We departed Pristina around 1:30pm on Friday, November 2nd in order to drop Ramoosh off at the kennel and make it to the airport in time for our flight to Vienna. From Vienna we ambled through the terminal filled with expensive designer shops and boarded our flight to Paris. Once we arrived in Paris, we wheeled our bag along to the Paris RER (train) station where we boarded a train heading into the center of Paris. 35 minutes later we got out at the Notre Dame/St. Michel stop and exited the metro station to a beautiful autumn evening in the heart of Paris. Twinkling lights, more sidewalk cafes than one can imagine, street performers, crepe vendors, Notre Dame itself, it was Paris in all its glory.
After we managed to locate our hotel just off Boulevard St. Germain (there was no street sign to guide our way) on Rue de Seine, we took a walk back through the Latin Quarter and to Notre Dame. The Notre Dame twinkled and projected its reflection off the Seine as couples sat in intimate conversation along the river bank. It was like something straight out of a Robert Doisneau photograph.
Saturday
Our first full day in Paris was NOT spent resting. After a stop in the supermarket across from our hotel to get some fromage (for J) and milk (for E) we had a coffee on the Rue de Bac and then purchased a lovely baguette for E to munch on contentedly. From there, our walking began. We walked along Boulevard St. Germain, through the courtyard of the Musee d’Orsay and across the Seine to the beginning of the Tuileries garden (where a ferris wheel spins away like a blight on an otherwise romantic cityscape).
A stop to watch the birds circle over a central fountain and then it was onward to the Louvre entrance. We “walked like egyptians” into the pyramid and down the stairs to the ticket counters. Like lemmings, we of course had to visit the girls… Mona (Lisa) and Venus (de Milo) – even though we had both seen them before. Along the way we enjoyed a mix of sculpture and myriad paintings of Mary & Jesus. We highly recommend spending the extra six euros and getting the audio tour. You learn so much more – and for art neophytes (like me), your crayon and paper understanding of the art world is pushed through what feels like the equivalent of a college major in art history in the space of a few hours. Who knew that it wasn’t that 14th -16th century artists lacked imagination, it was actually possible to convey incredibly diverse messages through relatively similar portraits of grim looking lords and ladies along with the requisite cherubs, of course.
Lest you think I didn’t enjoy our Louvre experience… au contraire. It truly is a phenomenal place. The museum itself has an amazing history dating back hundreds of years, and the diversity of the collection is truly staggering. I saw some phenomenal sculpture – I particularly liked one where the artist had managed to realistically portray a thin transparent cloth veil draped around a woman’s face (see my pictures), and some of the oil paintings had such depth that they seemed ready to leap off the canvas and into real life.
After we were culturally sated, we headed back across the Seine and through a series of narrow streets lined with art dealers’ shops. We found ourselves at a little cafe with radiant outdoor heaters, so we pulled up two chairs and shared some vegetable soup and chocolat chaud – just what the doctor ordered on a brisk autumn day. Feeling much refreshed, we had the clever idea to buy a bottle of wine in the supermarket and take it to the small strip of land that protrude out from under the Seine’s oldest bridge… Pont Neuf, for a pre-dinner aperitif. Unfortunately, while wine is cheap in France, corkscrews are not. There we were with what we’re sure would have been a lovely 3 euro demi-bottle of wine, but the cheapest corkscrew around was 10 euros. It just didn’t seem right! So we enjoyed the view sans vin and continued on with our “day one” adventure.
It was back into the subway for the trip to the Eiffel Tower after we watched boats filled with tourists glide by for awhile and pondered exactly what kind of people lived in the diverse assortment of houseboats docked along the far “shore.” We arrived at Le Tour Eiffel around 5:30pm to find a queue that stretched out from one of the tower’s four bases and into the center of the tower. We’ll spare you the gory details of the next few hours. Suffice it to say that two hours later we arrived at the front of the queue (without the 3 euro bottle of wine which we had to chuck at the security checkpoint). We still had all our fingers and toes, but they were suspiciously numb as we began our ascent to the Tower’s first level (362 steps – or thereabouts). The wonderful part of the wait is that in the evenings, on the hour, the millions of lights all over the Eiffel Tower are set to “twinkle mode.” It is truly magical to see this huge structure glittering. The walk up helped to warm us a bit but we didn’t linger on the first level. We quickly began our ascent to the second level (another 400 stairs or so), from which the view was even that much more spectacular. From the second level we queued again to get to the top. Thankfully this wait was shorter – and around 8pm we found ourselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower looking out for a distance of over 50 miles as Paris twinkled at our feet. Truly magical.
After the Eiffel Tower we needed a hearty meal to warm us up and finish off our day. What better meal on a brisk evening in France than a fondue! And what better location on a Saturday evening in Paris than the Latin Quarter. The fondue was fantastic and the accompanying St. Emilion (2004?) provided the perfect pairing. When we left the restaurant, we found just that much more room in our cheese laden stomachs for the requisite crepe. Then, as we meandered back in the direction of our hotel, we came across some great street performers… I’d love to see a breakdance competition between NYC’s subway breakdancers and the guys in Paris’ Latin Quarter! Just around the corner another group of street entrepreneurs had set up their karaoke machine. We especially enjoyed the rendition of Lionel Richie’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” perhaps most especially because of the whole audience participation in singing the chorus.
Sunday
Day two: today’s supermarket cheese selection was boursin and E chose a yogurt drink in lieu of milk. Since today’s adventure would involve travelling outside the City Centre, we joined what appeared to be an exclusively American crowd at the nearest Starbucks for some lattes to go-go. Soon we were on our way to Versailles – which, coincidentally is free on the first Sunday of each month!
The line for Versailles was not as long as the Eiffel Tower, so about an hour after we exited the RER train, we entered the Chateau de Versailles. Once again we recommend the audio tour as a great way to learn about the lifestyles of the French Kings and Queens. The King and Queen each had their own wing that stretched the entire length of the palace. The famous hall of mirrors at the back of the palace, overlooking some of Versaille’s most stunning formal gardens, is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. It links the King and Queen’s wings.
When you exit the back of the castle, formal gardens run along the sides of several pristine reflecting pools. Behind the tall manicured hedges are grand boulevards that lead to the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon. The Petit Trianon, a smaller castle, was a gift from King Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette and she used it as her “escape” from the formalities of court life – or so we were told. The Grand Trianon was commissioned by King Louis XIV and it sits on the Grand Canal. The story they tell you there is that one of the King Louis’s (beats me WHICH one) actually had a fleet of battleships on the canal and he used to have them wage mini-battles for his entertainment. Hmm, jolly good fun?!?
A leisurely stroll along one of the tree-lined boulevards led us to an exit from Versailles. We ambled through the city streets outside the castle walls and to the RER train. After so much walking, we were glad to be sitting on the train. It was a quiet night for us… an Indian Restaurant off Blvd St. Germain finished off our day of royal discovery.
Monday
Monday morning found us wandering down the Rue de Seine towards Luxembourg Gardens with baguette and coffee acquired along the way. When E’s dad lived in Paris, E spent alot of time reading the Economist in Luxembourg Gardens. I hope he took the time to look up occasionally (he assures me he did) because the gardens are truly spectacular. We exited the gardens at the far end from where we had entered and found ourselves in the neighborhood where E’s dad lived. After finding his old street, our day three adventure led us to the Raspail metro stop where we boarded the train towards famed Montmartre – a Paris neighborhood (18th arrondissement) famous for its arts and of course for the Sacre Coeur church.
Sandwiches in hand, we climbed the stairs up to the Sacre Coeur and enjoyed yet another fantastic view of the City of Lights. We also enjoyed the harp player seemingly sent down from heaven to entertain us (and the rest of the crowd) in front of the Sacre Coeur. No manna from the heavens – but in such an idyllic setting anything seemed possible.
Some mulled wine and a croque monsieur for E gave us the energy to explore another museum… the Dali museum. Just off the main square in Montmartre, this is definitely an experience we highly recommend. In addition to some of Dali’s famous “clock pieces” there is a series of Alice-in-Wonderland inspired prints, some tres cool dresses he created (as well as dresses in his style by other designers) and many other trippy Dali works including a lip-shaped divan and lots of his sketches. See the pics for a sampling.
Next, since there is a real shortage of reasonably priced, interesting English language books in Kosovo, one of our priorities for this trip was to acquire some new reading material. We knew there was a bookstore called the Red Wheelbarrow in the vicinity of the Bastille, so we once again boarded the subway to visit yet another Paris neighborhood. We did indeed find the bookstore, and once we had greedily ingested enough possibilities, we made our choices and headed back into the francophone world.
Some more ambling led us to the Hotel De Ville (Paris City Hall). It is yet another magnificent piece of French architecture – ironic since it was originally designed by an Italian. After it was razed in the 19th century, it was reconstructed. The edifice was recreated in its original style, but the interior’s design/layout was apparently modified quite significantly. When we arrived the sun had set and the many lanterns and lights on the face of the building were lit. Stunning. We then headed back the way we had come – this time along the Seine though. Our intention… “storming the Bastille.” There it stood in the middle of an intersection with many roads finding both their origin and end at its magnificence. We wandered round it and then sat down for another fine french gastronomic experience.
After dinner, where the world’s largest St. Bernard (dog) was accompanying the man at the table next to us, we decided that a walk from the 4th arrondissement back to our hotel in the 2nd arrondissement would be a marvelous way to end the day. We crossed the Seine and traipsed along the streets on the Ile-St. Louis. From there we crossed yet another picturesque stone bridge to find ourselves on the Ile de la Cite, approaching Notre Dame from behind. One more bridge and we were on the opposite bank of the Seine. A few minutes further through the Latin Quarter and it was sweet dreams for us.
Tuesday
It was time for a bit of relaxation, so we started our day with a bit of Scrabble action in a cafe along the Seine. From there it was once again across the Seine to the Tuileries and along the Champs Elysees. We must confess, we took a mid-day break and saw a movie… The Kingdom. After arriving at the Arc de Triomphe. We headed away along a different road. Once again we took our time. This time we stopped for coffees and eclairs (and yes, some more scrabble). We did have a destination in mind – the Trocadero, which is an area that hosts a variety of museums and the National Theatre de Chaillot. It also provides yet another vantage point of the Eiffel Tower. Perhaps the quirkiest sight was a bunch of kids trying to surf down the stairs of the Theatre in front of the Tower. Only one made it successfully. He clearly was paying more attention in physics class than his companions.
The weather was cooler this day so we took our wind-whipped faces home for a brief rest and then headed out for one last Parisian dinner. This time we headed to Pigalle for a glimpse of the famous Moulin Rouge. We didn’t stick around the neighborhood very long though – beyond the Moulin Rouge the rest of the place is rather seedy.
We headed in the direction of Montmartre where we happened along what appeared to be a local’s haunt – a restaurant with “GIANT” salads and live jazz music. The girl singer entertained us in at least four languages and the crowd willingly filled the group’s hat with change as it was passed around. The guy on double bass played his part well – staid and calm. The clarinet player was quirky – aren’t they all? And the two guitarists each added a different flavor. A perfect end to another great day in Paris.
Wednesday
We only had a few hours for exploration this day so we stayed in the neighborhood of our hotel. Lest this sounds boring, be assured there is nothing better than window shopping and walking in Paris. The day’s confession… we were lured into a restaurant with a shockingly American menu. Veggie Burger for J and Cheeseburger for E. So, were they pommes frites or fries on the side then? We leave you to decide.
One last adventure awaited us before we boarded our bus to the Beauvais airport. We met up with J’s friend Betty Ann who is working for the OECD in Paris. It was great to see her and to hear of her life in Paris. We’re so glad she could make the time to see us. Then, it was off to the airport for our journey to Madrid (can’t beat one cent flights on Ryan Air). More about this next stage of our adventure in a future blog entry.
