Finally WiFi for my iPad! Hee's an update since we left the Pyrenees
Friday, July 23
Today was our last morning in Arreau, so we were up around 6:30 AM, showered, dressed, and headed out for newspapers and a hot croissant from a nearby boulangerie. Talked to Heinz and the American couple from Connecticut that he was travelling with. We exchanged email adresses, I invited Heinz to visit us. We checked out and were on our way toward the Toulouse airport by 8:40. The 150 km ride took us about 90 minutes, the car return went quickly as did our check-in at Air France. The security check was very simple despite my metal knees; they merely gave me a pat down. Our flight boarded on time and there were plenty of empty seats so we weren't crowded and had no problem finding overhead storage space for our back pack and suitcase. In general I would say the French were less strict about security and how many bags you can carry on.
Everything continued to go smoothly. Our plane arrived early, we got our bags quickly, too a cab to our hotel for only 24€ (it would have cost us 36€) to take a bus to just a central location!). When we checked into the hotel the friendly clerk told us that they made a booking error and we would have to change rooms after two days. That was the bad news...the good news was that they would give us "the best room in the hotel for the other two days.". No big deal. As it turned out our room does have a partial view of the Eiffel Tour as is. The hotel is very nice. It is very elegant, and although a room is very small, we won't we spending a lot of timeworn in it. WiFi is not free, in fact they want 8€/hour so I'll only be using the computer in the lobby. That one's free.
After unpacking we walked to Rue Cler, only 4 blocks from our hotel, and had a late lunch at Cafe Tribeca, and then walked for about 25 minutes to the Musee Orsay, which is the main Impressionist museum in Paris. We visited this museum two years ago but I really wanted to see the Van Gogh's again. A wise decision they were amazing! We also saw a lot of Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Latrec, and Rodin...but my favorites were Van Gogh's.
We were tired at this point, so we took a cab back to the hotel, unpacked, and napped until 8:30 pm, then walked to a nearby restaurant, la Fountain de Mars. President Obama ate here last year and in fact Joni and I both had the same meal he did, filet mignon with bernaise sauce and fries. We sat outside at a tiny table on the sidewalk. The president ate in a private room on the second floor. The waiter told us there were lots of secret service men. Oh yeah, the food was great; Joni's research again pays off.
We stopped at another cafe on Rue Cler for coffee and split a dessert before returning to our hotel. It's thrilling to be in Paris. The buildings are so beautiful, the Eifel Tour and the dome of Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, are both lit up at night and visible from our room's balcony. Oh la la!
Tomorrow we'll visit the Monet museum near the Bois de Boulonge, check out possible viewing spots for Sunday's last stage of the Tour, and visit my old Parisian apartment at 54 Rue de la Tour. LIFE IS GOOD.
As I predicted Mark Cavendish won today's 18th stage on the Tour...everyone else probably predicted it too. Contador kept his 8 second lead over Schleck, no surprise there either. Tomorrow the time trial. Contador needs to beat Schleck by over 40 seconds in order to quiet those who criticized him for not waiting for Schleck when his chosen broke. GO ANDY!
Good night.
Saturday, July 24
Out of bed by 7 and on the streets by 8 we headed for the Rue Cler for a leisurely breakfast at the Cafe Marche. We had our 1st breakfast there two years ago, so we thought we'd duplicate the experience. The Rue Cler is filled with cafes and outdoor outdoor fruit, vegetable, meat, and every other conceivable food markets. It is located in Paris' wealthiest arrondisement, the 7th. This one of Rick Steve's two favorite areas of Paris, and his recommendations are usually right on the money for us. Amusingly, you'll notice a lot of other tourists toting his book around, so many others share our confidence in. His advice.
After breakfast we walked up and down the street, i bought my a croissant, many shops were just opening, and some still closed. I love this time of the day before things get to busy and crowded. We then took a cab to do a walk by my old apartment, and from Rue de la Tour we went to Trocadero for an other coffee. When I lived in Paris my sister and I waited for our school bus everyday at a cafe here. The big rotary has a huge statue of Marshall Foch on horseback, he was one of France's WWI heroes.
We took a taxi to the Monet museum which is in a wealthy residential area on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. This museum was created by Monet's son who donated all of his father's paintings that he possessed. Many of the classic Monet paintings are here plus a few from the other impressionists. The museum itself is a beautiful private home of a very wealthy family. The floors were all parquet, ceilings very tall, and windows and doorways enormous.
Fortunately there was a bus stop right in front of the museum so we took it instead of a cab and made our way to the Champs Elysees. It was packed with tourists eating at cares, people watching, or visiting the high end shops like Cartier and Luis Vuitton. Each of th see s hops is more of a showcase were everyday people shop. We walked up to the Arch de Triomphe and down thru the Place de la Concorde, scop ing out possible viewing areas for tomorrow's Tour. It will be a very different experience than the Pyrenees. I don't think we'll make eye contact with any of the riders! Near the Place de la Concorde we saw the celebrity viewing ares which are shaded grandstands including the presidential box for Sarkoczy. We then walked down the Rue de Rivoli, an arcade designed by Napoleon as a background for triumphant marches, which first was filled with many high end clothing shops which eventually get replaced by souvenir shops the closer to the Louvre.
We had lunch at the Cafe Numours which is overlies Place Colette. La Comedie Francaise, the national comedy theatre, is on this square. As we dined we listened to a ten piece string group, what a wonderful setting...and our quiche, salad, ride wine, and bread hit the spot. Again, thank you Rick Steves!
After lunch, we strolled through two nearby shopping arcades, the Gallerie Viviene, and the Gallerie Colbert, high end shopping centers that the word "mall" just doesn't apply. It was amazing how quickly you could get to a serene setting after just being in a very hectic spot.
Time for a taxi, our bodies and feet especially were hurting. We returned to the Rue Cler for ice cream, I returned to the hotel to watch the Tour on TV, after buying a step ladder as a viewing aid for Sunday. Joni remained on the Rue Cler to explore more shops, although here shopping bag appeared empty when she joined me.
We watched today's time trial, Contador secured his victory, leaving tomorrow's suspense solely focusing on the Green Jersey competition between Cavendish, Petachi, and Hushvold. We napped and showered too and are now refreshed and ready for a Saturday night in Paris.
We had another fabulous meal at a nearby restaurant recommended by Rick Steeves. I had salad with shrimp, then s fish and mussel stew, and simply vanilla icream for desseqrt. Joni ordered salad with eggplant fritters, chicken, and vanilla ice cram too. These sound like simple items, but if I accurately described the sauces and presentation you'd start salivating.
Time for bed. Bon nuit.
No comments:
Post a Comment