I have loved Paris for over 50 years and I was excited to visit her again; this time for just on a week. This time also I would be sharing her with Roberta on her first visit.
While Paris has not changed our visit was significantly impacted by a number of "human" factors which took the gloss off our time there.
Firstly my torn meniscus left knee restricts my free movement causing issues while walking, climbing stairs and particularly when descending stairs. I have a compression stocking and a knee brace and now resorted to using a walking stick. All offer good assistance to my getting around.
The second human impact was the crowds. If Paris tourism is suffering from "terrorist shock" then it does not show. There are people everywhere - on the Metro, in the street, shops, restaurants and cafes, and the attractions. Endless lines of people trying to get into all the attractions, major and minor.
We went to the Palace de Versailles on Saturday and on arrival were greeted by a sea of people with 40+ busses in the parking lot and more arriving all the time. Thankfully we pre-purchased tickets on a tour which provide priority entry, skipping the major lines. Inside it was a crush, and not the candy type. Our guide was great but the crowd was limiting and claustrophobic at times. Versailles itself is an amazing piece of French history and highlights the life style of King Louis 14 of France and his 2000+ entourage. The buildings and the 2200 acre gardens are a must-see for anyone visiting Paris.
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, We climbed the steep winding road some 2.0 kilometres to the summit. Again a magnificent site not to be missed, sitting on the highest point in Paris. The basilica is massive and second only to Notre Dame in this part of the world. The view over Paris is superb.
It is on this day I found the third "human" factor to spoil our visit - pickpockets. Everywhere you travel in Paris you are warned about the presence of pickpockets, well I found one, or should I say they found me. It was a very costly experience and I still struggle to understand how, where, when - I know why. But is was only money and adds to my worldly experience!
We have achieved what we set out to do in Paris. We visited the Louvre, took a cruise on the Seine, climbed all 287 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, visited Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores, visited Moulin Rouge, walked the Champs Elysees and had coffee at a sidewalk table, rode the Metro many times, did the hop-on hop-off bus around the city and saw many amazing sights. We wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower but when we finally got inside the queue for the lift had a 2 hour long wait - not for me.
The fourth 'human" impact was security, Every attraction has strict security with bag searches and scanners. I lost my favourite pocket knife at the Eiffel Tower security. On the street, inside Metro stations armed police are present. On the 2 Saturdays we were there we encountered the response to the Yellow Jacket protests. All though Paris centre were dozens (hundreds) of Gendarmes in full riot gear, carrying automatic weapons. Comforting but a little scary at the same time.
Our accommodations were very small but serviceable in typical Paris form, no wasted space but close to public transport and shops - the "patisserrie" near our BnB was pure evil!!
Paris is still Paris, still gives me goose-bumps and I love her but for now we are picking up our hire car and heading off to the sea-side and Dieppe for our next adventure.
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
Monday, 3 June 2019
Paris day 3 and 4
Sunday 26th May
We depart from our lodgings and head to our new digs across Paris via Uber. A 30 min ride and we are there. We wait while the owner of the unit comes to greet us. When he sees how much luggage we have, he immediately starts to apologise for the size of the unit. Hmmmm, ok. Then we get inside, we thought our room before was small, this one is not much bigger. Hughes takes us though all of the do's and don'ts and how to work the tv, the microwave, ( which is on floor level ) the washing machine, which I am glad he did, cause it is very different to any I have used before. After he leaves us, we contemplate whether it will be ok. We can make our work, we really only need somewhere to sleep, even if it is on the fold out lounge. We managed to caravan for a week, surely we can manage this. So we take a short rest, the go and explore what is about. At the top of the street, there is a market happening, and we get some fruit and veggies, and a couple of peices of steak for tea. We notice there is patisserie just across the road from us, and a Resturant, the metro is on the corner, we have all that we need. Day is done.
Monday 27th May.
Today we plan to tour around Paris on the Top on Hop off buses. There are two routes, so of we set with our 6 day train passes. Go to use it and it doesn't work. Thankfully, Bob hasn't cond through yet, so we go to the ticket window, and how like crazy that the person behind the window can understand a little English. He does, and my ticket is re issued. So we plot out our required train trip, and head to where we need to be. We catch the red tour first, and go around viewing the wonderful buildings and listen to the commentary. This is a 2 hr tour. There is only one place where the two routes connect, so we get off at that spot after doing a complete loop. Then we have a spot of lunch and get onboard the blue tour. The blue tour is a 1 hr tour. These hop on hop off bus tours are a great way to see what ever city you are in.
We make our way back to our unit, stopping via a little confidence store to get some food essentials.
Saturday, 1 June 2019
Paris day 2
Saturday 25th May..
Today, we venture out of Paris to the Chāteau de Versaillies. We rendouvus at a wonderful place, near the Eiffle tower. We have arrived early, so breastfast at one of the eatery's that are about. We have planned this day tour out of Paris on account of the Yellow jacket protests that will be about today, and one can see the presence of the Gendarme about. In full combat gear. I felt very safe. I even got a pic taken with a couple of the officers. But there is a he presence about, sirens going all the time, police vehicles travelling to places, motorbike officers riding to their designated places.
We board the bus, and make our way to the our destination. The bus trip is a 30 min ride. We have a guide for the tour, and after some minor technological problems, no headsets, we enter the Palace. Our guide, Alex, was a wonderful guide, he was English for a start, and may have even been in stage performances. A true gem.
The Line up to get into this place is astounding, and we have come in an in between time. Then goodness we are doing a guided tour.
This place was absolutely astonishing. The place were King Louis XIV lived with all of his wives and mistresses. Ceilings and walls adorned with paintings. The hall of Mirrors was truly magical, abd beautiful, and full of history. It has 357 mirrors bedecking the 17 arches opposite the windows. People everywhere, squishy at times, and not being able to stop at some spots due to so many people. You could spend so much time just looking.
Then we get to the gardens. WOW. They stretch for 2200 acres, but were at one stage 23000 acres back in the day. This included woodlands for hunting. Interestingly, the designer of the gardens knew how important having things symmetrical was to the king, he designed the water features and the Grand Canal to appear the same size when one was looking out from the palace. This meant the furtherest pool , had to be larger so as to look the same size as the first one. The distance between the first and third basin is 1670 metres long.
I think you could spend a day looking over the palace, and a day exploring the gardens. An amazing if not very decadant piece of French history.
Today, we venture out of Paris to the Chāteau de Versaillies. We rendouvus at a wonderful place, near the Eiffle tower. We have arrived early, so breastfast at one of the eatery's that are about. We have planned this day tour out of Paris on account of the Yellow jacket protests that will be about today, and one can see the presence of the Gendarme about. In full combat gear. I felt very safe. I even got a pic taken with a couple of the officers. But there is a he presence about, sirens going all the time, police vehicles travelling to places, motorbike officers riding to their designated places.
We board the bus, and make our way to the our destination. The bus trip is a 30 min ride. We have a guide for the tour, and after some minor technological problems, no headsets, we enter the Palace. Our guide, Alex, was a wonderful guide, he was English for a start, and may have even been in stage performances. A true gem.
The Line up to get into this place is astounding, and we have come in an in between time. Then goodness we are doing a guided tour.
This place was absolutely astonishing. The place were King Louis XIV lived with all of his wives and mistresses. Ceilings and walls adorned with paintings. The hall of Mirrors was truly magical, abd beautiful, and full of history. It has 357 mirrors bedecking the 17 arches opposite the windows. People everywhere, squishy at times, and not being able to stop at some spots due to so many people. You could spend so much time just looking.
Then we get to the gardens. WOW. They stretch for 2200 acres, but were at one stage 23000 acres back in the day. This included woodlands for hunting. Interestingly, the designer of the gardens knew how important having things symmetrical was to the king, he designed the water features and the Grand Canal to appear the same size when one was looking out from the palace. This meant the furtherest pool , had to be larger so as to look the same size as the first one. The distance between the first and third basin is 1670 metres long.
I think you could spend a day looking over the palace, and a day exploring the gardens. An amazing if not very decadant piece of French history.
Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Paris day 1
Friday 24th
Early hours of Friday morning we have a layover of a two hours. Thankfully enough time to find our next departure gate and time to spare. We hop onto our last flight for some months. It is only and hour and 40 mins, but it was 45 mins leaving. We arrive in France mid afternoon. We have lost a few hours crossing time lines. We gather our luggage and head for the taxis to go to our next lodgings. Our driver is quite animated with the traffic, and I think it is a good thing we don't know to much French, as after one outburst, he asks of we speak French. We get to our motel, and it looks a bit ummmm, ordinary, shall I say. We go in, check in, find our room, and take in our surroundings. Yep, it's small, it has the smallest lift I have ever been in. Bob had to make two trips to get our suitcases to our room. But really, all we need is somewhere to sleep. After some catch up sleep, we venture out for a walk. Turns out, our room is only 500 mtrs away form one of the major landmarks of Paris, the Arc de Triomphe. And just a few streets away from one of the most desirable shopping areas, Champs Elise. We take a selfie at the Arc de Triomphe and then have something to eat and head back to the room for sleep.
Early hours of Friday morning we have a layover of a two hours. Thankfully enough time to find our next departure gate and time to spare. We hop onto our last flight for some months. It is only and hour and 40 mins, but it was 45 mins leaving. We arrive in France mid afternoon. We have lost a few hours crossing time lines. We gather our luggage and head for the taxis to go to our next lodgings. Our driver is quite animated with the traffic, and I think it is a good thing we don't know to much French, as after one outburst, he asks of we speak French. We get to our motel, and it looks a bit ummmm, ordinary, shall I say. We go in, check in, find our room, and take in our surroundings. Yep, it's small, it has the smallest lift I have ever been in. Bob had to make two trips to get our suitcases to our room. But really, all we need is somewhere to sleep. After some catch up sleep, we venture out for a walk. Turns out, our room is only 500 mtrs away form one of the major landmarks of Paris, the Arc de Triomphe. And just a few streets away from one of the most desirable shopping areas, Champs Elise. We take a selfie at the Arc de Triomphe and then have something to eat and head back to the room for sleep.
28th May 2018
Monday 20th
Early start to the day, as we are leaving Calgary today and flying to Toronto. Our flight is at 10.30. We make the air port in good time and drop the car off to the rental compsny. Bob disposes of his hair shampoo as we are taking our smaller cases on board. We go through customs, Bob is cleared, but I have forgotten that my wet pack is in my small case. So I have the ladies go through my stuff, and we have to dispose some of my things. Conditioner, face cream, night face cream, clenser, toner, nail polish, and assorted other things, as I can only take what can fit in a 1 ltr bag. Lesson learned. I get through that, and Bob is waiting patiently for me. Just as well we were a little early. We get to the flight gate, and board our flight. Arrived in Toronto, we get a taxi to our place and meet the hosts. The wife is from Bolivia and she shows us the unit. It is nice and there is space. After a little rest, we take a walk to find something for tea. Well we survey whst is about and Tim Hortons was the best we could find. I guess being a public holiday limited choices. There were some interesting people in that place. But we eat, and head back to the room, stopping at a convenience store to get some things for breakfast. Interesting fact, today was a public holiday because the Canadians celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday.
Tuesday 21st
Today was a rest day. Did venture out and purchased some replacement items, and found a nice Italian Resturant to have for our evening meal.
Wednesday 22nd
We are going to Niagria falls, so we use Uber to take us into Toronto to the appointed pickup place. The bus comes and we go around and pick up other folks and head of to the falls. I had no idea that there was an actual city there. There are lots of things there, like an amusement park, lots of restaurants, hotels, shops of all description. We join the line up to get onto the boat, and get issued with raincoats. The boarding station is high above where the boat is, so we descend down the cliff side in a cable car.
Once on the boat, we go to the falls, and get throughly drenched. There are 3 falls, the American falls, Bridal veil falls and horseshoe false, which are the biggest ones of the 3. Absolutely amazing. 2.2 million litres per second fall at the horseshoe falls. On the other side is the United States of America.
There are some beautiful gardens around and lots of tulips coming into bloom.
We lunch at the Sheridan, and then boared the bus to see more landmarks around the area. First stop was the whirlpools, and watched the areocar go from one side to the other. The next stop was the largest floral clock, then the smallest chapel in the world, and finally we have a wine tasting. A good day was had.
Thursday 23rd
We go into Toronto and do some sight seeing, take pics at the Nathan Phillip Square. There are some great old building here. We leave Toronto this evening, heading to Munich then on to Paris. Our flight leaves at 6.25, we get a taxi to the airport, and do the mandatory stuff. Board or flight, and leave Canada and glee into the night. Canada has been a most wonderful place. Like australia, one needs so much time to see this place. But we have covered a fair chunk of it.
Early start to the day, as we are leaving Calgary today and flying to Toronto. Our flight is at 10.30. We make the air port in good time and drop the car off to the rental compsny. Bob disposes of his hair shampoo as we are taking our smaller cases on board. We go through customs, Bob is cleared, but I have forgotten that my wet pack is in my small case. So I have the ladies go through my stuff, and we have to dispose some of my things. Conditioner, face cream, night face cream, clenser, toner, nail polish, and assorted other things, as I can only take what can fit in a 1 ltr bag. Lesson learned. I get through that, and Bob is waiting patiently for me. Just as well we were a little early. We get to the flight gate, and board our flight. Arrived in Toronto, we get a taxi to our place and meet the hosts. The wife is from Bolivia and she shows us the unit. It is nice and there is space. After a little rest, we take a walk to find something for tea. Well we survey whst is about and Tim Hortons was the best we could find. I guess being a public holiday limited choices. There were some interesting people in that place. But we eat, and head back to the room, stopping at a convenience store to get some things for breakfast. Interesting fact, today was a public holiday because the Canadians celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday.
Tuesday 21st
Today was a rest day. Did venture out and purchased some replacement items, and found a nice Italian Resturant to have for our evening meal.
Wednesday 22nd
We are going to Niagria falls, so we use Uber to take us into Toronto to the appointed pickup place. The bus comes and we go around and pick up other folks and head of to the falls. I had no idea that there was an actual city there. There are lots of things there, like an amusement park, lots of restaurants, hotels, shops of all description. We join the line up to get onto the boat, and get issued with raincoats. The boarding station is high above where the boat is, so we descend down the cliff side in a cable car.
Once on the boat, we go to the falls, and get throughly drenched. There are 3 falls, the American falls, Bridal veil falls and horseshoe false, which are the biggest ones of the 3. Absolutely amazing. 2.2 million litres per second fall at the horseshoe falls. On the other side is the United States of America.
There are some beautiful gardens around and lots of tulips coming into bloom.
We lunch at the Sheridan, and then boared the bus to see more landmarks around the area. First stop was the whirlpools, and watched the areocar go from one side to the other. The next stop was the largest floral clock, then the smallest chapel in the world, and finally we have a wine tasting. A good day was had.
Thursday 23rd
We go into Toronto and do some sight seeing, take pics at the Nathan Phillip Square. There are some great old building here. We leave Toronto this evening, heading to Munich then on to Paris. Our flight leaves at 6.25, we get a taxi to the airport, and do the mandatory stuff. Board or flight, and leave Canada and glee into the night. Canada has been a most wonderful place. Like australia, one needs so much time to see this place. But we have covered a fair chunk of it.
Tuesday, 28 May 2019
25th May 2019
Friday 17th
Spent the day wondering around Banff, after we have been to the chiropractor that Bob has made an appointment with.This is the first time we have experienced some cold weather since we have been away, big coats and beanies have been bought out of the suitcases. It was wonderful to look at all the different things and shops, as most of them are targeted for tourists, with souvenirs, and gift items. Lots of eating places also. While I was waiting for Bob, I stopped into a shoe shop, and got talking to the sales girl, who happened to mention that a Cafe called White bark, does good coffee, as I was telling her about my quest for finding a good coffee. Turns out she is from Australia,( from Qld from a place called Goondiwindi), like so many of the sales people about the region here have come from Australia, and she has been told by other Aussies that this is the place to go. So when the chiropractor appointment is finished, we make our way to this place. It has got the better tasting coffee I have had since we have been in Canada
Saturday 18th,
It is still cold out, and a bit of rain has happened over night. Banff, was a really beautiful place, with so many different people, and everyone being happy. We leave Banff, and head for Calgary. The country side is so beautiful, and mountainous. Added bonus, is we see that there has been snow fall through the night, and it is so beautiful on the trees. Was not a heavy fall, but just enough to cover the trees lightly.
We get to Calgary and navigate our way to our next BnB. Rick and Dawn. We arrived a little early, but they let us into out accommodation. What a wonderful place, nice to be able to stretch out a bit, and spread out. After some rest time, we take a drive, to see whats about. And we find the biggest one in Calgary. One thing I have noticed in Canada, particularly in Vancouver and Calgary, and everywhere in between, there are lot of pick up utes, but not just small ones, 350 Ford's, Rams, Chev and GMC, and all v 8. Apparently there is not fuel crisis over here.
Sunday 19th,
So today we are on a journey to Edmonton. This is a 5 hr trip, to meet a guy that has the same name as Bob. He had been in contact with Robert Hockey for some time. The road from Calgary to Edmonton is as straight as a gun barrel. 5hrs of dead straight road. There was a a bit of traffic on the trip, but I guess as this was a long weekend for Canadians, so they were out and about, like us aussies do. Bob and i share the driving, again with the driving on the wrong side. But I am getting better. And I get to drive through Edmonton, with all the traffic, how bad could this get, lol. So after following the directions with gps, we find the required Resturant and find Robert Hockey. The Resturant Red Robin, is a nice place, casual, and much like
We sit and chat for around 3 hrs or more, asking questions and him asking us things also. He did say that when he thinks of Australia, he thinks of the spiders we have. I find this amazing when they have bears, and moose and all sorts of larger animals. So after our rendouvus , we head back to Calgary. Still take 5 hrs, and still just as straight. When we get back to our lodgings, Rick and Dawn are sitting in the bask yard with the neighbour having a a couple of drinks around a fire. (How very australian of them ). They invite us to join then, so we do, but we do have some washing to do, and get sort of organised as we are leaving in the morning.
Spent the day wondering around Banff, after we have been to the chiropractor that Bob has made an appointment with.This is the first time we have experienced some cold weather since we have been away, big coats and beanies have been bought out of the suitcases. It was wonderful to look at all the different things and shops, as most of them are targeted for tourists, with souvenirs, and gift items. Lots of eating places also. While I was waiting for Bob, I stopped into a shoe shop, and got talking to the sales girl, who happened to mention that a Cafe called White bark, does good coffee, as I was telling her about my quest for finding a good coffee. Turns out she is from Australia,( from Qld from a place called Goondiwindi), like so many of the sales people about the region here have come from Australia, and she has been told by other Aussies that this is the place to go. So when the chiropractor appointment is finished, we make our way to this place. It has got the better tasting coffee I have had since we have been in Canada
Saturday 18th,
It is still cold out, and a bit of rain has happened over night. Banff, was a really beautiful place, with so many different people, and everyone being happy. We leave Banff, and head for Calgary. The country side is so beautiful, and mountainous. Added bonus, is we see that there has been snow fall through the night, and it is so beautiful on the trees. Was not a heavy fall, but just enough to cover the trees lightly.
We get to Calgary and navigate our way to our next BnB. Rick and Dawn. We arrived a little early, but they let us into out accommodation. What a wonderful place, nice to be able to stretch out a bit, and spread out. After some rest time, we take a drive, to see whats about. And we find the biggest one in Calgary. One thing I have noticed in Canada, particularly in Vancouver and Calgary, and everywhere in between, there are lot of pick up utes, but not just small ones, 350 Ford's, Rams, Chev and GMC, and all v 8. Apparently there is not fuel crisis over here.
Sunday 19th,
So today we are on a journey to Edmonton. This is a 5 hr trip, to meet a guy that has the same name as Bob. He had been in contact with Robert Hockey for some time. The road from Calgary to Edmonton is as straight as a gun barrel. 5hrs of dead straight road. There was a a bit of traffic on the trip, but I guess as this was a long weekend for Canadians, so they were out and about, like us aussies do. Bob and i share the driving, again with the driving on the wrong side. But I am getting better. And I get to drive through Edmonton, with all the traffic, how bad could this get, lol. So after following the directions with gps, we find the required Resturant and find Robert Hockey. The Resturant Red Robin, is a nice place, casual, and much like
We sit and chat for around 3 hrs or more, asking questions and him asking us things also. He did say that when he thinks of Australia, he thinks of the spiders we have. I find this amazing when they have bears, and moose and all sorts of larger animals. So after our rendouvus , we head back to Calgary. Still take 5 hrs, and still just as straight. When we get back to our lodgings, Rick and Dawn are sitting in the bask yard with the neighbour having a a couple of drinks around a fire. (How very australian of them ). They invite us to join then, so we do, but we do have some washing to do, and get sort of organised as we are leaving in the morning.
Thursday, 23 May 2019
Canada Update Final
We flew WestJet, a subsidiary of Air Canada, from Calgary to Toronto and had an exciting ride in the taxi from the airport to our lodgings. The taxi driver was devotee of car racing video games and was putting all his skills to a test. He went well - we survived!
Our AirBnB in Toronto was fine with enough space for us and a good location to shops and restaurants. The major reason for Toronto stopover was to visit Niagara Falls.
We had organised a tour to the falls and were picked up in the city for the day. The coach driver was also th guide and he was very good, excellent knowledge of the falls and surrounding area.
The falls have been a bucket list item for me for years and they did not fail to impress. No pictures, videos or movies can do justice to the magnificence of Niagara Falls. The US / Canada border splits the 2 main falls with the Canadian one slightly higher.
After descending the cliff face in the gondola we boarded the Lady of the Mist cruise boat complete with our free and obligatory rain coat and hood. Me being from Australia put it on backwards at first but a kind US lady sorted me out and for the rest of the cruise and lunch payed out on me.
The cruise around the lake, up to and into the mist of the falls was great and the rain coats plus hood works about 60% - we got very wet, but worth every drop. The volume of water coming over the falls is astounding whether expressed in litres per second or tonnes it is a lot - 567,000 litres per second for the American falls and 2,271,247 litres per second for the Canadian "Horseshoe Falls". The water is moving between Lake Superior / Lake Huron / Lake St Clair / Lake Erie, over the falls to Lake Ontario, through the St Lawrence River (seaway) to the North Atlantic Ocean.
We had lunch at Sheraton Niagara, visited Pillitteri Winery and visited the smallest church in North America - all 5 seats of it. Cruised back to Toronto very satisfied with our final day exploring Canada.
The next day it was a reasonably early start for the airport and our flight to Paris. Dropped off our bags, boarded our Lufthansa flight through Munich to Paris. All good.
Our AirBnB in Toronto was fine with enough space for us and a good location to shops and restaurants. The major reason for Toronto stopover was to visit Niagara Falls.
We had organised a tour to the falls and were picked up in the city for the day. The coach driver was also th guide and he was very good, excellent knowledge of the falls and surrounding area.
The falls have been a bucket list item for me for years and they did not fail to impress. No pictures, videos or movies can do justice to the magnificence of Niagara Falls. The US / Canada border splits the 2 main falls with the Canadian one slightly higher.
After descending the cliff face in the gondola we boarded the Lady of the Mist cruise boat complete with our free and obligatory rain coat and hood. Me being from Australia put it on backwards at first but a kind US lady sorted me out and for the rest of the cruise and lunch payed out on me.
The cruise around the lake, up to and into the mist of the falls was great and the rain coats plus hood works about 60% - we got very wet, but worth every drop. The volume of water coming over the falls is astounding whether expressed in litres per second or tonnes it is a lot - 567,000 litres per second for the American falls and 2,271,247 litres per second for the Canadian "Horseshoe Falls". The water is moving between Lake Superior / Lake Huron / Lake St Clair / Lake Erie, over the falls to Lake Ontario, through the St Lawrence River (seaway) to the North Atlantic Ocean.
We had lunch at Sheraton Niagara, visited Pillitteri Winery and visited the smallest church in North America - all 5 seats of it. Cruised back to Toronto very satisfied with our final day exploring Canada.
The next day it was a reasonably early start for the airport and our flight to Paris. Dropped off our bags, boarded our Lufthansa flight through Munich to Paris. All good.
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