The chunnel trip was very nice -- very much like an upgraded Via train, we were served breakfast which was very continental consisting of juice, coffee, yogurt, croissant & bun with jam but it was good and welcomed as we had only had coffee so far. Once in Paris we got in the line to get out of the Gare du Nord station to get a cab, we eventually got out of line and crossed the street to get a van/cab because of Nancy's scooter. It was here that we discovered that most folks in Paris speak only french, although as we tried our high school french the cabbie (Yves) became very friendly and tried to point out things as we went along. It is here that I should tell you to believe all you hear about the driving in Paris!! The streets are narrow and the cars motorbikes bicycles and pedestrians are everywhere and no one seems too interested in the rules of the road ( if there are any). We passed the Louvre and eventually got to St Germain which is where our hotel is on Rue Danton Our hotel is a converted gov't building in a quaint neighbourhood that Nancy says looks like a postcard or painting. We checked in and oriented ourselves and then went off to explore our area of Paris. I knew we were close to Notre Dame but I didn't realize how close until we walked a short distance and turned a corner and there it was! we continued on and as Nancy was looking to find the perfect black patent leather shoes we stopped in every ladies store and shoe store we could find. As we had lost 1 hour and it was getting late we headed back to our neighbourhood and had dinner in a little outdoor cafe -- this was very good with large portions too. I even bought Nancy some roses from a passing seller (we are in the city of romance after all)
We then headed back to the hotel to watch some french only TV and collapsed into bed....tomorrow is a big day with the Eiffel tower and Seine cruise and the Arc de Triumphe so another big walking day....
No comments:
Post a Comment