Category: 2022_09 Paris

We left too early this morning to make a trip to the boulangerie, but I don’t want to disappoint those of you waiting for today’s pastry pic. Last night (Tuesday) Peter and I took his walker on a test drive to Mamie and had a little dessert, like the Pane Chocolat for breakfast and the chocolate cake/ice cream for lunch wasn’t enough sugar for one day. But we wanted to hit the trifecta so our after dinner sweet was cheesecake with berry topping. We split it, though, so that makes it alright, doesn’t it?

This morning we took the Metro to the Gare Montparnasse to catch the 9:00 train to Chartres (pronounced Shart). The metro was an experience as we had to change trains and walk up/down about a zillion steps but we finally made it. Experience #2 was finding where the tracks were in this gigantic train station. We finally found a guard, and while he didn’t speak English, we were able to use enough sign language to let him know what we needed. After finding the train, it was an uneventful trip about 50 miles southwest of Paris.

Chartres is most famous for its Cathedral, which is officially titled Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres. It was mainly constructed between 1194 and 1220 and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Around the outside of the high altar area were magnificent carvings, about 50 in total.

There are 167 stained glass windows in the Cathedral.

For you history buffs, the cathedral was almost destroyed in August of 1944 because the Allies thought the steeples and towers were being used as observation posts by the Germans. But unlike the monastery at Montecasino in Italy which was totally destroyed for the same reason (except there were no Germans), wiser heads prevailed. An American colonel went to the Cathedral to check it out and, when he realized it was empty, rang the Cathedral bells as a signal for the Americans not to fire. As a result, the bombardment was cancelled, and the Cathedral was saved. A sad postscript, the colonel was killed in action later that same day. He was posthumously decorated with the War Cross, the Legion of Honour and the National Order of Merit by the French government.

There really isn’t that much to do in Chartres, at least according to the woman at the tourist info office. But we did finish at the Cathedral just in time for the last Petite Train run until mid-afternoon. It took us all through the town allowing us to see spots we wouldn’t have otherwise seen do to the hills and cobblestone streets.

After the 35-minute train ride, we headed to a local restaurant for a delicious lunch.

As our blood sugar levels were still pretty high from yesterday’s overload, we passed on dessert and headed back to the train station.

Once back in Paris, we planned to take a bus home but couldn’t find the right one so we finally gave up and jumped in a cab. Now we’re resting as we have a late night dinner with friends who live just outside of Paris. We met Romain and Charline this summer when they were visiting Jim and Kathy, our friends at the Ranch. It will be wonderful to see them again.

Tomorrow we back at the airport to pick up car #3 for our month of traveling through France. As much as we love the cool vibe of our neighborhood, we’re looking forward to getting out of the bustling city and into the countryside. The next two nights we’re in Lyon. Not exactly the country but our flat is out of town so it should be a bit quieter. Have a great evening everyone.

Let’s get this out of the way….here’s today’s boulangerie picture.

After we got our sugar level up with our breakfast chocolate, we walked to the Metro for a ride to Sainte Chapelle. It was an easy 7-8 minute walk and only 2 flights of stairs to descend. Unfortunately, the Metro system is not very accessible so most of the time there are lots of stairs to deal with.

We only had about 4-5 stops before getting off and heading to the Chapel. On the way, we caught our first glimpse of the Seine River (at least on this trip).

It was just a few more blocks to get to Sainte Chapelle.

It was built in the mid-13th century by Saint Louis to house the Holy Crown of Thorns, pieces of the True Cross as well as other relics from the Passion. These now rest in the large shrine on the 2nd floor of the chapel.

For an 360 degree look at the chapel, here’s a short video.

We only spent about 30 minutes in the chapel before heading toward the Eiffel tower for lunch. Our friends from the Ranch, Joe and Janet, are in Paris on a tour and we met them and their friends, for lunch.

I asked Peter not too long ago if he misses our house and he said absolutely not. But, we both miss our friends from the Ranch so it was great to see Joe and Janet. How cool is it that our trips overlapped. We had a delicious Italian lunch at Mokus L’Ecureuil, which translates to Mokus the Squirrel. I’m so glad I didn’t know that before I selected that restaurant. The food was delicious and the company amazing!

It was wonderful to see friends from home and to meet a couple of new friends. After a lovely lunch of pizza and lasagna (for Peter), Joe, Janet, Cheryl and Gary headed to the Eiffel Tower for their 2:00 ride to the top. Peter and I followed at a much slower pace, but only got as far as the plaza overlook.

Then it was back on the Metro for the ride back to the ‘hood. When we arrived, we had just enough room in our tummies for a bit of dessert at a café a few steps from our flat. Peter’s blood levels of ice cream were dangerously low, so he had a few scoops while I had Moelleux au Chocolat with a scoop of ice cream.

Since we ate way too much food this afternoon, we’ll have sandwiches for dinner. We’ll probably take a little walk later to test out Peter’s new walker, which, I need to pick up. So, we’ll chat again tomorrow. Love to all. L&P

The day started with a trip to the boulangerie for a loaf of bread, actually it’s more like a stick of bread. The easiest way to find a boulangerie is to look for the queue out the door. Luckily, I was there early so there were only a couple of people ahead of me.

After breakfast we walked out of Montmartre into the adjacent district and visited the Palais Garnier, also known as the Opera Garnier. On our way we saw some interesting things.

The Opera Garnier is another 19th century building built primarily for opera and ballet.

It was crazy crowded inside so getting pics without a million people was virtually impossible but here are some of the ones I took.

We were able to see the inside of the theater but it was way too dark for pictures. I’ve been past the building many times in previous visits to Paris but the was the first time I’d gone inside. It was really worth the visit, absolutely beautiful.

Then we headed to the Tuileries Garden to eat our lunch. On our way we passed the famous Place Vendome.

After lunch we headed home as I had a 3pm hair appointment. I was 3 weeks overdue and the hair desperately needed help. As we walked through the large green door to our courtyard, Peter lost his balance and hit the ground….again.

I was holding the door and saw him start to fall but couldn’t grab him fast enough. There were a couple of residents in the courtyard who came to help him get back on his feet. For those keeping score, this is 3rd fall total and 2 in the last 3 days. So far we’ve dodged 3 bullets but can’t count on that happening forever. We met a woman at the Opera House who fell down a few stairs and severely broke her ankle, requiring surgery and 3 days in a Paris hospital. That pretty much ended their vacation.

With that in mind we decided to upgrade his cane to a walker. There’s a pharmacy on the next block and they were able to order one to be delivered tomorrow. The hope is that the walker will give him a little more stability than the cane. Fingers crossed.

We had a lazy morning, sleeping late and enjoying a delicious breakfast in our lovely little flat.

You’ll notice that there’s no dining table. There actually is but it’s folded up against the wall. We pull it out when we eat.

It was about 11:30 before heading out for the top of the Montmartre hill. It was only a 30-minute walk, but it was all uphill. After about 20 minutes, we rested over coffee and hot chocolate in preparation for climbing about 50 stairs.

Around the corner we found another giant flight of stairs, twice as high as the one we just climbed. Luckily, there was a way around it because I’m not sure we could have done any more. We still had to go up the hill but did it gradually without the stairs.

Once to the top, it was just a short stroll to the Place du Tertre, which at one time, was the main square of the ancient city of Montmartre. Now it’s famous for the artists that set up their easels around the square and is one of the most visited places in Paris.

We visited 4 years ago when we were in Paris and purchased a gorgeous oil painting that now hangs in our living room.

We looked for the artist and while he wasn’t there his brother was. He speaks very good English and told me that his brother was home and wasn’t doing very well. He still paints but doesn’t come to the square anymore, so he sells the work for him.

There were at least 50-60 artists all over the square and their work was incredible. Oh, to have talent.

After wandering around the small square, we crossed the street to the Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, the 2nd oldest church in Paris constructed in the 12th century. It’s a small church and very nondescript from the outside but beautiful on the inside.

Then it was around the corner to the magnificent Sacre Coeur Basilica, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Factoid….a Basilica has higher church authority than a Cathedral.

Compared to the other churches we’ve seen in the UK and in earlier trips to the continent, this one is brand new. Construction began in 1870 and finished in 1923, so it’s only 100 years old. It sits high on top of Montmartre hill and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.

Since we went into the Basilica in 2018, we didn’t go again but here are a few pictures from our first visit.

After enjoying our lunch in the dog park just down the hill (fending off the pooches who wanted to share our lunch), we took a 35-minute ride on the Petite Train through the local area. It actually went about 5 minutes from our flat before heading back to the Sacre Coeur.

There was a viewing platform overlooking the city. It was a beautiful, sunny day so it was a great view.

Once finished on the hill we walked down about a zillion stairs. We were going to take the funicular, but the ticket machine was only adding money to existing tickets, not selling new tickets. Since we didn’t already have a ticket, down the stairs we went. But down is better than up so it didn’t take too long.

As a reward for making it down the stairs without incident, we enjoyed a sweet crepe.

Finally, we headed home but by the time we got there we were both exhausted. We’d walked over 11,000 steps and neither one of us had slept that well last night. So, it will be a quiet evening at home. We bought a couple of chicken cordon bleu and au gratin potatoes for dinner but we’re so full of crepes that we may save them for tomorrow night.

As always, thanks for joining us on our travels and we’ll talk again tomorrow.

No, I don’t speak French. Thank god for google translate. Welcome to gay Paree.

The day started off well but with a couple of hitches. We took the car back to Europcar….no problem, but the shuttle wasn’t running so we had to walk to the terminal. Not a gigantic big deal as it was only about a 5-7 minute walk, even for us. But, not 2 minutes after we walked in the door of the terminal, I heard a thud and when I turned around Peter was on the floor. Apparently he slipped on the tile and went down. The good news is that there were plenty of people to help him up, he wasn’t bleeding and he didn’t hurt himself so no visit to the A&E was necessary. All is well.

We had a long wait, though, at the airport because we had to have the car back by 9AM but we couldn’t drop off our bag until 11AM. When it came time to head through security, there were no wheelchair pushers available. But they did have a chair so I pushed. We had an uneventful 80-minute flight but then ran into our next hitch when we had to wait 45 minutes for a wheelchair. Not a big deal except, the crew wouldn’t let us off the plane so the flight that was returning to Edinburgh was delayed. Once the wheelchair arrived, it was a long walk past the passengers who were waiting to board the plane. Luckily, there was a glass partition between us and them so we couldn’t hear the bad things they were probably saying about us.

On the flip side, immigration hall was empty and our bag was the only one riding the carousel at baggage claim so it was easy to find. Our driver had to move his car but picked us up in just a few minutes and we were on our way.

An hour later, we were finally in Paris. Our flat is tiny (think size of a large closet), but is in a great area and it’s Paris so who cares how big it is!

The flat is in an 18th century building that used to be owned by a baroness and is located in the 9th arrondissement (district) of Montmartre (pronounced Mo-Mart).

This is a trendy neighborhood loaded with restaurants and bars, and across the street from a small grocery store. It was already after 6:30pm and we were both exhausted so we strolled down the street to find dinner. On one corner was an Irish Pub, but after 8 weeks of pub food in the UK that was a non-starter. On the other corner was Mamie a cute little bistro…score.

My Lizette was delicious….basically a strawberry prosecco. Peter had a beer.

The next hitch occurred in restaurant when the menu was only in French, a language neither of us speak. We picked out a few words and google translate helped a little as well.

Peter’s Club Sandwich was interesting with chicken fingers, hard boiled eggs, bacon, tomato and lettuce. In spite of not even remotely resembling the Club Sandwich he’s used to, he said it was very good.

My Coquilles de Truffes was delicious. It was basically small elbow macaroni with ham and a cheese mushroom sauce.

After dinner we stopped at the grocery store to stock up for the next 4 days. Since we’ve both been to Paris (Peter once, me 4 times), we have nothing special planned for our time here. We’ve done all the tourist stuff so we’ll spend our time relaxing, strolling the streets and eating our lunch in the park. After the rather hectic pace we set in the UK, we’re looking forward to a little rest.

Speaking of rest, it’s almost 10pm and my laundry is on the drying rack so it’s time for me to hit the rack. Talk with you soon.