Paris — May 2008
Lori and Jamie (age 17)
5/13 Tuesday
Jeff and the kids drove us to the airport (for 10 a.m. flight); said good-byes at the curb. We had an easy check-in at LAX (I had printed out boarding passes at home and we used the automated baggage check); waited about 15 minutes to board. Nice flight—snack boxes for sale on board. I bought a box with tuna and crackers, hummus/pita chips and raisins. Drinking lots of water. My left leg hurt most of the time; I got up and walked the aisle several times. Changed planes in Chicago.
5/14 Wednesday
After a long flight to Paris, we didn’t see our reserved shuttle at the appointed place. Our flight was slightly delayed—so perhaps they came and left, but we were told by others that they have a reputation for not showing up. I called them and they sent a shuttle van right out. We arrived at Marie Francoise’s around 12:30 p.m. She was friendly and welcoming. We settled in and chatted with Marie, then walked to Rue Mouffetard for lunch. We found a panini stand and split a yummy salmon/cheese panini. I was so sleepy! I lay down, but told Jamie not to let me sleep. She was faithful at keeping me awake. She watched Star Trek on my computer and kept saying, “Mom, don’t go to sleep.” It was a beautiful, breezy, sunny mild day—very comfortable.
6 p.m. Loud thunder and sudden downpour (which we found to be quite common while we were there—it would be sunny, then cloud over suddenly and rain for 30 minutes or so, then clear up again. The air was comfortably mild all week, though). We walked to a Chinese restaurant recommended by Marie: I loved my Chicken Citronella, but JC didn’t care for her seafood chowder (I didn’t either).
5/15 Thursday
Met our private guide Michael Osman outside the apartment after a nice breakfast of fresh croissants, cereal and yogurt. He took us on the bus to the Louvre and guided us through two of the three wings, based on our interest. We saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and many other exquisite works of art. He was an excellent guide, adding commentary all along the way. After several hours there, Jamie’s feet and my back were aching, so we left and stopped for lunch at a nice café at a bustling intersection (Michael’s choice—a great location for people-watching). I had a beautiful (tasty!) salad of thin-sliced grilled chicken and fresh greens, JC had a Croque Madam (grilled ham and cheese with a fried egg on top).
Michael then took us through the D’Orsay, explaining many things along the way. I enjoyed seeing the many paintings by the Impressionists. We stopped at another café for ice cream (Jamie: mocha; me: mango sorbet) and coffee. Michael would have kept going but we were “done in”, so he took us home and left. Jamie and I walked up Rue Mouffetard to look for food. We bought a few groceries and had a living room picnic back at the apartment: strawberries, Brie (creamy and delicious!), and rotisserie chicken (we forgot to pick up a baguette!). A very full day! Home at 8:30 (looks like 5:00 p.m.)
5/16 Friday
Jamie wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, so we headed there after breakfast. Stood in line for about an hour (weather beautiful: partly cloudy but sunny and mild). Took the lift to the top and enjoyed a spectacular view! It was very breezy up there. We stopped at the souvenir shop on the second level to buy Eiffel Tower key rings before leaving.
We then took the Metro to the Rodin museum and enjoyed the beautiful gardens, then browsed inside. We saw “The Thinker” and “Young Girl in a Flowered Hat” and “The Kiss,” among many others. We bought a chocolate ice cream cone at a stand in the gardens of the Rodin before heading home. We were both very tired, so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the Rodin. Not a great food day: ate lunch at a café across from the Rodin and experienced the quintessential indifferent French waiter. I tried duck liver pate with my salad, and although I am generally an adventurous eater, I didn’t care for it. For dinner we took home a cheese/tomato panini that wasn’t anything special.
5/17 Saturday
Versailles today (Jamie’s choice). We took the RER train about ½ an hour out to the town of Versailles, then walked a few blocks to the chateau. It is an incredibly huge and ornate place! It was very crowded—we waited in line for about 1½ hours! We had stopped at a sandwich vendor (where the handsome vendor flirted with Jamie) just before arriving at the castle, so we ate our picnic in the beautiful gardens, tossing crumbs to the sparrows. Wow—this place is really big! Classical music was playing through the sound system in the garden, adding to the atmosphere.
After our picnic and a stroll through a fraction of the gardens, we went inside the castle. We were herded along with the crowd, but enjoyed the splendor along with everyone else. The Hall of Mirrors was especially beautiful, and we learned this is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending WWI.
We arrived home late in the afternoon and asked Marie Francoise where we might find an internet café. We found the one she mentioned, but we couldn’t get our email to work, so we left. Bought crepes from a street vendor: hot and yummy! Jamie had chocolate/banana; I had chocolate/coconut.
We had plans to go to a piano concert at St. Ephrem church, so we set off to find it. It’s rather small and tucked into a neighborhood, so we walked right past it without noticing it and got a bit turned around. It was pouring buckets by this time (with thunder!), so we ducked into another church and enjoyed a few minutes of their mass. It was an old, ornate church, and smelled so good to me: musty books, worn wood, and traces of incense. Wonderful! We left and joined several Parisians waiting out the rain on the steps of the church. We asked them where St. Ephrem was, and two of them helped us figure it out. We were very near it. Eventually we found St. Ephrem, a small and very old church (apparently all the churches are old; I love the aura of history that lingers in these places!). We paid 23 Euros each for tickets (about $36) and sat through an incredible performance of Chopin and Beethoven by a young man who is a student at the Conservatory. My, he was good! We both enjoyed it very much. My back complained a bit about sitting in a hard wooden chair for two hours, but I walked it off.
We stopped at a market for some chocolate milk for Jamie, then came upon a small Greek sandwich shop and decided to buy dinner there and take it back to the flat. We split a huge steak/tomato sandwich: fresh, hot, and delicious! We ate on our bed while watching Emma and enjoying the rain.
Jamie is great about getting us from place to place: she’s very adept at figuring out the subway system (the “Metro”), and her excellent sense of direction comes in handy all the time. My job is to ask for help when we need it, as she is still shy about approaching strangers. Her French sounds great, though, and when she uses it (infrequently), others seem to assume she is French and start answering her accordingly!
5/18 Sunday
After breakfast we took our time getting ready for the day; left around 11:30. We stopped at the internet café, but found it closed. We then headed down to Ile de la Cité, the main island in the middle of the Seine, where it is said the city of Paris was founded. We spent a wonderful day walking along the quays and browsing the bouquinistas (used book stalls); Jamie bought an old book for Wesley and I bought an old book (I collect them) and some old-looking Latin sheet music, which I intend to frame and hang over the piano at home. We ate lunch at Café Esmerelda (steak/frites for Jamie, salad with walnuts, bacon and duck confit for me). I didn’t care for the duck (a paté made from duck livers), but otherwise lunch was good.
We then visited Saint Chapelle, which may just be my favorite place in Paris. This is a church that was built in the 13th Century by King Louis IX to house the Crown of Thorns and other relics of the Passion. It is relatively small, but has towering (80 ft.?) ceilings. The lower chapel is beautiful, but the upper chapel (where the king attended church), atop a narrow spiral staircase, is breathtaking! It seems every square inch is covered with stained glass scenes from the Bible.
5/19 Monday, our last day
Today we visited Notre Dame: it really is an amazing example of French Gothic architecture, built (I think) in the 13th Century. There were a lot of people, unfortunately, but it was still nice to walk through. We walked all around the outside as well. It was a lovely day, sunny and cool; we bought a baguette and some Brie cheese and sat outside Notre Dame to eat our picnic. Walked around the neighborhood a bit—very French and such a fun stroll. We stopped in at a patisserie to buy four lovely pastries, which the proprietor tied up in a pretty box with ribbon.
Later we found a Monoprix (like Target, but with groceries); we bought salads (and gifts to take home), and ate a picnic in a small park. My salad was fresh and delicious. We had fun feeding the already-fat pigeons, and shared two of our pastries (with each other, not with the pigeons). Dinner was take-out from our favorite neighborhood sandwich shop: we split an “assiette” (plate) of grilled chicken and beef, couscous, salad and fries. Plenty of food!
We left the apartment after dinner (sun still out) and walked down to the river. We walked about 2 miles up and down the river looking for the place to buy tickets for a boat cruise. It was a lovely evening and a very nice walk, but we were pretty tired by the time we found the ticket booth. We boarded a Vedette boat and sat and drank hot chocolate for a few minutes before it took off. By this time (around 9:30?) the sun was down and it was getting colder. Jamie wanted to sit in the front of the boat, and fortunately we found seats right up front. The boat cruised up the river to the Eiffel Tower, which was lit up—the lights twinkled for 10 minutes on the hour!, then back down past the Louvre, D’Orsay and other monuments, to Notre Dame. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night in Paris.
5/20 Tuesday
Our alarm didn’t go off as planned, but I happened to wake up at 6:30. Our airport shuttle was due at 7:30—fortunately we had packed the night before. Marie Francoise gave us breakfast (she remembered my tea each morning) at 7:00. Our shuttle arrived at 7:30, and we were off. By the time we arrived at CDG (about an hour in the van), Jamie was feeling carsick. She sat with the luggage while I figured out where our departure gate was. We boarded about an hour later, and had an uneventful flight to Washington D.C. However, our connecting flight was delayed, so we spent several hours in the Dulles airport. It was very crowded, but it’s a nice airport to be stuck in. I called Jeff—it was great to hear his voice! Jamie and I shared a sandwich and a smoothie, and eventually boarded our connecting flight to Los Angeles. A pleasant (full) flight home.
Jeff and Joe and Annie were there to meet us—it was so good to see them!
Jamie and I are so glad we were able to take this trip! We enjoyed each other’s company and once we hit our stride (don’t try to do too much in one day) we relished pretty much every experience. We found French people in general to be friendly, helpful and courteous. The food was very good, although expensive. I paid $37 for a grilled chicken salad at a café. This is why we usually bought groceries and picnicked. We didn’t mind at all—picnicking has its charms! A week in Paris was a dream come true for both of us, and we’re grateful to Jeff for making it happen!