Farewell To Paris

I know it has been a few weeks since my last post, but life got in the way. Here is the final Paris installment. 

Deanna and I awoke early. This would be her last morning in Europe. With a mid-afternoon flight departure, we thought visiting another location of the discount clothing store would be fun. 

We were up and out of the hotel before 9 a.m.  
On our walk to the Metro, we passed a Farmer's Market, with a variety of produce, fish, etc.

Then, just before the Metro station, this little piece of heaven. 

We arrived at the Metro station and made some inquiries about the connections from there, to Charles de Gaulle airport. Deanna purchased her same day ticket and I purchased mine, for the next day. However, when inquiring about the best way to reach the discount clothing store, we discovered getting there, was going to be more time consuming than anticipated. We opted to grab some breakfast and sit for a bit, before going our separate ways. 

We found a cafe just outside the station. After ordering our breakfast, we found a table near two gentlemen. One man appeared to be 70+ and the other, was maybe in his 40s. Deanna and I chatted over our food and cafe. I periodically noticed the older man staring at me. It was happening so frequently, it was beginning to be a bit uncomfortable. I started to wonder if he didn't want us to sit near him. 

After the staring went on for a while, the younger man asked, "Are you American?" We replied, "Yes". He went on to say, "My grandfather loves Americans. He was here when the Americans came, during the war and fought to save our country." The grandfather smiled, as his grandson spoke. I asked if the grandfather spoke English and if the grandfather had ever been to America. The grandson's responses were, "A little" and "No". 

We continued our conversation for some time. The topics included travel, politics and French residency. I think we could have continued this easy conversational manner for some time, but it was time for Deanna to head to the airport. We said our goodbyes and departed.

The ride to the airport would require a train connection. Our plan was to ride together on the first train. Then, we'd say our goodbyes and take different connecting trains. My train would take me to Notre Dame. After a short ride, we arrived at the transfer point. We hugged, got a station agent to snap a departing photo, wished each other safe travels and were on our way.

After boarding my train, I settled in for a longish ride, to my stop. Unfortunately, I got a little too comfortable and passed my stop. Fortunately, my mistake was realized, just after the stop was missed. I got off at the next stop and started the walk back. Since I had the entire day to leisurely browse the city, a missed stop and a little extra walking, was no big deal. 

Here are some of the city sights:

The Seine

Palais de Justice on The Seine

Palais de Justice

Outside of Notre Dame 

 

Statue of Charlemagne 

Entering Notre Dame is cost free. It was a nice experience, but I found it to be a bit of a disappointment. I've seen many cathedrals and this one definitely wouldn't be at the top of the Best Cathedrals List. 

 

The Black Madonna
and Child

 

 

 

Carvings of the life of Jesus

After leaving the Cathedral I walked around the neighboring area and made my way to another part of the city.

 

Sculptures by Polles @
Square Michel Caldagues

Church @
Square Michel Caldagues

Acadamie Nationale de Musique

My Last Cafe in Paris 

I found another location for the discount clothing store and made a few more purchases. Then, returned to the hotel, packed and prepared for the journey home.

Next stop, ATL.

Paris - Part 4

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

After five hours of walking, viewing the beautiful artwork, dealing with the crowd and enjoying the experience of being surrounded by the history of the Louvre, we left, for our next stop of the day. 

A visit to Paris must include a trip to this world famous bookstore. It's facade and interior has been seen in many movies. It is renowned for being the best English language bookstore in Paris. Deanna and I took our time, taking in the smell of the place, the laid-back feel of it and the history of it. This place reminded me of the Berkeley vibe, of my youth.

Saw this store
along the way 

 The staff was helpful.  During our conversation with a staff person, he pointed out a few books by Thich Nhat Hanh. The book that immediately caught my eye, SILENCE, The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise. Since I'd recently had a conversation with Deanna about her dislike of quiet. I suggested we both get a copy, read it and discuss our thoughts and learnings. She agreed. 

Photos of the bookstore interior, are not allowed. 

The Eiffel Tower 

With our book purchases tucked away, we

decided to grab a bite to eat. We looked at the menu for a number of places, but settled on a little place near Notre Dame. This restaurant,  had fixed price three course meals and mussels were an option. Remembering the delicious mussels we had in Nice, we were in.

Here are some images of what we saw in the area:

Bike rental 

The restaurant was cozy and the wait staff were great. While waiting for our food, an Australian family came in and couldn't find an available table, to seat their family of five. We moved over a table and they were then able to get the necessary seating, by pushing a few tables together. 

We struck up a conversation with the Australians and discovered the parents and three children were on holiday in Paris, but would be leaving the next day, for the U.S.. They planned to travel from the East to the West Coast, seeing sights along the way. Disneyland, in Anaheim, would be their final stop.

Conversation came to a halt, when our entre arrived. Unfortunately, the mussels didn't live up to our expectations. They weren't as fresh or as flavorful as the ones in Nice. However, generally speaking, the meal was good and worth the 10 euros. 

We said goodbye to the Australians and set out for the day's final destination. Our goal was to reach the Tower, before dark. We wanted to be there when the lights first come on. To get there, would require riding two Metro trains and a bit of walking. 

On the way to the Metro, we saw this square:

Saint-Michel Square

More about Saint-Michel Square: https://travel.sygic.com/en/poi/saint-michel-square-poi:21543

Made our Metro transfers and started the walk toward the Tower. Dusk was upon us. As we approached, we could see a few lights appearing, on the Tower. Just as we reached the Tower, the entire structure lit up with flashing lights, from the base, to the tip top. It was absolutely beautiful! There were hundreds of people in the area and all eyes were on the Eiffel Tower. 

After a while, the lights stopped flashing and the Tower was bathed in gold light. We stood in awe. We were standing and looking up at a structure we'd read about in books and seen in pictures and movies, but we were actually standing in front of it. What a blessing, to have this experience. 

Here is what we saw:

History of the Eiffel Tower: 
https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/paris/landmarks/eiffel-tower/history

Here are a couple of additional pics:

The Seine River
dock area

Then, our sightseeing for this day, was done. We made our way back to the hotel. Deanna packed and prepared for tomorrow's trip home.

Next stop, Notre Dame.

Paris - Part 3

The Louvre - The Museum 

Our entry time to the museum was approaching. Since we purchased our tickets in advance, the ticket instructions were to go the the pyramid and get in the appropriate entry line. Find additional information about The Louvre here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Louvre-Museum

Here's a note of caution. If you order your tickets online and plan to being up the ticket on your phone, bring it up before you get in line. The internet service sucks, outside of the museum. It took us some time to get a good enough connection, to open the app and get our tickets. 

We made it into the museum area. The next step was, get a map an decide on a starting point. Then, we had to decide if we wanted to get the audio guide. 

We got the audio guide. It also has a navigation aspect to it. 

Here is another caution. The headphones provided, end up making your ears and head very warm. Many people stop using them and plug their own earbuds into the audio device. I did this and it was a much more pleasant audio experience. 

Also, the navigation on the device, was not very good. We found it to be pretty unhelpful. However, once we were at a particular piece of art, the audio was very informative and educational. 

I've heard, it can take four days to see everything in the museum. This was to be our only day. Here are some of the highlights:

The Sphinx 

Venus de Milo

Hanging out w/Venus

 

Mona Lisa

                         

Galerie d’Apollon ceiling

Before you visit The Louvre 

Here are a few additional things to know, before you visit. 

1. Wear extremely comfortable shoes. There will be a lot of walking. 

2. Eat before you go. On premise food is available, but pricey.

3. It can be extremely crowded. Try visiting at night.

4. There are many stairs to climb. There are elevators, but we usually found them to be crowded with wheelchairs, with no room for additional passengers.

5. Bring your own headphones, for the audio guide device. 

6. Bring cash, to pay for possible visits to the toilette. 

7. The Mona Lisa painting is smaller than you'd expect. 

8. If you plan on visiting more than one day or want to visit other museums, buy a Museum Pass-If you plan on going to at least 2 museums a day, than a pass is a no-brainer and you cut through the lines. 

Passes are good at over 60 museums & monuments in Paris & surrounding areas.

2 day Pass- 42 euros 
4 Day Pass-56 euros 
6 day Pass-69 euros 

Available at most museums.  Also available at the Tourist Information desk at the airport. 

Next stop, The Eiffel Tower, at night.