Afterthoughts

I have heard rumors about the "rude French".  I must disagree!! The vast majority of interactions I've had with the French have been very pleasant.  They have been kind, helpful, and polite.  Although they may be more reserved than Americans, I would consider them far from rude.  We had a couple of "rude" interactions, but I'm sure you would run across at least that many traveling in the States as well.

The sad thing is....I have come to know the "Ugly American Tourist", UAT for short.  Here are a few examples of the UAT:

* At our nice 3 star Paris boutique hotel, an American comes down to the desk and rudely states, "We need to check out.  This hotel is not up to our standards!"  The desk clerk calmly replies, "What seems to be the problem?"  UAT says, with more emphasis and getting louder, "This hotel is just not up to our standards!!"  The clerk asks, "Would you like to be moved to another room?"  UAT..."No!  We are just going to leave!"  Clerk..."Could you tell me what the problem is?"  UAT..."No!"

Now, I don't know what the problem really was but I have some guesses.  This tourist probably didn't know much about Paris hotels or boutique hotels.  Paris hotel rooms are small.  They have to be small.  You're in Paris!  Real estate is at a premium.  And unless you want to pay a year's wages for a night's stay, you're going to get a small room. And boutique hotels don't necessarily have all the amenities you might expect in an American hotel (think pool, bar, etc.).  Therefore, the three star rating.  Therefore, you don't expect the moon at flashlight prices.

*  At the Louvre a UAT is overheard saying, "I can't believe we paid so much to see this!"  Are you freaking out of your mind?!  You're in the LOUVRE!!!!!

* At the Paris airport we encounter two rude ladies ordering coffee.  One is loudly ordering hot milk to be put in her coffee that she had ordered as "black".  The other is getting increasingly loud as she says, "Can't you make a coffee the American way?  Add hot water all the way to the top!  To the TOP!!"  I am sheepishly hiding my American face.  

Traveling is great fun and I am overwhelmed that I have been so blessed to have been on this awesome adventure.  But sometimes you just know it's time to go home.  Here are some of those hints:

*  I need to see my family!  I NEED to see my family!

*  I can't wait to use toilets and sinks that I know how to use and don't have to look around for hints.

*  My stomach is doing flip flops from all the delicious and rich foods I've eaten.

*  We're starting to refer to amazing Gothic churches and stunning architecture as "just another church" or "just another beautiful building".

*  I want to watch some television that's in English besides CNN.

* My feet have so many blisters on them that I have band-aids on almost all my toes.

* I am saying, "Merci!" when Larry pulls out my chair and not even thinking that's weird.

*  I'm guessing here...but I think Jacque is anxious to be able to order meat that is cooked in any manner other than rare.

* I'm craving barbecue....anything barbecued.

And with that, I say "Adieu!"  "Arrivederci!" and "Good-bye!"

                                                                                         ....until the next time.

What to do?

Saturday, June 14

What to do?  What to do?  I've completed my agenda items and I'm not sure how to proceed.  Jacque makes a wild suggestion.  Let's just walk around and enjoy being in Paris!  What a concept!!

John has mastered the Metro.  Ever since we got here he's been determined to map out our Metro adventures, but the task is a bit daunting.  Paris is supposed to have one of the world's best mass transportation systems, but with its many criss-crossing underground lines, it can be confusing....to say the least!  But today he proves his mastery of the system!

We don't meet until 1:00 again...we're liking these late starts...but what's this?  John and Jacque have been out and about since 10:00, using the metro to find some desired spots.  Jacque has wanted to find "Jacque's Tower" since she found out about it on the dinner cruise.  They have managed to maneuver their way there, take pictures, visit the Bastille area, and return to meet us at 1:00 with nary a miscue.  Go John!  To reward him for this accomplishment, I buy him a trophy...a laminated placemat of the Metro system.  May he enjoy his trophy for years to come!

So, with John's guidance, we take the Metro to the Notre Dame area and have lunch.  The goal of lunch....people watch!!  Fun!  After that, I make a wild suggestion of perhaps going IN the Notre Dame Cathedral that we have viewed and photographed from the outside numerously.  Well, after checking out the lengthy line (this is now a weekend!), we dispense with that idea.

Following Jacque's plan, we start to walk and enjoy the ambience of a lovely spring day in Paris.  We walk through the Latin Quartier and the Saint Germain des Pres area, which are bustling.

it's just a street corner; why not build a fountain?

the Saint Michael fountain on the street Rue San Michel

John and I practice our sophisticated Parisian expressions;

think we'll fit in??

Then we are walking along the Seine and stop for an ice cream break.  Yes, that's us....the four Parisians, sitting on the steps overlooking the Seine, licking our ice cream cones!

I realize we are approaching the Musee d'Orsay, and I'd love to stop in, but you can only press people into so many museum hours per trip.  Well, I check into things and realize that if we enter we'll only have an hour to visit before closing.  Since Larry and I have been here before, we think we can head to our favorite exhibit and enjoy an hour there.  John and Jacque are game.  So we get to visit with Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Degas, to mention a few.  Unfortunately, Van Gogh was on a special exhibition with a lengthy line so he didn't get to visit with us.

the exterior of Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay is, again, a fabulous building.  It was originally a train station...and this city loves its train stations!  While walking around we find the Salon de Fete room (which we didn't find last time) and it's gorgeous!  I seriously think Janelle should have her wedding reception in this room.

photos aren't allowed in the Orsay Museum, except in the clock room;

the Louvre is in the background

We are heading back to our hotel and dreading the packing for the trip home tomorrow.  Will all our purchases fit in our luggage??  We decide to have an early dinner (7:00 is very early for dinner in these parts) and then face the challenge of packing.  So we find a restaurant near our hotel.  We don't know anything about this restaurant, but its close and convenient.

What a choice this turns out to be!  The food is good...but the waiter is great!  Who said that French waiters are stuffy?  Not this goofy guy!  He reminds Larry of Rowan Atkinson, the British comedian of the Bean movies, and I must agree.  What this guy can communicate with his eyebrows is quite amazing!  He has us all in stitches and gives us a great last evening in Paris.

Friday the 13th

Friday, June 13

Friday the 13th's are supposed to be unlucky, but not for us!  We're having a terrific day!

We find that 1:00 p.m. is a great meeting time for us.  We're winding down and starting later each day.  We want to slow down and enjoy the Parisian lifestyle.  So we head down Rue Cler and start our shopping.  A baguette from the boulangerie.  Some cheese from the fromagerie.  Some recommended wine from the wine shop.  Some cured meats and olives from the deli.  Yes, we having a picnic!

gotta love Rue Cler!

I've confiscated a towel from our room to be our tablecloth (don't worry...I'm going to return it!) and a corkscrew.  I ask at the desk if I can borrow four wine glasses for a picnic.  "Picnic???" the gent at the desk repeats with a confused expression.  Have I committed some faux pas?  Am I being a rude American tourist to ask?  Non.  He just wants to clarify what sort of wine glasses...and he returns with plastic stemware for our fete.

And off we go.  We're headed to the Tulieres garden to enjoy our picnic.  It's so fun and so relaxing.  We see some old gents playing boules (bocce).  We watch workers on their breaks relaxing on the recliner style green chairs.  A child launches a sailboat in the fountain.  Several groups of children walk by on their end-of-the-year field trips. And here we are...in Paris...sipping our wine and enjoying the wares of the French markets.  (And in case you're wondering...it is legal to drink alcoholic beverages in the parks here.)

We hate to move, but I have one more personal goal for Paris and the hour is getting late.  I want to visit the Opera Garnier.  No, I don't want to watch an opera (but I certainly would if I could!), I just want to see this famous opera house that is now primarily used for ballets.  This is THE opera house, with the immense chandelier, that was the inspiration for Phantom of the Opera.  We find it at 4:30 and it closes for viewing at 5:00, but I am determined.  We purchase tickets, enter, and our jaws drop.  What a building!!  We walk up the Grand Entrance and enter the Grand Foyer (yes, that's what these areas are called...."Grand"!) and I imagine myself as a member of the 1900 Paris Society entering in gown extraordinaire, fan in one hand and opera glasses in the other.

This building is noted for its opulence and no expense was spared, no detail left undone.  An amazing piece of architecture!

Also, in various hallways, you'll find costumes from some of the most famous operas encased in glass...costumes from operas written by Verdi and Wagner...just to name drop a bit.  The costumes are fabulous, the building is opulent, and I am giddy!

While out and about we ran across some other sights worth seeing.

We top off the day with a dinner at a small restaurant that is close to our hotel.  An American lady had highly recommended it while we were eating at a nearby creperie the other day.  She said she was a professor at a culinary school in Wisconsin, and that this restaurant's food was beyond amazing.  Now I must say....I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to listening to recommendations.  First of all, is a teacher at a culinary institute really called a professor??  But she certainly was passionate about the place.  Let's give it a try.

7eVin is a cute, small, very French restaurant.  Most of us enjoy our meal, but Jacque's steak was a disaster.  Aside from the steak misstep...which was a big one...we enjoyed the ambience, location, semi-outdoor seating, and each others' company.  Another day that ends with an "a good day...good day" comment from all.  Yes, it was Friday the 13th, but it was a very lucky day for us!

Feeling like Royalty

Thursday, June 12

My biggest goal of this trip was to see the gardens of Versailles.  On our last trip we went to see the palace and gardens and got as far as seeing the palace when a dreadful downpour ensued which kept us from seeing the gardens.  I am determined to see those gardens today!  And the weather is cooperating!  Thank you, God!

One of the dreaded aspects of aging is having "parts" give you difficulty.  My knee is one of those "parts" and today it is giving me a bad time.  But I want to see those darn gardens!!  I can't believe my eyes...you can rent golf carts to drive through the gardens.  Yippee!!  And what a great decision to rent these carts it turns out to be.  I had no idea how large the gardens are; they're approximately 250 acres in size.  They're beyond immense!!

As we drive along and enjoy the views, we are stopped by young folks begging to know where to rent the carts...and all their "parts" are in working order!  Even though we keep this cart for quite some time...to see the gardens and the trianons (buildings far out into the gardens)...so the fee is high...80 euros....but we all agree it was money well spent.  (There are also crowded trams taking people around the gardens, but to go at our own pace was wonderful.)

The Grand Trianon is described this way on the Chateau de Versailles home page:
In 1687 Jules Hardouin Mansart built the Grand Trianon, probably the most refined group of buildings anywhere in the domain of Versailles, on the site of the “Porcelain Trianon”, which Louis XIV had had erected in 1670 to escape the pomp and rigid formality of court life with his mistress Madame de Montespan.

While looking up this bit of information about the Grand Trianon, I also looked up Marie Antoinette's estate.  I had thought we had seen it.  I had thought her home was the Petit Trianon.  But evidently we missed the queen's hamlet!!  Yikes!  We need to return!

After two and a half hours of viewing the gardens and Trianons, we finally head to the Chateau.  This is the home of the famous Hall of Mirrors.  It is where the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I was signed, and has been used as the backdrop of many commercials.  The chateau rooms are beautiful and the furnishings are exquisite.  And the ceilings!  Again, the ceilings floor me!

John, as well as the rest of us, are amazed that we have seen this "with our very own eyes".  My, we are blessed!

in the Hall of Mirrors

This is the theme photo of our trip.  Which way should

we go?  Which way should we go??

More views of the Chateau of Versailles:

would have loved to have seen the magnificent fountains flowing

the royal carriage

the chapel

the king not only had feathers in his cap,

but on his headboard as well

luxury is all about the details

La dee da, Laduree

I had to stand in a line of approximately 50 people to buy macarons at Laduree today.  Why did I feel I HAD to?  Because I love macaroons? Non.  Because I want to master the baking process?  Non.  Because I giggle with glee at the thought of Laduree like Jacque?  Non.  Because they are soooo Parisian??  Qui Qui!

We are buying macarons to take home from the famous Laduree shop on Champs de Elysees.  We hope they won't be stale by the time we get home.  I look at Jacque and I think she's drooling.  After her purchase, she is smiling from ear to ear!  I don't think I've ever seen her so happy...and I've been at her wedding and seen her after her children were born. (OK...maybe I'm exaggerating a bit here...but not much!)

Later, on the day we're leaving Paris, we find that there are several Laduree shops at the airport...with no lines...and even fresher than the ones we purchased.  Oh well...it was quite an experience!!

Oh, La dee da, Laduree!!

Screamin' Parisian!

In a city that is filled with tourists from throughout the world, how does one know when they are observing true Parisians?  Although it is not always clear, there are some signs that you are looking at someone who is "Screamin' Parisian":


* the women carry large leather bags over their shoulders with pride

*only a home girl could walk on these cobblestones with heels

* a beautifully tailored blazer over a dress

* men in bright colored pants (think bright coral)

* a sweater fashionably tossed around the shoulders...and it never shifts!

* adorably dressed bebes and enfants

*  men proudly sporting scarves with nary a care as to questioned masculinity

* chins held high

* hair that looks purposely wild and undone, or chicly perfectly in place

*  lacy fabrics

* walking a dog (as much as I love my pet, I don't think most pet owners would travel with Rover internationally)

* ladies riding bicycles attired in dresses and heels

* extremely skinny jeans on extremely skinny women

It's become a bit of a game for us to notice the Screamin' Parisian.  While out and about we discreetly whisper "P" (which we hope people weren't misconstruing as "pee") to draw our attention to the interesting Parisian.  Unfortunately we can't get cameras out fast enough to capture the photos.  But here are just a few from my phone.  (Yes, I actually sat at an outdoor Parisian cafe, by myself, with my cafe au lait and croissant, just to take some pics of "P"s.)

oh wait, I know this guy!!