J'adore Paris!

Sunday, September 21

Janis - packed and
ready to go

Howie and I left for the Milwaukee airport at 10 a.m. Then he headed home for the Packers/Lion game. Go Pack!

Becky at Wolfgang Pucks
at O'Hare Airport

My plane left about 1:10 p.m. and arrived in Chicago about 2 p.m. Becky & I texted back & forth until we found each other. We met at Wolfgang Pucks and had a beer and split a pizza. In memory of Mom, we played a couple games of cribbage because that’s just what we did when we vacationed with her! Then we went down to our gate and boarded at 6 p.m. We were supposed to leave at 6:25 but got a little later start with boarding taking longer. Very full plane; then we taxied for so long I thought we were going to drive all the way to Paris. Finally got in the air about 7:25 p.m.

Our long anticipated Paris vacation is on the way. Becky was planning on sleeping most of the way so I started watching ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ - it was ok. We ate dinner about 9:15 and lights were out shortly after that. Becky slept real good curled up against the window. I did not fare as well - I was in the middle seat and couldn’t get my seat to recline at all. So I would drift off and wake right back up. Sometime around 2:30 a.m. (Central time) it was light outside and they fed us breakfast - fruit, croissant and some kind of a small granola bar. By the time we landed and taxied to our gate at Gen. Charles DeGaulle Airport it was 9:30 a.m. Paris time!

Monday, September 22

It took us quite awhile to find our Shuttle service and when we did I got to ride shotgun. Paris is a crazy town to drive in. As with every other large city, every one is in a rush; doesn’t seem to be any lines painted on the road; 5 or six rows of cars just merging into 2 or 3 lanes with cars, buses, motorcycles and bikes just fitting in between each other. It looked like you would take your life in your hands to walk across any road. At one point someone cut in front of us and our driver had to step on the brakes. I looked over at him; he smiled at me and I asked if he was trying to scare me. His grin just got bigger.

postcard of Avenue des Champs-Elysees
& other streets radiating around
the Arc des Triomphe

Arc des Triomphe -
never knew you could go to the top

As we are driving around we could easily see the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower; many other beautiful buildings that I could only guess at. We drove by so many narrow little streets and I remember hoping that our hotel would be on a street like that. Finally our driver made another turn and said here it is.

Our hotel - our room is to the
right of the white sign

The Hotel Saint Andre des Arts, located in the 6th Arrondissement, is small, old, charming and very French - everything Becky & I were hoping for. We checked in and were told that we had room 3 on the first floor - there are the stairs. I must have looked puzzled because I didn’t know why we needed steps if we were on the first floor. Some man took my suitcase upstairs and Becky had to schlep hers up herself.

Parts of our wall

Our window overlooking
the street

Stonework on wall by
front door

We walked into a small room with a single bed, low table for a suitcase and a window that just looked out into an open area; just enough to let natural light in. The next room is a little bigger with a double bed, 2 small closets, small table, 2 wooden chairs and a floor to ceiling window that opened out onto the street. There is some open stonework and exposed beams; very high ceilings. There was a closet size bathroom with a shower. The only amenity is a hair dryer; so I wouldn’t have had to bring mine. Since the front room is much nicer we agreed we would each get 5 nights in it and Becky graciously let me have the first week.

After we took about an hour nap Becky was going to take a shower and we didn’t have any water. We knew the toilet worked when we first got there. We had already decided we wouldn’t have been so thrilled with this place back in the States but here it was so very French! But no water - now that would be a problem! Becky went downstairs and was told the plumber was working in the basement. Whew!

Alley across from our room
The Mazet to the right

We decided to go for a walk. Becky had already counted the steps - there were 31 of them; carpeted, uneven, rough, narrow, stone steps that dipped and sloped. As I seem to have gotten much clumsier in my ‘old’ age, I hung onto the railing; didn’t want to take a chance on falling. Directly across from the hotel is an alley. This is a very old part of Paris so there are cobblestones on streets or alleyways. (These are the narrow streets where you can picture the barricades in Les Miz.) The alley is full of all kinds of shops: clothing, pedicure, hats, dining places. We came out on the other side and have another street full of stores and sidewalk cafes.

Book Sellers on the Left Bank

Finally we came down the street where Place Saint Michel is located. We walked across the Pont Neuf and as we see all the book sellers we realize we are on the famous Left Bank of the River Seine. (Pont Neuf means new bridge but it is actually the oldest standing bridge in Paris & built in 1577. It was the first one built without houses or shops on it for fire safety.)

Janis on the Love Locks bridge

The next bridge is Pont des Arts, otherwise known as the Love Locks Bridge. We took pictures of the thousands and thousands of padlocks that people have locked onto this bridge and thrown away the key to symbolize unbreakable love.

Close up of a section of locks

We headed back to our area; didn’t want to get lost our first day! We stopped at a sidewalk café called Relais Odeon & ordered some beer we couldn't pronounce the name of and an appetizer; turned out to be toast, Brie cheese and salad. We are right on a corner; lots to look at and enjoy. Then we stopped at a chocolate shop, sampled a macaroon and bought some chocolate for later. Went back down the alley; many more people are at the café’s now. We stopped at The Mazet which is just across from our hotel; got another beer and sat outside at a table. Finally went back up our 31 steps to our room to plan for tomorrow. We open up the window all the way so we can listen to everything. Some street musicians walked by entertaining any and all. Wonderful end to our first day in Paris. And, our water was working!

From the lobby. . .

Curve going around the steps. . .

Last section of steps
our room is to the right, finally!

Tuesday, September 23

Got up about 7:15; read until Becky woke up - thought I’d let her get the first shower but by 8:30 I showered and was ready to go. I had been listening to the sounds of the street waking up - garbage trucks, etc but now I’ve opened the window to watch everything also. People hustling off to work; children heading to school; beer delivered to The Mazet; early morning visitors just out walking.



Becky is now ready to go so we went downstairs and sat at a table they had set up in the lobby. They brought coffee, cream, sugar, bread with butter and jams. Very good bread! Becky said the coffee is delicious - not so much for me! I said I would try wine & coffee in Paris. So I added sugar & cream. I can drink it but it just doesn’t taste good to me.

Now Becky has talked to the people at the front desk to find out what bus would take us to the location to pick up our Paris Pass. We needed #85 so walked down our street, Rue St-Andre des Arts. In front of Place St. Michel we got on the bus; Becky asked the driver about the address we had and he said yes this was the bus. She held out 5 euros and said do we pay you and he just motioned for us to sit down. So we got a free bus ride. In a long round about way we finally found the place and got our passes.

Becky & her escargot!

Then we went to a corner place called Café Bonne Nouvelle for lunch. Becky ordered a beer and I ordered lemonade. She decided to order the escargot (snails) and I wanted the salmon appetizer. Now as the waiter heard us talking he offered us an English menu. Becky didn’t want to mispronounce the names so she pointed to what we wanted. The waiter brought her a tiny fork and the utensil to hold the snail shells. All we could think of was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when the snail went flying and she said, “Slippery little suckers!” Anyway she got her plate of snails and I got a plate of I wasn’t sure what! There were 4 kinds of meat on it; two of which might have been some kind of salmon until you tasted it and you knew this wasn’t salmon in any shape. I tried all the meat except the one that looked too much like head cheese. Becky sampled some of mine and I tried half of a snail; it was edible but I won't be ordering any for myself any time soon. Found out later mine was a plate of cured meats; the waiter said that’s what she pointed to. So of course I gave Becky a hard time about not even being able to point in English!

Portion of St. Eustace church

St Eustace, completed in 1633

Close up of the beautiful, old
St. Eustace church

We sat in the Nelson Mandela Garden

We moved on; we were going to walk back. We stopped at a grocery store and bought fruit, wine & bread for later. We looked in a lot of little stores as we walked in the general direction of home. We stopped at St. Eustach Church. Then walked through the Nelson Mandela Garden.

Becky has the wine open, we like
to think our cheap wine is 'breathing'

Finally ended back on the Seine River on the Right Bank where we walked down some steps to walk directly along the river. We found a bench to sit on and opened the wine. Fruit was good; wine not so much. But we had fun; taking more pictures, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Square du Vert-Gallant, refers to Henri IV,
also called Go-Getter or Gay Blade
because of his many mistresses

Looking across the Seine to Right Bank

Headed back across to the Left Bank and walked down steps to a small island on the tip of Ile de la Citi, opposite end of Notre Dame, where some of the boat tours are and there was a beautiful garden also.

Corcoran's Irish Pub
our very favorite place

Finally headed back to our street and stopped at Corcoran’s Irish Pub for a beer, toasted and thanked Dad for our trip; we were too early for supper though.

Becky had it in her head we should go back to the Seine to see the city lights that everyone talks about. So after dropping our stuff off at the hotel we went back down St. Andre’s street and ate at a café near Place de St. Michel. We finally ordered a full meal and it was delicious! I had some kind of cod with rice & a sauce; very tasty! Becky had veal w/Béarnaise sauce. We each had a taste of each others. Then we shared 2 desserts - chocolate mousse; excellent and a pear/peach/pineapple pie with a very soggy crust.

We walked back to the Seine but didn’t see any lights to get excited about so we called it a day!

Wednesday, September 24

Went downstairs for our bread & coffee - can’t believe I’m drinking coffee but I keep telling myself when in Rome, er Paris. . .

Our Big Bus tour (Pont Neuf)

We met other people at the table - a couple from Vancouver Island and another from South Africa. Nice talk, shared some tips with us and had a few laughs. One said she could picture the Musketeers having a sword fight on our steps; we agreed! We left by 9 a.m. heading for our Big Bus Hop-on-Hop-off ride. We followed the map and got there. Got our ticket and got on the bus. We went on the top - beautiful sunny day but happy we have sweaters on. We felt kind of bad that the driver didn’t tell us what we were seeing and then half way through the ride another American told us there were headphones downstairs that the drivers don’t tell you about. Becky went down and picked up 2 of them. It was great to hear the information & background stories.



Beautiful flowers on this sidewalk

On one of our many walks looking for things or places we came down one street that was selling flowers.

We had first driven by the Louvre and decided that was where we would spend the rest of the day after this ride. We drove down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, past the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Rodin Museum, Orsay Museum, First American Church, statues of Winston Churchill, Simon Bolivar, Charles deGaulle; a gold (fake) flame that was by the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed.

The architecture here is amazing - gargoyles on so many buildings, the ‘flying’ buttresses on Notre Dame, huge columns, the carvings on all the buildings, cornices on the windows, gold gilded statues and gates, and so on.

Grand Palais, built in 1897
WWI - Military Hosptal
WWII - Nazi occupied
Now a police station in basement

Assemblee Nationale
Lower house of French Parliament

Motorcyles, bikes just
zipped through any opening

We drove down some narrow, tree-lined streets; you could reach out and touch the leaves - wide boulevards - still amazed that traffic knows how to get around some of these ‘corners’ without accidents. Got off the bus at some point on Rue de ‘Opera for lunch. Ordered soup and beer. Mine was supposed to be vegetable soup - I was happily anticipating chunks of potatoes & carrots in a nice broth - instead it was a pureed something that looked like squash, quite tasteless and too cool for soup. Added salt, pepper and ate real fast. Becky ordered onion soup that was superb! Walked back to the Big Red bus stop and continued on to the Louvre.

Pyramid at the Louvre

Inside the pyramid

This place is huge! Finally stood in front of the glass pyramid that I’ve only seen in pictures. We went inside the pyramid and rode an escalator down so we could walk across the floor of the pyramid to ride an escalator up to go to another set of stairs to find a restroom, on what they call the first floor. I did a lot of walking this summer hoping to prepare myself for this trip but I didn’t plan on this many steps - they were quite literally killing me! The map they gave us was very confusing. And we still were confused by the fact the first floor was what we would consider the second floor. We did a lot of back and forth trying to find different things. Becky took pity on me often and would say just stay here, I’ll go look for it and come back for you. She must have saved me thousands of steps - thank you Becky!

Dying Slave

Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love

Venus de Milo

Mona Lisa on her own private wall

We got completely lost looking for the Venus de Milo but finally Becky tracked it down. We also saw the Mona Lisa, a John the Baptist painting, a most impressive statue called Winged Victory; a huge wall size painting called the Feast of Cana; a painting that I liked that was of Anne, Mary and baby Jesus. I was prepared for the small size of Mona Lisa but I wasn’t prepared to feel in awe of her - I just stood there telling myself that I am really in Paris, at the Louvre looking at the famous Mona Lisa; she really is quite lovely.

We found ourselves down by Ramses and right behind us was a section that I don't believe is finished yet but it is of the medieval Louvre when it was built as a fortress. And, of course, all the while we are going through these rooms of beautiful paintings and statues we had to remember to look up at all the ceilings; absolutely incredible paintings right over us.



St. Michel, our home base, our street is
to the right of this. It is the core of the Artsy
Left Bank & the location of many
anti government protests

We finally left about 7:30 p.m. to walk home. It started raining gently. We really didn’t care though as it wasn’t cold and we have had beautiful weather. But by the time we reached St. Michel we were pretty wet so we stopped at a Subway, got sandwiches & soda to take home. By the time we changed out of wet clothes; found places to hang them, we ate and crashed.

Another good thing about our hotel was that it had free wifi so we stayed connected with friends and family back home via e-mail and Facebook. Becky and I really enjoyed sharing pictures and thoughts on FB and hearing back from everyone.

Thursday, September 25

Front pic of Notre Dame

Today we walked over to Notre Dame Cathedral. There is so much history in this one building: it’s located on the Ile de la Cite (an island in the Seine River), construction was started in 1163 and completed in 1345. It is the first building to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). Gargoyles were designed for column support and water run off. I found the outside of this church to be absolutely beautiful. The inside was darker and difficult to understand what some parts were. We were able to sit in the pews in the center looking towards the altar which I found to be a humbling experience. Later we read how much of this church was damaged through the years and had to be rebuilt or refinished. One story tells how the row of statues above one of the portals, known as the Kings of Judea, were beheaded during the French Revolution as these biblical kings were ‘mistaken’ for the hated French kings. A local teacher found the heads, transported them to his nearby home and buried them in his yard. They were found in an excavation in 1977 and are on display at the Cluny Museum. We were reminded that while it is open for visitors this is a Catholic Church and to be respected as such.

Side pic of Notre Dame

Back of Notre Dame

Close up of the flying buttresses

Some of the gargoyles
used for water runoff
Who knew? I sure didn't

Post card of the Rose Window

Unfortunately, this is also the place where we ran into our first scam artists. A young girl came up to us and asked if we spoke English. We said yes as we thought she needed help with the paper she was holding. It turned out to be a petition asking for signatures to help with more accessibility for the deaf. Since this is something personal for Becky she started talking to the girl both in English and sign language and it soon became apparent this girl understood neither. Then she started asking for money. We said no; sadly we were approached several times by one of these girls. Later we read they liked to surround you as one of them would try to lift something from you. We never had a group around us but we sure stayed wary of them.

We ate lunch across the street & then walked to the other end of the island where Sainte-Chapelle Catholic Church is located along with the Conciergerie. It turned out Sainte-Chapelle would be closed for the next hour and a half and the Conciergerie was closed for repairs. I was disappointed because I had been told this church had some beautiful stained glass windows and the Conciergerie was a former prison located in what is now known as the Palais de Justice. Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were held in this prison before facing the guillotine.

Orsay Museum

From the top outside balcony of the
Orsay looking to Sacre-Coeur on the hill

We decided to go to the Orsay Museum located on the Left Bank. It is in the former Gare d’Orsay (railway station) built around 1898. It holds mainly French art and the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world. This was much smaller than the Louvre and seemed more manageable for me. Plus I have always loved Monet; I don’t know much about art but his paintings are soothing to look at. We also saw works by other names I recognized: Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh. I loved the Jean-Francois Millet painting, ‘The Gleaners’. I don’t remember Alfred Sisley but I liked his paintings also. I just sat in front of Monet’s 'Water Lilies' thoroughly enjoying it. There was a particularly large painting, called 'Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Grenada' by Henri Regnault. It was bloody & vibrant; the beheading took place on some steps and you felt like you were at the bottom of the steps looking up at the executioner. (I wish I could have taken a picture of this.) Becky loved a smaller Don Quixote painting. Unfortunately there were signs all over to not take pictures so we didn't. There is a large clock outside of the building and at some point we were standing on the back side of the clock looking out towards the river. There was a restaurant on the top floor with a door to the outside. We walked outside to look around - for the first time you could look across the city and & see the Sacre-Coeur Basilica up on the hill, it really is a beautiful gleaming white building. Unfortunately we did not have time to get out to see it.

As we left the Orsay we have to cross the street to get to the bus stop. A woman is crossing the street towards us when suddenly she stoops and picks something up and holds it out to us. She had just found a ring & proceeds to tell us that she thinks its real gold. She holds it out to Becky and wants her to take it. Becky said no and just walked around her. We thought it was kind of strange. But we went to the Big Red Bus stop; Becky decided she would walk down to the city bus stop & check out some times there. I am just leaning up against the stone wall when I watch this same woman walk towards me and as she is bending to the ground I follow her hand, there is nothing on the ground, and she comes up with a gold ring. And again, she says look what I just found, I think its real gold, holding it out to me. I said no, you already tried that one with us. She walked away. We read later that they show you a mark inside to prove its gold and then try to sell it to you. Really, there are people that fall for this stuff?

Our boat ride on the Seine

Floating on the Seine - Mom would
so have loved this part

We hop on the Big Red Bus and head over to where we can catch a boat (near the Eiffel Tower) for the Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise on the Seine. We get there just in time as they are loading up. What a lovely way to see the city; very relaxing. We go under the Love Lock bridge, Pont Neuf, past Notre Dame, St. Michel, just floating along peacefully. It must be 7 or 7:30 when we get back to the dock just in time to catch the last Big Red Bus to get us back to our home base. We have been blessed many times by just getting someplace at the right time; we are thankful!

Beef pie - yes, it's a little
well done - but our Sean Michael
was doing everything by himself

We get off the bus and head home. Soon we see St. Michel and turn the corner onto our street. We stop at Corcorans because it should be time for them to be serving. It is very busy and there is only one person working. Becky goes to the bar to order our beer and beef pies. She brought the beer to the table and said Sean Michael would be bringing the pies when they were done. She went on to say how great he was; he could handle several things at one time & flirt with her. She really liked Sean Patrick. I said really, what’s his name? She said I don’t know but I like to think of him as Sean Michael or Patrick; he will have to have a last name; so this very good looking, Irish bartender forever became Sean Michael Patrick O’Malley in our little world:) And then he brought the food out - the pie had Guinness in the gravy or maybe the meat had just been marinated in it. OMG; either I was very hungry or it was just absolutely delicious.

Back to the hotel to climb up our 31 steps, post pics on FB and go to bed.


Friday, September 26

Becky in line for the
tower at Notre Dame

Window in the tower
by the gift shop; as
far as I was able to go

postcard of Quasimodo
close as I will get

Downstairs to have breakfast; I can’t handle coffee anymore. I felt I gave it 3 days and that should be enough. I asked if they had hot chocolate; “Oui,” I got a pkg of chocolate and a small pitcher of warm milk. It was so much better than coffee. We met 2 girls from Melbourne, Australia and talked to the couple from Vancouver Island again. Then we left to go back to Notre Dame to get in line early to climb the steps to the tower. I really wanted to do this so I could see Quasimodo in person. The line opens at 10 a.m. and we are in the first group of 20-25 to start up. I feel a little rushed because of the people behind me and I’m having trouble breathing. I let them go past me, which is a little hard because these are narrow steps. I keep walking until we get to the first landing where there are windows to look out of and a small shop. I tell Becky that I don’t think I can go on. There are close to 400 steps to get to the top and I’m guessing we only came up 75-100. I told her to go on but I didn’t want to have a heart attack. It really bothered me; having visions of being hoisted out a window in a crane because they certainly couldn't carry me down those narrow, curved steps. Becky said she would go down with me. So we bought postcards of Quasimodo. The man at the door said we had to go up and over to the other tower to come down. I said you don’t understand I might not make it. He quickly changed his mind and said, “Please, go down this way.” I believe he called down to tell them not to send another group up for a few minutes.

Postcard of Sainte Chapelle

Upper level of Sainte Chapelle, also postcard

So now what to do - Becky suggested we try Sainte-Chapelle (means Holy Chapel) again. Right now it is having some repairs also so couldn’t see all of it. There are 2 floors for this church. It was built 1242-1248 by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns. Although damaged during the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world. The story is that the King paid 135,000 livres for the relics, another 100,000 livres for the silver chest to contain them and it only cost 40,000 livres to build and glaze the entire chapel. (Not sure how a livre compares to a Euro but that is a big difference in the cost of the building and the relics.) The upper level, or royal chapel, is marked by its sense of weightlessness and strong vertical emphasis (description from Rick Steves book on Paris 2014). It stands squarely upon a lower chapel, which served as a parish church for the inhabitants of the palace.

Lower level for palace workers
was not too shabby either

postcard of Rose window

The lower level was very nice but being in the upper level with the size of these stained glass windows was breathtaking. The main thing they were working on was the huge rose window that I couldn’t get a picture of so I bought another postcard. The windows depicted scenes from the Bible, starting on the left with Genesis and working its way around to the rose window which I thought was depicted as the end of time. So very happy we made it inside here.

Loved this sign by
O Chateau

My cement bench on
Pont Neuf bridge

We then went to Place Dauphine and found another café. We ordered lunch; I had onion soup, not as good as Becky’s was the other day and she ordered the salmon special that she insisted was her best meal ever in Paris. We found our way back to the Pont Neuf (bridge). There were nice cement benches there so Becky kindly left me sitting there while she went off to look for the wine tasting location. This was another thing that came with our Paris Pass and we just wanted to make sure we got our money’s worth from this pass (I believe we did!). I wrote out my postcards for the grandkids while I waited. When Becky came back we walked to the Ô Chateau Wine Tasting only to find out the class is full for today. So we signed up for tomorrow even though it’s full we are No. 1 on the wait list.

Becky standing by sign that is
facing the wrong way!

Hotel Dieu courtyard

So now we’ve got time and I said I would really like to find the Hotel Dieu (meaning God’s Refuge). This was the first hospital founded way back in 651 when it was started as a general institution catering to the poor and sick, offering food and shelter in addition to medical care. It has changed a lot over the past centuries; the last 50 years it has been home to the diabetes and endocrine illnesses clinical department. It is now in danger of being closed though. A friend of our Aunt Cathy had been visiting here when Mom died. She wrote to say she had been thinking that Naomie (our Mom) would enjoy the flowers in the garden. In the courtyard there were Latin inscriptions that translated to “I am the resurrection and the life” and “He who believes in me will be alive even when dead”. And then she came home and found out Mom had died and sent a nice card telling us this. I wanted to see this place for myself. So there are signs all over with arrows because this is the emergency hospital for the area also. We followed the signs; the last sign pointed to the right. We walked down this courtyard like place and looked at every building - absolutely nothing. Twice we looked - nothing! So we stopped at a café to wet our whistle. We asked the waiter where it was; he pointed to the end of the courtyard and said there. We tried to explain about the sign, he said no, right there. So we go back to where the sign is pointing right and decide maybe someone turned it around. Across the street there is a building that takes up the entire block, as so many of them do. We walk around the front of this building and half way down is a small sign that says Hotel Dieu. We walk in, no one questions us, we see a courtyard and find a door out to it. We find the inscriptions that Cathy’s friend talked about and we just sit and think about how Mom really would have loved this place.



This might be Becky's duck
at Cafe de Paris
I guess I was just hungry,
no picture of my
delicious chicken! 

New street entertainment

I could get real used to the entertainment
by these sidewalk cafe's

Time to head home. As we walk by St. Michel there are some street dancers to watch. We drop some stuff off at the hotel and then walk in the opposite direction down another small street to look for a new place to eat. This is another very lively street and we find the Café de Paris. Becky was talking to our waiter and asked if he had a recommendation. He smiled, put his hand over his heart and said, “I’m French, but of course I have a recommendation!” We loved him, we named him Jean-Paul. He recommended the duck to Becky who loved it; I ordered the chicken, delicious. Before our meal came a woman turned her ankle on the cobblestone street and fell. Immediately she was surrounded by people helping her up. Someone grabbed a chair from our café; Jean-Paul brought her a glass of water; another lady stayed with her until she was able to go on her way. As Becky and I are seated across from each other she says, “You aren’t going to believe what is coming now.” Behind me more street dancers; 4-6 guys, no shirts, all very good looking, playing some instruments, singing, doing acrobats right in front of us. Fun entertainment and then they move down another block and we can hear their music start up. We were home by 8 p.m. I remind Becky it’s her turn for the front room and she said she is just fine where she is; if her bed was uncomfortable she might change but she doesn’t want to move her stuff so it’s fine with me too.

Saturday, September 27

Opera Garnier

This morning at breakfast we talk to the older couple from South Africa, full of advice; telling us not to bother to go to Versailles. Since they’ve been to Paris several times, and may be a little jaded, we decide to stick with our plan. Becky talks to our concierge about which subway to take today. But today, we are visiting the Opera Garnier on Place de l’Opera. We were going on a tour of the opera, as our luck would have it we were there in time for the tour in English. We had a lovely French woman that was very informative. One of the main things she stressed was that you didn’t go to the opera to see an opera - you

Close up of top of building

went to be seen. As we sat in the very opulent theater and looked at all the special boxes around you could visualize the beautiful dresses the women of the court would wear.

Inside the theater - very red & gold

Looking up in the lobby

Sad this pic didn't turn out
This was where they went
during intermissions

A costume on display

Costumes on display

Lobby - these alcoves are where you stood
to be seen in all your finery!

Phantom's Box

Becky wanted her picture
taken here

She took us to Box No. 5 - the Phantom of the Opera’s box. Becky had her picture taken there. We were told there is no lake beneath the opera house as was pictured in the Phantom; that was just a writer’s imagination. But there is water underneath the building. It seems the front and the back parts of the building are so massive with all its marble, concrete, pillars, statues, gold decorations that they are quite heavy. But the center, where the theater is located, is not as heavy. It was determined that the center might start caving in with the weight of the larger spaces pushing in - so whomever designed the opera had some kind of a hole or waterway dug underneath and filled with water to provide more support. Apparently it is working; the place is still standing in all it’s glory!

Waiting for our wine class to begin

We had an uneventful lunch near the Opera; got on the subway and headed back to the Ô Chateau for our wine tasting class. A couple people didn’t show up so we were able to get into this today. We tasted a white, rose and red wine. The class was also in English. It took about an hour and it was fun. Of the three, I guess I would have picked the white as my favorite.

We then walked back to the Louvre and went into the Egyptian wing which we barely had looked at last time. Not quite as crowded but we were only able to spend an hour there as it was closing time. So we walked home and stopped at The Mazet for a beer. We didn’t feel like anything else so we picked up another sub sandwich and went back home.

Tonight as we are eating Becky finds the music from the Phantom of the Opera and we listened to that before falling asleep. Very nice!

Sunday, September 28

Inside - taken day of visit
not day of mass

This was going to be a more relaxing day so we slept in a little later. Went down for breakfast and then walked across at St. Michel to the Latin Quarter on our way to the International Mass at Notre Dame at 10:30 a.m. Very nice - just the thought that we were in the cathedral of Notre Dame at a service was special. When the 8000 pipe organ started playing and we listened to the soloist singing it was majestic and uplifting. Couldn’t understand anything, wasn’t even sure if the service was in French or Latin. At one point I thought they might have been saying the Lord’s Prayer, it seemed to be the right cadence, but it went on a little too long. As we were sitting in the very back we did leave at the start of communion though.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

We walked back home, then went to wait for bus No. 85 that would take us to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. One of the ‘newer’ cemetery’s in Paris; established in 1804, it is 100 acres of closely packed graves & tombs, 70,000+ are buried here. It’s best known for the famous people that are buried here: Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison and Chopin among them. Anyway we sat there waiting for bus 85 only to find out that it doesn’t run on Sunday’s. So we have to walk to another bus stop to pick up #69. (Everyone made such a big deal about Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, being buried in this cemetery. I learned something even more interesting after I got home. Morrison had been at The Mazet the night he died. It was the last place he was seen alive!)

Nice kitty resting in the sun

Our view as we ate lunch

Arriving at the cemetery we were expecting a more park like location with benches to sit on. We finally did find a bench on one of the main pathways. It was next to a dumpster. A cat came along and curled up behind us in some plants on one of the graves. We got out our lunch of fruit and pastries. I told Becky if we didn’t talk people could just say we were two crazy French ladies eating lunch in a cemetery along side of a dumpster. Once we started talking they would know the truth. We didn’t stay long.

We got back on bus #69 to go home. A couple blocks later was the end of the line but we knew this bus would turn around and head back to our area. So we just sat there while everyone else got off. The bus driver kept saying Off, Off, which we finally understood when a woman banged on the window and pointed to the door. So we got off. The bus drove off, went around a small roundabout and parked on the other side of the street. The driver got off and left. We walked across the street, got back on the same bus and just waited for the next driver. Very odd!

Unimpressive crepe!

About 7 p.m. we walked back down to the Latin Quarter to find something different to eat. Becky ordered a shrimp cocktail that came on a plate like a salad. Don’t remember what her main course was at this point. I ordered a ham, cheese, egg crepe. I was not expecting what I was served. The crepe was quite dark; very thin, with ham and cheese inside and it looked like a large square on my plate with a sunny side up egg on the top of it. I don’t normally like that kind of egg but it seemed to be the only flavor that the crepe had; it was quite dry. Since I had such good luck with that crepe I thought I may as well try a dessert crepe. I ordered chocolate. I got a lighter colored thin crepe about the same size as my other one with Hershey’s syrup drizzled over it. Again very dry. I remain unimpressed with crepes!

Monday, September 29

Little overcast today

Up, showered, had breakfast and left for the metro to pick up our passes for the Eiffel Tower. It’s raining lightly, cloudy but promises to clear up later. Remembered to stop at the Post Office to mail my postcards. Becky had worked hard at figuring out the train schedules but as we waited for ours we realized we didn’t have that much time. So we walked back up the steps and found a bus stop that took us over to where we were supposed to be. But now which direction to get to the address? We have noted that every time we have 2 directions to go for something we will usually pick the wrong way and have to retrace our steps. And, it happened again! So we got to the office to get our ticket just in time for the tour to start. Steve is our guide today. It’s a short walk over to the tower now and he walks backwards most of the way so we can hear his voice. In 1889 they had a contest to see who could design a “centerpiece” for this world’s fair. One entry was a large water fountain that would have kept spraying water on everyone. Another was to honor the French Revolution and would be a giant guillotine; they decided no one would walk under it. So Gustave Eiffel was chosen for his design of the tower. He not only got naming rights; he oversaw the construction & personally financed it. Facing a deadline for the exposition he came in on time and under budget. He was then able to keep all the revenues for entering the tower and had it paid off in 6 months. At the very top, there is also a tiny apartment that Gustave lived in for 20 years.

View from the top
still a little rain coming down

The tall black building that you see there is the only skyscraper in the area. It was deemed so ugly all other ones were banned. I think the only skyscrapers we saw were in the business district.

I think we might be looking down
from the second level here

Looking at Sacre-Coeur
Basilica on the hill

Took this pic of the soccer field
for my grandkids

Trocodero - not sure what it is other than
a wonderful place to look at the Eiffel Tower



We had taken the elevator all the way to the top; we spent about 2 hours touring the tower - the views were amazing but you had to marvel at the construction of it also. There is now a spot on the 2nd level where they have installed a glass floor that I couldn’t bring myself to walk on. It was a little breezy today but thankfully I never felt the tower swaying at all.

Standing right underneath
looking straight up!

When I first looked at pictures of the Eiffel Tower I have to admit I thought it looked like a giant erector set. But seeing it in person - WOW - I thought it was quite impressive!

Looking down at one leg of the tower

After coming back down we got on another bus and found our way to the Paris Hard Rock Café. I wanted to get a shirt for Alex. The Paris Hard Rock is just as expensive as they are back in the USA.

Nice way to relax

Next we stopped at a place called a beer factory. So Becky asked which beer they made; he said none, they don’t brew their own anymore. So we just picked what he had on tap and sat at a table to relax.

Sidenote: I have to say something about the restrooms over in Paris, or what they refer to as WC. But I’ll start at the Chicago O’Hare Airport first. Beautiful, very clean, modern - I was a little disconcerted when I found the toilet seat wrapped in some kind of plastic - you wave your hand over the back of it and voila - fresh plastic to sit on.The first thing I learned in Paris is that I shouldn’t be surprised to see men and women using the same WC. Sometimes there would be one door, and inside would be 2 separately labeled doors; other times you would open that one door and there would be 3 or 4 stalls, just pick one. After a couple days of this I didn’t even think about it anymore.

Look Ma, no seat:)

Next thing that was different was the toilets didn’t always have a seat on them. Sometimes they were just missing but you could see the holes where they could be attached. Sometimes it was just smooth porcelain. Sometimes the seat would be leaning up against the wall on the floor. You just never knew!

While I was ok with all the walking we did; the stairs were another thing. And, EVERY WC was downstairs; one was upstairs. At Ô Chateau it was actually on the same level as the bar. Most of the stairways were narrow, or curved with hard to use steps. At Corcoran’s, after walking down one set of stairs towards the back of the building I had to walk up 3 steps to the actual WC; then one more step up into the stall. So I almost fell when I stepped out of the stall because I forgot that one step again.

To the right is the mirror
that startled me!

One of the café’s we ate at, we asked about the toilette and was told it was downstairs, of course. We walked inside this tiny café and looked at all 3 walls; there were no doors. Just then the other waiter came up the stairs in the middle of the floor. These were such tiny steps to use and they had to carry food up them as the kitchen was down here also. I walked into the bathroom and almost ran into someone and said ‘Excuse me’ and then I realized it was a mirror. Becky and I had a good laugh over that one.

Another thing they like to do with their WC’s is hide them. At the Louvre they have nice large separate men's and women's restrooms when you first enter. Later we tried to find one that was on the map. We walked back & forth in this hall we thought it should be. Finally we saw a cutout of a door with a tiny handle; Becky put her ear on the wall and said she thought she heard a toilet flush. So we waited and eventually a woman came out and we went in.

At the Opera; we asked for the WC. We were told where it was and couldn't find it. We asked another person, they directed us to the same location. Just then a woman came out of this cutout of a door again. Haven’t figured out why they keep hiding them; they are kind of necessary.

On the whole, the bathrooms were quite clean and well stocked. The one at this beer factory, not so much. I went downstairs, stall doors didn’t lock, no toilet paper (I always come prepared), no soap, water barely ran and the hand dryer wasn’t working anyway. We did not use one of the sidewalk WC's so no idea what they were like. I really think we only saw a couple of them anyway.

Going downstairs for the WC
in the middle of the park

Later, when we go to the Luxembourg Gardens we ran into the first one we had to pay for - .50 euros (64¢). We are in the middle of a park and we still have to go downstairs. There is a lady sitting down there, dressed very nicely in a black dress and heels, collecting the money. But it was the nicest bathroom we had been in.

At Versailles -
For both men & women again

At Versailles, they also have a WC out in the park, amazingly no steps to use. It kind of reminded me of the restroom at our Riverside park - one door, wash sinks as you walk in and you go down either side to choose a stall. The only difference here was that the right side was for women and the left side for men.

And so ends my story on WC's!

Anyway, we finished our beer at the beer factory and took the subway back to our area; got off at Pont Neuf and walked home. We stopped at another small store and looked at scarves with Becky trying to talk me into one. There was a color I really liked but I just couldn't make myself buy it; what if I never wore it! So now we went in the other direction of our hotel again for supper and then checked out a grocery store. This one was very busy: 4 checkers by front door and 4 by the back door. All the checkers sit down at the registers with small areas to set your groceries. They mainly used baskets that you would carry or you could attach to a small cart. If you needed more groceries, there was a place you could put another basket under the top one. There were long lines by each checker. It was about 7 p.m.; I’m guessing everyone was shopping for their supper as they headed home from work. We saw a lot of the long loaves of bread being carried home - some just in their hands but most people use cloth bags.

Store to the right of
The Mazet where I
bought grandkids hats

We stopped at another small shop next to The Mazet where I bought a beret for Emmy and a hat for Jack (not sure what it was called) but it just looked like Jack to me. We got home about 8 p.m. We are very tired! Becky has worn a pedometer most days and said we are averaging about 8-10 miles per day. Which probably means she did 10 and I did 8!





Tuesday, September 30th

This is what our table looks like
if you go down before 7:30 am

Becky was up way too early this morning and couldn’t get any coffee until 7:30 when we finally went down. There were quite a few German youth here today. At the front desk we ordered a shuttle to take us back to the airport on Thursday. The man said we would be picked up at 9 for our 11 a.m. flight. We didn’t think that was soon enough but he kept saying yes, yes. We decided we would check with someone else tomorrow.

At St. Michel we picked up the train for Versailles. We met a nice couple from California that was also going there but lost track of them as we boarded. We were using our Metro Pass. Versailles is about 12 miles southwest of Paris. When we arrived there were 4-5 ticket agents checking out everyone’s tickets/passes. Becky and I, along with another 20 or so people were herded off to the side. We were told we had the wrong tickets - ours was stamped zone 1, 2 & 3; Versailles apparently is in zone 4. We were penalized and had to pay an additional 33 euros (about $42) for each of us immediately. Then we could go through the gate and walk down the street to Versailles. I was pissed! Becky took it much better than I did. It seemed like such a large amount of money for something we didn’t know anything about. We went over to the ticket desk to ask what it would cost to get us back to Zone 3 because we knew we could use our Metro Pass then - the cost was only 3.70 euros ($4.75) and we were penalized 33 euros! We checked into our Rick Steves book; it wasn’t real clear but it looks like we should have bought a ticket at the station for Versailles and we could have avoided the whole mess. But we told ourselves this was the only glitch we had run into so just forget about it. After this we just compared this to the USA speed traps in small towns.



Golden Gate at
Versailles Chateau

Looking to the right as you
face the chateau

It was just a couple blocks to the Versailles Chateau (palace). Once there the line was extremely long; tickets were 15 euros so we decided to go around to the back to the Gardens. The gardens were free unless something special was going on that day. So today it cost 8 euros to enter the gardens. There was nothing exceptional about the gardens that we were walking thru but it was another beautiful day. There were lots of statues to see and very ornate water fountains in all of the pools but none were turned on. The gardens did get better the farther back you walked!

L'Asie - Many different statues
set into these green hedges

Looking at a view of
the back of the Chateau

Bruce & Diane - our Heroes!

Looking at the Canals at Versailles

We walked down what is called the ’Green Carpet’ until we came to the Grand and Petit Canals. This is where we ran into Bruce & Diane from the train earlier this morning. We took pictures with each others cameras and they invited us along on the golf cart they had rented. These golf carts were pretty amazing: they talked about what you were driving by or on longer drives they played music. If you turned a direction you weren’t supposed to drive - they simply stopped. They told you to back up and that was the only direction the cart would go until you were back on a main path.

We drove much farther back than I would have wanted to walk and we were able to see the Trianon Palaces (Grand and Petite) and Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. These were smaller homes where Louis XIV and Marie could escape from the busyness of the Versailles Chateau. They were very ornate and lavish also. We did pay another fee of 10 euros to enter but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this.

These were some of the rooms in the Trianon Palaces; along with the beautiful hall that looked out over the gardens.

Only fountain turned on
& with music

As we leave this area Bruce found another path to go down and we found one of the fountains that was turned on and pulsating with music - very nice. And that apparently was why we had to pay to enter today. We drove back to the cart stand and thanked them for taking us along. This kindness from strangers more than made up for the bad start with the speed trap!

The Orangerie at Versailles

Becky and I continued to walk in the outside gardens next to the Chateau. We found the Orangerie which were very detailed gardens. I read later that Louis XIV had thousands of orange trees in pots that would be wheeled out and placed in this garden when it was nice out.

'Relatum'
Modern art work at Versailles

We also saw some very modern artwork in the upper gardens and pools by Minimalist Lee Ufan, called ‘Relatum’. Loved the way it reflected in this pool.

After we left Versailles we stopped at another café; it wasn’t until I saw cerveza on the menu instead of biere that I realized we were not at a French café. Cerveza is Spanish for beer but the sign said Italian! There are just some things we aren’t supposed to figure out I guess.

By 3:40 p.m. we are sitting on the train to head back to Paris. It is getting quite full. An announcement comes over the loudspeaker, in French of course. Everyone got up and walked off the train to the one across the platform. We just followed. We sat next to an Australian woman and were able to confirm we were on the correct train. She didn’t know what happened either. As long as we got back to Paris, we really didn’t care.

I had told Becky earlier that I was going to get the scarf that we had looked at yesterday. We stopped at the store and now that one is gone. We found another one with the same colors but different pattern so I now own a French silk scarf! Went back to the hotel and rested our weary feet. About 7 we went out again looking for supper. We tried a Greek place this time. Becky had a gyro and said it didn’t taste like lamb and had no idea what it might have been. I had some kind of sausage in a bun that was edible, nothing great.

Decided we would go back to the grocery store to pick up a few things. We met our first and only RUDE Frenchman. He never said a word to us, he wouldn’t even tell me what we owed. I just read it on the monitor and gave him a larger euro note. He handed me the change. I said merci, may I have the receipt. He looked the other way. I asked 2 more times and he just started waiting on the next person. The clerk next to him just shrugged her shoulders when I looked at her. Guess he was having a bad day!

Wednesday, October 1st

Janis at Luxembourg

Our last full day in Paris; another beautiful day. At breakfast we met Tom, a very nice 14 year old from Perth, Australia. We left about 9 a.m. to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens, another wonderful place within walking distance from our hotel.

We stopped at the same grocery store to pick up cheese, crackers & soda for our lunch. This clerk was like every other person we met here: friendly, talked to us and said “Merci” as she gave us the change.





We ate lunch looking at these
beautiful gardens

These are lovely gardens, not crowded right now but there are a lot of joggers/runners here. We took many pictures here. Later we found some chairs and spread out our lunch on another one - bon appetite! It started getting a little more crowded. You could tell a lot of these people must work near by and brought in their lunches.

Water Fountain at
Luxembourg Gardens



Luxembourg Gardens

We left about 12:30 and stopped at a Christmas store we saw earlier. We had the sweetest young lady take care of us. Becky found 2 ornaments that were chocolate covered strawberries with the word Paris written on them. The clerk said she had a box that would protect them from damage for safe travel. Becky said that would be perfect and the clerk said, “But I know I am.” She said it with such a nice smile we just laughed with her. By this time I have decided I should also get 2 of these ornaments. But now the 2 that are left don’t say Paris. She said no. Becky said yes, hers did. She said no. Becky unwrapped hers only to find that one did and the other didn’t. The girl apologized and said the other clerk must have done that and she would be happy to write Paris on them for us. Becky said if you could do that then we’ll think you’re even more perfect. She said, “It was not possible!” This girl was just cute!!

We got back to the hotel and stopped at the front desk to check about our 9 am pickup. Marc said no, that won’t work. I will try to get you on earlier but they might be full now. He called them and they agreed to pick us up at 7 a.m. Marc also told us this other person that helped us is going to retire soon because he is just not working out - can't imagine why not.

I went up to our room and Becky went back to the Louvre for one last visit. For our last night we decided to go back to Corcoran’s Irish Pub because those meat pies were so very good. Sadly, Sean Michael Patrick O'Malley wasn't there tonight. We stopped at the place where I bought my scarf so Becky could get one also. She was able to find the one I originally wanted so she bought it and we traded because she liked that one better. Things just work out the way they are supposed to!

Walking down our street
our last evening in Paris!

It was almost sad walking down Rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts. It was a lovely street and we had such a very good time here! We really did consider this our home away from home.

At some point today we remembered to ask at the front desk about paying the bill, thinking it might be kind of hard to do before 7 a.m. The man on duty was very talkative; the most any of them have ever talked to us. He kept going on and on. Finally Becky said but can we pay the bill now as we are being picked up at 7 a.m. Something must have clicked and he said it would be much better to pay now. Duh! So we have that taken care of now.

Thursday, October 2nd



We get up at 5:45 so we have time to shower and make sure we have every thing packed. No breakfast for us today. The driver shows up shortly after 7 and we are on our way. Once again I get to ride shotgun. As we get closer to the Charles deGaulle Airport the skies are beautiful shades of pinks and blues. I took a picture but, as you can see, it turned out a little blurry.

I am so glad we got there as early as we did. Once again it took us a while to find the right line to stand in - and that line was so very long. But we made it. We didn’t look at our seat numbers on our boarding passes until right before we were getting on the plane; they weren’t next to each other. Oh, well! We get to our row; Becky is supposed to have the window seat and I’ve got the aisle. There is a man sitting in the middle seat who gets up to let Becky in. He was very nice; helped us put things in storage above. Then just before he sat down I said, “We’re sisters, we talk a lot, would you rather sit in the aisle seat.” He said yes! We had a nice talk with him; he lives in Chicago, his wife was on the other side of the plane, owned his own business and was a professional bicyclist. So he told of all the places he’s traveled to with his bike. Becky and I watched Frozen; I have seen it but Becky hadn’t and she loved that it was about sisters; we thought it was kind of fitting. The rest of the trip we slept, we ate, we filled out paperwork for customs, got up to use the restroom and talked. It just hit me - we only played cribbage one time; Mom would have been so disappointed. Then again, maybe not, she might have been just as tired as we were!!



As we came into Chicago Becky checked our flights; hers was on time for Denver/Missoula; mine to Milwaukee was cancelled. So we started through the airport and I am slowing Becky down; there is no way I can keep up with her and I really don’t have to rush since I have no idea how I am getting home. We hug goodbye so she can zip along. I find my way through the rest of the airport to a quiet spot where I can call Pat, my neighbor and travel agent. She informs me that there was a fire in the control tower last Friday that has just messed up everything. She says it will be better if I catch a bus up to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee. So that’s just what I do. I called Howie to let him know about the change in plans. It’s only an hour later than if I had caught my flight and he is standing by the bus waiting for me to get off.

Some final thoughts. . .



It was an absolutely fantastic trip! If it had rained more I might not be able to say that. If we ran into all the rude Frenchmen we were warned about I might not be able to say that. If I had fallen down any of the stairways we had to take, I might have missed more things. But it really was wonderful! Aside from the one hiccup at Versailles everything went very well.



I’ve learned:

I can walk more than I thought I was capable of

Stairs are not my friend



I really don’t like coffee or wine; I will stick with my beer or diet Coke

All Frenchmen are NOT rude; most can and will converse with you in English

As Americans we are very spoiled:

** I keep thinking of the toilets at the Chicago airport that put a fresh wrapper on the seat for us:)

** Europe does not seem to be as handicap accessible as we are

** They retain these buildings that are hundreds of years old; we tear down a 20 year old building to make way for a new design

** We are fined by our communities if our sidewalks have a crack in them; Europeans walk on cobblestones

** If someone dares to get in our way we hit our car horn immediately - I watched cars, motorcycles, bikes & pedestrians weave rapidly in and out without too much effort and very few times did I ever hear a horn blow! Maybe the French are more polite than we thought!

And last, I have a wonderful sister! She took great care of me; did extra walking so I didn’t have to. She

learned the bus & train schedule so I just had to follow her.



But, I do remember at one point when she did make me laugh but also made me question her motives?? I walk slower than Becky's fast pace - let's face it, I walk slower than most people! She would see a clear spot in traffic and just take off, leaving me to follow her. She always looked back to see where I was. One of these times as I stepped up on the curb; she said it reminded her of the story of when a bear is chasing you and you just have to be faster than the slowest person in your group. So she said she just had to be faster than me to avoid getting hit by a car. Sisters - got to love them and laugh; and plot your revenge:)







Janis at Cafe de Paris





Becky at Cafe de Paris



 







I loved this quote from Hemingway, "There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other." I find this to be so true. I believe it depends on who you are with and what you see even for a few days.

THE END!