Moving from Paris to Siena...two days

Today I’m posting two days with two slideshows:

September 26, 2013     Moving Day:  Paris to Italy

Up and packed, Bonnie, Jane and I headed back to Rue Mouffetard to walk once again down the fabled street of food shops; Jane had not seen it before.  Then off to the Metro and a trip back to Notre Dame with the intention of getting on the River Boat for a cruise of the Seine.  Nada…the ticket office is closed for the season and one must go out to the Eiffel Tower area to get on a boat.  We decided instead to enjoy a lunch at one of the restaurants in the quiet streets around Sainte Michel.  We found a nice one and enjoyed a delicious lunch of crepes full of spinach, ham, mushrooms and back in a layer of cheese.

Soon it was time to catch our bus back to the apartment.  There Mary had enjoyed a quiet morning reading her book.  Laura from the management company was there at 2:10 pm and checked us out of the apartment.

We walked over to the taxi stand two blocks away and found a cab that handled all of us and our luggage for the short trip to the Gare de Lyon.  Arrived about 3 pm and realized that we needed to be at the train station about 5:30 pm; but our train doesn’t actually leave until 7:14 pm.  Always something when one is traveling!   We discovered that with our ticket we can get into the “waiting room” that is on the warm side but has electrical outlets.  We have all of the luggage in here and have sent Bonnie and Jane out to walk the Promenade Plantee that starts near the Bastille and goes for several miles.   Jim and I walked this last spring and it’s beautiful.  Parts are on an elevated train line that has been discontinued, some go through parks and others sections walk past shops.   It’s a good way for them to spend the next several hours while Mary and I guard the luggage here at the station.  We’re being good guys but we also are using our computers and reading our books.

It’s going to be a long night; we leave at 7:14 pm and arrive in Florence about 7 am tomorrow morning.  Then we walk to the bus station and catch a bus for about an hour’s ride to Siena where we have an apartment rented for four nights.

Our train left Paris right on time.  It was a new experience for Bonnie and Jane and they were also good sports about taking the top bunks.  We were fortunate that all of our big luggage fit under the bottom bunk and we didn’t have to lift them up on the shelf high above the bunks.   We had purchased sandwiches before boarding and enjoyed our dinner together after we started rolling towards Italy.  After dinner we played Hearts, a fun card game and then soon it was time to make up our beds and go to sleep to the click clack of the train as we swerved around bends on our way over the mountains.Here is the first slideshow because of problems with the Internet you need to click or cut & paste this link:     https://picasaweb.google.com/117895434014273629374/Paris92613?authuser=0&feat=directlink

September 27, 2013     Siena, Italy

We arrived about forty five minutes late and at the Campo Di Marte Station in Florence; not the main station.  Soon we’d found a bus that would take us to the main train station in Florence.   There we located the Blue Bus that would take us to Siena in just over an hour.  Settled in and dozed off and on during our journey.  I’d called the property manager from Florence and we had a 10:30 am appointment to meet her at the apartment.  We pulled into the bus station in Siena; the apartment was a ten minute walk from there.  We looked around and even with our maps could not determine which way to go.  There were no taxi stands but we saw a hotel across the street.  Walked in and they were very happy to call us a taxi.  He had us at the door of the apartment right on time at 10:30 am.

Marzia is the manager and owner of our apartment on the third floor.   She lived in this apartment for over ten years and has left a lot of personal things in the apartment to make it cozy for the visitors.  The Internet is edgy…it’s public and sometimes we have to stand by the window to make it work!   But then, most wifi in Italy is edgy I’ve found.   We love our little one bedroom apartment and will enjoy our few days here.   We have used the roll-away for Mary instead of her sleeping with me on the foldout couch.  She is the only one that has not caught the cold that started with Bonnie last week.

Soon we were out the door to explore our new city; we didn’t reach the corner before Jane remembered she didn’t have her glasses.  Back we went; oops we can’t get the front door open into the building.  Over and over we tried with both sets of keys.  Finally I called Marzia; she didn’t understand why they didn’t work.  Finally said she’d call someone who is usually home in the building to have them come out and help us.  Within minutes a lady came out the door next to ours?   When we tried to get her to come to our door she looked puzzled.   Suddenly we all realized; we’d been trying to open the wrong door.  A quick call back to Marzia to explain our mistake and we were on our way.

Siena is a maze of curving tiny stone canyons that are seldom flat; you are either walking up or down a hill where ever you go.   We got lost over and over but always found our way.  We visited the Duomo (the cathedral) and purchased tickets so that we can visit all of the aspects of this magnificent church over the next three days.   

Today we concentrated on seeing the inside of the main church.  We are very lucky that we’re visiting during the season when the inlaid marble paintings on the floor are uncovered.  Generally only happens during August and September.    I hope you enjoy the few photos in the slideshow. 

We spent some time at the Il Campo where I talked to the girls about my visit there for the Paulo that takes place twice a year; a famous horse race.   Then off to the grocery store for supplies and then Mary decided to eat at home while Bonnie, Jane and I headed back to the Il Campo for an early dinner.  They were blowing up small hot air balloons in the square during our dinner.

Home early we’ve lots to see in the next three days….hope you enjoy the slideshows:  Click or cut & Paste this link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/117895434014273629374/Italy92713?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Exploring the Latin Quarter and the Marais

 

Bonnie and I were out the door early to explore the Latin Quarter for the various buildings that were associated with the writer Ernest Hemmingway when he lived in Paris.  We first looked for #74 rue Cardinal Lemoine near the top of the Rue Moufetard.  It is being remodeled and the worker took a photo of us together in front of the door!

Then we wound down curving little streets, finding another portion of the very old city walls, towards Montparnasse and the Restaurant of La Closerie des Lilas Café.  There were two more on our list but it had taken us so long to get to these two that Bonnie continued on her own; actually she left the trail and enjoyed walking Luxembourg Gardens from top to bottom…even found the beehives!

Meanwhile, I walked up Sainte Michel, jumped on the bus for a small portion, all the way to the apartment where I picked up Mary who’d been enjoying her morning in the apartment.  It was about 11 am by this time and we slowly strolled over to Saint Suplice Church where we met Bonnie again.  You’ll enjoy some of the photos we took along the way in the slideshow; especially of the flowers.

There we enjoyed the Delacroix Chapel where he did two magnificent paintings that fill two of the walls of this small side chapel.  I noticed that there is a note posted on the door leading to the stairs to organ loft that visiting the organ after Mass on Sunday is no longer available due to security reasons.   Sad, so glad that Jim and I did that after Easter Sunday mass in 2012. 

We also spent some time viewing the “Rose Line”…a fictional name given to the line in the floor of the church and used in the book by Dan Brown about “Angels and Demons”. 

Soon we were out the door and headed for the Metro Station.  There we used our magical passes and whizzed through the gates to our trusty steeds…the Metro.  One train change and we were on the right bank in the Marias at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Heading into the warren of tiny streets we first took Bonnie to the Musee Carnavelet; a free museum about the History of Paris.  Unfortunately many parts of it are closed right now for renovations.  But there was still lots to see.

Then Mary and I headed back a couple of blocks…along the way we saw a sign referencing the Paris Office for the Compostela Pilgrims.   We stopped and she was given a stamp that they put into pilgrims books to show that they had passed through the city on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. 

We continued to the little square where Pete and Judy, friends from home who I met last year when I joined OLLI; a program for Seniors at our local University; were waiting for us for lunch.  Pete and Judy are here for a week after spending a week in London.  We enjoyed a delightful lunch outside at the La Terrace Santa Catherine Restaurant.   It’s always fun to meet friends from home when traveling!

After lunch we bid them goodbye as they headed for the Eiffel Tower and a tour that includes the areas that I’ve never seen under the towers where the gears and engines that run the elevators are located.  Plus they have a beautiful day of sunshine to go up the tower for views of the city of Paris.

Mary and I headed back to the Musee Carnavelet to walk through part of the museum and also meet up with Bonnie.  Soon we were headed back for the Rue de Rivoli and a stop at Starbucks for coffee and some internet time.  We’re trying to connect with Jane who is returning by Chunnel today from England.  No luck on the telephone…no wifi on the Chunnel we discovered. 

We are now back at the apartment waiting for Jane and then it’s off to dinner for our last night and then a ride on the Seine River before calling it a day.  Will post a bit more when I get home.

Well…it’s after 10 pm and we’re home from our evening out.  Had a wonderful dinner at a very French restaurant near the Fountain of Sainte Michel; Bonnie had canard and Jane and I had Beef Bourguignon and Mary enjoyed a vegetarian plate.   For dessert three of us had Cream Brulle and Bonnie had chocolate mousse. 

Oh, I nearly forgot the escargot that Bonnie enjoyed, onion soup for Mary and Jane and I devoured our mussels.    Then we walked down by the bridge at Notre Dame for an evening boat ride and that was already closed.  We debated going by cab to the Eiffel Tower where the ticket office was still open but decided we do a daytime ride tomorrow morning!    But we did enjoy watching the fancy rollerblade skaters and fire twirlers on the bridge performing for the crowds.

Thanks again for enjoying our three weeks in Paris with us; the next post will be in two days from Italy.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Strolling through Rue Mouffetard and the Marais

 

Well…I’ve caught the bug that has been floating around; but I only have a crackly voice…sore throat yesterday and today a very deep voice.  If that’s all I get…I’m okay.  Bonnie and Jane have both had full blown colds.

But we were still out the door by 10:30 am; waited for the washing machine to finish before leaving so we could hang the clothes on the racks to dry…no dryer in the apartment.

We walked up past the Pantheon, over the top and then down the long street that eventually became the Rue Mouffetard.  This is the street where Julie Childs loved to shop when she was going to cooking school in Paris.  It is shop after shop of wonderful food; each shop has a specialty:  cheese, meat, fish, vegetables, etc. etc. etc.    And there are a few clothing stores in between; I almost purchased a red trench coat but it had stains on the sleeve so I was saved again!   One of these days I’ll find the right size and the perfect condition! 

From there we continued into the area around the des Globelins where Jim and I lived for the first ten days of this visit to Paris.  Visited the McDonalds for the toilettes and then off on the Metro to the Pont Marie where we walked across the bridge to the Isle St. Louis to check on the prices of a mailing box for Bonnie…at 39 euros for a small box, she is having second thoughts.  Walked to the end of the Isle and then crossed over to the Marais.   Our first stop was at the little park that has a corner of a tower from the famous Bastille Prison that was located in this area and destroyed during the French Revolution.  Most of the stones are now found in bridges that span the Seine River. 

Past the park we located the St. Paul Village area; we were finding our way as yesterday I accidentally threw the Rick Steves Paris book out with the trash…yes I know…how did you do that!!   It was trash day and we were in a hurry; I’d bundled the recyclable things together in my arms along with the things that we were taking with us for the day.   Somehow, I must have put the book in the bag and then by the time we realized it….the trash man had come and the book was gone!   Old age got me again!  But remember we had to do it in one trip as its seventy seven steps down! 

But whatever…we go on without it using my memories from other trips!   We located most everything we were looking for.  The girls enjoyed the St. Paul’s Village area and the quiet little passage to St. Paul’s Church and after a quiet moment there we continued down the street to the Place des Vosges.   This is a square surrounded by brick townhouses.   The park was full of students enjoying their noon hour in the bright sunshine; lying on the grass and sitting on benches.  We found an empty bench and joined them as we enjoyed our cheese and bread that Miss Bonnie had purchased during our walk down Rue Mouffetard this morning.

Soon we were full and rested and we continued on our walk; we considered touring the Victor Hugo home that is now a museum; its located in a corner of the Place des Vosges; but decided to continue our stroll.   Back to the main street known as Saint Antoine and bus number sixty-nine; hopped off at the Hotel de Ville and walked across the square admiring the huge old building that speaks history from every façade.  During the winter months they build an ice skating rink in the place in front of the building that is the “City Hall of Paris”. 

We crossed the bridge known as the Pont D’Arcole where we stopped to enjoy the views of the “witches hats” of the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette spent her final days in prison; and ended on the Cite where we walked towards Notre Dame Cathedrale. 

We stopped along the way when Mary treated us to ice cream cones and ended our walk across the Pont Notre Dame to the Left Bank and finally home by our favorite bus number twenty one that we board at the Fountain of Sainte Michel and it drops us at Luxembourg Gardens only two blocks from our apartment.  We found that we’d done over five miles today; Bonnie wears a ped-o-meter and keeps track of miles for us daily!

We still had time to enjoy our apartment, dinner and time on the computers.  Hope you enjoy our little slideshow for the day: