A Bientôt Paris!
We have a family joke – I have an alarm on my phone; I find it very gentle, it is called “Twinkle” and sounds like little stars coming out. That’s how it sounds to me. I use it all the time, and my husband will yell “Time to hustle the bags out to the car!” He hates Twinkle, it reminds him of all our very early morning scrambles to get to the airport, turn in our rental car, lug our baggage to check-in, and all that jazz.
We have an early flight, so when we hear Twinkle, we are up and ready. Our bags are packed. We might wait for a baggage person, but it is 4:45 a.m and our car is due at 5:00 so we take our own bags down (I am proud; I have lived this entire trip out of one carry-on suitcase and one personal item/bag.)
We did the right thing. We awakened the baggage person and the desk clerk; I don’t think they would have awakened us or come for our bags. Our car showed up exactly on time (a Mercedes this time, thank you Tauck, but not a Tesla) and we got to the airport in record time.
We got to the airport and went to line up at Air France and a beautiful airport Air France person asked to see our tickets, and said “Oh! You are on our partner, Delta! Not here! I invite you to walk just over there and you can arrange for your flight!”
So French! Not to be directed, not to be told, but to be INVITED to go elsewhere. We loved it.
We checked our bags, full of dirty laundry, who cares if they don’t show up on time? And we headed to the Air France lounge, which evidently IS a part of the partnership, even if we have to check in elsewhere.
The Air France lounge is huge. The buffet is lavish. The drinks are set out and available at oh-dark-hundred in the morning. There are even showers, if I needed another shower.
We boarded on time, but our flight was late leaving because while boarding, one of the passengers tripped and fell and had to be taken to the hospital, which also required his bags be removed, and it all took time. They made up most of the time, we got to Atlanta in time to catch our Pensacola flight and our son was at the airport to transport us home.
You know me. I’m a happy kind of person. I had a great time; this trip was perfect. I wept. I didn’t want it to end, and I didn’t want to leave France.
Paris, Le Train Bleu, and Adieu
We have just enough time when we get back to the Napoleon Hotel to wash up and head right back out again to catch the Metro to Le Gare du Lyon where we have a reservation for lunch at Le Train Bleu. This is where those Navigo Easy Pass cards come in so handy – no stopping to buy tickets, we already have trips loaded on our cards.
We have noticed some changes – look at this metro car – can you see how clean it is? This is not the metro I remember. I never saw a busker, not a singer, not a violin player. The French, except for one snooty shoe saleswoman, were infallibly polite and welcoming. People who waited on us in restaurants, even waiting on people with children, were patient and kind. We wondered if there had been a campaign to train people in preparation for the Olympics?
We don’t like to be late, so we often arrive too early. Never mind, there are always things to look at, and this train station, Le Gare du Lyon, is full of interesting sights and people.
One group of well-dressed, attractive young women were handing people something – religious tracts? bracelets? something for “free” but they also wanted to talk, and we could tell that the talk was about making a donation. We had heard of this technique, but this was the only time we saw it happen. We think maybe the heavy police presence in Paris has deterred a certain amount of begging and scamming, maybe even the pick-pocketing.
AdventureMan is hungry; he checks at Le Train Bleu to see if we can get in a little earlier than our reservation, and the answer is a very gracious “Yes!” We love the location of our table, on the side of the restaurant looking out, but with a good view of the entire (huge) restaurant.
I knew what I wanted – Paté to start, and a salad for my main course. AdventureMan also had the paté and then a fish, with a sauce.
It was a lovely celebratory meal, in a glorious location. Well done, AdventureMan!
We wandered back to the hotel, repacked our bags for the following day, napped a little, and then had another small supper at Chez Barbara’s.
Tauck Museum Day and Sail Away
We have a good friend who once grumbled “Here we are on a sea day, paying $1000 a day to sit and read!” He made us laugh, we are heavy into itineraries, and we also appreciate a day to kick back.
Today, once again, Tauck has a full itinerary for us; an early-morning Tauck guest-only visit to the Marmottan, the Monet museum not too far from our ship, then a walking tour of the Montmartre, lunch in Montmartre, and then an afternoon at the Musee’ D’Orsay. It sounds wonderful, and I wave my family off, I’ve done all three before and I am feeling tired and dehydrated – it’s been so hot, and we’ve been on the move. I want a quiet day.
AdventureMan and Q have their own goal to accomplish today, a visit to the Invalides, Napoleon’s tomb and the French Army Museum. They are gamers, and they love to have “feet on the ground” with military history.
They take the train, get there early and make their rounds before the crowds arrive. They are back on the boat by lunch time.
That look in his eye: “I’m taller than you are!”
The passengers return, people settle in on the upper deck, and we sail away!
The sail-away is so much fun. Most of the passengers are all up on the top deck, and the ship first goes toward Paris, toward the statue of Liberty copy and the Eifel Tower, and hangs out for about fifteen minutes, changing positions, so that every family can get their photo taken with the statue and/or the tower in the background.
Mostly we just chill.
It’s a total accident that my grandson has a balloon coming out of his head.
I think this was also the night of the first youth dinner, in the aft restaurant, while the grown-ups ate together in the more formal restaurant. What I found really wonderful was that all the young people who had been so eager to be off and catching up with their new friends during family-style dinners were popping in just to check in, kind of like they were worried we were having too much fun without them!
Another wonderful thing happened. As we sailed down the twisty curvy Seine towards Giverney, the temperatures began dropping. What a wonderful relief!
Tauck Treats: A Day of Amazement in Paris
Sunrise over the Seine, and yes, that is the Eifel Tower and it is another glorious (and hot) day. We are still jet lagging, which means getting up early is easy.
It is wonderful to have a grandson who has a good eye with a camera.
The area where we are docked is modern, with businesses, apartment blocks, a little industrial, and – we are right by a beautiful park with an air balloon, convenient to a train station just steps away on a major line that can take us anywhere we want to go (K discovered this yesterday and shares with us) and we are sleeping on the Seine with a view of the Eifel tower. For me, it just never fails to thrill.
Tauck Treats. Today is a day like no other, for me. Today, I just do what I’m told, go where I am taken and I don’t have to make things happen, just be fully present. I love it. Tauck doesn’t tell you everything you’re going to do; it is a mystery, a treat when it happens. One of today’s treats is that they are giving us Euros to find where we want to eat. The amount is generous, and some are choosing to eat street food and spend the rest on souvenirs.
One surprise is that we are on a smaller, private Bateau Mouche. This is really fun! We are doing the same trip, only one way; we board right next to our ship and will get off at Ile de la Cite’.
I love his bird’s eye view – I wonder if he has to walk up all those flights carrying his groceries? Maybe they have retrofitted an elevator?
We arrive; the normal toilets are blocked off with the upcoming Olympics, so Tauck makes a deal with a local store to let us use their restroom – a familiar store on the Left Bank (Subway.)
It’s a long line, but serendipitous – we start to meet our cruising mates. Here is one of the unexpected blessings. The cruise is full of families of all shapes and kinds. Some are celebrating, and some are grieving and overcoming losses. Some are traditional and some are not. The families are formulated all different ways with one thing in common – they love their children and grandchildren, and the trip is a wonderful way to spend time together. We all have a lot in common, no matter what our differences might be.
We are in the group that starts with the Citroyen Tour, and we have to be a party of three so we ask to take N with us – she is a lot of fun.
We arrived back at the meeting point to discover our other three family members had not been able to go, they were one car short! We agreed to take N on the next activity, and then split up for lunch, agreeing to meet in an hour.
We walked a short way into the Left Bank and found a place to eat that sang to our souls.
Our time in Paris is short; we are happy to make the most of it!
Pork with sauce, frites, and salad
Steak frites and salad
I forgot to take pictures of the chocolate mousse!
Across the street was a very beautiful small church, Sainte Severin. As we stood outside looking at it, the waiter ran after us carrying my husband’s “go bag” with our maps and water jugs. He was so kind and went to a lot of trouble to catch us.
We meet up with our family, grab N and head for our group meet-up.
We love Paris. We’ve spent a lot of time in Paris. AdventureMan and I agree that our next experience blows us out of the water. It is thrilling, and it brings history to life in an intense way – you are a participant!
It is called Eternelle Notre Dame.
If someone told you that you would experience the history of Notre Dame Cathedral, you might go ho-hum. I did.
We were guided downstairs to what I am told used to be an underground parking lot, now a museum and virtual reality area. N went with a couple of her friends, and we were right behind her. You only “see” the persons in your group, but others appear, and we always know which one was N, so we felt comfortable that she was safe.
We were suited up with a backpack thing and helmet, including goggles that covered our entire upper faces. It felt a little creepy but I was curious enough to endure it.
And then the adventure begins! Your medieval guide appears and gives you instructions. You see a path and you follow it, or if you do not, you wait for instruction. Sounds simple enough, right? At the beginning, it is.
You are surrounded by medieval Paris. You meet the craftsmen and watch them work. They are just beginning to build the cathedral.
Now I will stop telling you about the experience or I may tell you too much. Perhaps I am too suggestible. My husband said I nearly gripped his hand off! There were times I could NOT move forward, I was so afraid. I knew this was make-believe, but my lying eyes told me otherwise. Once, I groaned aloud!
It was one of the most memorable, intense Paris experiences I have ever had, and I feel like I was there, all the many years they spent building the cathedral. I had no idea! When I can re-visit the real Notre Dame of Paris, it will be with new eyes and new appreciation!
(I screenshotted these images off TripAdvisor, which sells tickets for this visit.)
N had a great time, too. We met up with her parents and then parted company. Here is the truth – sometimes we are bad examples to our grandchildren. We skipped the walk. We told the guide we knew how to return to the ship, and we went to a cafe to sit and talk about our Eternelle Notre Dame experience. What was really fun was that the walking group went by and we waved at our family from our cafe’ table.
We had an iced lemon drink, leisurely found our way to the metro/train station, and caught the train to Javel. It was a short walk to the ship, where we met up for a lively dinner.
Boarding the Ms. Sapphire
The ride to the pier took us through a part of town we hadn’t visited this trip, and in no time we were boarding the Ms. Sapphire. While we settled in, K took off to do some quick shopping; she is familiar with Paris and it was smart of her to grab some time where she could find it. Orientation would be at 5 and dinner at 6, so we unpacked and explored our new surroundings.
The curtains are closed because we are tied up next to another ship, AND because it is still really hot in Paris. And yes, it is temporarily chaotic while we get our clothes hung in the closet and our bags stowed, have a little patience!
We had packed just enough to get us through the trip; we had so much more space than we needed. In this bathroom, every mirror has a cupboard behind it, and there are additional electrical sockets in the little cupboards. The shower is luxuriously spacious.
We all got oriented, heard the plan for the next day (Classic Citroen Car Tour, a virtual tour through the ages of Notre Dame under construction, and a walking tour of the Left Bank, whew, and lunch on the Left Bank, yay!) and sat down to dinner. We were ushered to a lovely table for six, and spent most of the trip sitting at that table.
It takes a special crew to be so good with a wide range of ages. The waitstaff was excellent. Our primary waiter, Peter, was good at explaining how things worked and helping us find our way through it. No, they made explicit, French law would not allow serving wine to anyone under 18. You could order a starter, a main course, and a dessert, or three starters, or just a main course or even just dessert, which is up to you. They had wonderful desserts, and an ice cream stand in the back where any combination of ice cream and sauces was possible. Just how good can it get? They kept adult wine glasses filled unless you firmly said no.
It’s a new culture, new foods, and also familiar foods, up to you. The young people learned customs and etiquette very quickly. Yes, you can get your Caesar salad WITHOUT anchovies. (I love anchovies, and it’s how Caesar salads come in France, wooo hooo!) There are several choices at each meal and at least two soups from which to choose. Portions are normal-sized, and you can get more if you need (lots of teenage boys on board.) There is also a buffet with lots of favorites for American young people.
Just after dinner, our son’s family took off for the Eifel Tower to take one last stab at going up.
Success! Although it is close to 10:00 at night, there remains enough daylight to climb up and enjoy the view!
Bravo to parents who help their children achieve their goals!
Climb the Arch, Lunch at Cafe de Paris
This is a really fun day. We gather in the dining room for breakfast, and all around us we can see other families gathering. I wonder who is on the trip with us?
After breakfast, AdventureMan takes Q and N on a great adventure, climbing to the top of the Arch of Triumph.
Direct quote from Baba (aka AdventureMan)”Made it, calves burning, heart racing.”
Their view from the Arch:
Everyone arrives back at the hotel around the same time. Mom and Dad have not had any luck with tickets, but they have a plan. We decide to have a nice lunch in Paris before we board the bus to take us to the ship. The bags have gone ahead and we will see them again on board the Ms. Sapphire.
Lunch at the Cafe de Paris was great. The waiters were wonderful with the children, explaining everything. Yes, N could have her Ceasar salad WITHOUT the anchovies. Yes, the steak frites came with fries. Yes to everything – what is not to love?
On A Mission: Target Eifel Tower
In preparation for this trip, we had several family meetings to put together activities and priorities. Each one of us came up with one “Must” (mine was wandering in the Marais – Mission Accomplished!) so that we had some focus. My granddaughter, N, wanted to go to the top of the Eifel Tower.
We started working on access to the tower months before we departed Pensacola. Tickets were not available. Ticket scalpers had begun scooping up access tickets early in the game and selling them for exaggerated prices. This made life uncomfortable for tours and guides and independent tourists. N’s mother and I would check the official website often, with no luck.
N’s mother is a determined woman – and she lived in a Paris suburb where she taught English for a year, how is that for bold? She determined that accessing the tower would be the number one goal on Day One. Once the family had rested, showered and dressed, they took off to find out what access possibilities looked like on the ground.
They learned it is all luck, but that there are some times when access is likelier than other times. Meanwhile, they had a wonderful adventure and found a Kebab restaurant they all loved.
AdventureMan and I also found a restaurant we loved, Chez Barbara, just a short walk from our hotel. We loved it so much we ate there twice. As an aside, usually I take great notes to help me write up these trips, but when I went to look at my notes, the only notes I had were the Menu from Chez Barbara!
Chez Barbara
47 Rue Washington
75008 Paris France
Menu at Chez Barbara
ENTRÉES
Escargots – 6 pièces 10.00€
Croustillant de chèvre sur salade 8.00€
Carpaccio de bœuf fromage dur et câpres 10.00€
Melon et Jambon Serrano 10.00€
Burrata sauce pesto tomates 10.00€
PLATS
Croque Mr frites ou salades 13.00€
Croque Mme frites ou salades 14.00€
Burger ‘Chez Barbara’ frites 17.00€
Salade italienne 16.00€
Salade, tomates, artichauts, burrata, jambon sec
Salade de croustillant de chèvre chaud 16.00€
Fish & chips 19.00€
Mi-cuit de thon au sésame et purée 19.00€
Bœuf bourguignon (Black Angus) purée de pommes de terre 19.00€
Cuisse de canard confit purée de pdt 19.00€
Tartare de bœuf frites & salade 19.00€
Entrecôte grillée sauce au poivre frites 22.00€
DESSERTS
Crème brulée 8.00€
Tarte tatin, crème fraîche ou glace vanille 8.00€
Fondant au chocolat crème anglaise 7.00€
Baba au rhum 9.00€
SNACK
Tapenade des olives 6.00€
Grissini et Jambon Serrano 7.00€
Assiette de frites 5.00€
Assiette de charcuteries 12.00€
Assiette de fromage 9.00€
Croque Mr frites 13.00€l
I share this with you so you can see the prices, which we found quite reasonable. Wines, beer, and liquors also seemed reasonable – this is downtown Paris, a block from the Champs Elysees’.
What drew us to Chez Barbara was the menu – very down to earth French foods – and then the atmosphere. This was not a snooty restaurant. It was a local restaurant. In the outside seating area, a local sports team was meeting (heavy on beer and french fries) and a girl met up with a man who looked like her father, and they had a plate of french fries and a plate of cold cuts, which they shared, and several glasses of wine. A friendly Australian who worked as a day laborer offered to translate but we told him we were OK, and thanked him for his offer. There was a television and a small bar.
It was also another very hot evening, and we were jet-lagging. We split an Italian salad and a Beouf Bourguignon, and we drank a red Bordeaux. It was a great evening.
Police presence was heavy. As we ate (again, the windows to the street collapsed to the side, we were entirely part of the outdoors) several police cars came by nee-ner, nee-ner, and on the way back to the hotel we saw a person being ticketed for stopping. It was a chauffeur, waiting for a family dining at Cafe’ de Paris.
True confession: AdventureMan was very angry with me for photographing the police in action. He was right. I was probably not supposed to do that. Sometimes I take unnecessary risks. Don’t do what I do!
We linked up with our family who were eager to get to bed, get a good night’s sleep, and AdventureMan made plans for the next day to hike up to the top of the Arch with the grands while Mom and Dad sought to get those elusive tickets to climb the tower.
A Morning in the Marais
I like our room! A good night’s sleep makes all the difference in the world. We hear no doors opening and closing, no traffic, no water pipes – nothing. We sleep, by the grace of God and good insulation.
Breakfast is included with our room, so we are up and ready at seven. The breakfast room is the hotel dining room, very lush and elegantly comfortable. The brunch is generous, meat and eggs and pastries and they are generous with the coffee, too, and that matters to me. A quick trip back upstairs to brush teeth and we are on our way.
We’ve watched all the YouTube videos about pickpockets, and how to buy tickets for the Metro and discovered we’ve overstudied for this test. It is easy. We are steps from the Metro entry, we know what we want, we step right up to the ticket booth and buy cards on which we pay for ten trips. Even if we don’t use them all; we will be back and unused trips can be at used another time.
Paris is still unusually hot. Although the morning is relatively cool, the metro is stuffy. Other than that, the signage is clear – as long as you know the line you are taking and the direction, you can get there. Our goal for today, the Marais, is a straight shot with no changes. We board at L’Etoile and get off at St. Paul.
It’s so early, it’s just us and all the people going to work, which is fun for us. What we love is walking, taking in the back streets, looking at the details, so we will take you along with us.
Sharp eyes, AdventureMan. You spotted the old city walls, and their significance.
This is the kind of discovery we love, below. Musical instruments – and a barber shop! This is a very cool place.
We find a mini-department store and I find all kinds of Olympic schlock for the upcoming spectacle.
Heading into Place des Vosges.
St. Paul’s
I love this sign below – Don’t go in after the signal sounds or you will hurt yourself!
We want to get back to the hotel because we know our family will be arriving soon, and as we are getting on the Metro, we get a call that they are leaving the airport. We can’t wait to meet up.
Dinner at Cafe de Paris
Sounds mighty fancy, doesn’t it? The truth is the Cafe de Paris is a lively restaurant just across the street from our hotel. It is full – a mix of tourists and locals stopping by after work. I am running on fumes; we’ve hit 17,000 steps, and I am tired. I am almost too tired to eat, but if we don’t eat, we’ll be awake and starving in the middle of the night, so we step into the Cafe de Paris, and the very kind waitperson seats us immediately in a little alcove, a lovely, comfortable, private table for two right by a wall with a window that seems to have disappeared. We are inside, but we have a great breeze and a view of the Arch.
I order a duck confit, just because I can, because I am in France and not in Pensacola, and duck is on the menu. We were so tired, we can’t even remember what my husband had. We think we remember he had a charcuterie board. First, we had wine, a rich red complicated Bordeaux that might also be why we can’t remember. We know whatever we had was just great.
We were happily surprised by the bill at the end of the meal. It was all very reasonable, especially drinking a good wine. Happy, appetite satisfied, and exhausted, we staggered across the street to the Napoleon and had a great night’s sleep.
Evening in Paris
We are so excited. No, it is not our first trip to Paris, but we are so excited to be back and so excited that our family will be joining us in 12 short hours. Meanwhile, just steps from our hotel:
We are exhilarated, and we are also operating on fumes, so we decide to walk down Av. Marceau to the Seine and take it from there.
Just to the left of the Pont d’Alma as we come down Av Marceau are the Bateaux Mouches, and one is loading up now. It is loading up busloads of people, so we buy our tickets and hang back, taking our chances that the next boat, so close to dinner time, will be less crowded.
It pays off. This is a great idea. It is shaded, there is a tree-lined park along the bank where the boats are loading, and a nice cool breeze, so welcome on this hot, stuffy day.
A line has formed, but as it turns out, the gate opens close to where we are standing and we get to choose. We choose the back of the boat, which turns out to be a good choice. Most head for the front, and there are plenty of seats for everyone. The boats are on a schedule, and another is coming in to offload, so ours has to take off without a full load. We are not complaining.
This is the perfect activity for an exhausted, jet-lagged couple with too much adrenaline to sleep. There is so much going on along the banks. We see all kinds of boats, restaurant boats, stands going up for the Olympic Games, (just weeks away,) bridges, and beautiful buildings.
I am guessing this might be the bridge where the press will photograph the boats coming through with the Olympic teams. you can see the stands built on the bridge. We hear grumbles that the Parisians are not happy to be disrupted for the Games.
I think this is where the French equivalent of Congress meets. Glorious location.
Musee D’Orsay
I may not be so good with monuments, but I’m pretty sure above is the Samaritaine Department store 😁.
Notre Dame of Paris, still under reconstruction from the terrible fire.
It is a beautiful hot evening. These girls have the right idea!
This building is on Isle de la Cite’; I think it might be the palace.
Our boat has turned around just past Isle St. Louis, and we have a good view of the Samaritaine. There is a restaurant on the top with great views.
I have no idea what this statue represents, and I find it weirdly joyful. Weird because in reality, having horse’s hooves at one’s back would be painful, but the body language is joyful. Below is the dome of the Invalides, Napoleon’s Tomb and the Museum of the Army.
Everyone wants their photo taken with the tower.
And as we land, the next boat is loading and ready to go.
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