An early morning flight back to Frankfurt and then on to Seattle forced us to awaken at 4AM! The good news is there is no traffic at that time of the day and we were the first to enter the Lufthansa lounge at the airport, where a nice buffet breakfast awaited us. Flights were on time with us arriving back in Seattle 30 minutes early only to find that our gate was still occupied with another plane. As a result we waited on the tarmac, losing the 30 minute advantage. It simply does not pay to be early when flying!
Meal menu on our flight to Seattle.
Appetizer of Serrano ham.
Visually, the plate was boring, but the food was excellent!
Meal before landing in Seattle.
The benefit of global entry became evident as we deplaned to find huge lines of people simply trying to get into the room housing immigration officials. I had never seen it this busy. When asking about global entry we were told to simply try to move to the head of the line to access the kiosks, which brought some nasty glances from people who did not have global entry. Once we got to the kiosks it was fast and quick, as usual, reminding me once again of the value of that $100 investment (good for 5 years).
Returning to Miller Bay we were met by Denver friends (Bruce and Jan Bender) who had been house sitting for us while we were gone as they love Washington’s trees and water. Even nicer was that Jan made us a good home cooked meal of pasta to welcome us home. They spent two more days with us before returning to their home in Denver.
Epilogue: It was a really good trip, albeit, a bit too short. We would have liked a few more days on the tour. We saw some amazing sights, bonded with some interesting travel companions, had wonderful weather, avoided any illness and ate some fabulous food. What more can one ask for?
Never been to Paris? You can never go wrong by planning a trip to Paris and/or France. The sights, the history, the culture, the food, the breads and pastries, the wine – make it a wonderful place to visit. Oh, and did I mention the bread and pastries? Once it was said the French are rude to visitors. We did not find this; we were warmly welcomed wherever we went. Yes, we did try to be somewhat proper by saying “Bonjour”, “Merci” and “Au revoir” when appropriate. There was usually English translations on menus or at least someone who spoke enough English to help us in the many restaurants we visited.
We still have not visited the southern part of France or the wine region of Bordeaux and after this quick visit I am reminded I must move it up on my “to do” list sooner rather than later!
Gerry and Sue have never been to Musee d’Orsay and it has been 19 years since we last visited, so we all agreed to start our day of sightseeing there. We bought entrance tickets while still at the hotel so we could skip any long ticket line that might be there, something that has become very common at many Paris museums. As it turned out there was not much of a line when we arrived around 11AM. We each bought the audio guides to help us understand what we would be viewing. I also had my trusty Rick Steves‘ guide book to further enhance our visit and make sure we saw the most important works of art currently there. We quickly decided that it would be best if we each went our own ways and meet at one of the restaurants at 1 PM.
Musee d’Orsay, a former train station, now a great museum.
View of the main gallery of Musee d’Orsay, a former train station.
The great looking clock in Musee d’Orsay.
This museum focuses on art starting where the Louvre stops- with the impressionist movement so we were able to see works by Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Gauguin and other famous impressionism and post-impressionism painters. An exciting find for me was seeing the Edgar Degas sculpture of a young ballet dancer called “The Little Dancer”. I was excited because last month Yvonne and I attended a pre-Broadway musical called “Marie- Still Dancing” that played in Seattle. It is based on the story of Degas and his creation of this controversial work of art. As an aside : Seattle is often used as a testing ground for new musicals and plays before they go to Broadway. If this one makes it I would suggest you see it as it is delightful.
This 1878 painting by Jean Gerome caught my eye because its clarity was such that I thought it was a photograph, rather than a painting.
The 1857 painting by Jean Millet, called “Millet, The Gleaners”
The 1863 painting by Manet that shocked the Parisians.
Edgar Degas 1874 painting at ballet practice that prompted his doing the sculpture.
The Little Dancer sculpture by Degas.
Edgar Degas 1876 painting of “ordinary” people, a favorite theme. It is called “The Absinthe Drinker”.
“Dance at the Moulin de la Galette” painted by Renoir in 1876. The bistro still exists today.
Unfinished painting by Monet.
One of Monet’s series of paintings of the Rouen cathedral under different light conditions. There were several of the paintings at the museum.
Another Monet painting. One of a series he did at Giverny.
1904 London painting by Monet, one of a series under different light conditions.
Post Impressionism 1889 painting by Van Gogh, called “The Room at Arles”.
Van Gogh self portrait done in 1889.
Van Gogh 1889 painting (Midday) before depression set in.
Paul Gauguin 1892 painting while living in Tahiti.
A Toulouse-Lautrec cabaret painting.
Another Toulouse-Lautrec 1892 painting of a famous can can dancer, Jane Avril.
Cezanne’s 1894-95 painting ” The Card Players”. He has been called the first modern painter.
A sculpture by Rodin.
“The Gates of Hell” the unfinished work of Rodin.
One of many sculptures in the museum.
Yvonne and I decided we should also go separate ways and off I went to try to see all the art that Rick Steves features in his book on Paris. I got to see most before needing to rendezvous with my colleagues at 1PM. Gerry and Sue wanted to continue spending time at the museum but Yvonne and I had reached our attention span limit. We agreed to reconvene at the hotel at 6PM and we exited the museum intent on revisiting a favorite haunt of the past, the Rue Cler area in the 7th arrondissement to have lunch. As we waited for a cab we saw a sign for boat rides on the Seine and Yvonne thought we might get a good closeup view of Notre Dame as the boats go right by it, so we decided to forgo lunch and take a ride on the Seine instead. The one hour narrated ride passed all the important sights on the river including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Unfortunately there was no food for sale on the boat and we had to settle for a few pieces of chocolate I had stashed in my man bag.
Walking along the River Seine to our boat.
Our open deck boat for a ride for the 1 hour ride on the River Seine.
The most important Pont Alexandre III bridge connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower, which we learned was originally scheduled to be torn down after 20 years, but a need for a radio tower saved it.
Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, completed in 1604.
The Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her beheading.
Even Paris has some homeless. Loved his graffiti.
Notre Dame Now.
Another view that shows the missing spire and roof of Notre Dame.
By the time we exited the ride it was 2:45 and we were hungry, so we grabbed front row seats at a local bistro that served crepes and watched people go by as we played “Parisian”!
A jambon and fromage crepe and Aperol spritzer.
The other attraction I really had hoped to revisit was Sainte-Chapelle, the magnificent chapel built by King Louis IX in 1248 to house religious relics, including the crown of thorns. What makes it so magnificent is that all of its walls contain nothing but stained glass windows. It is one of those OMG sights. It turns out it was right across the street from the bistro we were sitting at. Refreshed with food and drink we walked over and discovered why pre-purchased tickets ( which we did not have for this location) are good to have as we had to wait in line almost 30 minutes before being able to purchase tickets and enter the chapel. It was worth it; Sainte-Chapelle must be on your must see list if you are in Paris.
The outside of Sainte-Chapelle.
The lower chapel in Sainte-Chapelle.
Altar where the relics were displayed.
The Rose Window in Sainte-Chapelle.
More views of the stained glass windows depicting the life of Christ and stories from the Bible.
One of the statues and decor in the chapel.
Leaving the chapel we heard music and saw a large crowd nearby and decided to see what was happening. It turns out there was a bread exposition underway with bakers competing for prizes, a singer entertaining the crowd and most important, booths selling freshly made breads and pastries! Of course we had to try a few and were not disappointed. I even bought a couple of custard filled treats for Gerry and Sue, which did manage to make it back to the hotel without being eaten by us along the way.
One of several booths selling freshly made breads and pastries.
Delicious! Do not know what they were but knew that “creme” meant something that was custard or cream filled.
Displays entered in the baking competition.
Nearby very large flower and garden market.
6 PM arrived and we all were tried and not too hungry so we rented to the cocktail lounge for one final round of Manhattans and some French onion soup, a suitable ending to our quick visit to Paris and the Loire Valley of France.
Resting after a long day that included 11,802 steps and 10 flights of climbing!
We return to Paris today but will be stopping to see the famous cathedral in Chartres (pronounced “shart”), commonly called the Chartres Cathedral but is officially named the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres. It was mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, and stands at the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since the 4th century. It is a remarkable structure because its design allowed the windows to be larger than those in earlier churches. Even more remarkable is that of the 176 stained glass windows in the church, 152 are original from the 13th century. They managed to survive the many wars and fires over the centuries. A fascinating fact: when WWII started the stained glass windows were completely removed and hidden until after the war, thus preserving them for us to admire.
We have seen quite a few windmills as we traveled through the region.
French rest stops have great amenities and food!
Carrying on the tradition of having a Magnum ice cream sometime during a tour, even if it is at 10 AM.
Sue is famous for buying localtreast, which she is always willing to share. These were quite good.
Another “flourish”n given to us by Chantal. It is a cake like pastry.
A Chartres home.
Local mural near the Chartres Cathedral.
The 13th century Chartres Cathedral.
The Chartres Cathedral from the side, showing the different spires, built in different centuries.
Carvings on the exterior of the church entrance.
Carvings at the front entrance of the cathedral.
A sun dial as part of the cathedral.
One of the rose windows in the cathedral.
View of upper and lower stained glass windows in the cathedral.
One of the 152 original stained glass windows in the cathedral.
More stained glass, depicting the life of Jesus and the saints. People could not read back then so pictures were prominent in churches.
The modern main altar in an ancient church.
The stained glass windows with a special blue color.
Preserved painting on one of the columns in the church.
Elaborate carvings everywhere in the church.
More elaborate carvings, depicting saints and stories from the Bible.
Another famous feature of the church is that it contains a labyrinth mosaic on the floor in the center of the nave. Labyrinths were found in almost all Gothic Cathedrals, though most were later removed, since they distracted from the religious services in the nave. The labyrinth is supposed to symbolize the long winding path towards salvation. Unlike mazes, there was only a single path that could be followed. While we were in the church there were some devote people with their heads bowed, working their way through the maze.
The labyrinth in the floor of the church.
The Chartres cathedral has always been a popular pilgrimage site as it is rumored that the veil (which was acquired in 876 AD) worn by Mary when Jesus was born is a relic stored here.
The relics of Mary’s veil she supposedly wore when Jesus was born.
Between our guided tour in the cathedral to see the many features, picture taking and souvenir shopping there was little time to grab lunch before leaving the area. Luckily we found a Boulangerie (bakery) nearby that sold baguette sandwiches and we sat on a wall near the cathedral, quickly eating our lunch before boarding the bus.
The neighborhood around the church in Chartres.
Boulangerie lunch.
We were back in Paris by 3 PM, beating the expected evening rush. Local sites were pointed out as we worked our way to Les Invalides, where we posed for a customary group picture in front of Dome les Invalides, Napoleon’s burial site.
The River Seine in Paris.
Houseboat homes on a side channel of the Seine.
Classical French architecture in Paris.
Another example of typical Paris residences.
Arch de Triomphe. Well at least what I could get from a bus window.
Driving along the Champs Elysees, where the high end shops are located.
Eiffel Tower in the background as we drove to our hotel.
Notre Dame after the fire. Note the barricades keeping people from getting anywhere close to the church.
The Dome church of Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried.
Group Photo of our tour group. Chantal, the tour director, is on the left and our driver, Agostinho is in front.
Arrival at the hotel thus ended our collective journey except for the 14 of us who chose to go to the last optional event offered on the trip, an evening at one of the famous Paris can can theaters. Our group went to “La Nouvelle Eve”, smaller and not as famous as the Moulin Rouge or the Lido but considered to be more authenic. We had been to the Moulin Rouge years ago and were glad to be able to see something different. Chantal must have known the owner as he greeted us at the door and after a group picture with two of the dancers, took us to front row seats in the theater. A steak dinner, wine and champagne was included with the show and we all agreed it was one of the better meals we have had, much better than we had expected for such a venue. The show was also excellent. There were the requisite dancers; feathers from their skimpy costumes fluttered down at our table (we were that close). There was a singer, a great comedian and pantomime act as part of the show. And to top it off, Gerry was coerced into coming onto the stage and participating in a dance contest with several other men! We called it “karma” as once on a cruise he caused Yvonne to be taken on stage during a ventriloquist’s act. It was a truly fun evening.
The owner/manager welcoming us to the cabaret.
Our group photo at Le Novelle Eve vcaberet.
Pate as only the French can do!
Cheese pale
An excellent tenderloin and sides.
One of the dancers explaining the competition.
Gerry showing us his moves!
Outside Montmartre was hopping as we exited the theater.
Our journey is not over as we elected to stay over another day to see more sights in Paris.
