Feeling much better this
time around after our overnight train from Venice to Paris, I jumped off the
train to the station. As it is Paris, I
promptly fell in a hole and fell down on my face. Seems about right for Paris. Since it was raining and I could not tell if
I was hurt, we got into a taxi to go to our favorite hotel. (Jordan stresses I paid for a taxi so things were already better!)
The hotel is as great as we remembered, The surrounding area is a Japanese neighborhood and it has really grown larger in the last five years. We regrouped to venture out to see the Modern Arrondissements of La Defense. My mother stayed here her one time in Europe. This area has the modern Grande Arche and lots of statues. It houses offices and shops. It was a different side of Paris for sure.
Afterwards, it was time to experience the
best part of Paris - the bakeries! As I
am now gluten-free, I planned to visit some very special bakeries. Helmut Newcake was the snobbiest place but
worth the effort for those pastries.
(Les Halles Lego store:)
We also had to finally go to Harry's New York Bar. The bar has University flags and Carolina's flag was one of the originals! I properly ordered a French 75 while Jordan ordered a pina colada. (le sigh)
That
next morning we got to see the Eiffel Tower in the Jardin du Trocadero on our
way to the Musee Rodin. The Rodin Museum is housed in a
turn of the century artist house where many artists lived. It houses the most famous sculptures in the
gardens outside. It was amazing and seeing the Thinker up close was priceless. (For Marvelous Mrs Maisel fans, this is the
museum the mom walks through in Paris multiple times.) This place made me like Paris for an acre or so.
After
lunch, we FINALLY made it to the Catacombs.
I paid beyond normal pricing due to the popularity of the site, but after two
times of it being closed while we were in Paris we had to go! It's the reason I returned! I found the miles of underground a bit odd and sad, but at the same time fascinating. I could not imagine going to some of the
crazy concerts and parties that occurred down there during Paris's glory
days.
As it was also the 100th anniversary of
the WWI armistice, we looked at the WWI celebrations and walked through Forum
des Halles. That night it was the last major F1
race of the year, so we headed to the Opera area to the Aussie bar to watch. The bar seemed to find it odd two Americans were watching F1, but everyone was not cheering on Lewis so it was fun.
We
were excited to head home. I still do not love Paris but I am glad I got to see more sites and walk at a slower pace. I have vowed to not go
back until I am 50, so let's see if I do not have to resort to flying into CDG....
