Europe 2022 – Paris, France

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   July 30-31, 2022   

July 30 was a travel day. We disembarked at 9:20 for the taxi to the Basil train station. The train to Paris we very full so managing the luggage up and down the narrow stairs, amongst a pressing crowd, was not easy.  We got a taxi from the Gare de Lyon and arrived at our flat for the week around 2:30pm. We waited for a little while to be let in but enjoyed a gelato from the shop next door while we waited.

It’s a spacious flat between 2 courtyards. Despite having a Rue de Buci address in St Germaine de Pres, there is little to no street noise up on the 3^rd floor. It’s a climb up to get to the 3^rd etage, but that’s OK!

July 31

Our first day in Paris!!! We walked to the river and directly across to enter the Louvre plaza. Always a site. On the far side we spotted a large ferris wheel and made our way to investigate. We decided to take the ride which turned out to be 3 turns and had terrific views of Paris.

We then wandered along and sat for while near Les Invalides. Rather than continue on to the Eiffel Tower we headed in the other direction hoping to visit the gardens at the Rodin Museum. We needed a ticket for the museum to see the gardens so opted not to go in. I was in the Rodin Museum not that long ago and Anne was not so interested as to want to go in.

We continued on to the Luxembourg gardens and had a light lunch at a café there. We were now fairly close to the way back to the flat. We stopped for a few minutes to watch the model sailboats sail around the pond in the garden.

We walk around some and read menus to pick a restaurant for dinner. The food seems to be very good wherever we go.

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   August 1, 2022  

We decided to get a 2-day ticket to ride the BatoBus which is a hop on hop off bus traveling between the Jardin des Plantes and the Eiffel Tower. We stopped at Notre Dame for a little while. It’s still being rebuilt. We continued on and got off at the Jardin des Plantes and found our way in. It’s a garden with many sections and more natural, less manicured, than the Luxembourg gardens.

We got back on the batobus and got off at Hotel deVille and stepped a short block off the main road, near Le Marais, to have lunch. The tuna ceviche was wonderful, and desert was a small scoop of ice cream with half a Chocolate Fondant that was really exquisite.

We rode the batobus round all the remaining stops to end up back at St Germaine de Pres for a rest at the flat. We went out for dinner, again, finding a nice meal in the neighborhood.

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 August 2, 2022  

It’s become hot again here in Paris. The mornings are perfect but by 4-5pm it’s near 90 degrees. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to around 97 degrees…. In a flat with 3 fans it’s barely manageable. Sleeping often starts fitfully until the temperature outside drops to below 80 in the early hours.

Today was mostly focused on seeing the Eiffel Tower. We took the Batobus around for a little river cruise getting off at the stop for the tower, which looms nearly directly over the boat’s berth. The crowd is immense and ticket control is something I’ve not seen before. Lots of plexiglass barriers surrounding the base with directions pointing to the various entry points for tickets. Long queues! I wonder if the barriers are a result of covid days or just a way to manage the queues.

We walked down a shady allee to get to the green area that stretches away from the tower. We got some great photos with the bright blue sky and then looked for a snack. How nice to see a little vendor on wheels selling crepes. Just the thing for a mid-morning snack.

Our next destination was to find the L’Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. We headed in that direction and stepped onto the Champs-Elysees a bit away from the big arch. We were close enough to get a fairly good view of it as it was getting hot and crowded and we didn’t want to head off in that direction. Long queues at the designer stores – Gucci, Yves St Laurent, Hermes, etc.

We found a nice place to stop for lunch that turned out not to be crowded and had reasonable prices and good service. Nice surprise!

We made our way back to the nearest batobus stop to circle around to our stop. By mid-afternoon it had gotten very hot, and we headed back to the flat to sit in front of the fans and have some iced tea.

Given the heat we decided to stay in for dinner. I fetched a few things and we had a fresh baguette, cheese, salmon pate, olives, cherry tomatoes. And double chocolate Magnum ice cream bar for dessert!!!!

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   August 3, 2022 

We sought google’s help to get to Sacre Coeur via metro. We ended up walking up the “back” side of the hill behind the great view. Lots and lots of stairs but not too many people. When we got to the top and around to the front it was very crowded. We took a couple of pictures and started back down to get away from all the people milling about with the cameras and selfies, and the vendors selling all sorts of stuff.

It was time to look for lunch, so we found a way that was sort of on the way back to the flat. After looking at several menus and checking at places in the shade, we spotted a small café that turned out to be a perfect spot. There was a bit of a breeze, and it was a local spot with no tourists, other than us. Lunch was salmon tartare for Anne and a Greek salad for me, after a starter of gazpacho “courgette”. Anne asked about crème brulee for dessert, and we ended up with Café Gourmand. Turns out that means a coffee and four small deserts on a plate. It was a bit of a surprise, but we enjoyed it – a crème brulee, a profiterole with vanilla ice cream, a crispy rounded cookie and a creamy/mousey sort of concoction in a small cup with jam on top.

It was then making a beeline to the nearest metro which was packed to the gills. Trying to cool down in front of the fans for the rest of the day.

   August 4, 2022 

We thought of going to Versailles to see the gardens there. After some research we learned the train station close by is closed due to track work. The other stations in the vicinity are about a mile and more than a mile away. It just didn’t seem fun anymore. The forecast had some rain possible and heat, again, in the afternoon.

We decided instead to do a bit of a walking tour of our neighborhood, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, especially on Blvd Saint-Germain where there are lots of shops, designer stores, and some well known restaurants such as Les Deux Magots. We found a café that looked perfect for a light dinner and drinks later in the day – La Rhumerie. It has Ti Ponce which we came to know in Martinique, uniquely made with Martinique’s rum, Rhum Agricole.

We went back to the flat for a brief nap!  Then out for drinks and some Accra. Good Ti Ponce and Mojitos.

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   August 5, 2022 

Our last day here – tomorrow we’re off via train then ferry to the UK. Hoping we make a train in Poole to Weymouth. Probably won’t arrive until close to midnight. Were planning for a long day.

We did a wash and ran the dishwasher while sorting things in the flat out. It’s a beautiful clear and cool morning. Lots of rain and thunder and lightening in the night. Nice to have comfortable weather again.

We walked across the river and into the Jardin des Tuileries. We put two chairs together and sat by the pond for a while watching the 2 or 3 little sailboats and the ducks. So wonderful to be relaxing in the heart of Paris with nothing planned for the day.

We headed off after a while and found a café in the gardens for a light lunch of salad and quiche with a glass of wine. The quiche here is slightly different from what I usually see in the US. The egg mix is poured on top of the selected ingredients and baked, rather than being all mixed together. These habits of 3 good sized meals a day need to be improved when we get to Weymouth!!! More salad and less wine.

We continued out of the garden near to the Place de la Concorde and headed over to the riverbank. It was surprising how clear the river water is – perhaps seeing to a depth of 3-4 feet. We crossed back to our side, the Left Bank, and walked by Voltaire for the last time.

We’ll go out and have dinner at the first restaurant we went to after we arrived a week ago. We’ve had so many good meals here. It’s been a real treat to enjoy the great food and wine of Paris.

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   August 6, 2022 – Ferry to the UK

We have a real French breakfast today before departing on our long day of travel. Fresh baguette, croissant, paid de chocolat, butter, egg, fresh juice….

After a 3+ hour train trip from Paris to the port of Cherbourg we take a taxi to the Brittany ferry terminal. We arrive well in advance of check-in time so stop in the snack bar for a cup of tea. Turns out there are only 5 walk-on passengers for this ferry, which seems big. Turns out it’s the smallest of the Brittany Ferry fleet – Slightly over 500 feet, and a capacity of 1200 people. There are two loading ramps to get to the “garage” decks. The cars drive up to a deck that is above the freight deck.

We get on the ship and are able to put our luggage in the locked luggage room near reception on Deck 7. There are a lot of cabins, and it seems some elect to spend the journey there. There’s a self-serve restaurant, a duty-free shop, a café, and a bar. There are 2 decks with large rooms offering comfortable reclining seats with one deck being reserved seating and the other, deck 5, open seating. We find 2 seats and leave our sweaters there before going to the top deck, No. 8, to watch our departure.

Cherbourg is a very sizeable, protected harbor area with a nearly enclosed boat basin with lots of masts visible. The outer sea wall seems to have several fortifications but it’s hard to tell what’s there. After departing our berth, the boat next to us also heads out slightly behind us.

Just before fully leaving the area the pilot boat charges up along side and I’m able to take pictures of the ladder being tossed over the side and the pilot making his way down it and then stepping onto the pilot boat. Fun to watch!!!

We were delayed 15 minutes arriving at Poole. Our chances of catching the 22:38 train were growing slim. We disembarked with the other 3 foot passengers to the awaiting bus and joined a long queue of freight trucks. Turns out everyone was being stopped at “passport control” which turned out to be the only form of immigration control for us. I didn’t fill out any paperwork!!! No date of departure or address information while visiting. Nice, but weird!

The bus dropped us off at the nearly deserted ferry terminal where there was a phone to call a taxi. Two of the other passengers where on the phone there to call the taxi company and we chatted with the ferry company employee standing by. We mentioned our hope to catch the train in 25 minutes which seemed doubtful now that the time to call a taxi was more than 20 minutes. He, very generously, offered to take us over in the company van. We offered to pay but he refused, and we were able to get the train we wanted that we thought we were going to miss.

We got to Weymouth at about 2320 or so only to find a deserted taxi stand at the station. And the wait at the taxi office across the street was about 30 minutes. It was just past midnight when we arrived at Anne’s flat…. Tired but glad to have the journey over.