France
Pretour Days 1 and 2
Banner picture above - Sunset over Paris France taken from top of Eiffel Tower.
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Day 2 was to be special. It was Laure's birthday. Just being in Paris on her birthday was not going to be enough, so additional, special plans were made.
We started with a slow morning, sat out on our terrace for tea and then headed off to Montmartre, a cultural center on the center north side of Paris. It was a beautiful sunny day. We began with a tour of Sacre-Coeur, a stunning structure atop the highest hill in Paris.
We scheduled a dessert food tour for 11 am from www.sectretfoodtours.com We met our guide and group of 10 just down the hill from Sacre-Coeur. We visited the best specialty stores in the area ~ chocolates, macaroons, caramel, crepes. What we didn't expect to learn was all the history of the area. Our guide had lived in the area and knew all the stories about all the artists who lived in the neighborhood. We had a fantastic time.
We began in Paris, the city of love. What an amazing place for Laure to begin her first European adventure. Museums, breathtaking sites, food and a rich history.
The tour was to start on Tuesday afternoon. We arrived early, on Sunday morning. We wanted to adjust to jetlag and have more time to explore Paris.
We arrived Sunday morning, about 7 am. After bus and train rides to Paris, we excitedly climb the stairs up to street level and we are next to the Arc de Triomphe. We pause, taking in the both the sight and a deep breath. It finally feels like we have arrived.
Our hotel was about 5 blocks away. A simple walk, drop off our luggage and return for a slow stroll down the Champs de le . We had no big goals ~ look around, visit Musee D'Orsay, St. Sulspice church, find some wonderful food and stay awake through the day.
Planning Tip: Check Paris museum schedules in advance. Most are closed either Sunday or Monday. Planning avoids disappointment.
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Planning Tip: The secret food tour is available in many cities besides Paris. Best to plan ahead with reservations.
The day concluded with a visit to the Eiffel tower. Jim's plan was to be at the top of the Eiffel tower at sunset on Laure's birthday. Success!
We arrived at the Eiffel tower about 5 pm with 6:30 reservations to the top of the tower. Planned carefully, working back from a 7:50 scheduled sunset, a little later when viewed from so high. Allow just a touch more than an hour to get through lines, and ride to the first level. Look around and head up to the upper level. The view was phenomenal as you can see to the left. All that planning couldn't account for the luck of mostly clear skies with wispy clouds to color the sunset. What a way to end a birthday.
Planning Tip: Plan ahead on the Eiffel tower tour. Book on-line as far in advance as you can. Start looking 2 months in advance.
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Tour Days 1 and 2
We woke up Tuesday without a care and with excited anticipation of the formal tour starting. It was fun to explore on our own but we looked forward to others planning. As it was our first trip, dozens of hours were expended planning for 2 days. We were glad we chose a tour and didn't have to plan for another 14 days!
The Rick Steve's tour was set to begin at 3 pm. Since we had a morning to ourselves, we headed off to the Army museum and Napoleon's tomb. Already we were comfortable taking the subway to the nearest stop and then walking to our destination.
The Army museum was more interesting than we expected. We went in thinking more about modern warfare and were surprised by how far back in time the museum went. Having a daughter who rides horses we found the displays of the way horses used as well as the armor to be fascinating.
Napoleon's tomb was impressive. Grand, immense with intricate detail. About this time and certainly later in our trip we were struck by how intricate and detailed so many structures were ... and how expensive they must have been to build. Where did the money come from? Modern museums we understand. But structures such as the tomb and many churches were built hundreds of years ago.
Planning Tip: If arriving early staying at the same hotel as the tour is worth it. There are better opportunities than changing hotels.
Finally 3 pm arrived. We gathered, 28 tour members, our guide Ben, and a guest guide, Gabriella, along to learn the tour. About half of our group was made up of couples on their first tour, many that had done a couple of tours and one person on her 10th tour. Most were over 40, a few were under, all but 2 attended as couples (one of which were newlyweds, though they kept that secret for a few days).
After our orientation we headed off for a walking tour of our neighborhood, ending at our dinner location. It was a local restaurant with very good food. After dinner we met our bus driver and local guide for a night time drive around Paris. The Rick Steve's guides are very good (at least ours was), but they also use local guides in many locations for more in depth information. We found them all excellent and well worth it.
Wednesday arrived and the tour was now in full gear. Breakfast with the group and then off to explore. First a subway lesson then a trip to get started. Under Ben's guidance we walked through typical neighborhoods ending at Sainte- Chapelle - a small church with the most stunning display of stained glass we have ever seen. We spent about 20 minutes there then headed off to Notre Dame Cathedral. Winding through the streets we stopped at a local book store that been there for nearly 100 years.
We continued on to Notre Dame. As our tour was in late September the crowds were very manageable everywhere. Ben began by telling us about the carvings on the cathedral. We were surprised - first how much detail was present in the carvings and more so by the stories and meanings behind them. Representations of heaven and hell, stories from the Bible told. I didn't realize for a couple more days just how beneficial a tour guide would turn out to be. We could have read a book and learned as much, but not as easily or quickly, and certainly not as interactively By the end of the tour this would be a more significant benefit than expected.
Wednesday afternoon began the way many afternoons would on a Rick Steve's tour. We received an introduction to the Louvre, then a museum pass and we were turned loose to explore what we wanted. This was one of the reasons for selecting a Rick Steve's tour. That is, about half the time we could follow our interests, not locked into a group activity.
We explored the Louvre for about an hour or two, not nearly enough time for its massive collections. Download Rick Steves audio tour so you don't get as lost as we did! Jim needed a break from art, so we wandered about the Tulleries Garden. Laure wanted to rent a toy sailboat, but sadly we did not. It was getting late so on to the Orangerie Museum to see Monet's Water Lilies which have a whole room to themselves as designed just for htis work. Stunning! The underground museum housed many beautiful pieces from the 1920's. The Ryder Cup 2018 was going and huge screens were up so we could watch!
Does it get any better moment
Cruising through the hills of France we stop at a castle, in the middle of a vineyard, in the family for 26 generations and the current Count gives us a tour.
Tour Day 3
Thursday began with breakfast and we boarded a bus, bound for Beaune. Leaving the trappings of the big city of Paris, we enter the quiet countryside of France. After a few hours we left the main road to a follow a smaller, then smaller road. Soon we passed a small town and we were in the countryside. A lone building is off in the distance, a castle. We approach and learn it is our next stop, a short visit along the way.
The Castle Rully has remained in the same family for 26 generations. The current Count gave us the tour of his family's home and regaled us with stories of how his many times great grandmother was so beloved by her people that they saved her from the French Revolution. Similarly, during WWII, the Germans who occupied the castle treated it with respect. The four foot plus thick wall made modernization challenging as evidenced by the visible pipes bringing plumbing into the modern age. The ginormous ovens bespoke a time when meals were prepared for dozens of people! As we sampled the wines, we learned how the "premier cru" designations were assigned to the very best walled portions of the vineyards. Jim and I are saving our bottle for the eve of our next adventure (hopefully soon!)
(As we leave a few of us are chatting, how would we have found this on our own? )
We left the castle and continued on to Beaune - a short drive away. Expecting this to be just some town with a nice hotel, we were wrong. This was yet another unexpected gem. And it's only day three.
Beaune, an authentic walled city welcomes you to ducal Burgandy. Within its walls is Hotel-Dieu built in 1443 when Nicolas Rolin and his wife Guigone de Salins created a palace for the poor. At that time you went to a hospital not to get well but to die! This is far from the modern age! Beautiful carvings, wonderful tapestries, stained glass windows and the finest care available. Its original principles of charity and care shine from the chapel, to the pharmacy, to the soaring arches above the curtained individual beds.
In the final room is a multi-paned painting of the Last Judgement. A museum docent can move a a large magnifying lens, about 18 inches in diameter, to any point in front of the painting. When you look through it you are blown away. You can see every brush stroke, every variation in stroke thickness. First you can't believe you can see so much detail. Then it strikes you how much detail there is. How was it painted over 500 years ago!
Hotel Dieu
Does it get any better moment
Beaune, in southern France. A walled city housing Hotel Dieu, many quaint restaurants.
The evening closed with a nice meal. After leaving the museum we wandered around town. (It's not very large inside the wall.) We ran into other members of the tour group. Finding one of many cafes with outdoor seating, four of us sat down for a nice dinner. We used the opportunity to develop a friendship. Throughout the tour, because of the small group it was easy to identify members and develop friendships.
The day ended with a slow stroll back to the hotel. It was a perfect evening, clear skies, calm, warm and with perfect company.
