This is John journaling today. We had a big day on our second to last day in Paris. The plan was to take the train/subway to Versailles. Because we were not sure of the connections, I was worried, but hoped to figure it out (worst case we could have a little extra time on the trains). We packed our murse (man purse), went into our Patisserie for coffee au Lait and pastry, and then descended into the depths of the metro station, La Muette. After staring at the ticket vending machine for a bit, we spoke to the Metro employee and he agreed to help us buy our tickets to Versailles. No problem but now what? We knew it was the C line (yellow) but which platform and which train as the C line has multiple destinations at each end.Our angel arrived in the form of Daniel from Bogotá, Columbia, travelling with his two aunts. As we stood there looking confused, this handsome young man approached us needing change for a 50 euro note to buy his tickets. We did have the change and learned they were going to Versailles as well. We threw in together to get to Versailles, and following Daniel we descended to the Metro platform. Daniel explained that we had to go lower to reach the RER regional train level to get to Versailles. More than three levels below street level, we boarded a C line train. I was not so sure of the train direction and was checking the stations we passed with the map. Daniel and I realized we were heading the wrong way, so we jumped off, crossed the platform, and caught the next train back the other way. The drama was not yet over as we knew we had to get off somewhere in central Paris to catch a different C line train heading toward Versailles. Sitting next to our group of five explorers was a young couple from Spain. So in Spanish, Daniel learned that the only transfer point to Versailles was Champs du Mar (Tour Eiffel) – two stops from La Muette. Aleur….we exited there, and still together, boarded the train to Versailles.
It took about 30 minutes to get there and we spent the time talking to Daniel, and the one aunt who spoke English, about Columbia and many other topics. We arrived at the Versailles station and it was time to say good-bye to our new friends.
Frommer had suggested getting our entry passes at the Tourist office to avoid the long lines. We headed that way and soon saw an extremely long line for a ticket window. As we kept walking looking for the end of the line, we saw our new friends, Daniel and the two aunts, in line. Daniel called to us and told us about going to another place he just heard about back at the train station, a magazine stand, where supposedly one could buy tickets for a one euro surcharge. With the aunts holding their place in line, we returned to the station and bought our precious tickets saving a bunch of time. And so we said good-bye again and headed to the gates of Versailles very pleased with ourselves. Well, now we were confronted with a long Disneyland line which weaved across the huge square, just to enter the palace. The line, although very long, moved quickly and Carol and I had made some progress when we heard Daniel call out “John” from a spot several hundred people behind us. He asked if they could join us…..of course, so they saved some waiting time but most important we were back together, in line for an hour and learned a lot more about Columbia and the history and culture. Daniel just finished 5 years education in Mexico City in a private college. His major was international business. Now he has joined a private consulting firm in Columbian and he would like to discuss exporting garlic to Columbia so we have his information and will contact him when we return home and get settled.
It was time we said good-bye again. This time it was really good-bye.
The castle of Versailles was disappointing. It took less than an hour to go through and crowds of tourists, some rude, didn’t help. The one interesting sight is the Hall of Mirrors.
We finally arrived at the café/restaurant and sat with an Australian lady on one side who was a group insurance sales manager and a professor of food science from Saskatoon Canada on the other. We had a great visit with both about our different cultures and travels.
From there moved on to my much anticipated portion of the tour, the famous gardens. There are over 350 acres of gardens, canals, ponds, fountains, and statues. At some point we discovered they rented golf carts so we quickly rented one to explore as much as possible. While in line for the cart, we met a lady from Oklahoma, visited with her, and she has already emailed us asking about ideas for a future trip to Southern Germany, Austria, and Italy.
The ‘gardens’ have a large canal like lake where boats can be rented. It is a beautiful setting with a couple of cafes outdoors. We stopped for a potty break for Carol and while she was away I started to talk to a couple who wondered where we got the golf cart. They were from San Francisco and it seemed they could use a lift after the long walk so I invited them to jump on board and we toured the rest of gardens together. Afterwards, we rode the train back together and exchanged email addresses.So this tour was a real United Nations day for us. Of course as we have mentioned these exchanges only enrich our experience.
After an exhausting 10 hour day, we popped over to one of the neighborhood cafes for dinner and then home to crash.
August 3rd 2011 – Paris
This morning we were smart and decided that rather than heading right out for our last day in the city we would take care of the tedious job of organizing and at least partially packing prior to heading out. Believe me it was a good decision because in the end when we returned home after another ten hour day, with much of that walking, we were exhausted.
Having to face packing from start to finish would have been overwhelming.After getting our packing to a status we felt comfortable we headed to the Monet museum 2-3 blocks from our apartment. Well let me correct that of course before packing we walked to our special bakery/café there was no giving that up at this stage of the game. My objective was to just enjoy the city and do some final shopping. I really wasn’t sure where we should shop and wanted something between the souvenir junk shops and the high end designer boutiques. We had asked around and had been told that the Jewish sector may be a good bet. This past year the book club I am a member of read ‘Sarah’s Key’. Although I have read a lot about Jewish ghettos, deportation and death camps I wasn’t familiar with what happened in Paris over two days in the summer of 1942. The French gendarmes, following Nazi dictates, moved in and rounded up 12,800 Jewish men, woman, and children, and after housing them in a large sports arena, loaded them all up on trains and shipped them to death camps. Of those arrested that day only 31 survived. When we knew we were going to Paris I wanted to see if there were memorial or museums about this event but after researching through our travel books found no information. Obviously, I should have pursued in more depth via the internet which is what John did prior to our setting out this day.
He found a great article with streets and descriptions written by a travel specialist so this area became a part of our itinerary for our day.Sadly, we discovered this too late and were unable to see the museum but we did see the solemn monument honoring all who died and we walked the streets where buildings were marked noting what happened back then. It was a profound experience and we recommend anyone going to Paris research this history and spend some time there. The art museums are wonderful but this too is very important and worthwhile.
As most of you know there are many bridges crossing the River Seine but we came upon one very unusual story that we have to share. The bridge has steel mess along both sides of the walkway and we noticed something tied to it almost covering the sides that looked like colorful ribbons. They were ribbons for sure but they were attached to what we would call a common pad lock. The locks were in different sizes and strengths and some decorated more than others. We could not imagine what they represented so asked a young couple near us if they spoke English and what did this represent. She explained in broken English that when a couple is in love some come there with their lock and attach to the bridge and throw the key in the river symbolizing they would be together forever. John wondered if things don’t go well would you expect to come back with wire cutters?
We agreed that the best time of our day was walking along the River Seine. It was a beautiful day and so enjoyable to watch the peoples of all cultures and languages sharing the day. At some point sand has been hauled in and dumped for some distance along the riverbank. We simply enjoyed watching people basking on the ‘beach’, playing Bocce Ball, singing along with street musicians, people strolling their babies and of course many holding hands. Occasionally the bells of Notre Dame would chime and we found ourselves reminded of how blessed we were having been here.
Looking back we had one rainy day when we first arrived in Paris but from that time sunshine followed us through our travels. When we drove up to the beaches in Normandy it was raining, as had been predicted. We parked and the sun came out and remained for our entire tour. The following day we drove to Brittany and the front desk at the hotel woefully announced we should expect rain the following day and that Brittany is known for its bad weather. Again, the sun was out for our three days there. Across the country in Strasbourg a week later, Natacha at the front desk warned us of the same thing. I smiled and said it wouldn’t ruin our time but it seemed the sun had been followed us. She smiled and said she hoped that would be the case but just in case they had umbrellas for us. The sun did shine…all day both days and it was amazing.
August 4th 2011 – ParisAfter a final coffee and yes a pastry as well, we headed to De Gaulle for our flight to New York feeling filled with far more than pastries but rather the entire experience. And might I add….we are very, very grateful.
August 5th 2011 – New York
It was a great plan to spend a couple of days at our time share in New York on our way back home. We arrived here at the Hilton about 6:30 p.m. EDT. It was great to see familiar faces and it seemed we fell into the time zone quite well going to bed and getting up today at a normal time. We enjoyed our breakfast here and I couldn’t get enough fruit so I guess I was missing that! About mid-day we headed up to Central Park and spent about 1-1/2 hours just strolling around seeing parts of the park we hadn’t yet seen. Again, just as a couple of days before, we watched people from all over the world enjoying their day from basking in the sun to sailing miniature boats or dancing to the music of street musicians. Finally, we found our way to our favorite lunch spot Via Quadronno (on 73rd between Madison and 5th if visiting NYC and looking for a good lunch place) where I devoured the best salad I have had since we left here three weeks ago.
We have said our goodbyes to the great folks that welcome us on each of our trips here and hope to continue with minimal jet lag tomorrow when we catch a flight out of LaGuardia late morning to a new time zone…..home.
Au revoir
John & Carol
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