As we climbed out of the metro in Paris, we were facing Notre Dame. That was quite a nice welcome. Our first two nights' accommodation were on one of the small islands in the middle of the city. After we got the key for the flat, we treated ourselves to icecream from Berthillon. I had a scoop of delicious pistachio.
On our first full day, we met the morning "free" walking tour of the city organized by Sandeman's. (The tour guides are working for tips, so it is not actually free unless you want to stiff the person who shows you around for 3 hours or more.) We did the Sandeman's tour in Berlin and Munich also, and have been really happy with the system. Our guide, Nancy from Yorkshire (the guides never seem to be from the city where they give the tours), gave us plenty of history plus pointing out Notre Dame, the Louvre, other city parks and plazas, statues, etc., and ending in the Plaza de la Concorde.
We were enjoying walking (as that has become so normal for us) in the beautiful sunlight, so we continued on the Champs de Elysees. (Can I just apologize now for any spelling errors in names? French is hard for me.) It was fun to see the shops, including the original Louis Vuitton. We ended at the Arc de Triomphe, and had look around it and the world's largest roundabout.
That evening ended with a delicious three-course meal at a tiny restaurant owned and run by one person. This one gentleman took our order, cooked our food and brought it to us, plus doing the same for ten other tables. Alan's dessert was creme brulee that was brought out "raw", if you will, then the man used a heated iron to scorch the top at the table. "He cremed my brulee," was Alan's way of putting it.
On our second day, we used our accommodation's proximity to our advantage, and visited Notre Dame Cathedral first thing in the morning, before the crowds. When the towers were opened at 10 AM, we climbed those as well.
That afternoon we took the train to the Musee de Orsay, and had a marvelous time seeing its many exhibits, in particular the Van Gogh and the Impressionist wing. So many of these paintings have been in my textbooks over the years.
For dinner, we managed to find ourselves a French brewpub, where we could try a few pints. After that, we waited in Trocadero Park to see the Eiffel Tower light up for five minutes.
For day three, we had lined up a few of Sandeman's paid tours that appealed to us. The first was a day trip out to the palace and gardens of Versailles. We only went inside the gardens, which, it being Saturday, were sometimes turned on with musical accompaniment. Our guide, Esteban from Colombia, told us a lot about Kings Louis XIII-XVI, theirs lives, wives,mistresses, and reputations. We talked a bit about the house before we started walking through the gardens, learning about their mythological and other meanings/implications. There was a temporary art installation there, done by the artist who design "the bean" in Chicago. You'll notice the similarities. There were fountains representing seasons, or episodes of Greek myths. We had a lunch break next to the canal of the Grand Perspective, and finished up near the Orangerie.
That evening, we had booked a tour of the Montmartre neighborhood. This is where the artists of the city, who couldn't afford those expenses, moved to live and work. We started off seeing the Moulin Rouge. As Nancy, again our guide, explained, artists needed two things to keep them inspired... absinthe and women. After that were saw Van Gogh's house and learned about him, saw two remaining windmills from when this area was pasture, learned about Toulouse-Latrec, Renoir, and saw where Picasso worked. The apex of our walk, both literally and figuratively, was the Cathedral Sacre-Couer, which is about 100 years old. It is white stone, and features incredible stained glass windows and mosaics inside. And I don't even like stained glass that much.
Our final day in Paris was a break. We simply walked about the Canal St. Martin, eating lunch at a local market, and reading by the water. All in all we had a lovely, sunny, wonderful four days in Paris. Up next... London and touring around England.
On our first full day, we met the morning "free" walking tour of the city organized by Sandeman's. (The tour guides are working for tips, so it is not actually free unless you want to stiff the person who shows you around for 3 hours or more.) We did the Sandeman's tour in Berlin and Munich also, and have been really happy with the system. Our guide, Nancy from Yorkshire (the guides never seem to be from the city where they give the tours), gave us plenty of history plus pointing out Notre Dame, the Louvre, other city parks and plazas, statues, etc., and ending in the Plaza de la Concorde.
We were enjoying walking (as that has become so normal for us) in the beautiful sunlight, so we continued on the Champs de Elysees. (Can I just apologize now for any spelling errors in names? French is hard for me.) It was fun to see the shops, including the original Louis Vuitton. We ended at the Arc de Triomphe, and had look around it and the world's largest roundabout.
That evening ended with a delicious three-course meal at a tiny restaurant owned and run by one person. This one gentleman took our order, cooked our food and brought it to us, plus doing the same for ten other tables. Alan's dessert was creme brulee that was brought out "raw", if you will, then the man used a heated iron to scorch the top at the table. "He cremed my brulee," was Alan's way of putting it.
On our second day, we used our accommodation's proximity to our advantage, and visited Notre Dame Cathedral first thing in the morning, before the crowds. When the towers were opened at 10 AM, we climbed those as well.
That afternoon we took the train to the Musee de Orsay, and had a marvelous time seeing its many exhibits, in particular the Van Gogh and the Impressionist wing. So many of these paintings have been in my textbooks over the years.
For dinner, we managed to find ourselves a French brewpub, where we could try a few pints. After that, we waited in Trocadero Park to see the Eiffel Tower light up for five minutes.
For day three, we had lined up a few of Sandeman's paid tours that appealed to us. The first was a day trip out to the palace and gardens of Versailles. We only went inside the gardens, which, it being Saturday, were sometimes turned on with musical accompaniment. Our guide, Esteban from Colombia, told us a lot about Kings Louis XIII-XVI, theirs lives, wives,mistresses, and reputations. We talked a bit about the house before we started walking through the gardens, learning about their mythological and other meanings/implications. There was a temporary art installation there, done by the artist who design "the bean" in Chicago. You'll notice the similarities. There were fountains representing seasons, or episodes of Greek myths. We had a lunch break next to the canal of the Grand Perspective, and finished up near the Orangerie.
That evening, we had booked a tour of the Montmartre neighborhood. This is where the artists of the city, who couldn't afford those expenses, moved to live and work. We started off seeing the Moulin Rouge. As Nancy, again our guide, explained, artists needed two things to keep them inspired... absinthe and women. After that were saw Van Gogh's house and learned about him, saw two remaining windmills from when this area was pasture, learned about Toulouse-Latrec, Renoir, and saw where Picasso worked. The apex of our walk, both literally and figuratively, was the Cathedral Sacre-Couer, which is about 100 years old. It is white stone, and features incredible stained glass windows and mosaics inside. And I don't even like stained glass that much.
Our final day in Paris was a break. We simply walked about the Canal St. Martin, eating lunch at a local market, and reading by the water. All in all we had a lovely, sunny, wonderful four days in Paris. Up next... London and touring around England.
How gorgeous! Consider me green with envy...
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got to have some ice cream at Berthillon :)
ReplyDelete