Postings from Germany

Oh Paris , My Paris

They knew we were coming so they threw a parade! Check out the horse and the horn flourish. What a welcome!

Of course, it wasn't just for us - it happened to be VE Day (Victory in Europe for you younger readers). When we emerged from the Metro, we saw the Champs Élysée closed off, military guards lining the street. The soon-to-be-former President Chirac came by and waved at us before laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the base of the Arc de Triomphe.

Julia and Larry arrived in good shape but sans luggage - what a pain. Most arrived that night, but the one with Larry's things took another day.

I heartily recommend staying in Five Star hotels. Julia had racked up so many points from staying in Marriotts during her working career, she was at the highest level of the Marriott program and consequently we were treated like honored guests. We had two rooms with a small sitting area between them, quiet and of course well appointed. Below, the bed in our room with more pillows than a person can sleep on - the charge declaration on the back of the door said the room was €775.00 per night !! Breakfast extra. Needless to say, we won’t be coming back here on our own! Who can afford this? Apparently, many, since the hotel seemed to be doing a brisk business – mostly Americans.


Day Arrive

Of course, Julia and Larry were dealing with jet lag and we were dealing with a bit of sleep deprivation ourselves. The train ride from Bremen was not quite as comfortable as I’d expected and we slept in fits and starts, but Paris kinda energizes me, so I was OK. Larry, however, was fighting the mental fog. Nap was on his mind. But that had to wait.

After the parade and a brief wash up, we headed to the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the oldest in Paris, full of historical famous dead people. There was supposed to be an artists’ fair in the neighborhood, but we never found that. However, we did find Jim Morrison’s grave and enjoyed strolling through the lanes and looking at the stones and statuary. This is Chopin’s grave, lovingly cared for by a person who took great offense when Julia gently touched a flower to see if it was real or not. The flower was silk, but the tirade unleashed by the caretaker was real! We didn’t know exactly what he was saying, but that he was offended was clear. We didn't have all the words on our collective tongue to explain our innocent interest - not that he would have cared!

That evening we walked up to the Arc de Triomphe. I don’t know if Paris is more beautiful by night or by day. I'd say: Both.

Day Two

Before breakfast, I turned on the TV and ran through the channels. Would you believe what I found on an Arabic station – a sheik in all his white-robe-and-white-head-dressness sitting there on the set of …. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire !!?? What a hoot. I thought they were already all millionaires. Curiously, the only words I could understand were Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. Wonder what the question was.

The Marriott breakfast buffet was a feast. Maybe everyone else is used to this, but Werner and I are not. There was cereal, fresh fruit, assorted yoghurt, cheeses, olives and other Mediterranean goodies that are typical north African breakfast foods, breads, cold cuts, hot meats, pancakes, crêpes, waffles, eggs of all sorts cooked to order. ET CETERA. Thank goodness the breakfast was included with the room, otherwise, I don’t think we’d have experienced it; like the room, food was a bit pricey. Coffee: €8.00 a cup. Go from there.

We’d planned a walking tour for Day 3 but the weather people had predicted lots of rain the following day, so we took the walking tour on Day 2 – so, over to the Left Bank and the Île de la Cité. On the Left Bank we wandered through my favorite neighborhood and market around the Pantheon and got our first of many glimpses of the Eiffel Tower (far in the background, between the buildings). Then down to St. Etienne, a lovely little church, and moments later onto the grandest church of them all,

Notre Dame

There she was, all cleaned up, totally free of scaffolding and coverings and wraps. What a treat. She has never been so lovely. I could literally sit there for hours looking at the carvings over the portals, the sculpted rows of kings, saints and prophets, and the simple, classical, balanced, coordinated, calming and uplifting beauty of it all. Makes me question my (non-) religious affiliation.

On to Sainte Chapelle, where we weren’t so lucky regarding renovations. The outside, not so striking anyway since it’s squeezed in by other much later buildings, was partially covered and on the inside, the upper chamber looked like someone was in the middle of spring cleaning. Oh well. The stained glass windows that practically replace walls in this little chapel were still lovely and in such a relatively small space, the windows are incredibly impressive.

Time for lunch. Werner’s restaurant nose didn’t serve him so well this day. The menu looked like it served the kind of Alsatian onion tart that is really nice, but it turned out to be not exactly that. Not bad – actually, fine – just not what we expected. More like pizza. The funny thing though was the café itself – a Vibro Café. There were these exercise machines in the back, and while we were eating several women came and went and did exercises on these machines, advertised to (as always) take off weight without much work. It didn’t look like work and it sounded like fun from our side of the screen!

Down along the river to the Louvre, , through the Tuilleries gardens, and on to the l’Orangerie. Larry opted to sit out the museum, but Julia, Werner and I went in and admired the Monet Water Lillies and other paintings of the period that are there. Afterwards, Werner took a break. Paris can wear you out! Larry was jealous, but don't Julia and Larry look happy here?.

Day 3

This was the day that was supposed to be really rainy, but it wasn't either. We were so lucky with the weather!

Off to the Eiffel Tower. Larry wasn't crazy about waiting in the line, but it wasn't so long before we were in the elevator and on the second level of the tower looking over this beautiful city. It's pretty flat in Paris, and the best overviews of the city are from the Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur, the church on top of Mont Martre. It's special either way.

Les Invalides, the burial place of Napoleon. There's the church itself with the tomb and all the accolades in marble and porphory (fake) and script, given (well after his death) to the little Corsican. I think France still struggles with the legacy of Napoleon. Empire is so appealing.

The Military Museum in the same complex is fascinating, a bit like attics are fasscinating. Rooms FULL of armor and archaic instruments of war. We wonder - what's the point? So much treasure wasted - wasted - on killing. But that's another story.

Lunch. A little outdoor cafe in the area with simple stuff that was really tasty. Doesn't it look good? It's amazing how a street cafe in Paris can improve the taste of everything. Whoda thunk it?

Afterwards, the newly-arrived needed more rest, so they went back to the hotel and Werner and I visited (again) the Rodin Museum.

Sad. The gardens are undergoing renovation and the house is in awful shape. Many areas on the wood floors have been patched, the paint is peeling from the walls, the windows and frames are in desperate need of repair/replacement. Europe has so many treasures worth preserving and not enough money to keep up with it all. This is Rodin's Balzac - the draped one - beautifully situated on the grounds. Other famous sculptures were off limits.

And here, one of the many Metro signs that symbolize the history and lovilness are artistry and stylishness and appealingness and ETC of the place. Sorry, I am eternally in love with Paris.