Blogs from Île-de-France, France, Europe - page 487

Paris is a beautiful and wonderful city. Here's the low-down on all Chris (my Dutch friend) and I did on our brief visit there: We left Shannon Airport in Ireland at 11:10AM. I moved my stuff out of my house the night before and left it with my Irish friends Maria, Damien, and Dave (who I will stay with for one night when I get back from France). It was strange settling all that stuff up and saying good-bye to everyone, but we all exchanged e-mail addresses and such, so hopefully we can keep in touch! But, anyway, Paris. The plane was delayed a bit, and we had a 1.5 hour bus ride into the city once we got there, but it was well worth the trouble. Once in Paris, we stopped for a quick drink ... read more

I am finding that weather reports aren't as frequent or detailed as in the States. Perhaps, I am just not looking in the right place. As a result, we are occasionally caught off guard. It's 30 degrees C today which is pretty hot. Paris is at her quietest on Sunday, when everyone sleeps in from the night before and at her craziest on Saturday. Most of the shops are closed on Sunday so buy an extra baguette. We visited the Musee Malliol for a Gustav Klimt exhibition. Our last "biggie" is the Louvre which we have been postponing on account of the crowds. Cara and I did some reconnaisance today and we found an uncrowded underground entrance. Go us! Anyway, I spent some time in Virgin Records exploring French popular culture. See if you can match ... read more

So we have pretty much covered all of our bases in Paris. We went to Versailles yesterday and spent the day in awe of Louis XIV and his expensive taste....the boys liked the gardens a lot, which seemed to stretch on for miles. We took it slow today being that it is Sunday and most things are closed, except for the museums, so we went to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. But I realized soon that art for the boys weakens their attention spans, so we raced through the Louvre as their appetites got the best of them. We had a picnic at the Jardins des Tuileries. The boys amused themselves while they threw bread at the pigeons that flocked the grounds. Tomorrow we are going to Caen, about ... read more

Hi So yesterday morning, at about 5 am, we left our hot hotel room with the broken shower in Milan and walked to the station, it was very beautiful, and unlike the hotel, less humid. We got a crossant with jam and hopped on our 8 hour train ride, which was very scenic, it went through the alps to Paris. Its very hot here, about 30 degrees. We walked, taking a long way, our lonely planet map was awful, to St Germain des Pres which was built in 1055, has Descartes tomb and a monument to the first bishop of New France. We then walked to Ile St Denis to try ice cream, from Bethillion, a famous and incredibly good ice cream shop. We ate it in the park behind Notre Dame and since the crowds ... read more

Eiffel Tower Day! Some people don't think that the 900 ft. view over Paris from Eiffel Tower is worth the crowds, hassle, and time and I understand their reasoning. We arrived early and fought our way to the top and then spent the afternoon relaxing and exploring French markets on the nearby Rue Cler. ... read more