Ahh, Paris. We had the whole day to ourselves as when we checked in with the viking representative this morning we discovered that there was no tour schedule for the pre-trip until tomorrow. About breakfast she did tell us that the mall across the street has a grocer so we might stop in there. I am a little grumpy this morning as the hotel is extremely noisy, including some sort of grating noise that repeats often but randomly. We checked out on our private stay and had our key cards reset to the viking account. Off we go! Emma, the rep, said we are only a short walk, about a mile and a half from the Arc de Triomph where we can catch the Hop on Hop Off Bus. Since the weather is beautiful and Elva has been here many times and this is my third time, we had no particular places to go, we opted for that.
The Paris jinx continued! We wanted to do the Green Bus as it is a little less expensive and has three routes. The concierge marked the map to show us just where to get it. We darted across several crosswalks, seems Parisians cross on the red man as well as the green one, so we joined the crowd! At the appointed stop a few others began to wait with us. Finally after about 30 minutes we figured out that this stop was closed due to some sporting event. So we went up the street to another, also closed. We had seen a lot of Red Buses going around the Arc already this morning so we ran for that when we saw one stopped. Well, that wasn't necessary as it was stopped to sell tickets so we all bought them. turns out this bus was going nowhere but the next one would arrive in ten minutes. Sound familiar? about a half hour later we got under way and were handed maps. Turns out this brand, City Sightseeing, has only one route. We totally goofed up today. I feel greatly responsible that I did not do better research. The Red Bus called the Big Bus was just across the street and we could have just as easily taken it, but it would have been 10 euros more.
But we did enjoy the leisurely trip around the city center with the major sites. I wanted to see the Trocadero Gardens at the graceful Palais de Chailott across from the Eiffel Tower and we did. We also found a cute little cafe and mingled with the beautiful people while enjoying a delicious fruit tarts, very large, warm slice, and tea and coffee with milk. Turns out that getting coffee the way Elva prefers it has been a problem along the way. Today she said it was delicious. I loved that my empty cup came with a sachet of Earl Grey, a full pot of very hot water, and a second smaller pot to refill it! Perfect. I used the rest room which was tucked away under the kitchen. the narrow flight of 32 steps led to two doors marked ladies and one for the gentlemen. The sink, however , was in a common area.
We continued our tour after about an hour and a half with our only other stop being at Notre Dame. The lines were moving quickly to enter but since we have done that before we admired the building from the side where the relatively new statue of Saint John Paul II is located below the lofty flying buttresses and the colorful flower beds. Elva had not walked along here before and we viewed the magnificent Cathedral from the back. I think these two viewpoints are the best. Much more gentle than the familiar harsh square towers flanking the massive doors.
We continues our walk to the updated park that now surrounds Le Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. This is a must do that has been tucked away and probably ignored by the millions of visitors to the square before the front of the church. Katie knew of it from a PBS Rick Steves special. She introduced it to us and now I highly recommend it. Elva had been unaware, like most everyone else, even though this is probably the tenth time she has been here.
The quiet little space beneath the park, across from the back of Notre Dame, remembers the 200,000 French men, women, and children who here took their final footsteps on their homeland as they struggled to board the boats on the Seine that took them to the German Final Solution. 79,000 were Jews and the rest committed German sins of the Resistance or of their lifestyle. The inscription above the long chamber where a lone eternal light reflects off of 200,000 tiny crystals set in neat rows along the walls translates to say, "We must always remember so that we never forget."
You can read more here. I hope you will.
We returned to the square. Elva suggested the archaeological crypt of the cathedral but she had been there before so I opted to stay in the warm sun. We returned to the bus and finished the first circle passing all the most famous sites of Paris. The Louvre courtyard was mobbed, the Place do la Concord was shoulder to shoulder with sightseers. Everywhere was incredibly crowded. Neither of us felt inspired enough to venture forth into the mob scene.
Among these excited, curious, looking everywhere tourists we noticed many Muslims or Middle Easterners. We had talked at our aborted bus stop with a lovely young couple on vacation from Jordan. They said everything is fine in Jordan, not dangerous or at war at all. They commented on the change of the atmosphere of the city of Paris. They had been here before and were anxious for this part of their planned trip to end. Marc, the kind cab driver yesterday, said that the French are leaving Paris in droves. The Muslim population has taken over. Probably roughly one in every eight or ten people we saw today was a woman wearing a head scarf. Some were traditional black and some were more brightly colored. It was noticeable that the ladies in black stayed close to but behind their presumed husbands. The ones inthe colored scarves seems more flexible. I am not sure of the right name for the long dresses but they were everywhere.
Elva kind of wanted to go up in the Arc de Triumph to the top for the view. I told her that I would be happy to wait while she did but I am not a fan of being in high places without walls! She saw how long the lines were to wait for the ride in the elevator and then when I told here there were forty more steps up after that, she opted out and we circled the city again! It would have been so much better to have several routes to take but....just don't take City Sightseeing in Paris. It is okay other places.
When we returned to the Arc for the third time, once at the beginning of the day, once in the middle and now it was time to leave the tour. We walked back toward the hotel and were amazed at how many motorcycles there were on the sidewalk. Of course, though, there were several dealers along the extension of the Champs Elysee that is know as Avenue de la Grande Armée. Who knew Peugeot made them. And they were pretty, not just black or white.
We stopped into McDonald's to get a Coke to take to the room but the ordering kiosks didn't like my credit card and didn't take cask. You could order through your Mcdonald's account, which of course neither of us have. They had no cash registers but we used the bathroom for a half a euro. I suggested we go to the grocer across form the hotel. Elva had forgotten there was one in the convention center our room faces. We found it in the basement and there were actually three or four including a Marks and Spencer. At Le Grande Gourmet we bought for Coke Lights and a bag of chips to go with our left over airplane sandwiches for dinner. That all cost less than the Coke alone would have been at Mickey D's! It was a fabulous large grocer with beautiful fresh fruit, several aisles of wine, and so many delightful things that it was hard not to fill up a whole basket!
After we ate, I called to have our safe reset as I had messed up this one too. I think I do it too quickly and therefore not carefully. We are packed and ready to set out tomorrow early. The alarm is set for 5:45 but we don't mind. It will be kind of nice to meet the new peole we will spend the next ten days with. We will ride the bus, be told what we need to know, be shown what we should see, and not have to make so many decisions. That will break the Paris Jinx!
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