Days 55-57 Paris
I’m off to Paris today! Leaving the house at 8:50 a.m., I walked to the station. Everything is abuzz; there are lots of people waiting for the train to Paris. The ticket booth lines are long – I’m very glad to have my ticket already purchased. The first half of the train is already at the station, but my car, and the second half of the train, is yet to arrive. It came soon afterwards. We departed at 9:35 a.m. following the coast with only a few stops.
Just after noon, we were at Aix-en-Provence. From here onward, the train is moving very fast; it makes my ears pop a bit. In this area, the vineyards are as plentiful as the cornfields in the Midwest. The rivers are carrying the azure (green-blue) water from the hills to the sea. By 12:30 we are in Avignon. Along the way, I am reading the Daily Matin, finding out that the clocks spring ahead Saturday night, and my bedtime storybook for children. It takes me most of the afternoon to work my way through the story – so many new words! (Kids know these?! How did we ever learn all the words that we know and use? What an awesome mind we have!) Finally at 3:20 p.m. we arrive in Paris, at Gare de Lyon.
The station is very open, with shops and information booths. I immediately went to the booth to find out where to buy a ticket for Saturday’s trip to see the Junk family in Mennecy. The lady in the booth did not know the town, but she was able to find it on the computer. She gave me the times and directed me to another booth to purchase the ticket.
At the first booth I find, it looks like I can buy a Metro/Bus pass for Paris for a day, so I got one of these. Then I proceeded on to another area where it looked like tickets could be purchased for other cities. I was redirected back to the place where I bought my city pass. Now I had my ticket for Mennecy – it must be used on Saturday, but I can catch any train heading that direction. The tickets are small, so I need to figure out where to put it in my purse. My bags tend to swallow a lot of small things. So I put both the city pass and the Mennecy ticket in an obvious place and headed for Metro line towards the hotel at Place d’Italie.
Upon coming up out of the Metro, I had no idea which direction I was facing. The plaza is large, so I started toward my left. It would have been much shorter to have gone to the right, but eventually I had crossed every street and found Avenue des Gobelins. It was only a short walk from here to the Hotel Kyriad on Rue Veronnaise. 83 Euros for a room with breakfast.
The lobby was under renovation. The elevator had room for one person with luggage, two people at the most. My room was on the fifth floor at the end of the short hall that was very dark. One can turn on a light when passing a switch, but the lights are on a timer – saves pennies, no doubt. The key was slotted for the pins to fall into place. It was obvious that it went into the slot, but then one opens the door, releases the handle, and removes the key. The room is clean and well worn. But the bed looks comfortable and the salle de bain (bath) is in the room. After a quick unpacking, and finding my maps, it was already about 5:30. The man at the desk gave me directions to Bateaux Mouches for the boat ride on the Seine. It boards near the Eiffel Tower, so I would see that tonight also.
Exiting the Metro from above ground, signs pointed out the direction of the Tower. Turning the corner, there it was; an awesome sight from every angle. (This explains the many pictures.) The walk to the boat’s dock along the Quai is lovely and quite a little jaunt from the Tower. There are so many beautiful bridges and buildings and boats along the river.
The boat trip lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes. Explanations were given in at least 6 languages. Since I was not atop the boat, I kept moving from side to side, trying to remember which was “port” and which was “starboard.” As the boat made its final turn back to the dock, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated. A cheer went up from the crowd onboard.
After debarking, I walked toward the tower. It was too late to see another site in the area, so I stopped for something to eat at a corner restaurant. This would be my only sit down meal in Paris. I had wine called Les Violettes – it was good, red with some body to it.
Then I walked to the tower. If there was one man selling little tower replicas that light up, there were 50+. The lines to walk or ride up the tower were long with over an hour wait, so I did not go up. But it is an awesomely, beautiful, graceful structure. As I was leaving around 9 p.m., another set of lights began to sparkle – for well over a minute. See the movie clip for a brief example of it. Wow.
Back onto the Metro, I arrived at the hotel by 9:40 p.m. Lights out by 10:50.
Up by 7:10 a.m. and down to the continental breakfast by 8:00. When I first sat down, I was alone, but a woman sat down with me a little later. She was visiting Paris with friends from work who were at the next table. She said that they do this occasionally with no spouses and no children. It’s mostly for the shopping. I told her what my plans were for the day. Then it was time for me to be on my way.
Before checking out I made my plans about what to see and how I would connect via the Metro. I tried to include the bus, but I was having a very hard time figuring out that map, so I stayed with the train.
The first stop was the Sorbonne – University of Paris – a very old site for higher education. Then I walked over to the Jardin du Luxembourg. I loved this place. The trees in Paris are just beginning to bud out. There were families, groups practicing tai chi, and young couples everywhere. At the center was an expansive open space, with fountains and tilled gardens that will soon be planted with flowers. Surrounding this area stood statue after statue of the reigning women of France and its provinces.
Walking up the Rue de Napoleon, I encountered Saint Sulpice. In front was a huge fountain dedicated to four bishops of Paris. The church itself is massive. Some of the paintings inside are by Delacroix – see the pictures of the embattled angels. Here I first encountered the glass confessionals. These allow for more light in the church, provide privacy for the dialogue, and retain a better perspective of space. This church has an obelisk that marks the meridian line. It was featured in Dan Brown’s book The DaVinci Code. The organ here is well known, too.
Not too far away is St. Germain des Près abbey. This fifth century church was also a fort. It was taken over by the army during the revolution and became a gunpowder factory. Multi-colored painted columns support the high-vaulted ceilings, again impressive. The Stations of the Cross are on metal plates. The altar area has been renovated and is much brighter than the rest of the church. The philosopher Descartes is remembered here.
One of my favorite sculptures, which looks very modern in its unfinished state, is the remnant of the Middle Ages discarded when it suffered an accident during carving, is that of Our Lady of the Smile. (See pictures)
My next stop was Notre Dame cathedral. Even though it wasn’t too far, I decided to use the Metro. After one stop, it was announced that there was a delay because of an accident, so I decided to walk the rest of the way – it was just across the bridge. There were so many people in the plaza in front of the church. The line to enter was half way across the plaza, but it kept moving. There was a school group of (maybe) second graders just in front of me. The teacher was fairly strict with them. The two mothers accompanying them were much more gentle, taking care of one child who wasn’t feeling well.
The crowd inside was quite thick. I did not care for the atmosphere. But the church has many well-known artistic elements. Of course the rose windows, and around the backside of the altar were colorful wooden panels of Jesus’ life. One side was from his birth to his arrest. The other side depicted those to whom he appeared after his resurrection. Mass started at noon, but instead of quieting down, the voices grew louder. Ah, well. I got out my student I.D. to get in to see the church treasures. The woman at the desk chastised me (in English) because “students” are usually 26 yrs and younger. But she let me pass with my 2 Euros. The room held amazing articles and gifts given to Notre Dame, including a reliquary of St. Louis (king). On the other side of the church, there is an altar dedicated to him as well.
In one of the chapels around the nave, there were two models of the church and a diorama of the building of the church. (See pictures) There is so much history here and in all of Paris.
Back to the Metro, I wanted to make my way to the old Opera House. But the next stop on the line was the Louvre. I knew that I didn’t have time to go inside to see the artworks, but just to see the plaza would be a good start. As I came out of the metro, there was a man selling bottles of water for 1 Euro – deal! I was parched. Walking through the archway, one is reminded that this was the home of the royal family. This would be where coaches were welcomed. Passing through the corridor, one gets a glimpse of the bright plaza where the famous glass pyramids give light to the museum’s gallery below.
The plaza is amazing – the vast amount of space is decorated with fountains, the pyramids, and people, people, people. In it’s time, it would have been a great place to play for a little prince or princess. (See pictures)
On to the Opera House that is now the Academy of Music and Dance. A performance was soon to begin, so those with tickets were allowed to pass through the gates. Other tourists filled the steps, having lunch, waiting for buses to pick them up. A city bus stop was just at the corner, so I hopped on the next one heading to Gare Lazare. Here I could catch the Metro to Sacre Coeur, the last church and site for the day.
The Metro stop is Abessess. Signs directed one to the funiculaire (like the Fourth Street Elevator in Dubuque) that would take one up the hill. I began my climb. Usually there are two or three sets of stairs to walk up from a Metro stop, but here, I kept climbing and climbing. I should have counted the number of stairs. I had to stop twice to catch my breath on the way up: mind you now, besides the natural workout of the ascent, I am carrying my little satchel of clothes for the weekend and I’m wearing a turtleneck, my wool jacket and my raincoat. By the time I reached the top, my face was beat red. Following the signs to the funiculaire, I was grateful to find it about 3 blocks away. The ride, filled with people, was quick, but then another set of stairs before getting to the stairs of the church. Whew! The area was crowded with people. This was a beautiful, warm day in Paris. The heavy air limited the view, however. I went inside.
Sacre Coeur church, built in the nineteenth century, is considered “the top of the wedding cake” of the city. It is filled with beautiful mosaics, and is generally brighter than the older churches that I had seen throughout the day. No pictures were allowed, so there are none to share of the inside.
Leaving the area, I walked down the many stairs past the funiculaire, back to the Metro to connect to Gare de Lyon. This route (#2) has air-conditioned cars and the map of the line lights up to show one the direction and stop. Very modern. I arrived at the train station just after 3:40 p.m., too late to catch a train to Mennecy until another hour would pass. This gave me time to buy some flowers for the Junk family, with whom I would be staying overnight, and find the quay for departure.
The station signs were not helpful in finding the track, but Amy Junk had told me it was the D line. This was helpful. The map at the station confirmed this. The D line is different from most in that it has several destinations – the line splits when leaving the city. I had to get on the right one. Standing between the stairs for tracks 1 and 3 and tracks 2 and 4, I asked a rail worker which goes in the direction of Mennecy. She was not sure where Mennecy was, but she indicated tracks 2 – 4. That’s where I descended. However, after studying the monitors and my map, I realized that the final destinations of these trains were north of the city and I had to go south. So I climbed back up the stairs, checked the map, found the end destination that passed Mennecy, and went down to tracks 1- 3. Now I was in the right spot, confirmed by the name of the final city showing on the monitor. Soon it was flashing all the destinations for that train, and I boarded at 4:41 to arrive in Mennecy at 5:27 p.m.
Once on the train, it began to rain. It passed through much more city, which gradually thinned, then the sun began to shine and as the train turned a corner, there was a rainbow (l’arc-de-ciel).
Amy and Ellie (Eleanor, age 5) were waiting for me at the station. The air smelled fresh. We walked to the nearby boulangerie for a baguette, and then we drove to their home at the edge of the little town. [This was the second car ride I had had in France.] There I met Alex and baby Simeon. Amy and Alex made a tasty chicken supper. It was great to hear about their experiences as Americans adapting to the French culture. It shed a great deal of light on my own adventures. We chatted until late. The clocks moved ahead overnight, so it was already 10:30 when I said “goodnight.”
I woke up around 6:45 a.m. and sketched down memories of the previous day. By 8:15 I was showered and downstairs. Ellie and Simeon were up and were hungry. They waited to hear me moving about before making breakfast. Amy made a delicious “baked oatmeal” cake – a Junk family recipe that I’d like to get.
After breakfast, Amy, Ellie and I went for a walk around her school. A woman inquired about her lost golden retriever. We had not seen a dog without an owner, but on the next street, there it was. We called the woman who was way across the schoolyard. Eventually, she made it around to the street where we were waiting with the dog who had lain down in the middle of the street. I suspected that the dog lived somewhere nearby. Indeed, we were right in front of his house. We continued our walk to the town centre to pick up some cheese for lunch sandwiches.
Once back at the house, Ellie went out to play with the neighbor’s grandson. I packed my things together then went outside to join them. This gave me a chance to converse a little in French. Amy said I did well. That was very nice of her.
After lunch, Alex took me to the airport, about half an hour away, as he was on his way to work to install a computer program for the office and the airport was a only a little out of his way. Once there, Easy Jet check-in was downstairs – all others seemed to be on the level where one walked in. After checking in, back upstairs through security and to the gate. Easy Jet is like Southwest Airlines – no frills. With open seating, I figured that I would be in between two others, but I was able to get a window seat over the wings. Legroom was minimal, so I stowed my carry-on in the overhead bin and rested for the flight that was just over an hour to Nice.
In Nice, it was pouring rain! I followed the signs to the bus terminal, the signs disappeared, I turned back; there it was, just outside the terminal door. The islands for the buses were well marked: Nice Centre/99. Upon reading the sign, it seemed that I needed to get a ticket at the window across the street, which I did for 4 Euros. When I looked at the ticket later, it was a day pass, which I didn’t need, but this is a first-time experience. Next time, I’ll just pay my 1 Euro for a “solo” trip to my corner.
By the time I made it to the apartment, the umbrella was laden with water. It was already 5:20. I had decided to go to the 6:00 p.m. mass at Notre Dame, so after a quick cup of tea with Michele, I headed off again. I was grateful that there was music at this Mass, too. Vesna came in just after the start of Mass, so she sat with me. After Mass, I walked Vesna to her house. We stood outside chatting under the umbrellas for a little while. She would like to inquire about being a “host family” for Azurlingua. I promised to pick up the papers and call her later in the week. She would be a fabulous host.
On the way back home, I stopped at Pizza d’Or to get a carry-out pizza for supper. It had eggplant, artichokes, tomatoes and olives. After dripping non-stop on the table, chair, and floor where I waited for a brief 20 minutes, I walked back home. There was no avoiding the puddles; water was standing everywhere. I made it home by 7:50 p.m. Michele was still working at the computer. Election info was on the TV. I’m not sure what the results are. Hopefully I’ll see something in the paper on Monday.
That sums up the adventure to Paris and back. Dear Reader. I hope you had a good weekend, too.
