Fantastic Voyage
A scrapbook of our Rick Steves Tour
We've landed in Paris
We landed in Charles de Gaulle airport at 1:00 PM and knew that we wanted to get out and explore. We booked two extra days in our hotel just to get our footing before the tour began on Sunday, September 23rd. The weather was great, our shuttle bus (LeBus Direct) from the airport to the Arc de Triomphe was a breeze, so we checked into our Hotel and headed out for a walk down the Champs-Elysees.
That afternoon we walked from the hotel, down the Champs-Elysees, and to the Louvre Pyramid. When we turned around, we had our first glimpse of the Effiel Tower in the setting sun. We walked back and had dinner at a grand little brasserie called L'Etoile 1903 (4 Avenue de Wagram), then a nightcap at La Placette (13 Rue de Montenotte). This small slice of Paris seemed surreal in its beauty. We both knew that we want to spend more time here.
Eiffel Tower and Ile de la Cité
Weeks before our trip we bought timed tickets to go to the summit of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, we woke up later than expected and had to hurry out of the hotel and navigate the Metro to make it the gate on time. In the end, nobody cared about the time on our ticket. The view from the top was amazing, but a few clouds rolled in, and the weather was noticeably more refreshing (i.e., cold and windy) at the top.
After the Eiffel Tower, we took the metro back to the area of our hotel, had a late brunch in a cafe (A Place To, 47 Avenue de Wagram), and then went out to look for the Pont Neuf bridge. Why the Pont Neuf? Well, many years ago (in the 1950s) my mother was in France and painted a bridge in Paris. We had the painting hanging in my house for as long as I can remember, but we didn't know what bridge was in the painting. Thanks to some work in Google Maps we realized it was the Pont Neuf. Dawn and I went to find the exact spot where she sat while painting it. For me, this was a highlight of the trip.
We explored Square du Vert-Galant, sat on the edge of the Seine and enjoyed the view. We tried to book a last-minute dinner cruise (to no avail), then wandered back through the Jardin des Tuileries, spent some time looking at the gardens and finally settled on a small brasserie called Le Royal (1 Place André Malraux) for dinner.
Market, Orsay Museum and Île de la Cité
Today our tour Rick Steves’ Best of Europe in 14 Days tour started at 3:00 PM, so we had much of the day to ourselves. We rambled around the streets near our hotel, much less hurried than yesterday, in search of a good coffee and baguette. While wandering, we came across a street market on rue Poncelet where vendors were selling meats, fruits, vegetables, and fish. We stopped in a Paul Boulangerie (4 Rue Poncelet) for coffee and croissants then strolled through the market, bought some beautiful grapes and figs, and stopped at Mr. Pain (15 Rue Poncelet) for another coffee and baguette to take back to the hotel.
Once fully caffeinated, we surged back to the hotel, grabbed our museum passes and headed for the D'Orsay, which was stunning. Neither Dawn or I were very much into art before this trip, but seeing the massive and powerful paintings, such as the Exécution sans judgment sous Les rois maures de Grenade by Henri Regnault and Dante et Virgile by William Bouguereau caught our interest. We were also lucky enough to have visited the D’Orsay during an exceptional event dedicated to Pablo Picasso’s blue and rose periods (1900-1906). Additionally, the D’Orsay was loaded with paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Gauguin, among others.
The Tour Begins
We could have spent a full day in the Orsay, but we had to be back for our 3 PM tour kickoff meeting in the cavernous basement level of our hotel. Here we met our excellent tour guide - Dave Stringer - and the group of like-minded fellow travelers whom we would soon recognize as friends including: Kim and Barry from Iowa, Connie from Montana, Dawn and Scott from Washington, Debra and Diane from Wisconsin, Diane and Floyd from Ohio, Jules from Philly, Ed from Delaware, Heidi and Tim from Washington, James and Melanie from Toronto, Jessica from Colorado, Keith from Florida, Laura from Minnesota, Jess and Kevin from Austin, Jim and Pat from Washington, Lori and Tom from Minnesota, Yvonne from Michigan. We miss traveling with you all!
After introductions and buddy assignments, we gathered for an orientation walk of the neighborhood and a stroll to our first group dinner at La Maison (28 Place Saint-Ferdinand) where we sampled escargot, and then on to a bus tour of the city.