Wednesday, June 6th -- This day was nearing the end of our trip and I'm actually writing the final journal entries from home after our return. I just ran out of time to keep it up -- sorry for that.  The girls had decided that they needed at least a day to look at shops, so Daniel and I decided to do a few more touristy things that every first time Parisian visitor must see -- the Eiffel Tower and Napoleon's Tomb.  Although I had a great view of the Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe, Daniel really wanted me to see it up close and in person, so we made that our first destination.  As we were all heading in the same direction, the five of us left the apartment together and on the way to our Metro (subway station), we decided to stop and see the Museum of Science and Industry (Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie)  showing the development of science in France from the 1700's through modern times.  It was a delightful find, and totally unexpected. From Pascal's early calculating machines, to the Cray Computer the Museum was divided into science sections, such as textiles manufacturing, time keeping, construction, flight, you get the idea.  Well worth an hour if you happen to be in Paris and have seen everything else you came to see.

From there Daniel and I took the subway to a stop near the Eiffel Tower.  It really is an amazing sight to see, although why anyone would want to walk up winding stairs to the tower top mystifies me.  And to have to wait in line for what had to be at least three hours makes the process insane.  Pris was filled with insane tourists though as the line to buy tickets to do just that was as long or longer than the lines to see Saint Paul's in Rome.

The location must also be a favorite for getting wedding pictures taken as we saw five or six Asian brides in full gowns with attendants holding their trains and fully outfitted grooms leaving together from the public bathroom under the Tower.  How they managed the crowded toilets with all that material is another mystery.

From there we walked to the Hotel National des Invalides housing the Musee de l'Armee where Napoleon's body is entombed.  At one time the building was a national hospital, but now houses a military museum, Napoleon's Tomb, and the tombs of several other famous military figures.  The pictures really tell a much better picture that I can describe.

Nearby is the museum created to hold the works of Rodin.  The 'Thinker" is prominently displayed in the formal gardens of the museum, and at the time of our visit was surrounded by thongs of asian visitors, to thick that it was impossible to get near the sculpture.  His doors are also in the Garden and are probably the most impressive I've ever seen.  Again, the pictures are far more descriptive than I any commentary I can provide.

By the time we finished at the Musee Rodin we finally heard from the girls and arranged to meet them at the Musee National de l'Orangerie, tucked away in the Tuileries Gardens.  The l'Orangerie was recently opened after extensive renovations and holds Clause Monet's vast collection of Water Lilies in addition to the extensive works of Renoir, Cexanne, Modiglianni, Matisse, Picasso , Derain, and Soutine among many others.  Two exhibit rooms are devoted to the Water Lillies which surround the visitor in 360 degree oval rooms. Unfortunatly, no photography is permitted in the museum, so I am unable to share the magnificent paintings that have captivated generations of viewers. I guess you'll just have to take a trip to Paris and see for yourself.

The Tuileries Gardens seemed very familiar as they are depicted in so many Paris scenes. Looking from the gates of the garden in one direction the Champs-Elysees runs to the Arc de Triomphe, and beyond the park in the other direction the Louvre. 

That evening we ate dinner at Cafe Bowfinger, this time at their main restaurant. While the restaruant itself is lovely and has a lot of historical significance, and the food was good, it was not to the standards any of us had expected. We ended up eating at a much better restaurant the next evening near our apartment and spent a lot less. But more of that in my next posting, our last day in Paris.

Tuesday, June 5th -- Getting ourselves out to Giverny on an early train meant leaving the apartment at 7:15 am.  No easy task, but somehow managed. Taking the metro to the train station was pretty easy, and after purchasing a round trip ticket to Vernon we waited for the trains arrival. Although scheduled to depart Track 3, it posted to Track 23 at the other end of the terminal. We wanted to board early and close to the front of the train (which had to be a 1/4 long) to be sure we got seats together and would be among the first off the train in Vernon. The train ride was amazingly quite, smooth and fast. You could set your watch to the trains departure and arrival in Vernon. We were off the train quickly and boarded the first shuttle bus to Giverny, home of Claude Monet.

The village of Giverny is quite lovely and Monet's property is a short 10 minute walk from the parking lot where the shuttle left us off, with what seemed to be thousands of similar minded tourists trying to beat the crowds.  We made a bee line for the house as we knew that would be the bottleneck, and sure enough, upon leaving the house, the line to enter had grown very long.

The gardens and pond where he painted his water lilly canvases had been fully restored and is beautiful. The crowds, although heavy, didn't interfere too much with the enjoyment of the surroundings. After spending about an hour there we wandered about the town and ended up at an 11th or 12th century church still in use, L'eglise Sainte-Radegonde. The church was closed but we walked through its grounds and cemetery, finding the grave site of Monet still well maintained and prominently placed.

We stopped for a coffee at the museum shop cafe and then took the earliest shuttle back to the train station in Vernon and the ride back to Paris. We bought sandwiches at the Paris train station and headed off to the Musee D'Orsay. Converted from a train station, the museum itself is a delight to see.  Its prestigious collection of impressionist paintings makes it a wonder (and a marathon event to see in one visit).  There are so many works by Renoir, Degas,Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne,Sisley, Morison, Latour, Manet, Bazille, Rousseau, Buillard, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and so many others that it is impossible to fully comprehend or take in the vast collection.

We were on full overload and finally gave up after about two hours. And it was a really long day starting with our leaving that morning at 7:15 am.  Time for a timeout.  Karen wanted to find a particular sidewalk cafe that is famous and frequently seen in movies taken in Paris. We were too tired to look for it though, and found a lovely corner cafe to sit and have a drink.

It was late however, after 3:30 pm and we had made plans to have a drink at the home of a cousin of a friend of ours from Bellingham, Larry Stahlberg. After a quick rest back at the apartment, we took the metro to a stop near her Paris apartment. It's a very old building with five floors of apartments and no elevator. She lives on the fourth floor. We were greeted warmly by Jeannie and found that she had prepared quite of bit of food for us along with both wine and an unusual mixed drink of Pastis, Grenadine and soda.

She was a most gracious host and we had a very enjoyable hour talking with her. We met her son John, preparing for his bar Mitzvah and waited to leave until her husband Stepahn returned from work at his dental practice, around 8:00 pm.

We hadn't made dinner plans but found a neighborhood restaurant not too far from our apartment. We had our very first rain of our trip, although it never amounted to more than a light shower. After a light meal of open faced sandwiches, we walked back in the rain to the apartment, again completely exhausted from a full day of very enjoyable sight seeing, made especially memorable with our visit to the home of a Paris resident.  Thank you Larry.

Monday, June 4th -- We managed to get going a bit earlier today, although we discovered that Karen had left her prescription sun glasses at the restaurant last night. She called the restaurant last evening when she discovered they were missing, but was told that they had not been found.  Wanting to leave no stone unturned, she wanted to go there and see if she might somehow find them.  We left the apartment about 9:15 am and walked back to the restaurant. Both Daniel and I were absolutely certain that Karen's glasses would never be seen again, but after looking under the table where we had sat, Karen surprised us all and found them -- in her purse!  We all had a good laugh.  Not to be outdone, Sharona wanted to be sure that she too was capable of an embarrassing moment.  While shaking the crumbs from a place mat out our fourth floor apartment window, she watched as it slipped from her grasp and floated slowly to the patio below.  Okay -- but not nearly as good as Karen's.  Sorry Sharona.

We wandered over to the Hotel Du Louvre and asked where we might purchase museum passes. We waited at the Hotel while Karen went on a quest to purchase them at a nearby tourist office.  The Louvre was just a block away, and arrived at the courtyard entrance in the glass pyramid. Even if we see just a few museums, paying for the passes allows us to avoid the ticket lines, and the one at the Louvre must be at least a four hour line. We entered immediately and thought we might be home free, but then we discovered the real crowds inside. We hurried down the main hall of the first gallery to see Winged Victory of Samothrace, a 2nd to 3rd century BC sculpture that is both amazing in size, presence, and preservation. From there we wandered a bit heading off to see the Mona Lisa, along with what seemed like the entire population of greater Japan, Germany and the Netherlands. About the only image I was able to capture were the throngs of visitors trying to take a picture of the Mona Lisa.  I couldn't even get close to the painting.

Being so crowded and hot inside the museum, we decided to leave and hopefully come back when it was not so chaotic.  We took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. Seen from a distance its impressive -- underneath it's awe inspiring. With our newly acquired Museum Passes, we entered the Arc and climbed the 284 steps to the observation deck. The views of the city are incredible, and the Eiffel Tower is beautifully set in the Paris landscape. It may be as close as we get as there is so much more to see and so little time to see it all.

From the Arc de Triomphe we walked down the Champs Elysees, on to the Place Vandome visiting the Ritz,  and then to the Place Madalyn for stops at both Fauchon and Hediard, famous chocolate and speciality food emporiam.  We ended up at Angelina's for their famous hot chocolate before heading back.  We ended back at our apartment exhausted from the long day, but not so exhausted that we would skip dinner.  Leaving after 8:30 pm we walked the mile to Brasserie Bofinger, but missed the restaurant and took a table for four (Daniel bowed out to rest) at Petit Bofinger accross the street.  Finally, a great French meal!

They have a fixed price menu that includes a bottle wine for dinner to share between two diners.  It was an exceptional meal that included foie gras and a tuna tartain as appetizers, broiled salmon, duck, and a vegetable dish as the main plates, finishing with desserts of fresh strawberies in a sauce of simple syrup and mint, and a creme broulette.  The wine was a lovley white bordeaux.  Everything was excellent.

Cabbing it back to the apartment, we arrived back after 11:00 pm. Another long day.  Tomorrow we plan on visiting Giverney, the home of Monet and the location where he painted his famous Water Lilly oils.

Sunday, June 3rd -- We all slept late, not getting up until after 8:00 am.  Daniel made French scrambled eggs (very creamy), Karen squeezed fresh orange juice, and we had coffee from both a French press and a pod espresso machine. It was nearly 11:00 am by the time we were out of the apartment.  We followed Karen to the Sunday "bird market" where bird fanciers showed off their wares, having walked past the Louvre with what looked like a two hour line or more to enter. We decided to get a 4-day museum pass to avoid the long lines for entry, but not just now. It was here that we caught our first sight of the Eiffel Tower in the distance as we rounded a corner of the Museum. We'll see that another day.

Karen continued to show us the sights of the Latin Quarter, walking past the Sorbonne and the Pantheon on our way to the market at Rue Moufftarde. We spent several hours walking around the markets, buying some fruit, cheeses, and bread to take back to the apartment.  As Paris is notorious for its lack of public bathroom facilities, Karen once again took the lead and taught us how to use the facilities of a crowed restaurant without having to patronize them.  With that out of the way, Donna was good for another few hours.  We decided to take a shortcut back and went underground to the Metro ending up back in Marais and followed Karen once again to the center of the Jewish quarters for a standing lunch of falafal.  The lines to the restaurant were 15 to 20 minutes long and we ordered and paid for our sandwiches before getting into line for the take out window.  Hugh sandwich -- wish I had shared mine, but I did eat the whole thing.  We found a lovely gift shop walking back and bought four ceramic egg holders each with its own tiny salt shaker in the the side.  Now back at the apartment, I'm updating the blog and will work on getting pictures from the last few days uploaded.

In the evening Sharona researched the restaurant scene using the Patricia Wells ap on my Ipad.  We decided on Le Mestrel, a bistro in easy walking distance to our apartment. We had a lovely time together, even though the food was at best unremarkable. Tomorrow we head to the Louvre and a full day of site seeing.