Out the door by 10 am we had a long list of chores that we
wanted to do today. Our first stop was
at the Paris Rental Service that we have our reservations with for both the
last part of September and also December.
I wanted to meet them personally and also finalize some of our move in
and out plans. So glad we had cell
phones as we needed to call them when we reached their gate so that they could
buzz us in to the office.
From there we continued east to find the hotel that our
friends Barbara and John will be staying at for a few days; they arrive
tomorrow and will start their French adventure with friends after a few days in
Paris. Along the way we stopped at the
Eglise Saint-Etiene du Mont where the “Midnight in Paris” movie scenes were
shot. The church was closed but we’ll
try to go back tomorrow around noon when they have a mass. We located our friend’s hotel and left them a
welcome to Paris note.
Continuing on we stopped at the Shakespeare and Company
building to check out the old hotel that only has eighteen rooms…some with a
view of Notre Dame and is in the same building.
Maybe someday we’ll be lucky enough to get a room in this delightful old
charmer!
Stopped along the way to check out “flip flop” shoes for our
daughter-in-law; she purchased a pair in 2010 and has worn them out! Then took another look at Notre Dame from the
left bank of the river before continuing on down along the Seine; sometimes up
above and sometimes down along the river on the quai.
We reach the Pont de Arts and again searched for our
lock. No luck…just too many of them but it’s
fun to look. They are so deep and convoluted
we finally gave up again. We noticed
that someone took spray paint and painted over a large section; so graffiti on
top of graffiti! They have the locks on
the lampposts and just everywhere. At
some point the city will have to do something as they are also beginning to put
them on two other bridges.
Soon we were off to find our apartment that we have rented
for a month in December/January. We love
the location; the area is full of art galleries. We are on the left bank across from the Louvre
Museum.
We then walked to the Musee d’Orsey where we went to
purchase tickets for a ride on the Batobus….yes a bus on the river that makes
stops at eight stations between the Eiffel Tower and the Gare d’Austerlitz. We decided to buy the annual pass that is 50%
off since it’s half gone and only 35 euros; good until January 2nd. It only makes sense since we’ll be here in
December also. It would have been 15
euros for one day. Boarded the boat and
rode all the way to the Gare d’Austerlitz stop.
We walked over the bridge to the Gare de Lyon Station on the
right bank as we had several items to take care of there. First of all we went to the Metro and
purchased a NAVIGO Pass that is good for ten years…then you refill it once a
week for twenty euros and you can ride all the Metro trains and buses within
central Paris. We’ve already made seven
trips by the end of today! It will be
well used now and in December/January.
Fortunately I’d planned ahead and had brought two small photos with us
that fit perfectly on each of the two passes we’d purchased today. Both require a photo to be permanently
attached to be valid. I had researched the
Navigo Pass online and the Batobus card required the same size photo. I’d brought two for insurance not realizing I’d
need both of them! And, they had to be
about one inch square.
Next I went to the Reservation Desk to find out the
information for purchasing the overnight train tickets for our trip to Italy at
the end of the month. Only 120 euros
each for a four bed couchette coach from Paris to Florence. It leaves at 5:45 pm and arrives in Florence
at Campo Marte Station at 7:12 am. Then
we’ll get a bus to Siena.
In the meantime, Jim located the Luggage Storage area just
in case we are unable to store our luggage for the day elsewhere between
checkout and the time for the train.
This was not easy and was the hardest job today; but he finally located
in down three flights of stairs. Not cheap but good to know that it is there.
We found the Metro and took a train to George V Station on
the Champs de Elysees to check out new movies at the Lido Theatre…nothing
looked good so back on the Metro and home for some grocery shopping and then
dinner at the apartment. It was 5 pm and
we were starving!
After dinner we took the Metro back to the Batobus and rode
all the way to the Eiffel Tower and back; enjoying the night lights just before
we arrived back at our home dock. There
we saw that the dancing had begun at the four pavilions that are designed for
this along the river. There was one
doing the tango…and some were very good; another was Salsa and then a third was
busy with swing. We didn’t have the
right kind of shoes so only watched but may go back another night prepared to
enjoy the dancing!
Home by Metro and it was after 10 pm before we arrived. Another late evening. I think we are going to take a day off
tomorrow!
Hope you enjoy the slideshow:
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