Paris

Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe
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Fri May 19, 2006 - We came to Paris from London on the Eurostar train from Waterloo International station.  It was a 3-hour train ride.  Outskirts of Paris is rather flat unlike that of London, with farms and churches.  Very tidy looking.  There is almost always 1 tall church in every set of short farmhouses - very picturesque and soon you start looking for a church spire every time you find a small collection of houses.  I wished the Eurostar would go slowly and not just whiz by, so I could see the pretty countryside more closely.

The Eiffel Tower
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Paris is a very small city.  You can go thru the central tourist parts in a taxi within 20 mins or so, if there is no traffic or accidents.  Champs-Elysees is paved with stone slabs, must be brutal on auto transmissions.  Paris is rather quaint for a capital city, hence the charm, I suppose.  I tried my schoolgirl "parlez-vous Anglais?" on a few cabbies and shopkeepers, only to be met with an uncompromising "non".  So I am inflicting my awful French on the locals and they seem to understand most of it!  It is fun.  People at tourist spots and the metro speak excellent English anyway.

Small and quaint Paris

Arc de Triomphe
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We are staying at a hotel very near the Arc de Triomphe, the old Etoile district, now called Charles de Gaulle.  Very quiet and residential.  We are going to use taxis everyday to get to sightseeing spots.  I will get to practise my French!

Sat May 20, 2006 - I am a museum fanatic, so we went  to the Louvre right away.  So huge, miles of galleries with paintings!  Can I get a job here?  Please?

Sun May 21, 2006 - The Eiffel Tower!!  Solid and brown.  Great view from the top.

Chartres Cathedral
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Mon-Tue May 22-23, 2006 - A 2-day city tour by bus, Les Cars Rouges.  They have recorded commentary in 8 languages.  We tried to go to the Musee d'Orsay, but boy, it was so crowded.  The line looked like it would take hours, so we abandoned it.  The only museum that I missed, boo hoo...

Wed May 24, 2006 - The newly reopened Orangerie museum (lovely) and the Rodin museum.  For some reason, I find sculptures depressing, give me paintings any day.  But the Rodin museum has a cheerful rose garden.

Daddy outside Notre Dame
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Thu May 25, 2006 - Afternoon trip to Versailles Palace.  Massive, lovely formal gardens.

Fri May 26, 2006 - Afternoon trip to the cathedral at Chartres.  Lovely glass.

We also managed a cruise on the Seine river and a night tour of illuminated monuments.  Also saw the Da Vinci code movie with French subtitles!

Sat May 27, 2006 - I went to the Louvre a second time by myself.  Got a headset and parked in front of all my favorite Renaissance paintings.  Great time!

At the end of the trip, I asked Mummy "so, did you manage to learn any French?".  She said "mercy" - thank you in French.  It is "merci" and her French accent is terrible!  Then I asked Daddy "what about you?".  He said "sortie" - French for "exit".  Poor man, he is over 70 years of age and he had to walk so much and climb so many flights of stairs everywhere that he kept looking for the exit so we could finally leave!

Sun May 28, 2006 - Eurostar trip back to London, goodbye, Paris!  Au revoir.