A but we ended up at 2E. I realized that it was because “A” in English is the sound for “E” in French. We were able to walk to where we needed to be in about 10 minutes.
We got through security quickly and had some breakfast.....aahhh, coffee! Our flight ended up leaving about 50 minutes late as the aircraft was late coming in. Otherwise, it was a smooth trip and we landed in Toronto just before two. Immigration and customs were a breeze and we were back home, after stopping for a Timmies to go, at around 4:30.
So, it's all over but the laundry! It feels so good to be home. We had a wonderful trip, but there comes that moment when you mentally shift gears and look forward to your own bed. That moment happened for me yesterday afternoon after I came in from shopping. I started to think about packing and getting ready to leave. Although we went out for a nice dinner, our thoughts were turning towards home.
Everything about our trip worked out well and we feel so fortunate to have been able to have such a wonderful experience. There really isn't anything we would change, except maybe staying in the cave!
Nov 18th, 2012 | 12:48 PM
#92
Joined: Nov 2006
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<i> <<We had a wonderful trip. but there comes that moment when you mentally shift gears and look forward to your own bed.>> </i>
I know exactly what you mean. No matter how wonderful a trip has been I always feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. There's really <i>no place like home</i>, is there?
Glad you had such a great experience and thanks for sharing it with us!
I know exactly what you mean. No matter how wonderful a trip has been I always feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. There's really <i>no place like home</i>, is there?
Glad you had such a great experience and thanks for sharing it with us!
Nov 18th, 2012 | 05:21 PM
#93
Joined: Aug 2007
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What a great trip! thanks for sharing it with us.
I understand the feeling of being ready for home, for one's own bed, for a snuggle with a pet, for fixing one's own comfort food, to catch up on all that's been going on in the neighborhood, to sit out on the porch and catch one's breath and reflect on all the adventures.
I understand the feeling of being ready for home, for one's own bed, for a snuggle with a pet, for fixing one's own comfort food, to catch up on all that's been going on in the neighborhood, to sit out on the porch and catch one's breath and reflect on all the adventures.
Dec 2nd, 2012 | 07:33 AM
#97
Original Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 777
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AGM_Cape_Cod he was looking for anything by Linda Danenburg, Michael Roberts or Patricia Wells. I know we can get them here(in fact Santa is working on it as we speak!, but we thought it would be fun to have one from Paris.
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