Larry left Arizona on Thursday, February 21, arriving at the
mine site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Saturday. The trip from Arizona involved flying Phoenix
– London – Johannesburg – Lubumbashi (DRC) and then he took a commuter
flight to the mine site. Hopefully I'll be able to pursuade him into posting some pictures and talk a bit about his trip to the DRC in a separate post.
About two weeks before he was to leave on this business
trip, he learned he would be participating in a meeting to take place in a
small city south of Paris. However, the
meeting wasn’t to take place until Wednesday, March 6, and he was scheduled to
leave the DRC on Friday, March 1. He
decided to use a couple of vacation days and frequent flyer miles to send me to
Paris to meet him (business-class, ooh lala!) What a guy!!!I left Phoenix on Thursday, February 28, arriving Paris a day before him on Friday, March 1. With the help of Trip Advisor, I located a hotel within a couple blocks of the Eiffel Tower and within a block of a street called Rue Cler where several small shops, vegetable and flower stands and restaurants are located allowing me to comfortably venture out on my own within walking distance of the hotel.
I had arranged through our hotel to have a driver meet me at the airport so I wouldn't need to figure out how to deal with a taxi on my own - I'm so much braver in a foreign country when Larry is by my side. So the flight went smoothly and before I knew it, okay, about 11 hours after leaving Phoenix, I arrived in Paris. After checking in at the hotel, I headed for the Eiffel Tower, enjoyed just walking and then stopped at a restaurant on Rue Cler for a glass of wine and a light bite to eat and then it was time to return to the hotel for some sleep. Nothing really stands out about this hotel - the entrance is pretty much in the middle of the picture. Hotel Relais Bosquet. By the way, the front desk clerks at all the hotels we stayed in all spoke perfect English.
Larry arrived the following morning (he had no problem figuring out using a taxi without speaking French, hmmmm), and we headed out to enjoy the sites. It was cold - 32 degrees - brrrr. I had left temperatures in the low 80s in Phoenix, and Larry had left humid temperatures in the 80s.
Below is a collage of pictures from Rue Cler. I'm going to be creating several collages - between the two of us, we took around 800 pictures. Rue Cler was picturesque. A few blocks of this particular street allows for mainly pedestrian traffic, has several restaurants, some fruit and vegetable markets, flower markets, pastry stores, cheese shops and wine shops. (You can double click on the collage to get a bigger view of the pictures - if you want.)
After visiting the Eiffel Tower and electing not to stand in a long, long line waiting to get to the top, we took off walking to see all the other sites there are to see in Paris. So, second stop after the Eiffel Tower was the Army Museum and Naptoleon's Tomb. But first, another Eiffel Tower picture before heading on to the next picture collage.
The Army Museum which includes Napoleon's Tomb was a short walk away.
After all that walking and because it was a tad chilly out, we decided it was time to visit one of the many restaurants along the way for a glass of wine. Smoking is not allowed in the restaurants but is allowed in the outdoor seating. Some of the restaurants had covered, heated outdoor seating - filled with smokers.
From here, we set out for the Arc de Triomphe, a walk down the Champs-Elysees, the obelisk of Luxor and the Place de la Concorde ending with a visit to the Orsay Museum.
(Information from Rick Steves' Paris 2013): Napoleon had the Arc de Triomphe commissioned to commemorate his victory at the battle of Auserlitz. The Arc de Triomphe is at the center of the convergence of 12 boulevards! You get to it through an underground tunnel. The top right picture in the collage looks down Avenue de Champs-Elysees. Off we took walking to the Place de la Concorde and obelisk of Luxor. I liked the look of the trimmed trees.
During the Revolution, the guillotine was located on this square - Rick tells us that 2,780 people were beheaded here including Marie Antoionette. A bronze plaque sits in front of the obelisk to mark the spot where the guillotine was located. The obelisk was erected to honor those who had been executed. It was pulled down from the entrance to Ramses II's Temple in Egypt, encased in wood, brought by boat and erected in 1836. The gold leaf cap was added in 1998 replacing the original which was stolen 2,500 years ago.
We then crossed into the Tuileries Garden which led us towards the Lourve, but we turned towards the Seine River to visit the Orsay Museum.
Louis XIV was responsible for the Versailles seen today by turning his father's hunting lodge constructed in the 1620s into a palace. I read that several phases of building took place beginning in the 1660s and continuing through the 1710s. Additional modifications were made by heirs until the revolution of 1789. It was opened as a museum in 1837. Quite the history of what took place between that time as well.
The ceilings were amazing.
Oh my gosh - I just previewed what I've done so far - I'm only into day 2 in France! However, before I move onto Day 3 activities, I must include another Eiffel Tower picture!
Day 3, we made our way to the train station to catch our high speed train (it reached 200 miles per hour) for the 45 minute trip to Reims (Ranz) located northeast of Paris in the champagne region. I had found a tour service via Trip Advisor and had made the prior arrangements to be picked up at the train station in Reims and then taken on a tour of champagne houses - essentially a full day. It was just us on the tour and our guide was from England. He was great -- full of historical information regarding this area during World War I. He knew a lot about champagne too!
These were graves of British soldiers from WWI. British citizens living in the area volunteer to maintain the cemetery.
These were graves of French soldiers.
And these were graves of German soldiers. These grave markers are either grey or black. We saw several cemeteries just from WWI on this little tour.
The below picture is of the cathedral Notre Dame of Reims where many of the French kings were crowned. The size of the cathedrals we saw were so impressive. The original cathedral was built beginning in the 1200s and completed in the 1300s. It was nearly destroyed by German bombing during WWI. Restoration began in 1919 and finished in 1938.
Day 4 allowed for a pleasant walk in the morning and because the temperatures had warmed a bit, trees started budding out.
Late morning, we took a taxi to the train station that would take us south to Orleans where Larry would participate in the meetings that brought him to France in the first place. Our taxi driver spoke English - notice his t-shirt - he is a huge New England Patriots fan.
Orleans (Or-lay-on) is a pretty city with a beautiful cathedral honoring Joan of Arc and was a welcome side trip with a slower pace.
The tour ended with wine tasting.
Day 6 we returned to Paris and a different hotel - this one was located by Notre Dame and the Seine River.
Our last day, day 7, was spent walking -- seemed like even more walking than we'd already done. But I'm not sure I could have done Paris any other way if I was at all capable of walking. Now, that foot I've been complaining about in prior posts was still bothering me a bit but lots of Advil and ugly shoes got me through the walking - oh, and those cafes we'd come upon allowing us to sit for a bit and sip on that fine French wine - oui oui!
Here is a picture of our hotel room, the lobby area (very unique) and miscellaneous food/wine pictures.
Notre Dame: Ground was broke in 1163! and those who built this cathedral had hopes that their great-great-great-great-great!-grandchildren might attend the dedication! The first mass took place in 1345! Those dates just blow me away!
I have to include a collage of pictures from the front of Notre Dame. So interesting....
Rick Steves tells us that the padlocks in the picture below are "akin to lighting candles in a church. Locals and tourists alike honor loved ones by writing a brief message on the lock and attaching it to the railings." We didn't participate.
Here is a picture collage of the inside of (left) the cathedral in Orleans, (center) the basillica near Chateau Chambord and (right) Notre Dame. The second collage is a collection of some of the stained glass windows in these cathedrals.
The below picture is of the entrance to the Louve. So different to have such a modern structure to enter this museum home to art from "ancient world" to 1850.
Are you wondering how we got so many pictures of us together? One of the fellows Larry works with joined us on our walking tour the last day - thanks Bob!
I'll end my France picture posting with an evening view of Notre Dame from our hotel window.
Well, there you go, our trip to France! I feel so lucky to have been able to go on this trip - what a fantastic husband I have!
Upon our return to Carefree, a rattlesnake had taken up residence in our yard. It was pretty chilly that morning allowing for Larry to easily relocate him/her.
On the health front, it remains stable - lucky girl I am! I previously met with Dr. Paripati on a monthly basis and as of late January, that schedule has now been moved out to every three months. I continue to have scans every three months to monitor "the situation". Next scan - end of April/first of May.
Au Revoir!
