Thanks for joining us again for chapter 14 of A Summer in France: Paris, Week 2. This is part two of our month in Paris, the final leg of our journey. This week is another busy week of fun with Tom & Cary in town. We’ve created a routine enjoying the sites all day and cooking dinner in our apartment in the evenings.
A stroll through the heart of Paris
One day we started off by hopping the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, strolled down the high dollar shopping area of the Champs-Élysées (where there’s always a line to get into Louis Vuitton), walked through the Place de la Concorde, took a break for gelato in the Jardins des Tuileries and ended up at the entrance to the Louvre. A long, but beautiful walk. We’ll return to the Arc later this week to climb to the top.
We decided to end our day near Notre-Dame Cathedral with a picnic by the Seine. It was great to see so much progress with the reconstruction of the church, but there’s a lot more work to be done. In front of the cathedral, we stumbled upon a bread festival. The scent of dozens of ovens baking hundreds of loaves of bread was amazing. While enjoying our river picnic, you can see all the scaffolding and repair work better from this angle. We then headed to the metro in the Latin Quarter and by the time we returned to the apartment that evening, we had walked over 8 miles. I need to prop up my feet and rest!
Did you hear the one about the elderly nun…?
No, this is not the start of a joke. While gazing out at Notre-Dame, seeing the church reminded me of an incident that happened when we were in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue that I completely forgot to mention. It’s only fair to tell on myself, since I’m so quick to share Danny’s misadventures.
We entered the church and I was immediately taken aback by the beautiful blue and gold details. I then noticed an elderly nun about 5 feet tall making a beeline directly toward me. She approaches me and in French says “at your age, monsieur”. I looked at her very confused and since I thought it was the start of a joke, I replied “well, at your age madame I’m just a little bit younger than you.” Except she wasn’t smiling. Ok, awkward. So, I waited as she stared at me even more.
I was clueless what was happening. Clearly I must have misinterpreted something she said. Then she began again, “at your age, monsieur you should know better”. Ok, I replied “better than…?” She then says sternly, “your cap!”
Oh crap, I completely forgot I even had a cap on, so of course I hadn’t thought to remove it when I entered. I’d been wearing one daily now and I’m not even aware anymore that I have one on. Oops. “Désolé” (sorry!), I plead. YIKES, I was so embarrassed, but watcha gonna do?
She followed me everywhere while chatting away about the church, though now I wonder if she was just ensuring I wouldn’t put my cap back on before I left.
A picnic in the garden at the Château de Versailles
The Palace of Versailles is a must see if you’ve never been. It’s the former residence of King Louis XIV and was originally constructed between 1631-1634. There are over 2,300 rooms in the palace with the Hall of Mirrors and its beautiful chandeliers probably the most famous. Over 15 million people visit this château every year. The crowds of tourists are overwhelming in the height of the season.
Since all of us have previously toured the palace, we decided just to picnic in the beautifully landscaped gardens and park. I decided Monday is the perfect day to picnic as the palace is closed and the gardens and park are open (and free) to visit—plus there are virtually no tourists! TIP: I avoid visiting Versailles on Tuesdays. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, so it seems everyone heads to Versailles that day. After our day in the gardens, we’ll head back to our apartment to plan what to cook for dinner.
Then the railway security cops interrupted our trip…
We arrived at the train station and I bought tickets for us to get back to Paris. The train was leaving in three minutes, so we all jumped on board immediately and we were off. Two minutes later, security came to check our tickets. Everyone showed theirs, but when they came to me, I couldn’t find mine. Dang it!
I checked every pocket, map and place I could think of, but nothing. Somehow, in the past four minutes I’d lost my ticket. I showed them my receipt but they said no, it didn’t matter. Without my actual ticket, I’d have to pay a fine because you need to scan your ticket at the exit gate for the door to open so you can leave the station.
They were patient as I triple checked everything, but it just wasn’t anywhere to be found. I finally gave up and had to pay a 50 euro fine. I guess karma caught up with me for teasing Danny so much on his travel mishaps that it was my turn. However, this ended up to be the first of several more Metro ticket checks by security later in the week (but I now take extra care in keeping my ticket safe).
We did enjoy a nice dinner on the terrace afterwards in spite of the drama.
Bateaux Mouches cruise on the Seine
Next on our agenda is a cruise on the Seine. The next morning was cloudy, grey and chilly, but it didn’t stop us. What’s so great about the cruise is seeing the city and its beautiful architecture from a river perspective. It offers a quick way to see so many monuments from the comfort of your seat. We ended our cruise with a “bateaux smooch”.
Flame of Liberty
This is a full size gold leaf replica of the torch flame from the Statue of Liberty originally given to France to honor our French-American relations.
The flame of liberty sits on top of the tunnel underneath the Alma bridge and Princess Diana’s fans have transformed this monument into a memorial for her. The tunnel below is the site where the Princess died in a car accident. You’ll find poems, photos and flowers that people leave here in her memory.
Exploring the Marais
It’s another day of sightseeing today and the weather is sunny and warmer. We’re heading into the Marais area of the 4th arrondissement to walk around the Bastille, Hôtel de Ville, Place des Vosges and the old Jewish quarter. It’s a perfect time to visit Paris as the weather is great and all the flowers are in bloom.
Eiffel Tower view from the metro
Join us for a short metro ride to see a great view of the Eiffel Tower. This part of the rail line is elevated. We enter the Bir-Hakeim station as the metro is approaching. Then off we go!
Climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe
Today is another bright sunny day, so we are climbing to the top, and there’s 284 steps! The construction of the Arc de Triomphe began in 1806 to honor those who fought for France and includes a tomb for an unknown soldier in the center. There is a traffic ring around the entire arch with 12 avenues of traffic radiating from it and there are no lane markings. Looking down at the crazy traffic, it’s quite the organized chaos. I don’t know how people know who has the right of way.
Dinner in Montmartre and a show at the Moulin Rouge
We walked around Montmartre a bit and found a quaint place for dinner before arriving for our show at the Moulin Rouge.
The show is amazing with almost two hours of nonstop performances including incredibly talented dancers, strength acts, a contortionist, a can-can number, and more. The decor felt like you were inside a circus tent. What a show!
Statue of Liberty
It was a late night after the show, so we decided to relax today and stay close to the apartment. It’s Tom & Cary’s last day before they fly back to Houston. We walked to see the Statue of Liberty which is on a small artificial island in the Seine.
A smaller working model for the Statue of Liberty in New York, this quarter scale replica was given to France in 1889 by the American community in Paris to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. Here are a few photos from our walk on this island.
Enjoying our final cocktails after dinner on our terrace before Tom & Cary fly home tomorrow. Safe travels and see you in Houston!
Thanks for reading A Summer in France: Paris, Week 2. It’s time to start planning what we’ll do next week. Stay tuned.
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