Day 13, 6 May 2013 - Last Day in Paris

Because this Monday was a banking holiday in England, both Judith and Amanda had the day off, which gave us the nearly three days in Paris. I was so thankful. The day started out dreary--overcast and threatening rain. Didn't take long for the sky to open up. We didn't have umbrellas, but I did have a hood on my jacket. They had decided we needed to see the city from the Seine on the Bateaux Mouches. So that's what we did! 

 

Please forgive the raindrops on the boat's windows. The photos are not quite as spectacular as they could have been because of it, but we work with what we're given, right?!

 

At least we were nice and dry inside! I tried not to focus on all those life vests overhead, especially when I looked at how high the river was, and how fast the current ran. Not to mention how cold the water had to be.

 

The one big thing that surprised me were the houseboats tied up at the side of the river. Can you imagine living on a houseboat on the Seine, in Paris? The three of us said we'd like to go inside one.

 

The bridges were phenomenal, and all different. I didn't take notes here, either, on which bridge is which. It's so cool to me that they took as much pride making the bridge beautiful from the river's view as they did from the pedestrians' view.

 

 

Here are close-up photos of the Musee d'Orsay.

 

I loved this view of the Eiffel Tower, though to me it doesn't look nearly as large from the river. It would be even better if it was all lit up at night. With no rain.

 

And you know who gave us the gift of the Statue of Liberty, right? It was the French. Here's an exact replica, only much, MUCH smaller. And it's erected on a narrow island in the middle of the Seine.

 

Okay, Judith and Amanda -- here's the photo you wanted, since I was in the way for the two of you to get your own.

 

After we disembarked the boat, it was back on the metro to head over to the Galleries Lafayette. We found it quickly. Though quite stunning with all the stained glass and architecture, the designer prices were just a tad more than what any of us wanted to spend. Thankfully, picture-taking was free.

We went up on the higher levels and looked out over the balconies. Guess I was done taking any more photos, though. It was fun to look at all the overpriced designer merchandise.

 

With that, we were ready to hit the metro one last time, gather up our bags at the hotel, and take a taxi back to the train station. It was hard for me to say goodbye to Paris, then even harder to say goodbye to my friends back in London as they left to go north. Knowing that I'd be seeing each of them in a few days made it a little easier. And I was in London with two days to explore before I made my way up to the Peak District.

 

London. Not too tough to take. I could think of worse places to be.

 

 



Day 12, 5 May 2013, Part 2 - Musee D'Orsay, Arc d'Triomphe, Champs-Elysees

After descending Tour Eiffel, I grabbed a quick snack from a vendor, then Judith and I caught the metro to head over to Musee D'Orsay. I'm sure Judith would have walked had she been by herself. But I was with her, so riding the metro was a better option than carrying me. I'm only half kidding. Besides, Amanda had texted her that the distance from the Tower to the museum was farther than she had originally thought.

We reached the Musee D'Orsay and waited in line for about a half hour, when we learned the line was so long because the museum is free on the first Sunday of every month. Yay!! We each saved nine euros, the equivalent of $12-13! Judith and I were too busy playing the "make up stories" game in line for me to take any photos. So I'll use this one from the day before. The museum fronts on the Seine. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I got a decent shot of the museum over the bridge. It's the building with the black gambrel roof and two very large clocks.

Judith and I managed to meet up with Amanda, and we all three decided it was time for lunch. Rather, Judith and I were famished--Amanda had already eaten, but she was ready for a snack. The following photos were taken in the "café" where we ate. A little side story on this ... I took every chance I could to practice saying my eight words of French. When we entered the café, Judith had lagged behind a bit in the hall so the hostess didn't see her. The hostess said, "Deux?" and started to pick up two menus. I quickly responded with, "Non. Trois." And she immediately picked up an additional menu. I was so pleased with my little self.

It was hard to focus on the menu with the beauty all around.

 

There had been signs posted all over the museum about not taking photos, but there were no signs posted in the café. Besides, I figured if they didn't allow photos in there, the wait staff would say something, and they never did. Many other patrons snapped away also.

 

The one place I wished that I had taken more photos were the two other cafes, where you could see the gigantic clocks from the inside. Many people took photos there. Not sure why I didn't. The one place I did not take any pictures was of the art inside the museum proper. Many signs posted all over the place forbade it. Unfortunately, that didn't stop way too many people from still taking pictures.

 

The three of us had split up to view the paintings and other art that most interested us individually. We then met up in the main hall where a number of large statues sat. Since my feet were killing me, I was the first one at the meeting place. After five minutes I got bored looking at the same statues in front of me, so I opened the screen of my camera to review my trip's photos. Amanda came along soon after that. I was showing her all the photos I had taken in the Cotswolds when I heard someone (with a very heavy French accent) over my left shoulder say, "You should not have taken those photos." I turned toward the voice and said, "Excuse me?" A female uniformed museum employee stood before me. She said, "You had no right to take those photos in here." Since I had seemed to be the only patron not taking pictures in the museum, this red-blooded American girl was immediately hot under the collar, especially since this employee had not witnessed me in the act of taking any photos, nor had she seen any of my pictures on my camera screen. She had wrongly assumed that since I was showing Amanda pictures on my camera, those pictures had to be of the art, right? I stood to face her. She was maybe five feet tall and weighed about 90 pounds. I, on the other hand, am five feet nine inches tall and weigh considerably more. She physically backed away as I leaned toward her and said, "I did not take any photos of the art in the museum. Here. Take a look at my camera. I was showing my friend pictures of my vacation." Of course, I'm sure my face looked quite threatening as I took a step toward her and she backed away in haste. Mumbling something I couldn't quite make out, she retreated further and left in a hurry. If my feet hadn't hurt so doggone much, I would have reported her to a superior.

 

Can you believe that in three days spent in Paris, that was my only bad experience?! It's actually quite comical now when I replay it all in my mind. I'm sure the poor girl was scared to death once I stood up and snarled out my reply! And poor Amanda! She had to be wondering what this Yank was about to do! No worries, Amanda. I've never been arrested nor thrown out of a place for bad behavior and don't ever plan on placing myself in that position. I will, however, stand up for myself when wrongly accused. And thank you for standing up to her for me, too. Only your way was so much gentler. Maybe I'll eventually learn. Or maybe not.

 

Since my feet were hurting so badly, the three of us decided that a taxi back to the hotel would be in order. We found one quickly just outside the museum. Turns out that when the driver found out I was from the States and my friends were from England, he had to turn up the volume on his sixties music and convince us how much he loved the old Beatles music and other artists--including American--from that era. This convincing included our own personal concert from him. I secretly hoped that he could sing and navigate Parisian streets safely at the same time. By the time we got back to the hotel, the three of us couldn't hop out of that taxi fast enough, lest he give us an unsolicited encore. When the taxi pulled away from the curb, we all had a good laugh and sighed with relief.

 

Once we rested up for a couple of hours, it was time to go back on the metro and head out to the Arc d'Triomphe. I didn't realize until after we got there that the arch heads up the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. And there is a huge roundabout with the arch in the middle! The sun was just beginning to set when I snapped typical tourist's photos.

 

They told me that the best photos are taken from the middle of the Avenue. Yeah, the way those people drive, I wasn't about to risk my life for that. Besides, the sun would be coming directly through the arch. I think the two photos above will suffice just fine.

 

We didn't walk far when we found a sidewalk restaurant serving Italian. Our waiter was the most charming, attentive Frenchman. As I sat at the table looking at my two friends, the nearby arch with the glow of the sun below the horizon, and the traffic of the Champs-Elysees whizzing by, all I could think about was how magical it all was. I was in Paris, eating at a sidewalk café at one of the most iconic places on earth. It was a veritable vortex of joy. Thank you, Amanda and Judith, for making it so.

 

After dinner we of course had to stroll down the Champs-Elysees. Amanda pointed out a building across the avenue--Louis Vuitton.

 

One of the things that was on my "would like to do list" was to see the Eiffel Tower at night, all lit up. Unfortunately, the feet had started silently screaming again and we went in search of a taxi stand. I did get this shot before we hopped in to go back to our hotel. Oh, well. Next time.

 

 

Day 12, 5 May 2013, Part 1 -- Eiffel Tower, Anyone?

Amanda and Judith had asked me earlier if I had studied maps of Paris, or decided what I wanted to see and do while there. I answered that I wanted to eat at a sidewalk café (which we'd done the day before) and see the Eiffel Tower. Up close and personal. And go to the top. But first, you can't plan busy days like that without something on your stomach.

Fortunately we had a patisserie--La Brioche Doree--just across the street from our hotel. And my love for pain au chocolat continued. Side note: I had first discovered and enjoyed this luscious pastry at The Bibury Court. There's just something special, though, about savoring it in its native country. For the uninformed, pain au chocolat is a croissant injected with dark chocolate, so you've got the flakiness of the croissant with the delightful chocolate surprise after you take a bite.

One thing I discovered about pastries and desserts in general both in England and France--they are made with far less sugar than we use here in the States. And I never saw any of that sickening sweet icing laced over or covering up a perfectly good confection. Those who know me well have seen me scrape all that sweetness off of any pastry. And icing on cake? Scooping it into the trash before I eat the cake slice is normal. I always shy away from anything fruit-filled, too, because it's way too sweet for my taste. Not so in Paris. With little to no sugar, the fruit's flavor stood front and center. The most difficult thing for me was choosing what I wanted to try next!

After getting our fill, it was off to the metro to complete my wish #2. On our walk from the metro to the Tour Eiffel, there were numerous streetside vendors hawking miniature cheap metal replicas of the Tower. They usually had a blanket laying on the sidewalk, and the blanket was covered with their wares. Again, I should have taken a photo, but they were pushy and I didn't want them to harass me more than they already were.

Finally! We arrived at the pinnacle of my trip to Paris. I wanted to cry, I was that overwhelmed at being there in person.

The structures coming down from the middle to the ground were due to repairs/maintenance--they aren't usually there. Which seemed to be an ongoing theme as I visited various tourist landmarks in England, Paris, and Scotland. If you haven't noticed by now, there are many photos that contain scaffolds of one sort or another. And there will be many more to come.

 

 

 

I'm not savvy enough to get these two photos below to sit side by side on this blog, but if I was, you'd really get the feel of how massive this structure is. For now, use your imagination. Oh, and ignore the guy in the photo on the left--I guess he had an unfortunate itch that had to be scratched while he was publicly visiting a world-renowned landmark. Maybe he was a Bibury duck in a former life.

Amanda shared in a very honest, forthcoming way that she was terrified of heights, so Judith and I would be the only ones ascending the tower. So as not to waste her time waiting for us on the ground, she sauntered on over to the Musee d'Orsay that sits next to the Seine. We all made plans to meet up there when Judith and I were earthbound again.

 

If you look closely at the four legs of the tower, there are stairs to climb up to the first and second levels. An elevator then goes all the way to the top. Not sure how far up the first level is, but the second level is approximately 337 feet, the equivalent of a thirty-story building. Judith and her family have climbed this more than once. In fact, she had never taken the tram from the ground up to the second level so it was a first experience for both of us. Me, climbing to the second level? Yeah, I could laugh all day at that joke.

 

We waited in a very long line to buy tickets. Our plan was to go to the very top (around 1000 feet up), but by the time we got close to the ticket window, here's what greeted us. Just above the sign, you can see the two-story red tram that we would ride.

 

 

Here's a better photo of the tram making its way up to the second level. There are two levels to the tram because the second level of the tower is made up of two levels, like a main level with a balcony. The tram didn't stop on the first level at all.

 

I have to admit I was disappointed that we wouldn't get to the top today, but what can you do. We got in the (pack-em-in-like-sardines) tram and rode to the second floor. Before we entered the tram, another sign greeted us. It made more sense after they closed the tram door.

 

These are the sights that literally took my breath away when we exited the tram.

In the top photo above, guess what that prominent structure is that I zoomed in on. The Sacre Coeur, where we had visited the previous day. Here's an even better close-up. So very thankful for the amazing zoom feature on my camera.

 

The Tower sits alongside the Seine. This road crossing the river leads right into the Embarcadero. You can see that we're on the "balcony" of the second level.

 

 

The Seine as it stretches away from the tower.

You can see the Sacre Coeur on the hill at the horizon. Yeah, it's that teeny tiny blip. This photo was taken with no zoom, so I really appreciated having that feature on the camera.

 

Proof that I was on the Eiffel Tower. Thanks, Judith, for suggesting and taking this. {{hug}}

 

On the side opposite the Seine is the area from which most photos of the Tower are taken. Notice the line-up of tiny tourist buses?

 

And just beyond the tourist buses, eagle-eye Judith noticed a wedding party. But when I zoomed in on it, there were four brides being photographed with husbands (or not). How amazing would that be to have your photo taken in your wedding dress in front of the Eiffel Tower!

 

Scanning through my zoom lens, something else caught my eye.

 

My second viewing of the Arc d'Triomphe.

 

Judith commented that wouldn't it be incredible to live in one of these apartments and have this view to wake up to every single day. I totally agreed.

 

We didn't get the opportunity to visit Notre Dame Cathedral--too much to see and do in a jam-packed weekend. Next time. I'm glad I was at least able to get this photo of it. Notice that if you were in the air directly above the cathedral, it's in the shape of a cross.

 

We were getting ready to leave the second level when we saw signs lit and a ticket area for the top that had once again opened. For an additional five or six euros, we could go on up in the elevator from the second level. Unfortunately, I was starving by this time and not feeling well. With regret I had to pass. Just one more reason to head back to Paris in the not-so-distant future. We hopped back on the tram and headed to the Musee d'Orsay to meet up with Amanda. But that's another blog post.