A Happy Birthday in Paris
Trip Start
May 02, 2007
1
19
70
Trip End
Ongoing
Paris,
France
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Hello all...we've fallen a bit behind in the updates. As we're sure you know there are enough things to do and see here to keep you busy for weeks and months, so not much time has been devoted on the ol' laptop. We arrived last Tuesday, June 26, in the afternoon, to our campground in Maisons-Laffitte, which is about a twenty minute train ride from Paris central. We bought our Carte Orange (weekly transit passes) immediately and took the train in for a few hours, just to get ourselves oriented a little bit and get used to the metro system. This is my second time in Paris and Yvonne's third - I was here in 2004 but for Yvonne it's been over ten years - it's great to be back!
Before Paris though, after our excursions in the Pyranees, we drove through the Dordogne valley
01.Castle in the Dordogne
. There are lots of medieval towns with castles in the region and it's also a big attraction for visitors from the UK, as it was fiercely fought over between the French and the Brits many centuries ago. We stopped in a couple of these old, fortified villages along the way before basing ourselves for a couple of nights in Sarlat. It's a very nice place - we followed a pre-planned walk around the town and passed by several sights, one of them being part of the original ramparts. The next day we rented a canoe from nearby and paddled our way down the Dordogne River, along with lots of other tourists who did the same. It was very pleasant (especially when we let the loud canoers fly by us) and we did little more than let the slow-moving current pull us downstream. We floated by a few of the medieval towns, with their castles built high up in the hills overlooking their subjects, and stopped in one called La Roque Gregeac. According to some literature we read, this town bills itself as one of the prettiest in France, and apparently has some awards to back that up. It was very pretty no doubt, but also tiny, so we didn't stay long and hopped back into our canoe to take us the rest of the way to our destination. At the end of our four hour trip a bus brought us back to our beginning and we cycled back to camp. Our last stop before Paris was the Grotte de Font Gaume, a pre-historic cave complete with polychrome (multi-colored) cave drawings from 14,000 years ago
02.Square in Monpazier
. They only allow a certain number of visitors a day (180) with a maximum of ten or so people per group. Thankfully our guide spoke some English and was able to explain and point out interesting facts as he led us through a tiny rock corridor. The narrow cave (we had to walk single-file) is dimly lit and only ten percent of what is actually in there can be seen by visitors. The drawings consist of bison, horses, and reindeer and, as the guide pointed out, were made using techniques that were only re-discovered about 400 years ago. He also explained that they did not live in the cave, but only used it for their art. During their excavation of the grotte they also found various tools like sticks of clay with one pointy end (pencils), and hollowed out reindeer antlers used to blow paint - a prehistoric airbrush! Parts of the drawings were also actually engravings into the rock and incorporated in the scene.On to Paris...we spent six days here slowly exploring the sprawling city. We took in all the usual sights (the Louvre - which we got in for free on the first Sunday of the month - the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral - which had the quiet police in full force, going around silencing noisy visitors with an abrupt "shhh!" - Sacre Couer, Jardin du Luxembourg, etc) plus a lot of general roaming around - and, of course, one of our favourite activities: people watching! We splurged a little and ate some great meals and enjoyed the crepes
03.
. During one of our more memorable lunches, we met an elderly Australian couple (yet another contact for when we go there) sitting beside us. Beside them sat two older Frenchmen who, at some point, joined in our conversation. One of them was very enthusiastic about Paris and insisted that we follow him after our meal as he wanted to show us a couple of historic sights. He led us into a city building and he pulled out of his pocket a set of keys and unlocked a door. The room inside was perfectly round with balconies overhead, which witnessed, as our impromptu tour guide mentioned, the very first surgery in Europe (the building used to be a university). He also explained that underneath the floor was a massive hole that tunneled under the Seine River. It was through here that massive oak trees were dragged and which now support the Notre Dame. We were also instructed to check out the Musee de Moyen Age (which we did), a medieval museum housing tons of artifacts and also some Roman ruins that were part of the building (it was part of the Roman settlement of Lutetia).On Yvonne's THIRTIETH birthday (June 29), I got up early and walked to town to buy fresh croissants, pastries and champagne. I made her a birthday omelet and we sipped on mimosas while we ate. The little kitty that we adopted during our stay also popped in for a visit and stayed for some breakfast of her own. When we went into Paris, we met up with some friends from Vancouver - Artemis and Andrew - whom we haven't seen in several months, due to them moving to Florida right before our wedding (she played violin in the song I recorded for Yvonne, but sadly turned the trio to a duo for the big day!) Ironically, they were in Paris to attend another wedding - Andrew's sister's (Ollia)
04.Bagpipe busker in Sarlat
. It was great to see them again - we ate a picnic lunch, drank wine, and caught up in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower...well, it would have been a shadow if it weren't raining! Afterward, we followed them back to Ollia's apartment where they had a small gathering of family and friends in town for the wedding. We went for dinner with them all and during the meal we sang Happy Birthday for Yvonne and they all signed a big handmade card (a.k.a. placemat). We made more contacts in Australia (Andrew's parents) so things are looking good!Other notable things we did in Paris included watching the Gay Pride Parade just outside the gates of the Luxembourg Garden, visiting the site (and now memorial) of Princess Di's fatal car crash, and walking into an annual flea market along the Canal St-Martin. On Canada Day we found a Canadian bar called - what else - The Great Canadian Bar and enjoyed a Moosehead (mmm) beer. With them costing 5.50 euro (about 8 bucks, or, the equivalent of a 12-pack in a supermarket) per bottle, we enjoyed exactly one each. The bar was outfitted with a large Canadian flag outside, several small ones inside, and the entire staff was Canadian and proudly wearing the Canadian red. The patrons were mostly young and also adorned in flags, painted faces and were pretty boisterous.
This capped off our trip to Paris and we sadly said goodbye (though not before indulging in one last crepe) with promises to return for at least two weeks another time. This is truly one city that demands a large amount of time to enjoy properly. Even on the sixth day we were walking into previously unseen areas, within the same parts we'd already been to, and there were also many other things that we didn't have a chance to see. Even though we're not bound to a timeline, it's an expensive city to spend time in and there is much more we're dying to see!
Comments
Paris
Hello travellers. Happy Birthday Yvonne. I was in Paris last October. What an amazing place. I could go back there any day in a hearbeat. Versaille was crazilly huge, the Eiffel Tower at night was spectacular too. Ahhh, I miss it already. Keep it coming. I love the pictures.