Trip Report: Tn Trio of Terror Returns to Europe: 2007 "They Let Us Back In"
Sep 30th, 2007, 09:05 AM
#22
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Sharon: I live in Indiana and travel yearly with friends from California. We've done Amsterdam, Vienna, Greece, and Italy (they went to Rome, Paris and London before I could join them). Your trip sounds just like ours! Our numbers vary from 3 to 7, so alwlays an interesting trip. It is so funny to read your trip report and be transported back to our own experiences. We can so relate to lugging the bags, making those major purchases and breaking into a sweat, eating and drinking our way through every nook and cranny in every location. We even used pedometers to record the amazing number of steps in Greece! I think your method is much better. I look forward to searching for other trip reports from you, past or future. Like you, we're amazed we're allowed back in. Could that be why we always choose a new destination?
Sep 30th, 2007, 09:36 AM
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Thanks for the feedback. Yes Le Clip did accompany me on this trip and was very useful.
I live right outside Nashville so not too far from Chattanooga.
Working on the Paris report now and will try to post soon.
I live right outside Nashville so not too far from Chattanooga.
Working on the Paris report now and will try to post soon.
Sep 30th, 2007, 09:59 AM
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When I was in Paris last year we walked so much that by the time I got back to the hotel I looked like Taloose LaTrec..remember from the movie? He looked like he was walking on his knees..well that was me..bloody stumps they were. And then we hit the Concord metro stop..now two flights of stairs were doable, I was getting used to that, but when I had done two and saw...NO NO!!!!!!! a THIRD flight I almost cried!!!!!
Sep 30th, 2007, 12:03 PM
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Crefloors, I feel your pain. You just have to let your eyes glaze over and then bravely put one foot in front of the other. As my mother used to say "Just offer it up for the souls in Purgatory".
Sep 30th, 2007, 09:16 PM
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Well, Sharon, that was delightful. You have great judgment re: hyperbole, doling it out at just the right moment in just the right dose. Steps today, 25000 ...
Took me back to Amsterdam quite effectively - especially breakfast. One city where buying the inclusive breakfast seems well worth it.
Look forward to the rest, and I'm glad it to you 6 months to get to it, as I don't think I was hanging out here at all in March.
Took me back to Amsterdam quite effectively - especially breakfast. One city where buying the inclusive breakfast seems well worth it.
Look forward to the rest, and I'm glad it to you 6 months to get to it, as I don't think I was hanging out here at all in March.
Oct 1st, 2007, 10:16 AM
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Yay! Great report, Sharon. Amy's utterance 'it's not on the spreadsheet' sounds just like me! Oops, probably shouldn't let my new traveling companion know that...
Can't wait for Paris, as I'll be there in a few months! Thanks for the entertainment!
Can't wait for Paris, as I'll be there in a few months! Thanks for the entertainment!
Oct 1st, 2007, 10:56 AM
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I agree, Kerouac, stairs are good for us. Or at least, good training for Europe.
I live on the top floor of a NY brownstone, 5 flights (about 70 stairs) - a pain with groceries or laundry, but fine conditioning for travel. It's then I feel superior to those who live in ranch houses and drive 3 blocks to the supermarket - oh, jeez - I meant to say feel SORRY for!
I live on the top floor of a NY brownstone, 5 flights (about 70 stairs) - a pain with groceries or laundry, but fine conditioning for travel. It's then I feel superior to those who live in ranch houses and drive 3 blocks to the supermarket - oh, jeez - I meant to say feel SORRY for!
Oct 1st, 2007, 11:17 AM
#38
I live 3 floors up with no elevator, so when my parents would come to visit me, they would go into training in one-level Florida beforehand. There was a bayou wildlife observation tower a few miles from where they lived, and they would go there and walk up and down the stairs before coming to Paris. It was the only place with stairs within at least 50 miles.
Oct 1st, 2007, 04:00 PM
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Day 4, March 16--We have arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord from Amsterdam. On our last trip, we stayed at the Hotel Monge which was great. We thought we would branch out and try something new this year. I had seen mention of room 31 at the Hotel St. Jacques on a trip report here and fell in love. What sealed the deal was finding out that Charade with Cary Grant and my doppelganger Audrey Hepburn had been filmed at the hotel. I booked the lovely single, room 31, and Saundra and Amy had a double room with 2 entirely separate beds in room 14. Distance does indeed make the heart grow fonder! As always, room number does not correspond to floor number as I found out when my room could only be reached by taking the elevator to its terminus and then climbing another set in the series of spiral stairs that seemed to have taken over our lives on this trip. It is a wonderful room however and I will be booking it again on our next trip.
We arrived at the hotel at 6pm and had arranged for reservations at Le Petit Prince at 7:30. Naturally, we were the first patrons in the restaurant and remained so for a while. But this was a compromise from eating at the usual Tennessee dinner hour of 4:30pm. I cannot say enough about the meal we had here. 3 courses, a bottle of wine, and 3 kir royals was 142euro. Special note: don't pass up the little dish of olives and garlic pastry shells apparently filled with nothing but butter. Worth the cost of the flight over the Atlantic and my by-pass is scheduled for mid January.
Perfectly sated, we returned to the hotel around the corner and went to bed. Since it was mostly a wheeled vehicle day, the total steps were 7000.
Day 5, March 17--Happy St. Patrick's Day! Feeling a little peckish without the availability of our normal free lumberjack breakfast, we headed down the street to try out Breakfast in America recommended on this board. Bottomless cups of coffee, omelets, and pancakes were had by all.
We bought a carnet in the Metro and went over to the Eiffel tower. We had never really made it over there on our last trip. We decided to forgo actually going up in it, especially when we saw the great hordes milling around beneath as we approached. We took a few photos to prove we had been there so that people would know we did something besides shopping and eating on these European getaways.
Our next stop was the Rodin Museum. Both the house and gardens were wonderful. But since it had been 24hours since we had made any serious purchases, we felt the need to head off to support French American economic relations...no falling down on our duty here! Amy found another in a series of purses at Karine Dupont where we found the nicest Parisian saleslady ever. She even pretended to understand my attempts at French which resembled some pig snorting coupled with some "oo la la's".
Lunch was tartines and salad at one of the ubiquitous little cafes where the food is great and the tables are meant for the leprechauns. We then had to stop at Monoprix to stock up on snacks for the room (we never like our blood sugars to go below 200)and got the cutest little washcloth mitts to use in the room and take home with us as a lovely souvenir of European bathrooms. Now every time I wash my butt, I think of Paree.
Amy had still not recovered fully from her off the spreadsheet experience in Amsterdam and went to lie down. Saundra and I were concerned momentarily, but then realized we were free (I felt just like Elsa the lion with a suitable soundtrack of Born Free playing in my head). We headed down the street to the Pantheon where it was a special celebration day for Marie Curie. There were buckets of daffodils everywhere outside and heaped upon the Curies' crypt.
We swung by the room to see if Amy was ready (note the Stockholm syndrome that made us return to our captor) and went across the street to get some dinner at Le Petit Perigourande where once again we were all alone. In fact the waiter sat down with us for a while (they do that here, too?) and dragged over the specials board just for us where we had a mini French lesson and played the Wheel of Fortune, terrified of getting some kind of offal dish. He steered us right, however, and we got a wonderful meal. The Great Communicator, Saundra, ended up with a chicken and potatoes dish with another side of potatoes...Dessert was from a patisserie that we took to room. Total steps....26000. (minus 6000 for Amy and her rest)
Day 6, March 18...Being Sunday, Amy declared culture day. We metro'd to the Arc de Triumphe to which we gave a 30 second glance since it was 30 degrees F, windy, and snowing. Amy decided these were perfect conditions to trek through unfamiliar territory where as usual she kept saying our destination was right around the corner. Where is a sherpa when you need one?!?
We finally arrived at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre with minimal frostbite. I didn't really need all 10 toes I found. We decide to thaw out in the cafe which you must not miss. Very period with painted ceilings and wonderful furnishings. Remember, our breakfast intake had been slashed to 2000 calories since we now had to pay for it. Chocolate Chaud and Coke Light soon revived us. The museum is fabulous...another private home and collection. Highly recommended!!
We walked down to the Louvre area hoping to go to Le Souffle for lunch...we still remembered the dinner we had in 2005. It was closed however so we stopped at the Rivoli Park Cafe for a quick bite. At this point we separated with Saundra heading to the Louvre and Amy and I going to the Musee Decoratifs to check out the Art Nouveau and Art Deco displays. Here we found the best bookstore I have ever been to. I picked up a Jacqueline Kennedy book about her life in the White House and her clothes...it is completely in French, but still very informative. I hope to finish translating it by the time my social security checks start arriving.
We had a few dicey moments trying to meet up with Saundra...she is so short it is hard to spot her in a crowd. But then we heard the mournful sounds of the Tennessee loon and realized our Great Communicator was nearby. We were supposed to meet up with a Fodor's friend to hear the organ recital at St. Eustache. We made it there a few minutes late and could not find them. Turns out they didn't make it either. We took our place among the homeless and fellow organ lovers everywhere for the free half hour recital. The acoustics were astounding. A few minutes before it ended, Amy came to me with a worried look on her face and said "We have to go! A mass is starting at 6!" I guess the little heathen was afraid that soon the slaughter of little children and small animals would begin. We hightailed out of there and went back to the hotel.
Amy again decided she was going to rest (I think the fear of mass did her in) and Saundra and I went across the street to Pescatore, an Italian restaurant that we would frequent for the remainder of the trip always arriving early enough to eat with the waitstaff, our new BFFs. We had dinner plate sized pizzas, half bottle of Cotes de Provence, and some chocolate mousse for 33euro. Total steps...22741.
Day 7, March 19...I slept through my alarm and was not able to make my daily wake-up call to Amy and her mother. We were going to go to Malmaison but it was cold, windy and there were even some flurries so we decided instead to go to Le Bon Marche. I had hoped to return to La Samaritaine birthplace of Le Clip (and yes it did make the voyage with me) but since it was closed we chose the other store. Unfortunately, we needed Admiral Peary's Inuit guide to get us there. For some reason, Amy's internal GPS was not functioning and we walked past the darned store several times before we looked up and saw the BIG sign "Le Bon Marche".
Found some lovely jewelry at the Cecile Jeanne counter and I purchased one for my sister and one for myself and went in with Saundra on one for Amy our little trip facilitator (we used to call her the Trip Nazi but that seems too inflammatory these days). My necklace was twisted pearls and silver with a little dove on the end that had a faux diamond and the word Paris on it. It will heretofore be known as "Le Dove".
They also had a wonderful stationary and kind of office supply section. We glanced at the clothes but none of us had big enough pinkies to wear anything. Geez, are all these people a size 0? So naturally, after realizing we were too big to wear the clothes we hit the Food Hall where we knew we could find our size. Hours later we were back on the streets.
While drifting around the area, Amy bought some sparkly silver flats (flats were everywhere and I can't wear them as I need arches to walk) and I bought a duvet cover that was gorgeous and had pink and orange dahlias on a white background. Yes, just what I need to be lugging back to the States, bedding!
Then we ate lunch at a cafe and sat outside where there were heaters. As we were sitting there, it started to hail and Amy had to be moved under the awning. Of course Saundra and I were already under it and made no move when the hail started to allow Amy to join us. The waiter took pity on her and moved her next to us. He obviously didn't know her and had never been on a trip with her.
After lunch we went to Herve Chapelier and all bought a bag (if you haven't kept count this is Amy's third purse). Metro to hotel and a little toes up.
Headed to Ile St. Louis and it got windy cold and rainy and we had to duck into a souvenir shop to buy more scarves to wear babushka style on our heads. Give me a baby and I can look just like the women in front of Notre Dame begging for money. We stopped at a little cafe and I had the most delicious hot lemon presse and the girls had chocolat chaud. Afterwards, the temperature rose to freezing so Amy decided we could walk back to the hotel. Note to self: kill Amy.
That night we rolled over to Pescatore again to have the Three Coins in a Fountain meal. We had Lacrima Christie to drink, veal saltimboca alla romano followed by ice cream where Amy had the dark chocolate and salted butter caramel flavors. Amy has a new home away from home. If you don't get the reference, watch the movie. I tried to play my version of the piccolo but the waiter would have none of it. Since we had been there so often, the owner stopped by to talk to us and I think Saundra's Pig Latin impressed him and my opera Italian. I'm not sure but I think Saundra agreed to marry him. You are all invited to the wedding.
Steps: Who the hell knows? I think the pedometer froze up.
Day 8: March 20. Amy made the brilliant deduction that no one would be at Versailles today. She is not a rocket scientist. It was packed with schoolchildren. But we did get the package at the RER station which included all the buildings, the train and the audio guide for 20 euro each and it was a good decision. Another panic moment when we realized the train did not say Versailles on it but was labeled C 5 VICK. Yeah, that makes sense.
We arrive. It is cold and we are cranky. We skipped the ticket line but still had to queue up to enter. And then getting the audio guides was like opening day at the Filenes Sample Sale, horrible but we managed.
Everything was fine till we went outside and Amy insisted we walk through the gardens. Is she for real? I had already been there once and knew about the little train. This was where the coup started in earnest. I turned to Saundra and said "we're taking the train". Amy was not happy and stomped off. While sitting and waiting for the train to start, Saundra turned to me and said "This is why we have money" and that's when we started planning our Women With Money tour for next year sans Amy, the Evil One (she is going to China to join Mao on the Long March).
On the return trip Saundra had some bad ju-ju going. Her train ticket didn't work in the machine at the Versailles station so she got a replacement one that let her through. Unfortunately, when we arrived, neither ticket would let her out and she was stuck on the train side of the turnstiles. Amy and I tried to encourage her to creep under but she is so short (4'9"
that she didn't want to get her pants dirty so she attempted to lift her tiny leg over the turnstile. Imagine the Little Taco Bell dog trying to leap over the turnstile and you've got the picture. An American girl living in Paris recognized the problem and told Saundra to get right behind an unsuspecting man who was going through the turnstile. He got quite a shock when Saundra pressed against his back and went through the turnstile with him. He is now her second husband. To top the day off, on the way back to the hotel, a bird pooped on Saundra, capping off another delightful day in Paris.
That night Amy wanted to just eat in the room on our beds but Saundra was having none of that. She pulled herself to her full Munchkin height and declared "Amy, the only thing I'm doing in this bed is laying in it or attempting to get out of it" so we marched off to Pescatore again where we are now family members.
Steps: 19,000.
Day 9: March 21 - Guess what? Amy declared it shopping day because it was our last day in Paris. She needed yet another in an endless series of purses to match every mood. We started off going to L'Orangerie which had been closed on my last two trips but it was not open in the AM so we went over to Dehillerin and made a few purchases. This little trip would be very important to us later as you shall see.
Amy wanted to shop in the Marais and Saundra and I went back to L'Orangerie to see the artwork. Oh dear, guess what? You have to have ID to get the audioguide. Guess who had all our passports, credit cards and ID around her dainty little waist? Amy. Saundra and I realized to our chagrin that if we were hit by a bus, we would be little Fifi La Does. Luckily, Saundra still had her receipt from Dehillerin and they took that as positive ID and let us have the audio guides. We love Paris!
Our last dinner was at Le Souffle where we met the most delightful Belgian couple who entertained us throughout our cholesterol raising meal. After sitting awhile, we realized that Saundra's little legs had locked up and I went looking for a taxi. We returned home and started trying to fit all our purchases in our bags.
Steps: 24, 000.
Day 10: March 22 - we flew back with no problems.
Lessons Learned:
Lesson One - the weather. March 2005 had been gorgeous and warm. This trip was freezing, rainy, snowy, and hailing. But you are in Paris and you just don't care. More excuses to stop in cafes and drink hot chocolate.
Lesson Two - Always have your own room on the second half of the trip. By the time we got to Paris I was ready for my privacy. No matter how much you like your traveling companions, there comes a point where you want to hurt them. We all did better with this arrangement and no blood was shed.
Lesson Three - If you don't find it the first time, look up and keep circling.
Lesson Four - Use the VAT refund system. A few months later several hundred euro appeared as a credit on my credit card for Le Disco and Le Dove.
Lesson Five - My ankles are very international. They swell in every country.
Lesson Six - Women with money should not be afraid to take wheeled vehicles. Die Amy die!
We arrived at the hotel at 6pm and had arranged for reservations at Le Petit Prince at 7:30. Naturally, we were the first patrons in the restaurant and remained so for a while. But this was a compromise from eating at the usual Tennessee dinner hour of 4:30pm. I cannot say enough about the meal we had here. 3 courses, a bottle of wine, and 3 kir royals was 142euro. Special note: don't pass up the little dish of olives and garlic pastry shells apparently filled with nothing but butter. Worth the cost of the flight over the Atlantic and my by-pass is scheduled for mid January.
Perfectly sated, we returned to the hotel around the corner and went to bed. Since it was mostly a wheeled vehicle day, the total steps were 7000.
Day 5, March 17--Happy St. Patrick's Day! Feeling a little peckish without the availability of our normal free lumberjack breakfast, we headed down the street to try out Breakfast in America recommended on this board. Bottomless cups of coffee, omelets, and pancakes were had by all.
We bought a carnet in the Metro and went over to the Eiffel tower. We had never really made it over there on our last trip. We decided to forgo actually going up in it, especially when we saw the great hordes milling around beneath as we approached. We took a few photos to prove we had been there so that people would know we did something besides shopping and eating on these European getaways.
Our next stop was the Rodin Museum. Both the house and gardens were wonderful. But since it had been 24hours since we had made any serious purchases, we felt the need to head off to support French American economic relations...no falling down on our duty here! Amy found another in a series of purses at Karine Dupont where we found the nicest Parisian saleslady ever. She even pretended to understand my attempts at French which resembled some pig snorting coupled with some "oo la la's".
Lunch was tartines and salad at one of the ubiquitous little cafes where the food is great and the tables are meant for the leprechauns. We then had to stop at Monoprix to stock up on snacks for the room (we never like our blood sugars to go below 200)and got the cutest little washcloth mitts to use in the room and take home with us as a lovely souvenir of European bathrooms. Now every time I wash my butt, I think of Paree.
Amy had still not recovered fully from her off the spreadsheet experience in Amsterdam and went to lie down. Saundra and I were concerned momentarily, but then realized we were free (I felt just like Elsa the lion with a suitable soundtrack of Born Free playing in my head). We headed down the street to the Pantheon where it was a special celebration day for Marie Curie. There were buckets of daffodils everywhere outside and heaped upon the Curies' crypt.
We swung by the room to see if Amy was ready (note the Stockholm syndrome that made us return to our captor) and went across the street to get some dinner at Le Petit Perigourande where once again we were all alone. In fact the waiter sat down with us for a while (they do that here, too?) and dragged over the specials board just for us where we had a mini French lesson and played the Wheel of Fortune, terrified of getting some kind of offal dish. He steered us right, however, and we got a wonderful meal. The Great Communicator, Saundra, ended up with a chicken and potatoes dish with another side of potatoes...Dessert was from a patisserie that we took to room. Total steps....26000. (minus 6000 for Amy and her rest)
Day 6, March 18...Being Sunday, Amy declared culture day. We metro'd to the Arc de Triumphe to which we gave a 30 second glance since it was 30 degrees F, windy, and snowing. Amy decided these were perfect conditions to trek through unfamiliar territory where as usual she kept saying our destination was right around the corner. Where is a sherpa when you need one?!?
We finally arrived at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre with minimal frostbite. I didn't really need all 10 toes I found. We decide to thaw out in the cafe which you must not miss. Very period with painted ceilings and wonderful furnishings. Remember, our breakfast intake had been slashed to 2000 calories since we now had to pay for it. Chocolate Chaud and Coke Light soon revived us. The museum is fabulous...another private home and collection. Highly recommended!!
We walked down to the Louvre area hoping to go to Le Souffle for lunch...we still remembered the dinner we had in 2005. It was closed however so we stopped at the Rivoli Park Cafe for a quick bite. At this point we separated with Saundra heading to the Louvre and Amy and I going to the Musee Decoratifs to check out the Art Nouveau and Art Deco displays. Here we found the best bookstore I have ever been to. I picked up a Jacqueline Kennedy book about her life in the White House and her clothes...it is completely in French, but still very informative. I hope to finish translating it by the time my social security checks start arriving.
We had a few dicey moments trying to meet up with Saundra...she is so short it is hard to spot her in a crowd. But then we heard the mournful sounds of the Tennessee loon and realized our Great Communicator was nearby. We were supposed to meet up with a Fodor's friend to hear the organ recital at St. Eustache. We made it there a few minutes late and could not find them. Turns out they didn't make it either. We took our place among the homeless and fellow organ lovers everywhere for the free half hour recital. The acoustics were astounding. A few minutes before it ended, Amy came to me with a worried look on her face and said "We have to go! A mass is starting at 6!" I guess the little heathen was afraid that soon the slaughter of little children and small animals would begin. We hightailed out of there and went back to the hotel.
Amy again decided she was going to rest (I think the fear of mass did her in) and Saundra and I went across the street to Pescatore, an Italian restaurant that we would frequent for the remainder of the trip always arriving early enough to eat with the waitstaff, our new BFFs. We had dinner plate sized pizzas, half bottle of Cotes de Provence, and some chocolate mousse for 33euro. Total steps...22741.
Day 7, March 19...I slept through my alarm and was not able to make my daily wake-up call to Amy and her mother. We were going to go to Malmaison but it was cold, windy and there were even some flurries so we decided instead to go to Le Bon Marche. I had hoped to return to La Samaritaine birthplace of Le Clip (and yes it did make the voyage with me) but since it was closed we chose the other store. Unfortunately, we needed Admiral Peary's Inuit guide to get us there. For some reason, Amy's internal GPS was not functioning and we walked past the darned store several times before we looked up and saw the BIG sign "Le Bon Marche".
Found some lovely jewelry at the Cecile Jeanne counter and I purchased one for my sister and one for myself and went in with Saundra on one for Amy our little trip facilitator (we used to call her the Trip Nazi but that seems too inflammatory these days). My necklace was twisted pearls and silver with a little dove on the end that had a faux diamond and the word Paris on it. It will heretofore be known as "Le Dove".
They also had a wonderful stationary and kind of office supply section. We glanced at the clothes but none of us had big enough pinkies to wear anything. Geez, are all these people a size 0? So naturally, after realizing we were too big to wear the clothes we hit the Food Hall where we knew we could find our size. Hours later we were back on the streets.
While drifting around the area, Amy bought some sparkly silver flats (flats were everywhere and I can't wear them as I need arches to walk) and I bought a duvet cover that was gorgeous and had pink and orange dahlias on a white background. Yes, just what I need to be lugging back to the States, bedding!
Then we ate lunch at a cafe and sat outside where there were heaters. As we were sitting there, it started to hail and Amy had to be moved under the awning. Of course Saundra and I were already under it and made no move when the hail started to allow Amy to join us. The waiter took pity on her and moved her next to us. He obviously didn't know her and had never been on a trip with her.
After lunch we went to Herve Chapelier and all bought a bag (if you haven't kept count this is Amy's third purse). Metro to hotel and a little toes up.
Headed to Ile St. Louis and it got windy cold and rainy and we had to duck into a souvenir shop to buy more scarves to wear babushka style on our heads. Give me a baby and I can look just like the women in front of Notre Dame begging for money. We stopped at a little cafe and I had the most delicious hot lemon presse and the girls had chocolat chaud. Afterwards, the temperature rose to freezing so Amy decided we could walk back to the hotel. Note to self: kill Amy.
That night we rolled over to Pescatore again to have the Three Coins in a Fountain meal. We had Lacrima Christie to drink, veal saltimboca alla romano followed by ice cream where Amy had the dark chocolate and salted butter caramel flavors. Amy has a new home away from home. If you don't get the reference, watch the movie. I tried to play my version of the piccolo but the waiter would have none of it. Since we had been there so often, the owner stopped by to talk to us and I think Saundra's Pig Latin impressed him and my opera Italian. I'm not sure but I think Saundra agreed to marry him. You are all invited to the wedding.
Steps: Who the hell knows? I think the pedometer froze up.
Day 8: March 20. Amy made the brilliant deduction that no one would be at Versailles today. She is not a rocket scientist. It was packed with schoolchildren. But we did get the package at the RER station which included all the buildings, the train and the audio guide for 20 euro each and it was a good decision. Another panic moment when we realized the train did not say Versailles on it but was labeled C 5 VICK. Yeah, that makes sense.
We arrive. It is cold and we are cranky. We skipped the ticket line but still had to queue up to enter. And then getting the audio guides was like opening day at the Filenes Sample Sale, horrible but we managed.
Everything was fine till we went outside and Amy insisted we walk through the gardens. Is she for real? I had already been there once and knew about the little train. This was where the coup started in earnest. I turned to Saundra and said "we're taking the train". Amy was not happy and stomped off. While sitting and waiting for the train to start, Saundra turned to me and said "This is why we have money" and that's when we started planning our Women With Money tour for next year sans Amy, the Evil One (she is going to China to join Mao on the Long March).
On the return trip Saundra had some bad ju-ju going. Her train ticket didn't work in the machine at the Versailles station so she got a replacement one that let her through. Unfortunately, when we arrived, neither ticket would let her out and she was stuck on the train side of the turnstiles. Amy and I tried to encourage her to creep under but she is so short (4'9"
that she didn't want to get her pants dirty so she attempted to lift her tiny leg over the turnstile. Imagine the Little Taco Bell dog trying to leap over the turnstile and you've got the picture. An American girl living in Paris recognized the problem and told Saundra to get right behind an unsuspecting man who was going through the turnstile. He got quite a shock when Saundra pressed against his back and went through the turnstile with him. He is now her second husband. To top the day off, on the way back to the hotel, a bird pooped on Saundra, capping off another delightful day in Paris.That night Amy wanted to just eat in the room on our beds but Saundra was having none of that. She pulled herself to her full Munchkin height and declared "Amy, the only thing I'm doing in this bed is laying in it or attempting to get out of it" so we marched off to Pescatore again where we are now family members.
Steps: 19,000.
Day 9: March 21 - Guess what? Amy declared it shopping day because it was our last day in Paris. She needed yet another in an endless series of purses to match every mood. We started off going to L'Orangerie which had been closed on my last two trips but it was not open in the AM so we went over to Dehillerin and made a few purchases. This little trip would be very important to us later as you shall see.
Amy wanted to shop in the Marais and Saundra and I went back to L'Orangerie to see the artwork. Oh dear, guess what? You have to have ID to get the audioguide. Guess who had all our passports, credit cards and ID around her dainty little waist? Amy. Saundra and I realized to our chagrin that if we were hit by a bus, we would be little Fifi La Does. Luckily, Saundra still had her receipt from Dehillerin and they took that as positive ID and let us have the audio guides. We love Paris!
Our last dinner was at Le Souffle where we met the most delightful Belgian couple who entertained us throughout our cholesterol raising meal. After sitting awhile, we realized that Saundra's little legs had locked up and I went looking for a taxi. We returned home and started trying to fit all our purchases in our bags.
Steps: 24, 000.
Day 10: March 22 - we flew back with no problems.
Lessons Learned:
Lesson One - the weather. March 2005 had been gorgeous and warm. This trip was freezing, rainy, snowy, and hailing. But you are in Paris and you just don't care. More excuses to stop in cafes and drink hot chocolate.
Lesson Two - Always have your own room on the second half of the trip. By the time we got to Paris I was ready for my privacy. No matter how much you like your traveling companions, there comes a point where you want to hurt them. We all did better with this arrangement and no blood was shed.
Lesson Three - If you don't find it the first time, look up and keep circling.
Lesson Four - Use the VAT refund system. A few months later several hundred euro appeared as a credit on my credit card for Le Disco and Le Dove.
Lesson Five - My ankles are very international. They swell in every country.
Lesson Six - Women with money should not be afraid to take wheeled vehicles. Die Amy die!
