A Serendipity Day with the Girls

Awake before the desk called at 7 am; Jim and I were dressed and downstairs well before the Shuttle Bus arrived to pick him us at 7:45 am for his ride to Charles de Gaule Airport and his 11:30 am flight back to California.  He has a long day ahead with an eleven hour flight to Dallas, Texas; a seven hour layover….unless he can get an earlier flight…. And then three and a half hours back to Los Angeles.  But, he seems happy to be going home; six weeks was long enough for him.

I headed over to the apartment in the rain; very light rain; and enjoyed breakfast with the girls.  We decided to go grocery shopping first.  We established a kitty to use when we are all participating in an expense.  It was fun making decisions about our purchases along with learning about the store and the French ways…ie…fruit and vegetables need to be weighed and a price attached before going to checkout.

Rain is very light and sometimes none at all.  It was so nice we walked back to the apartment from the store instead of taking the Metro the one stop between them.  By the time we arrived and put everything away it was time for a light lunch. 

By 2 pm we were out the door and on the Metro with our first stop at the Palais Royal Musee du Louvre.  There I spotted the special entrance into the Louvre and took the girls into the underground shopping mall that has an inverted pyramid and an entrance into the Louvre plus tons of fancy stores!  It took us a bit to move forward as everyone had a different store they wanted to visit!  But we finally emerged on Rue de Rivoli and began our trek past the Comedie Francaise and then into the Petit Royal Gardens. 

At the far end of the gardens we checked the outrageous prices on the famous Le Grand Vefour Restaurant that was featured in the movie “Midnight in Paris”. 

Our next adventure was to find some of the Galeries/Passages from the late 1800’s that are scattered across Paris and are slowly being restored.  Today we visited the Galerie Colbert that has the famous Restaurant that was featured in the movie with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton “Somethings gotta Give”….

Next we walked slowly through the Galerie Vivienne; stopping for half an hour to have tea and cake at one of the lovely shops in the Galerie.  A unique experience for me!  Bonnie loved the shop with all the old postcards. 

  

Next we walked towards the Opera Garnier and passed the Paris Stock Exchange called the “Bourse”.  Then met a woman from California whose parents live in Yorba Linda.  Bonnie loved her cape and that started the conversation as she joined us on our walk to the Opera House.   She was hoping to tour the Opera House today as she flies home tomorrow.  She took the photo of all of us in front of the Opera House.  We all arrived together and there was only half an hour left before closing.  She quickly told us where to purchase the cape and then headed in to get a quick glimpse before closing.  We’ll come back another day.

Off across the street to the huge department store Galeries Lafayette to climb the stairs to the top for view across the city and also the stained glass dome inside on the way up.  So much to see and so little time!   As we reached the top the rain began to sprinkle drops here and there and so we made a decision to call it a day.

By 6 pm we were back at our grocery store picking up some premade hot food that we took home for our dinner in the apartment.  After catching our breath we ended the evening with a couple of games of Hearts.  They had to teach me as it’s been years since I played!  Lots of fun.  It’s now after midnight and Jim just sent me an email; he has arrived in Dallas.  Unable to change his flight so will have a long layover and arrive home in Los Angeles about midnight. 

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Jim's Last Day and Two Private Home Museums

Staying at the hotel worked great; we walked across the street and had breakfast in the apartment with the girls.  Then we were off to purchase our overnight train tickets for the journey to Italy on September 26th.  We leave Paris at 5:45 pm and arrive in Florence Italy at 7 am.  

By 11 am we were headed for the Metro and Parc Moneau; a beautiful park near the Arc de Triomphe.  Multi-million dollar homes have backed up to this parc since the late 1800’s.  One of them was owned by a wealthy banker who designated that the government would have his home as a museum in honor of his son who was killed in WW I. 

The irony of this happens during WW II; his daughter and two grandchildren died in Auschwitz in 1943, just before the end of the war.  The family was Jewish but had been in France for several generations; they never considered the possibility of being sent to concentration camps.  This home has been maintained as the family left it in 1943 and is known as the Nissim de Camodo Musee after the son. 

Leaving this Museum we walked over to Haussmann Blvd and found a small café for sandwiches before going to our second Museum about 2 pm.  Another private home, the Jacquemart-Andre Musee has many more pieces of art work; many of them by world famous artists including several Rembrandts.     This home was owned by a wealthy man and his artistic wife.  There were no children and the home was left intact to the state.  One of the more remarkable architectural features was a double staircase that was designed by the second runner up for designing the Opera Garnier Building; this was his “see what you missed by not choosing me” design that is absolutely stunning and leads you up to a room that opens to the floor below.  The area surrounding the opening was used by the musicians during parties at the house.  Always a delight to see this magnificent home.  

It was nearly 4 pm by the time we finished visiting both of the museums so we headed to the Metro and back to the apartment.  Jim said goodbye to Bonnie and Jane as he would not see them again.  We had made plans to meet with friends for dinner near their hotel.  Did I mention that I’d dropped my camera on my toe this morning and by this time I was limping along with what felt like a broken toe; but we walked to their hotel; about a mile, looking for a good restaurant along the way.  We’d found one on Google Maps and checked it out on Trip Advisor and it looked really good.   But by the time we arrived at their hotel; we’d found two possibilities but not the one we were looking for.

Jim continued to look for another twenty minutes while I met the girls.  Just as we were about to give up we spotted the restaurant.  Oops…it was closed for the evening. 

Our friend Christa from Illinois and her friend Sue joined us for dinner at the second choice.  We met Christa on the Trip to China many years ago and have stayed in contact by email and her one visit to California. 

A very fun couple of hours getting to know Sue and enjoying Christa’s company.  We caught the Metro home; picked up the rest of Jim’s things at the apartment; said goodbye to Mary and headed for the Hotel. 

To bed by 10 pm as the wakeup call was at 7 am.  Found out later than Bonnie and Jane returned home soon after dinner and they all played cards at the apartment for hours last night!

Hope you enjoy the slideshow…sorry this is a day late in posting!  

The Girls Arrive in Paris

Our day started early as we packed Jim suitcase for transfer to the hotel this afternoon and got the apartment ready for four women to share for nine days!  By 9 am we were out the door and on the Metro headed for the Charles de Gaule Airport on the north of Paris.  We transferred to the RER B at Sainte Michel Station and settled in for the hour long ride.   We had to purchase special tickets as we will be leaving Zone one and two which is the limit of our Navigo Pass.

Arrived about 10 am and then walked for fifteen minutes to terminal A where we were scheduled to meet my twin sister Mary who was arriving from Florida by way of New York City and London on British Airways.  She was scheduled to arrive at 11:15 am.  Right on time she was wheeled out the door by an attendant.  She has multiple reason other than just being “old” for using the service and it works well for her especially on this … her first solo trip … across the pond!

We walked back to the train station in the airport and boarded the train for our hour long trip back ^{to the apartment in the 15th} arrondissement in Paris.  Mary had only one very small suitcase and a backpack with her…she is definitely traveling light!   The fun part was that because of the colder than expected weather she brought a few pieces of heavier clothing than planned and ended up wearing three layers of clothes as there was no room in the small case for another piece of anything!

We settled her in; ate some lunch and then walked back to the Metro where she purchased her Navigo Pass and then we were off for one stop to the Monoprix, our large grocery store.  Mary is a vegetarian and she purchased fresh vegetables and became familiar with the store and what it had to offer for her to choose from in order to stay on her regimen. 

Back to the apartment, always with umbrellas as it has threatened rain all day, teaching Mary how to navigate the Metro System all the way.    Soon it was 3 pm and Jim and I walked across the street to our hotel Eiffel Garibaldi.   A small but nice hotel that was well located to the apartment.  Checked Jim in; put his large suitcase in the room and then signed him up for the Shuttle Bus Service for his trip to the airport on Thursday.  After navigating the Metro stairs on our trip to get Mary he decided that he didn’t want to do that during rush hour traffic, by himself and pulling two suitcases!  Smart move!

Returned to get Mary and off we went to the Gare de Nord where we were meeting Bonnie and Jane when they arrived at 5:47 pm on the Eurostar from London by way of the Chunnel under the English Channel.  We arrived timely, I found the place and purchased two Navigo Passes for the girls so that we would not have to wait in line for them to purchase their passes. 

Then it was off to the small snack bar that we’d discovered on our investigation trip yesterday; found a small table with three chairs and settled in to wait with coffee to pay for the rent!   We were even given a “show” by the medical and security forces as they assisted a man who (we think it was probably a drug overdose??) had collapsed in the station.   They finally wheeled him away sitting, almost sitting, in a wheelchair.  There had to be fifteen people involved in the situation. 

But soon it was time and the Eurostar pulled into the station.  Lots of cars belched out hundreds of people; one large group of Japanese tourists who all stopped to take photos of the train as they came out; blocking the way so badly that they opened up another passage for the rest of the passengers.  Soon we spotted Bonnie and Jane and we were all together finally to start our trip for the next six weeks.

Taught the girls how to use their Navigo cards as we all shared their luggage and headed for the Metro System.  It was rush hour and everyone had to stand, squashed like sardines in a can, for our trip home.  We made sure everyone knew where to get off before we got on each train.   We had two transfers before we arrived back at the apartment.

Our Metro Station is Segur and only a block from the apartment.  On the way out this afternoon Jim had stopped and made dinner reservations for the five of us at 7 pm.  The timing was perfect, took the luggage to the apartment and then walked back to the restaurant named “Segur”.   We all enjoyed a lovely dinner with wine and good food.   It was a great opportunity to get to know Jane as Mary and I had not met her before.  She is a longtime friend of Bonnie’s who lives in England and has never been to Paris before.  And Bonnie has only been once before; years ago.  It will be fun to show them our Paris.

Jet lap had finally gotten to Mary so we took her back to the apartment and then the four of us walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower; actually not all that far as we are around the corner from the UNESCO building.  The lights were on but while we waited for the flashing lights we continued to walk until we were under the tower and then across the street towards the Trocadero Center.  Just as we cross the Seine River the lights started flashing…it was 10 pm. 

We continued up the hill and caught the Metro at the Trocadero center to home.  Arrived about 11 pm as the trains don’t run as often late at night and I also got us off at the wrong one at first and we had to get back on and go another stop before we were able to make our connection back to Segur. 

Dropped the girls at the apartment; grabbed our last times and computers and headed for the hotel.  My last thing before tucking into a new bed was to call my oldest sister back in Florida to wish her a happy 88^th birthday. 

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: