Like A Bike

Pages from Jan's Travel Journal: Monday, July 20, 2009

Our day began around 8 AM when Megan and I walked over to Paul for pastries. Desmond and his friend, Matt arrived at 10:00, worn out from hauling their luggage down four flights of stairs, onto the tram, and up to our hotel room. We checked out of the hotel, but left all of our luggage in the storeroom at the front desk. The four of us took the tram back across town, where we enjoyed an early lunch at the Grec Gourmand. On the way back to the Ibis, we returned to the train station to purchase our tickets, forgetting about the student discount that would have saved the young people some money.  Matt had a few days off work and had decided to join us for our last couple of days in Paris. We retrieved our luggage from the hotel and set off on the 1:20 train. 

We felt pretty smug that we had managed to find a near-empty compartment, until the train stopped a few minutes later at Les Aubrais and we discovered that we needed to switch to another train immediately! We struggled with our bags down a long flight of stairs and up another. If the conductor had not come back to lend a hand, we would have missed the train for sure! The doors closed and we departed the moment I stepped inside. Finding four seats together proved to be impossible, as we towed our bags down the entire length of the train, and finally found an empty compartment. And I mean EMPTY. There were no seats or luggage racks because we had stumbled into the bicycle compartment! We shoved our bags inside, and stood there laughing, relieved that we were at least all together. About ten minutes later, our train made an unscheduled stop. There was an announcement that this was for our security. By then we had all slid down to sit on the rather dirty floor, and we waited. And waited. And wished that we had a game to play. Desmond and I, at the exact same moment, burst into the same song, "Kum Ba Yah". Megan and Mathieu laughingly joined in. When the train began to move again, we were told that the delay had been due to "projectiles" being shot or thrown at the train ahead of us. We were just glad that we were not on a schedule, with no planes or other trains to catch.

Megan took it all in stride.

Upon arrival in Paris, we grabbed a taxi and made our way across the city to the Ibis Eiffel Cambronne. I had looked at the hotel on Google street view, and recognized it as soon as we turned the corner onto Rue Cambronne. I had chosen this hotel because of its proximity to the Eiffel Tower and because it was advertised as having air conditioning. We checked in, dropped our luggage in our rooms, and set out to find a cold drink. The cute little cafe we chose served us four soft drinks at a price of 18 euros. Paris is SO expensive. I later learned that drinks are cheaper if you sit at the bar, but we probably wouldn't have done that anyway. On the way back to the hotel, we passed a boulangerie and could not resist buying a snack. On the corner near the hotel was a small convenience store where we purchased cans of Coke for 1.25 and bottled water for just .80. I picked out several fresh, juicy plums, which turned out to be the tastiest plums I had ever eaten!

The view from our hotel window in Paris.

We ate an early dinner at McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's.  Or, MacDo, as the French would say. It was something we just had to experience. It was housed in a beautiful old building and occupied two levels. In France, you can buy beer with your meal. Hello, "happy" meal! And they have real desserts, such as little citron cakes and chocolate souffle. 

There was a Metro stop conveniently close to the hotel, where we boarded in the direction of Montmartre. Mathieu was looking forward to seeing the sights. Though he was born in Paris, his family had moved to another part of the country when he was small. He had been to Paris on many occasions, but only to conduct business or meet someone at the airport. He was enjoying being a tourist. The Metro makes me a bit uncomfortable, as I am claustrophobic. It was worse on this day because of the heat. I tried to focus on just breathing. Soon, we were arriving in Montmartre. 

Sightseeing in Montmartre

Amélie Slept Here

Pages from Jan's Travel Journal: Saturday, February 28, 2009

After visiting the Montmartre Cemetery, we returned to the hotel and found our room, which was actually a lovely suite, the "Amelie Poulain" suite. It was quite roomy and charming. Our bedroom had a pretty white iron canopy bed, and Desmond's room was equipped with twin beds, an armoire, and a little writing desk. There was also a small, triangular room which contained a large desk, two iron chairs with pretty cushions on them, and a tray on the desk which was laden with packets of coffee, tea, and raisin cake. It was a treat to have a kettle with which to make coffee and tea. The bathroom was also large, with a teak vanity, a tub/shower combination, and a towel warmer. The only negatives were the lack of a view and those stairs! I had read reviews of the hotel and understood that there was a lift, but did not realize that the lift did NOT service the suite, which was the only room at the top of a long, narrow staircase. It was awful for Craig, Des, and the porter to have to wrestle our heavy luggage to the room. All was forgiven once they opened the door and saw the rooms. 

One of our rooms at the Hotel Prima Lepic, Paris, France

After a short rest, we set out in the direction of Sacre Coeur Basilica. It was not a long walk, but we were trudging up hills and many stairs. It was well worth the climb, though I would recommend the Funicular next time! Sacre Coeur is enormous and very beautiful, looking almost as if it were constructed of sugar. We went inside to view the lovely domes, stained glass, sculptures, and paintings. The crowds were so thick that it was difficult to walk on the sidewalks and stairs and we were afraid of becoming separated. On such a beautifully warm day, it seemed that all of Paris was outside! There were many street performers - mimes, jugglers, musicians, and others. There was a violinist who was excellent. He smiled broadly as he played, and truly seemed to be enjoying himself, so we tossed a few coins into his case.

The happy violinist.

Basilica Sacre Coeur

The view over Paris from that height is spectacular! You can see for miles across the city, to the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, and beyond. The population of Paris is over 2 million, and when you include the metro area, it swells to 12 million! A bit mind-boggling to this small-town Kansas girl. We walked slowly back to the hotel, picking up a few more souvenirs along the way, and as always, snapping lots of photos. We lingered in the Place la Tertre, where the many artists were busily plying their trades. The sun shone through the bare branches and the few new green leaves that had cautiously opened in the warmth, dappling the square with shadows. The laughter of children rang out as they happily rode the carousel, and lovers strolled hand-in-hand through this romantic, postcard-perfect scene. 

After another brief rest at the hotel, we hailed a taxi for the ride to the Hard Rock Cafe. While not a place I would have chosen in which to dine in France, we wanted to give Des the treat of some "American" food. On the way to the restaurant, in the taxi zooming down one of Montmartre's steep hills, we all cried out "whee" as we whooshed downward. I later thought how odd it must have seemed to our French taxi driver, who surely wondered why those crazy Americans were yelling "Oui" as they went downhill! The Hard Rock was crowded and noisy, but the food was good and the Cokes were served with ice! Desmond really enjoyed dining on barbecue for the first time in months, and we had a good time looking at the memorabilia and shouting to each other over the loud music. 

Au Revoir, Orléans

Pages from Jan's Travel Journal: Saturday, February  28, 2009

Whew! We made it to Paris! We settled into the Hotel  Prima Lepic in Montmartre. We arrived by train before noon and took a taxi to the hotel. It was a perfect, warm, sunny day and the streets were packed with pedestrians. I couldn't imagine having to drive anywhere!

I need to back-track just a bit. The night before, we had dinner at Volpone in Orleans, which was Desmond's favorite place to go for pizza. It was very crowded, with it being a Friday night. We squeezed into our places at a small table in the noisy room and ordered our pizza. French pizza was unlike any I had ever tasted. It was fantastic! My selection was a combination of mushrooms, onion, cheese, and lardons (that tasty smoky, stuff that is like a cross between ham and bacon. It is more flavorful and tender than Canadian bacon) atop a base of creme fraiche. Craig and Des both ordered pizza with a red sauce, lardons, and two or three different kinds of cheese, plus the unusual addition of an egg, sunny-side-up atop the pizza! Desmond urged us to try it, and it was really quite good. There was a bottle of pepper-infused olive oil on each table, and we drizzled it onto our pizza for a surprisingly good punch of flavor on an already delicious pizza. Each pizza was plate-sized and was more than adequate. In fact, Desmond and I could not quite finish ours. 

It was late when the three of us returned to the Ibis. We had chosen to walk off some of our meal, and the 20 minute stroll in the cool night air was refreshing. We packed most of our things, setting aside what we would need for the morning. Craig and I awoke before Des, so we walked over to Paul to pick up some breakfast pastries. Craig chose a couple of his favorite fruit-filled pastries, while I picked out a chocolate-filled beignet. We ordered pain au chocolat for our son, but apparently our French got a bit muddled along the way, because we ended up with a couple of pastries that were studded with raisins. Des was surprised when we walked in with breakfast treats, as he had thought we had only gone out for coffee. 

Our train ride to Paris was pleasant, with the sun shining in a clear blue sky. On the outskirts of Paris, we passed an area of high-rise apartment buildings in a slightly rundown neighborhood. I saw the usual towels and rugs draped over balcony railings, but had to smile when I saw a bicycle hanging from one of the rails! 

Gare d'Austerlitz in Paris

Upon arriving at Gare d'Austerlitz, we had no trouble procuring a taxi to the hotel. It was early, so it wasn't surprising to find that our room was not yet ready. We stowed our luggage in a large closet behind the front desk, and set off to find some lunch. A short distance down the street, we ordered sandwiches from a small stand on a corner near the hotel;  panini for Craig and I, and a sausage and cheese crepe for Desmond. As I stepped back to snap a photo, I noticed that we were right next to the Moulin Rouge! We found a bench in the median on the Boulevard de Clichy, and and enjoyed our sandwiches, tossing a bit of crust now and then to the one pigeon, which in no time became 20 pigeons. A cheeky sparrow flitted down into the mob of bigger birds to grab a crumb or two.

After lunch, we wandered around, checking out the sights and avoiding the many sex shops in the district. We shopped for a few souvenirs (NOT in the sex shops, thank you very much!) and then walked several more blocks to the very old Montmartre Cemetery. It was actually quite interesting to see the many old gravestones and the numerous ornate crypts. Some of them resembled small chapels! We saw a beautifully marked tabby cat curled in the sun atop one of the headstones. 

This Parisian kitty has found a peaceful, sunny spot for a nap.