Indeed, we were in its shadow while we stayed in Paris. It was quite a trip and I had a fabulous time! But I should back up a bit an explain how and why this all came about...
Almost two years ago I was diagnosed with Stage One Ovarian Cancer. It sounds scary -- and it is! But I know how incredibly lucky I am that it was only stage one -- most women are not diagnosed with this silent killer until stage three or four, and by then it is often too late. That mine was caught so early is akin to a miracle. So I had the surgery (surgeries, actually), did the chemo, and struggled to regain my health. Fast forward two years... I'm cancer-free! My CA-125 is a great level (11 for those of you in the know)! And I am celebrating!
Hence the trip... So, my very good friend Cassey and I decided to take on Europe. The trip had several permutations and postponements, but back in early February we found a pretty good deal on tickets and we threw caution to the wind and began our planning in earnest. This is what we came up with: One week in Paris where we would stay with Cassey's college roommate & her family. One week in London where we would stay with my cousin and her husband. Everything else was TBD basis. Here's how it all eventually shook down...
May 6th (Saturday) -- The adventure begins!
Our flight did not leave until late afternoon, so I spent the morning packing, doing laundry, following up on trip details, a trip to Target, a trip to Larry & Tom's for patio furniture... it was a full day! Cassey arrived at my place around 3pm and my parents soon followed to load us & our belongings up and take us to the airport. No hassles at all getting our tickets & going through security, etc. We sat chatting excitedly waiting to board the plane. The first leg of the trip took us to a layover in Detroit, which was uneventful. We ate some dinner and waited to take off again. Finally we settled into our seats on the very big jet for our flight over. It was as comfortable as most plane seats are -- except for one thing. Each seat had a video screen in the back so you could watch whatever you want (or not at all). Sounds great, right? We both watched "Casanova" with Heath Ledger and enjoyed it greatly. HOWEVER, because those screens require computer equipment and the planes are rather cramped at best anyway, the only place to put this computer is under your seat. Whatever leg-room we thought we had no longer existed. :-p Consequently, sleep mostly eluded us. We made it to Charles de Gaulle airport without incident, got through customs, retrieved our luggage, found our driver (our hosts, used to having guests, sent a shuttle to pick us up) and watched the city greet us as we approached. The shuttle dropped us off at an unassuming building on Avenue de President Kennedy. Only one problem. It was a building that one needs to be buzzed into and we didn't have the info to do so! After a few moments of quandary, Allison and her young daughter Abby came down to get us. And soon after husband Greg arrived with son Adam from their jaunt in the park.
We spent a quiet afternoon catching up and getting to know one another. The children had many, many, many, many questions for us! After they went to bed, the babysitter Liz came to stay with them while we adults headed off to the Champs Elysée and The Lido. Fun show! Singing, dancing, champagne... what's not to like? We got home late, laid our plans for the next day and fell into bed.
May 8th (Monday) -- All Louvred out!
What happened to May 7th, you ask? I forgot to mention that we left on May 6th, but arrived on May 7th due to the time difference. We decided to spend much of the day at the famous museum. We were particularly interested in seeing as many paintings mentioned in "The DaVinci Code" as humanly possible. Mission accomplished! Though we did have to back-track on more than one occasion... it's a big place you know!
Our day actually started by walking in the Tuileries to get the the Louvre. We had started out on the bus, but we found that since it was a holiday (WWII victory holiday) the buses weren't running their usual schedule. Fortunately the walk wasn't that far. The gardens weren't much in bloom yet there, but it was still a pretty walk as the trees are all green with fresh leaves. The museum was packed! We weren't sure what to expect since it was a holiday, but apparently that didn't stop either the tourists or the locals from coming. We entered through the now-famous (our infamous, depending on your view) I.M. Pei glass pyramid. It's really quite something -- and it brings in much light into what was once a dark, cold place. Getting tickets was easy and not too long an affair. So where to go first? Much of what we wanted to see (as well as what EVERYone wanted to see) was in the Denon gallery, so that's where we headed. Mona Lisa... Madonna on the Rocks... Winged Victory... I could go on. And we did -- all morning! It rather makes your head swim. We stopped for some lunch in the cafeteria to regroup and then spent the afternoon going to the other galleries to see what we specifically looking for - like Napoleon's apartments (there was a painting of a peregrine in the dining room, Mom!) - and backtracking to see the things we missed in the morning - like the Venus de Milo. Of course, no trip would be complete without a trip to the gift shop. We got back to the flat in the late afternoon, and once the children were in bed we had a lovely meal made by Allison of lamb roast, haricots verts (green beans), an assortment of cheeses with bread, a lovely wine and chocolate cake. After dinner Cassey and I made plans for the next day and then we went to sleep with the Eiffel Tower twinkling overhead.
May 9th (Tuesday) -- Oh, Versailles is just my summer home!
Well you all know how ol' Louie Quartorze is... even his "get away" has to be larger than life! There's no "keeping up with the Jones" in Versailles -- it's all about the Bourbons in V-town!! Cassey and I took the RER train to Versailles and walked the (relatively) short distance to the palace. Let me tell you, it's pretty impressive walking up the boulevard to get there -- even WITH the dozens of buses parked out front! We were met by hawkers at the gates, but we did not sucumb. We knew the gift shops had much more to offer!
So we stood in line for awhile. There are A LOT of tourists here, but it was organized so it wasn't really too bad. Now once we started the tour it was a free-for-all! Everywhere you wanted to go, there was somebody already standing there -- and not likely to move anytime soon! I'm not usually prejudiced against other nationalities, but my patience with certain former-Axis nationals was beginning to wear thin. LOL! Anyway... I'm certain they are lovely people under other circumstances. :-)
Unlike the Louvre, most of the information at Versailles was in both English and French. However, said bumps-on-logs tended to be standing in front of the English version (not reading, just standing). Fortunately, my HS & College French stood me in pretty good stead and we managed to make sense of everything. The inside of the palace actually goes quite quickly -- only certain parts are open to the public. So we were greeted first at the Chapel, which for my LOTR sisters reminded me much of the Great Hall in Minas Tirith. You can't go in, however; so everyone peers in the doors on the ground floor and then goes up the stairs to look at it from the Royal tier. It's quite beautiful, but by this time lacks a great deal of the sacred, in my humble opinion. So next we tour the King's apartments. Then the Hall of Mirrors, which all you history buffs know was were the Treaty of Versailles was signed ending WWII. They are currently restoring the hall, so only half of it was open. However, they were quite clever in how they blocked off the side under renovation. If you take a look at my pix from it, you would never know the difference! (If you haven't seen my pix and would like the link, just shoot me an email!) Then the Queen's apartments followed. Now, there is no doubt that all of this is quite opulent. Yet, I can't help but feel it looks a little shabby?? I mean it IS all several centuries old, but the linens look like they could use a good wash and the furniture a coat of Pledge. Now, don't hold up your hands in horror, all you Antique Road Show purists... I know that's not possible, but it doesn't mean that it still doesn't need it! LOL!
Anyway, after getting waylaid by the gift shop Cassey and I went outside to the gardens. Naturally, it was raining. So... do we walk in the drizzle? Or do we spend the 5 Euro to ride the tram? The tram won out! And it was worth it! The map makes you think it's not a huge walk... well, it IS a huge walk even for two walkers like Cassey & me (I should mention that while I AM a walker, I still find it difficult to keep up with fast-paced Cassey!). And did I mention it was cold? That sealed the deal as far as Cassey was concerned. So we chugged along in the tram up to La Petite Trianon. The Petite Trianon was commissioned by Louis XV as a place where he could live among botanical gardens that he would personally supervise -- it soon became a place to rendezvous with his mistress Madame du Barry. After he died Louis XVI gave it to Marie-Antoinette, which she used to get away from the Court until she created her little hamlet several years later (Le Hameau). We got out to tour it and the gardens. It's quite a bit smaller and much more "the thing," I would say. I could see why MA preferred to get away to this little home. The gardens were lovely -- in the English style -- and we Americans thought the idea of planting flowers right in the pots and then planting the pots a great idea! Easy to change things around if wanted or needed...
Then on to the Grand Trianon. We didn't get out here. We're not sure if you could tour it or not as no one else got out either. This was Louis get away from his get away. Then on to the Grand Canal. You're thinking... oh, a nice little pond or lake. Uh-uh -- a big ol' canal! They had boat races on it! You can see it in some of my pix. There at the canal we decided we were ready for some lunch. There was a delightful café/restaurant there called La Flotille where we had a delicious, perfectly French meal. Cassey especially liked her "vin chaud" (hot wine) and I had a "cidre" -- France's version of hard cider, though it's quite a bit lighter. After lunch, we found another gift shop then took the tram back up to the palace to take a few more pix before heading back to the train. We took a shortcut through the village, which naturally takes longer! We found a cute little street with some nice shops on it. :-)
Finally back on the train heading back to Paris, though we decide that once we get to the flat we're going to freshen and go right back out to dinner. Greg would be leaving for a job interview in the US the next day and we thought it best to let the family have some private time. So we walked up to the nearby neighborhood of Passy in search of some dinner. It was a little early by French standards, but we were pretty hungry by this time. Allison & Greg had given us a suggestion of where to go, but we got the name mixed up and missed it. Instead, we ended up at a place called "aéro," a sort of hip café-bar-brasserie. I ordered a cidre once again, and the waiter immediately told me that if I ordered that I must have a crepe for dinner! I think he may've been giving me a hard time, but I took his suggestion anyway. Cassey did the same, although she got her ham & cheese crepe with a fried egg on top, which is apparently very popular. Not being a fan of fried eggs, I passed, but mine was just as rich without it. I had a really good crème brulée afterwards too. Back to the flat as we had another big day ahead of us!
May 10th (Wednesday) -- Monet sure made an Impression(ist) on us!
Cassey is mad for French Impressionism, so we couldn't NOT go to the Musée D'Orsay!! :-) It's in an old train station and what they've done with the space is almost as beautiful as the artwork that graces its galleries! It was much more organized than the Louvre, so we managed to see quite a bit in a morning. Good thing as we had Notre Dame planned for after lunch! But we saw them all... Monet, Manet, Degas, Rodin, Van Gogh, Gauguin, LaTreque, Renoir, Seurat and more! Not to mention all that we saw at the Louvre -- and more that we would see later! I probably would have opted for something else if it had been me alone, but I'm glad that Cassey wanted to see it so badly because I definitely would have missed out!
Once we had our fill of the arts we took the train to Place Saint Michel to get to Notre Dame. There was a café just off the place, so we stopped there first for lunch. Our garçon (waiter) was appropriately aloof.
So... Notre Dame... when I was there nearly 20 years ago there was a big scaffolding in front of the great doors -- but not today, thank goodness! They are imposing and quite beautifully intricate (see the pix I took!). There is so much to see inside... the rose windows are spectacular... the high altar is like nothing we see here in the States anymore... even the every day altar has graceful modern lines -- my pix don't really do it justice. We took our time looking at the sanctuary, but it really does not take terribly long. We bought some rosaries at the gift shop then headed outside for the tour of the tower!
Let me just say, that I've spent the last several years walking a great deal (though it has been somewhat intermittent) -- and I was not really fit for these stairs! Many, many stairs and few landings -- but I made it at least to the observation level (Cassey went to the very top). Up there you can go into the bell tower, look at the gargoyles and check out the steeple of the church -- not to mention get a gorgeous panorama view of the city of Paris! It was worth the climb!
After the tour we strolled along the side of the cathedral to look at the back with all it's flying buttresses for which it's so famous. The side park was very pretty and flowers were in bloom there as they were not in other places in the city. Our next sight was one that had been suggested by a friend of Cassey's. She would not tell her much about it, wanting us to experience it for ourselves, but urged us to go. She was not wrong! It was a memorial called Les Déportations -- a Holocaust memorial of sorts that paid tribute to those particularly victimized by the Nazis. It's right at the tip of Ile de la Cité, the small island in the Seine where Notre Dame is located. You walk down a set of stairs into a... a courtyard, I guess. But it's not like any courtyard we're used to. The walls are very high and you cannot see the horizon, just the sky above you. There is nothing in the courtyard but emptiness and a sculpture that hangs on one wall that is made of angry angles and metal, suggesting prison bars, perhaps? You walk into a small alcove and inside is an Eternal Flame and a tomb of an unknown victim. In that tomb area are thousands of tiny lights, signifying the souls persecuted by the Nazis. There are also carvings in the walls of the most amazing quotes. I tried to take pix of them to try to remember them, but I would've been better off copying them down by hand. At the top of the door is carved, "Pardonne. N'oublie pas." Forgive. Do not forget. I remarked to Cassey that I felt that this small, silent place more sacred than Notre Dame, which was filled with many people who were there to gawk and couldn't care less about it being God's house. I was very glad we found it.
Next on our list was to head for a brasserie on Ile Saint Louis across the bridge that was recommended to Cassey by yet another friend! Alas, it was closed that day. But we did find another café right across the street and were very happy to spend the evening there, whiling away the last of the daylight. It was the quintessential moment of sitting outside at a Paris café... Back home at last. The next day would not only be long, but would start EARLY!!
May 11th (Thursday) -- A pilgrimage indeed!
Okay, now I know why they call it a pilgrimage to Mont-Saint-Michel... because even in these modern times it is a HAUL up that ramp & dozens of steps to the abbey!! I made it, but not easily... and it was worth every step and lost breath to get there!! For those of you who might not know, Mont-Saint-Michel is a sort of island off the coast of Normandy in western France. During low tides it is easy enough to get to and there is a road that goes right to the island. But when it's high tide (and I mean full-moon-on-the-equinox kind of high tide) it is surrounded by water. In other days it was like that at most times, but with erosion and modern engineering it's not a problem. There is actually talk of getting rid of the road so the water can surround it once more.
The abbey is incredible -- I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it was to be there. For some reason I've always felt a kinship with the Benedictines (no, I've not felt the actual call to a vocation, though I'm sure some people have wondered why I haven't entered a convent at this late date... I still have HOPE to find my Ranger!) and in a way it was like coming home. I had many questions for our guide, and while she was full of information I don't think she is often asked the questions I wanted answers to?? Perhaps I should've had the abbot take me around -- as if!! LOL! Anyway, I could have spent the rest of the day walking the cloisters and its garden. They weren't large (Westminster's are much, much larger), but they were beautiful and the perfect place to relax and let your mind wander on higher planes... I told Cassey, if the Musée D'Orsay was her perfect "soul" moment in Paris, the cloister at MSM was mine!
Rather than go back down to the bus they way we went up, the tour leads you through the town that grew up around the abbey. It was sort of twisty and steep and had many, many shops along the way to tempt the tourist. We stopped in a few shops, but I had spent my wad up in the abbey gift shop! We did stop for some ice cream and to sit along the wall and watch all the visitors walk up and down the street -- stopped into a small village church (the name escapes me at the moment) -- saw the famous restaurant that serves the omelets cooked over an open hearth -- and made it down to the bus with about 20 minutes to spare.
Back on the road we tried to nap some more, but stopped about an hour later in the town of Caen at La Memorial de Caen - L'Histoire de la Paix -- a WWII museum. We had dinner in one of its dining rooms and shared a table with a Romanian couple and two ladies from Quebec -- we were the only ones that all spoke English. I think the other tables were either all French or all Japanese. I must admit that I thought a moment about what the Japanese might've thought about the museum, but as we weren't able to communicate in a common language I guess I'll have to continue to wonder... Of course, the Japanese weren't involved in the European theatre, but I was still curious. We had five minutes in the gift shop where I bought my friend Frink a pencil (I ended up with quite a collection for her by the end of the trip!) and then back to the bus. No time, alas, to check out the museum but from what we saw in the lobby it looked to be pretty interesting.
Home pretty late, but had some time to stay up and talk to Allison and watch the end of the movie "Birth" with Nicole Kidman. It was in English, but she had the French subtitles on -- quite different than what I'm used to here at home where it's the other way 'round! Very strange movie, by the way.
May 12th (Friday) -- Is it ZHEE-ver-nee or Gee-ver-nee or Guee-ver-nee??
We never did get a straight answer from anyone -- not even from our French hosts! Oh, but this wasojournming soujourn into the French countryside... and a European mini-moot as well!!!! (for the definition of "moot" see the 3-13-06 entry below) I knew for certain before we left that we would be meeting up with Sheri (aka Estelina) and her daughter Jesse. What I didn't know until nearly the day before was that somehow Sofia had found a way to evade her WORCs (work + orcs -- this is another Lord of the Rings reference) and join us too!!! So Sheri & Jesse traveled from Germany and Sofia came from Portugal -- and Cassey (who would be a full-fledged Shieldmaiden once I can get her actually to read some Tolkien!) and I from the US. It was truly an amazing two days to be able to share this with my shieldsisters...
So Cassey & I arrived first and after a few moments of confusion finally found our hosts Alain & Arlette who picked us up and took us for a brief tour of Vernon and then to Les Lilas (The Lilacs) where we would be staying. Alain showed us all it's delightful oddities and we absolutely loved it! Then they dropped us off in town where we had lunch at a pizza place, stopped to change some money and bought some pastries. At 3pm we walked to the train station to meet our friends and Arlette returned with the van to take us all back to the Lilacs to get settled in. Once all the beds & sleeping arrangements were decided upon, I went out back to the little table in the garden while the others walked up to a grocery store for some afternoon snacks. We had a lovely little party under the trees (and the lilacs, of course!) gabbing and catching up. Cassey went upstairs for a nap and fell deeply asleep -- which was amazing since we were talking and making quite a bit of noise despite trying to remain quiet for her! :-)
For dinner we decided to try the restaurant Alain & Arlette recommended called Les Fleurs (The Flowers) -- this apparently is Alain's favorite restaurant! We had some difficulty finding it on foot, but thanks to Sofia's superior language skills we finally found it! We quickly discovered why Alain liked it so much -- the food was amazing! We were brought a plate of hors d'ouevres -- grape tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese, tiny deviled eggs & cheese sticks. Then we all got a small cup of creamed asparagus soup -- delicious as the asparagus was fresh and in season! I had a filet in a cidre sauce with this wonderful terrine of mashed potatoes with carrots, onions & lardons (bacon) -- exquisitely done! Cassey & Sofia had a roasted leg of duck in a spicy cocoa sauce with mashed sweet potatoes. I really can't remember what Sheri had... she might've had the filet like me or something else entirely... wow... I really can't remember... Anyway... Jesse wasn't feeling all that well, so she skipped dinner. Dessert was lovely too! I really can't remember what everyone had here... let's see... Sofia may've had crème brulée? Cassey had some sort of hazelnut mousse-y thing? Again, I don't remember what Sheri had... but I had strawberries and cream between two wafer-thin shortbread cookies in a pool of strawberry coulis -- Yum-O!! I was grateful for the walk back in hopes that at least SOME of that wonderful food got worked off!
Once we got back we sat around in the living room and chatted for quite awhile, but when we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer (Jesse had long since taken a nose-dive into the sheets of Sofia's bed in the living room!), we repaired to our respective rooms. I hardly even remember my head hitting the pillow!
Five women -- one bathroom! But we did it... we were all up, had some breakfast and were ready when Alain & Arlette picked us up to take us into Giverny and Monet's house. The house is cute and some of the rooms (like the kitchen) were to die for, but really... the reason to go is the gardens -- and we were NOT disappointed! Even in early May the garden was in full bloom and a riot of color! We saw the famous bridge... and the water lily pond... all those things in his paintings... and the garden is quite large! I don't know if it was in his day, but it's quite incredible now. You can tell they have master gardeners keeping it up because I'm sure even now there are new flowers blooming, taking over from the ones in bloom while we were there. That would be the azaleas... amazing! There was a beautiful mango-y orange colored one -- I've never seen that color in an azalea before... the wisteria too... it covered the entire bridge in a most romantic way... sigh...
Oh wait... sorry I was daydreaming a bit there! Anyway, once again we hit the gift shop then headed back to the house. Cassey & Sofia walked the whole way back, but Jesse still wasn't feeling well and I was a bit tired, so Sheri, Jesse and I went to take the bus back -- there was only one problem... the next bus back to Vernon wasn't until 2pm and it was only 1pm! So fast thinker that she is, Sheri steered us to an information booth where she called a taxi. Fortunately Vernon is about 4km from Giverny so it wasn't a long or expensive trip. We actually even saw Cassey & Sofia from the road!! Our meeting point was a restaurant in town called La Paris Plage, so we three got our table and the other ladies joined very soon after. We had a nice lunch then headed back to the house to wait for Arlette & Alain to pick us up to go back to the train station. We at least all got to travel back together to Paris to La Gare Saint Lazare, but there we had to say good-bye to Sheri & Jesse. Somewhat sadder even for Sofia since Sheri was the only other Shieldmaiden in Europe, but now they are moving back to the US at the end of May! Really... thank goodness for the internet!
Sofia came back to the flat on Avenue de President Kennedy with us until her flight later in the afternoon. We had great plans to go to the Eiffel Tower or the Trocadero, but we were pooped, frankly, and just relaxed with Allison, Greg & the kids. Sofia had to leave around 7pm to make it to Charles de Gaulle for her flight and the kids had to go to bed. Then Liz returned for babysitting duty as Allison had planned an nice evening out for all of us on our last night in Paris. First we walked to a very trendy, hip bar for drinks -- the place was called "Bon" and we loved it! Lots of silver and chocolate and teal (sounds a bit like my living room here!). The bar was unusual as it looked to be a former sushi bar... it rotated scandelabra lit candelabra placed strategically around the loop. When you ordered a drink at the bar, the bartender would put your drink up there and it would come to you automatically. There was also a restaurant attached, but we moved on to "La Gare" for dinner instead. It is so named because it was a former train station (La Gare means train station in French). This place too was quite trendy, but not so upscale as to be out of our price range. I'll try to remember what we had... For starters: Cassey & Allison had duck foie gras in a corn chowder -- very creamy, very rich! Greg & I had thinly shaved white mushrooms molded with parmesan cheese and topped with shrimp -- a very good quality balsamic graced the plate as well. Delicious! For dinner: I'm blanking on what everyone else had, but I had a lovely roasted veal. For dessert: Molten chocolate cake for me. I think Cassey & Allison shared a crème brulée? No recollection of what Greg had. Whatever it was, it was damn good!! :-)
Once back at the flat Cassey & I started repacking for the next day since we had plans for the morning and had to be ready to go as soon as we got back.
May 13th (Sunday) -- Wake me up when we get to Nation!
Okay, that quote is really from my first trip to Paris when I was in high school -- Henry Peterson had a little bit too much wine that night and was afraid he'd fall asleep and we'd leave him there! Anyway... Cassey & I got up and repacked again in the morning, making sure we would be ready because we wouldn't have a lot of time when we got back from our morning jaunt. When we were at Notre Dame earlier in the week we'd read that the 10am mass would be a Gregorian mass! We discussed it over the subsequent days and decided that yes, we could make it in time! And so we headed off to mass on Sunday morning like the two good Catholic girls that we are. And we indeed had time, though we had to leave right after communion (not what either of us preferred, but there was no help for it -- the taxi would be at the flat at 11:45am!)
So far so good... we were feeling pretty confident... we'd not had ANY mishaps on the Métro the entire week we were there... until today! We got on the right line -- just going the wrong way! Once we discovered our mistake it was too late to go the train -- we had to go to the surface and hope we could find a taxi... Luck was with us -- our next stop was the Musée D'Orsay and there was a line of taxis outside the museum! I think the driver got us there in record time -- but our other taxi was waiting to take us to the airport -- and had been waiting for 15 minutes!! We quickly said our "good-byes" and fervent "thank yous" and rushed downstairs with our luggage to tumble into the waiting taxi. Now, we weren't really worried so much about the time... we were worried we wouldn't have enough Euros between us to pay the taxi driver!
But we made it... in time... with literally change to spare! It was a costly mistake, but there was no time to rue it. We rushed into the airport, found our ticket counter, turned in our luggage and breathed a sigh of relief... we were on our way to London at last!
*stay tuned for the London installment!*
No comments:
Post a Comment