Mister Bed Coignieres - Maurepas Île-de-France

... of the works of French Impressionist artists such as Renoir and Cezanne and also Picasso. The highlight was the 2 rooms that had the largest paintings of Monet’s "Water Lilies". I had seen smaller ones of this in other museum but this museum had 8 paintings which were about 14 metres long, each curving around the wall. Tara and I had a lovely time- it wasn’t too crowded as they were letting in small numbers at a time.

... down there and told our group leader what the woman had told me about not being able to check our bags through 4 connections, and she said that the man helping her had not told them that. Meanwhile, the man helping them and the woman who had been helping me were talking, and he had given her some papers. So, she looked at me and said, "come back down here and we'll get you set up." So, I thought, ok, maybe she was new and didn't know that ...

... French at our last stop, which was scary but good, hehehe. Mind you it was just to ask if they spoke English... Now we are on our way to Paris and the hotel. I hope there are computers there so I can start to enter these entries. I am glad that I have been writing as I go because there is no way I would haven't remembered half the things that I have done since the start of tour. I feel as though my mind is ...

... time had flown by. I returned to the hotel around 5:30pm, and got the key to my room. Clean, renovated in the last few years with modern a bathroom and shower, air conditioned, it is the size of a walk-in closet, but is perfect for my purposes these few days. Cable TV with stations from France, Spain, UK (BBC News), MSNBC Europe, NHK Japan, and one German/Portuguese/Italian/Spanish-speak ing channel, complements the whole. The view out the window is pure Paris ...

... on you for being a tourist. We were lucky to mainly get the former rather than the latter, but it was always interesting to see! We caught the train to the Eiffel Tower which suitably impressed the kids in its size, but the queues to go up it were ridiculous, so we preferred to just walk up the adjoining Champs de Mars, sit on the grass and admire it from a distance. Being a Saturday, lots of families were about and the kids had fun racing on push-wheel cars in ...

... on Rue Cler (of Rick Steves fame). Back to apt. After a bite to eat and a bit of whining about sore feet we dragged our sorry selves to the Ecole Militaire metro stop and proceeded to find our way to the north of Paris to Montmartre, we had to transfer 3 times so felt like Napolean must have when he conquered something! Montmartre is the red light district of Paris and we learned more than we needed to about some things.... An interesting tidbit that the ...

... high school who is studying in Paris.) Friday morning started bright an early (I was lucky because the weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous.) We started out getting croissants at a local bakery (AMAZING!) and then we walked to Notre Dame.  Also walked along the Sienne, Mareilles, Montemarte (where they not only shot Amelie but also had a street called Rue Gabrielle,) Socre Couer, Arc d'Triumph, Champ d'Lysee, Pontevec and then ended up ...

Even though it was Bastille Day, I'm betting one of the top 3 busiest days of the year here in Paris, I decided to go back to the Musee d'Orsay and brave the line up. Much to my surprise I was able to walk straight in. What the difference was between yesterday and today I have no idea. Even though this museum is full of more 'modern' art (1850-1915 ish) and I am a fan of the classics, I really enjoyed it. One thing that bugged me ...

... ja jalkoihin painoi niin pirusti. Kestää aikansa taas tottua tähän menoon. Kahden laskun jälkeen oltiin siis ensimmäiselle päivälle laskut laskettu mutta oli siisti taas korkata kausi alkuun ja huomata, että kai ne taidot sieltä epävarmuuden alta taas rupee löytymään ja ehkä jalatkin tottuu taas vaikka jonkun viikon laskemisen jälkeen. Lunta kyllä kovasti kaivattaisiin mutta alku viikolle onkin luvattu dumppia. Tosin lunta on niin vähän, että esimerkiksi ...

... I forgot to mention my oberservations of the French that I found enjoyable. They do still do the bisou (the two air kisses) they bring their bread home sans bag and just carry it in their hands, and my favorite is the motorcycles which seem to rule the road (and sometimes sidewalk) since they go wherever they can fit. This includes the businessmen in their nice suits heading off to work... very enjoyable to see. Love, ~Amanda (or as the French keyboard says: Q,qndq