Paris, Days Three and Four: “I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t
care who knows it!” Elf
 |
| The Louvre |
 |
| Laduree |
Our second morning in Paris starts with more overcast, rain and gloom. I can’t wait to go to the Eiffel Tower. Ariana suggests waiting until
later in the day as the forecast suggests the rain may lighten up. Sophie is at the desk this morning; she
is very nice. I’m so happy to meet
her. She gave us quite a good deal
on the room and says she gave us the only one with a view of Notre Dame. We have breakfast at the hotel then
head to the Louvre via the Metro. We’re not going to go into the Louvre, but
want to see the exterior and the grounds.
The lines to enter are really long – so glad we’re not going in. We take some photos in the courtyard,
it’s raining steadily now and the wind is blowing very hard. We stop at the Paul truck to get a
pastry. We buy a small chocolate
Viennese (like a baguette, but not chewy). They don’t have coffee today, he doesn’t offer an
explanation as to why. I think
I’ll drink a gallon of coffee when I get home. No one makes brewed decaf, and all they serve here is a tiny
shot of espresso. That just doesn’t cut it for me.
We split the pastry and eat it on the run to the Museum de l’Orangerie,
where we’ll see Monet’s Water Lilies.
We pass by the Palace, where security is very high, I assume due to the
elections that just took place.
There are police everywhere.
We’re so wet by the time we get to the museum, cars splashed us all
along the way. The M d’O has a bit
of a line, but we enter quickly, only to wait again in the ticket line. At least it’s dry. The art collection on display here is works by artists who inspired the composer Debussy, and it’s wonderful. It includes many works by a very quirky
artist Sautine, several Picassos (he will never be a favorite of mine) and another, Derain, who had about 30 pieces, very interesting. Also some works by Kandinsky, who I love, and Modigliani. I copied a Modigliani when I took an
oil class years ago. He has a
special place in my heart. We see
several by Renoir, many by Cezanne (saw his work on exhibit in Philadelphia
many years ago) and a lovely large Monet, as well as at least one Manet. It takes us an hour or so to get through
all of that, then we go upstairs to see the Water Lilies. I think of myself as being fairly well
educated where art is concerned, so feel like an idiot not having known that Water Lilies is comprised of eight huge panels decorating the walls of two oval
rooms in the museum. I had no idea
Monet painted them in large pieces to be assembled as murals. The rooms are specially designed and
have seating on benches in the center with natural light coming from above,
just as the studio where they were painted did. One views them as one would
from a bench in an outdoor garden.
So relaxing and calming.
Serenity.
We venture back
out into the blustery Paris weather and head to the Champs Ellysees on our way
to the Arc de Triomphe. We stop by
Laduree to buy some macaroons, some of the best in Paris. So many beautiful colors and
flavors! We get 2 large (coffee
and dark chocolate) and three small (pistachio, sea salt & caramel and
raspberry),
almost $18, American!
We split a baguette sandwich for lunch to try to make up for that
splurge. Chicken & cheese, it
was simple, but delicious. From
there we pay to climb almost 300 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It’s wet & windy, as
expected, with excellent views of the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, too. It’s finally time to head
there. I’m not what I consider a
“touristy” type person, but I cannot wait to see the Eiffel Tower! It’s certainly one of the most, if not
the most, iconic structure in the world.
There aren’t very many people around when we finally get there and I
have an awful feeling that it’s not open! We tried to get tickets online weeks
ago and the first available were for June. They have signs that only one elevator is in operation and
the ticket area is closed. Turns
out we are at the base of the “leg” that is not operating. When we go to another, the line to
climb the stairs is short. We go up 300 plus stairs to the first level, which
they refer to as the 2nd level. Ariana is a very good sport, especially since we are pretty
much drenched at this point, and she accompanies me on up to the intermediate
level, 670 stairs, total. We find 18 more stairs up to the 2nd level
elevator, so count those in our day’s stair tally as well. The line for the elevator down is
really long, but she insists that we not take the stairs back down. We finish the macaroons as we wait. It’s a neat ride down in a large, double-decker elevator. As soon as we descend, the sun shines
brightly for our walk to the closest Metro station. We now head to Madeleine, known for the little cakes named
for the area. We visit a high-end
store called La Fauchone. Super
expensive, all the food there is a work of art. They have anything imaginable - chocolates, pastries,
caviar, pates, seafood, teas, specialty coffees. This place makes Gelson’s look like Walmart. We don’t buy anything, but certainly
have fun looking. We walk around
Madeleine for a bit, then start back to the hotel. My hair is matted into a wet tangle of curls, I cannot even
get my fingers though the back.
Can’t wait to comb it! We
stop at a boulangerie near the hotel and get two petit baguetttes to snack on,
one with olives, the other with dried fruit, herbs and ham. After cleaning up and researching local
restaurants online, Ariana finds one called Le Petit du Benoit. We’re in the St Germaine area, which is
pricey, and this one is supposed to have traditional French fare for reasonable
prices. We walk about a mile to
find this charming little old place packed with common/shared tables, and are
seated between two couples, one younger than I, the other older. It reminds me of eating at my
grandmother’s house, it’s been operating since 1901. A room the size of my living room has about 30 seats, all
filled, at four tables. We order a
pate en croute to start and 50 cl of Bordeaux to share. I order duck confite, Ariana orders
Boeuf Borguinone. It all tastes wonderful
– the entrees are piping hot.
There’s a basket of baguette, but I’m not sure if it belongs to our
neighbors or to us. After a bit I
decide it really doesn’t matter, so I dive in. The woman from that couple is adamant that the food was not good;
she says they have no cook. I
thought it was perfectly lovely – simple, home-style food for a reasonable
price and good camaraderie. The older gent to my right has fresh cheese (yogurt)
with honey for dessert - so simple, but it looks wonderful. We already have
dessert planned elsewhere, so have none here. They write your order on your placemat, and that’s how it’s
tallied! Cash only, no credit
cards. We walk to Grom Paris from
there to indulge in some of the world’s best gelato. I had a medium with three flavors - yogurt, caramel and
coffee. The coffee was
exceptionally good, all were amazing.
Ariana gets the same size, but gets Crema de Grom, tiramsu and chocolate
extra noir. Super quality, the place is immaculate. We grab a coffee to go at Starbuck’s on the way back
and call it a day. We had walked
11.19 miles. I sleep like a baby.
almost $18, American!
We split a baguette sandwich for lunch to try to make up for that
splurge. Chicken & cheese, it
was simple, but delicious. From
there we pay to climb almost 300 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It’s wet & windy, as
expected, with excellent views of the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, too. It’s finally time to head
there. I’m not what I consider a
“touristy” type person, but I cannot wait to see the Eiffel Tower! It’s certainly one of the most, if not
the most, iconic structure in the world.
There aren’t very many people around when we finally get there and I
have an awful feeling that it’s not open! We tried to get tickets online weeks
ago and the first available were for June. They have signs that only one elevator is in operation and
the ticket area is closed. Turns
out we are at the base of the “leg” that is not operating. When we go to another, the line to
climb the stairs is short. We go up 300 plus stairs to the first level, which
they refer to as the 2nd level. Ariana is a very good sport, especially since we are pretty
much drenched at this point, and she accompanies me on up to the intermediate
level, 670 stairs, total. We find 18 more stairs up to the 2nd level
elevator, so count those in our day’s stair tally as well. The line for the elevator down is
really long, but she insists that we not take the stairs back down. We finish the macaroons as we wait. It’s a neat ride down in a large, double-decker elevator. As soon as we descend, the sun shines
brightly for our walk to the closest Metro station. We now head to Madeleine, known for the little cakes named
for the area. We visit a high-end
store called La Fauchone. Super
expensive, all the food there is a work of art. They have anything imaginable - chocolates, pastries,
caviar, pates, seafood, teas, specialty coffees. This place makes Gelson’s look like Walmart. We don’t buy anything, but certainly
have fun looking. We walk around
Madeleine for a bit, then start back to the hotel. My hair is matted into a wet tangle of curls, I cannot even
get my fingers though the back.
Can’t wait to comb it! We
stop at a boulangerie near the hotel and get two petit baguetttes to snack on,
one with olives, the other with dried fruit, herbs and ham. After cleaning up and researching local
restaurants online, Ariana finds one called Le Petit du Benoit. We’re in the St Germaine area, which is
pricey, and this one is supposed to have traditional French fare for reasonable
prices. We walk about a mile to
find this charming little old place packed with common/shared tables, and are
seated between two couples, one younger than I, the other older. It reminds me of eating at my
grandmother’s house, it’s been operating since 1901. A room the size of my living room has about 30 seats, all
filled, at four tables. We order a
pate en croute to start and 50 cl of Bordeaux to share. I order duck confite, Ariana orders
Boeuf Borguinone. It all tastes wonderful
– the entrees are piping hot.
There’s a basket of baguette, but I’m not sure if it belongs to our
neighbors or to us. After a bit I
decide it really doesn’t matter, so I dive in. The woman from that couple is adamant that the food was not good;
she says they have no cook. I
thought it was perfectly lovely – simple, home-style food for a reasonable
price and good camaraderie. The older gent to my right has fresh cheese (yogurt)
with honey for dessert - so simple, but it looks wonderful. We already have
dessert planned elsewhere, so have none here. They write your order on your placemat, and that’s how it’s
tallied! Cash only, no credit
cards. We walk to Grom Paris from
there to indulge in some of the world’s best gelato. I had a medium with three flavors - yogurt, caramel and
coffee. The coffee was
exceptionally good, all were amazing.
Ariana gets the same size, but gets Crema de Grom, tiramsu and chocolate
extra noir. Super quality, the place is immaculate. We grab a coffee to go at Starbuck’s on the way back
and call it a day. We had walked
11.19 miles. I sleep like a baby. |
| Creme Brûlée from Day One |
We’re on the
train to London as I write this and arrive in about 15 minutes. The Chunnel was uneventful. London, you have your work cut out for you – Paris is one
hard act to follow. J’taime.
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