Paris Day Five

Today was another great day except that weather.com totally messed up the forecast. The forecast called for partly cloudy skies. Thank goodness we all brought our umbrellas because the skies opened up and it rained all day. We left the hotel around 9 and picked up pastries for breakfast on our way to the metro. Upon arriving at the metro, we discovered that we did not have enough coins to buy a carnet (pack) of 10 tickets. I went to the ticket window, only to be told that they don't sell tickets and won't give change. The machines only take coins and our credit cards don't work in their machines. Back up to the street we went and bought a coffee at the Starbucks to get some change. The lady behind the counter told us that we could get change at the Tabac (tobacco store) next door. She had just given most of hers away to someone else. We were so excited to find out that the Tabac sold the carnet of tickets at the same price (11.60) as the machine downstairs and we could use our euro cash. The metro here is an underground train just like in London. In London we looked for the "name" of the line and the direction it was going. In Paris we look for the "number" of the line and the stop at the end of the line for the right direction. Other than that, they are mostly the same. Paris does tend to hide their metro entrances more than London and some of the ones in Paris don't even have a sign! We went to the Eiffel Tower because it wasn't raining when we left. When we arrived however it WAS raining so all we could do was walk until we had a good view, take a picture from under the umbrella and walk away. Brittany said it was still exciting for her to see it. Debbie and Brittany were surprised that it was so big. Next we went to the Louvre which is a very large museum of art housed in a former French Palace. The Louvre is big enough to spend a week in, but we only hit the main highlights. Among those were Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, and the busts of the parents of Tiberius, who was Caesar when Jesus was crucified. Mom also really liked a statue that was holding a bird. We think it made her think of her own birds, Red and Tweety, back home. We ate in the food court in the Louvre. It is completely different from when I was there last year because now there are stations for all kinds of different ethnic varieties of food. Mom, Debbie, and I ate quiche lorraine and a chocolate tart from French food and Brittany ate Pizza from Italian food. We shopped some in the Louvre where Brittany fell in love with a store with floral fragrances and we found my favorite chocolate store, Maison du Chocolat. We caught the Metro under the Louvre and went to Champs Elysees to walk a little between showers. We found a lot of interesting shops to pop into as well as some that we knew our pocketbooks weren't prepared for. We saw a big pile of logs with cylinders scattered inbetween. The cylinders had photographs and things on them. We discovered that it was a art exhibit. The artistic design was lost on us I'm afraid. We walked toward the Arc du Triomphe and rode the metro back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We ate dinner at a place that my sister-in-law Christy recommended, Relais de l'Entrecote. The place is so popular that people (including the French) line up outside the door to get in as there are no reservations. We went around 6 and there was not a line. When we came out around 8, the line had formed. It was really really good. They only have one item on the menu, steak with special sauce. When you are seated, you are asked one question...rare, medium, well done. We were served a green salad with walnuts and spicy dijon vinaigrette that was really yummy. They slice the steak near the table and give you some with a lot of skinny fries and pour the sauce all over the steak. Once you think you are finished eating, they give you the other part of the steak that you didn't know you had left and even more fries. Brittany enjoyed an Orangina with her meal, a fizzy and light orange drink that I introduced her to. The dessert menu was totally in french. We were able to understand some of it, but the young lady sitting next to us offered her boyfriend to help us decipher the rest. The picture of the desserts is as follows...raspberry sorbet, ice cream with caramel sauce, strawberry tart, and chocolat profiteroles. Which dessert matches which person....hmmm? Once back at our hotel, mom and I had settled in only to suddenly hear water pouring in the bathroom. It was coming through the ceiling! I ran down to the desk and the clerk came right back up with me. Water was everywhere and the hotel is full so there is no where to go. He brought someone back up with him and he thinks it might be the air conditioning. He also brought a bunch of towels and someone will have to come and check everything in the morning.He was very puzzled. Tomorrow is supposed to be a sunny day unless weather.com is wrong again. We plan on going to Montmartre. Hopefully our ceiling will be fixed while we are gone.

Paris Day Four

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Bonjour everyone, we are in Paris! We awoke very early this morning as we needed to meet our driver at 6 a.m. for a taxi ride to the Eurostar station. We arrived in plenty of time to exchange a little money for euros (french currency), eat some breakfast, go through security and passport control. Our ride to Paris aboard the Eurostar was uneventful and most of us managed to take a little nap. The taxi line at Gare du Nord train station in Paris was terribly long but we waited patiently. We were able to ride together in one taxi to our hotel which is what I was hoping for. Our taxi driver was very patient with the traffic, but Debbie is convinced that the large number of sirens we hear going off during the day is due to the terrible driving of the Parisians. We are very very careful when we cross the street because they don't stop for pedestrians! We spent the afternoon in the area surrounding the hotel, Ile de Cite and Ile St. Louis. The weather called for scattered showers today so we toured Notre Dame Cathedral first and then ate lunch at a nearby brasserie. Unfortunately, the waitress at lunch and the waiter later at dinner have both been very aloof and rather rude. This came as a surprise to my companions having just enjoyed such graciousness from the people in London. Oh well, I told them, such is Paris! Between showers we visited a flower market on Ile de Cite and then the other cathedral on the island, Saint Chappelle. I had never been to Saint Chappelle so that was really a treat for me. The stained glass is overwhelming because there is so much and it is so beautiful. We were ready for a little dessert and went to Ile St. Louis for some Bertillon ice cream. What precious little scoops of rich chocolate heaven we enjoyed, yummy! We wandered up and down the streets, stopping to gaze into store windows and visiting the occasional shop. We were also pleased to see trash bags hanging everywhere unlike London where we would hold our trash for hours looking for a trash can. It was a relaxing afternoon, getting our feet wet in Paris, literally. Upon arrival back at the hotel, we asked for a recommendation for a local eatery for a light meal. Well, imagine our surprise when we were seated and glanced at the prices on the menu. Much of it was out of our price range and not what we expected. We managed to keep mom in her chair as she was wanting to get up and leave, but everyone found something on the appetizer menu that was appealing and within our budget. We passed over the Oxbone in gravy, and the pig trotters, and the duck foie gras and other things that sounded unusual and unappetizing. Brittany ate a tomato and mozzarella salad which was something new for her and she found it delicious. Mom and Debbie had a Caesar salad that came with chicken that was quite good. They were disappointed at first that it was dressed lightly, the Parisian way, but that didn't stop them from eating it all. I had my second bowl of french onion soup which I dearly love in Paris. They never taste the same no matter where I eat it. After dinner, Brittany spied a strawberry tart and we shared a piece. It was incredible! Mom said she wished we had shared two. The lesson we learned is to check the menu outside for prices BEFORE we are seated. Tomorrow we have a full day and start it by tackling the Paris Metro.