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Paris - Day 2
Awoke to a sunny warm Parisian Wednesday. We taxied from the hotel to the Bateaux-Mouches for a ride on the Seine. Along the way, iconic views appeared, the Champs-Elysees, imposing buildings along the right bank and the Eiffel Tower. The sun kept popping in an out but the passing scene was so glorious that I stayed outside for the entire trip. As we cruised we passed under bridges, some newer with train tracks and some older, built by Napoleon, a bridge from the time of the Revolution and the Pont Neuf (new bridge) actually the oldest surviving bridge in paris completed in 1602.
Our fellow cruisers were from around the world; a huge group from India or the Middle East, Japanese, Chinese and all over Europe. The narration was in English, Chinese, Japanese and all the major European languages with the exception of German. The French don't forget.
My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower was an eye opener. From all the pictures I've seen I expected a really industrial structure but it is graceful and beautiful with the stairs from the second level looking like lace.
The Louvre is enormous and intimidating even from the river. The towers of Notre Dame loom over the Ile de la Cite and I am anxious to visit. We cruise past the d'Orsay, on the list for a visit tomorrow, past the Grand Palais and Petit Palais and on past the lock that leads to the entrance to the marina where Ed and Linda docked for four months on Fiddler's Green.
The river itself was running quite quickly and wondered how Ed had managed the boat. He said he wondered himself but thought the water was probably a bit calmer. They even managed a rescue of a couple whose boat engine had died. They towed the boat to a area where the couple could get help.
We headed to the Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris, and had lunch at the Ma Bourgogne. Ed and I had steak tartar while Linda and Joe had salads. For desert, Joe had coffee ice cream, Linda a tropical fruit flavor but I came out the winner with chocolate ice cream. This was unlike any ice cream I had ever tasted. It was so
dark and rich it was like a iced fudge. Even with help from the table I couldn't finish it.
The square is still an upscale residential address but back in the day it housed the likes of Cardinal Richalieu and Moliere. The houses have red-gold brick and stone facades with slate roofs and dormer windows. The original 36 units were commissioned by Henri IV.
Ed headed back for a rest and we walked around the arcade, peeked in at the Hotel Sully (not a hotel but rather an old mansion originally home to the Duc de Sully, chief minister to Henri IV. At the next corner, The Victor Hugo house is under renovation and, having circled the square we headed to the Marais or Jewish Quarter. Here there are falafel shops and a Jewish Deli, the Synagog. We stopped for ice tea and a rest, petted the shoppe doggie and decided to head back to the hotel for a rest.
No one was really hungry and we headed out for a light meal at around 7:00. Unable to find the restaurant that the hotel recommended, we stopped for pizza. Like many
unplanned events this was a winner. Joe and I shared a Margherita Pizza, Ed had a burger and Linda had a "Beautiful" pizza with mozzarella cheese, ham, cherry tomatoes and arugula. Ours was one of the best Margherita Pizzas ever, not quite as good a Luca but very close. We shared a bottle of wine and we back, snug in bed by 10:00. A beautiful day.
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