Blogs from Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe - page 3

The last Day in Paris for Tim and Natalia started in rain, and finished in rain. They had to be on the 20.40 train back to Luxembourg, so we popped the umbrellas and nothing stopped us. We had a late breakfast, well, a croissant and a coffee, and were carrying some rolls and quiches to eat at the Jardin de Tuileries near the Louvre later on. There were crowds everywhere, always is in Paris, but with Jacque Chirac’s funeral and Paris Fashion Week locking horns , the gardens were a peaceful place to hide. It’s springtime in Paris and the gardens are beautiful. Parisian gardens are designed to be perfectly symmetrical rows of flowers and shrubs, colour coordinated to blend without detracting from the surroundings, in which this case were lakes and groves of trees. We ... read more

Our trip has come together. First, we discovered that we had enough points through our credit card company to pay for the airline tickets AND a car rental. Then, we found Larry through trustedhousesitters.com...he arrived yesterday, and so far, he and the dogs like each other. Bill has magnificently gotten household things organized...and our laptop loaded so that either of us can continue to work, as needed!! I've got thread and fabric to stitch if the scenery gets boring!! (as if...) We have written letters to our first two hosts: in Paris we will be with friends with whom we have stayed before, and they with us. We are still awaiting a reply from a SERVAS host in Rennes...whom we chose because of this description: "old typical house (mud built)." After all of our houses, we ... read more

As a concession for the blister on Sue’s toe from being led around Paris all day yesterday, we caught the Number 38 at the bus stop near our hotel this morning. I’m all heart. We walked everywhere yesterday, and Sue didn’t complain once; and that’s the problem with walking with Sue. She is so stoic it borders on foolhardy. I’m not going to get into the Camino we did; ask Tim. No one likes a whinger, but I’d love to hear about someone I’m with suffering in silence. I don’t bite. Anyway, I bought some bandages, taped up the toe, and we bussed the longest trips today. It did the trick. Our first destination was the famously extravagant and expensive Galeríes Lafayette, a department store known for stocking high end, exclusive brands. I saw a watch ... read more

How good is Paris? Well, if the assessment is linked to rainfall, today was excellent. After a long uneventful flight from Hong Kong to Paris, we arrived weary, sore, but ready to make the most of a 3 day break in Paris, with a wish list of stuff to do. Hopefully we can cram plenty into 2 days now, because after queuing for what seemed forever in a line of people who treated the train ticket office at the airport as a tourist information office - I’m definitely becoming less tolerant as I get older - we rose from the bowels of the Paris Metro, only to be greeted with cool, wet conditions. No matter, we are wet, but we are wet in Paris. Our hotel is only a short walk from the station, and I ... read more

A long day in Paris. Breakfast at the Hotel Juliana was delicious. We walked to the Eiffel Tower and decided the lines were too long in the morning. We decided to walked to Trocade'ro and got some photos of the Eiffel Tower from there. We walked down Kleber Avenue to Arc de Triomphe. We did a full 360 of it and then we Went down the Avenue des Champs. Sriracha shopped to get some shoes as it seems she forgot to pack her walking shoes and only brought her flip flops. She got some new Adidas. We continued on the Musse' de Lourve. We decided it was time to try the subway, so we purchased our tickets and got on with plans to head back to our hotel. At the station to transfer lines we found ... read more