Le Panthéon from our Hotel … captured on March 28, 2009
DAY 1
We did not make the flight to Paris, again. It’s a shame
really because we both wanted to see what it would be like to fly into Paris.
Alas, we were booked on the 11:15 flight to LHR; that’s London Heathrow for
those who aren’t in the know. While waiting for this flight—2 hours later than
the Paris flight—we took the opportunity to book our passage on the Eurostar.
The fare was quite expensive so we looked for an alternative fare and found one
at a North American place called Euro Railways. Meanwhile, Jennifer had
befriended a woman named Margot, an Air Canada flight attendant. She decided to
follow our lead and booked the train for herself, a friend and her mother. I
received a confirmation notice and was told we’d receive a booking reference in
a separate e-mail but we had to board the plane.
Flowering Trees … captured on March 28, 2009
The flight was pleasant enough with reasonable food and your
own choice of movies. Once again, neither of us actually slept. However, we
were both quite excited as we flew over green countryside and masses of low-lying
clouds. Surprisingly, the taxi to the terminal was relatively quick and we made
our way to customs to wait for Margot and her crew. They showed up shortly
after we arrived and we decided we’d see each other at the Eurostar terminal.
Jennifer and I made our way through Heathrow to the tube station where we
boarded the train and enjoyed a pretty tight, one hour ride to St Pancras
station.
Panthéon Exterior Arches … captured on March 28, 2009
Once there we tried to use the station’s free Wi-Fi but it
would not work for close to an hour. We decided to try our luck at the e-ticket
counter but the system did not recognize our credit card. We asked for help,
went to a customer service counter, but there was nothing they could do.
Eventually, I did get on to the Wi-Fi network and checked my mail. There was no
message from Euro Railways so we pretty much figured we’d been part of a scam.
I tried to use my iPhone to make a Skype call but it couldn’t hop on the
network. Jennifer then set off to buy a calling card but we couldn’t get it to
work. By this time, it was getting close to the train’s departure time so we
decided to bite the bullet and buy tickets on the Eurostar.
Looking toward la Tour Eiffel … captured on March 28, 2009
The train left London at 3:30. By the time it hit the
chunnel, we both fell asleep. I woke up just before we exited and Jennifer woke
up shortly thereafter. We made it into Paris by 8:00 (includes the added hour
crossing the border). At le Gard du Nord we bought two 5-day metropasses and it
was two quick subway rides to our hotel in the Latin Quarter. We were given a
key card to room 46 and were surprised when we found luggage and a dishevelled
bed; Jennifer ran down to get us a new key and we were given room 57. We
unpacked and I had a much-needed shower before setting off for a walk through
our new neighbourhood. Unfortnately, the rain came down hard so we cut our walk
short and ducked into a pizza restaurant called Roma Trattoria, right next door
to our hotel. Half a bottle of wine and 2 single pizzas later, we were back
upstairs ready for bed.
DAY 2
The unsettled weather continued for the day with sunny
periods and rainy ones. We first made our way the Panthéon which neither of us
had ever seen. Here we purchased our 2-day museum passes (32 euros each). Once
inside, we could see Foucault’s pendulum and marvel at the building’s high
ceilings. From the Panthéon we made our way to Notre Dame, with a quick stop at
our hotel. Notre Dame was swarming with tourists so we dispensed with the tour
and simply walked inside. It’s an impressive cathedral though it’s difficult to
get a sense of it with so many people inside. We made a quick tour of it then
headed to Ste Chapelle as we were already on l’Île de la Cité.We had already
been to Ste Chapelle in 2006 but were so impressed with the stained glass
windows that we decided to see it again. Having the museum pass helped too. We
crossed the north side of the Seine into Les Halles and stumbled across la Tour
St Jacques. From there we found the best sandwich place ever. Jennifer order
the tomato, pesto, mozzerlla sandwich while I enjoyed the Indian chicken curry;
both were served on fresh baguettes. After a nice, leisurely lunch, we
continued on looking for the Pompidu centre. After skirting it, we eventually
found the centre but it was closed for the day. So, we moved on toward l’église
St-Eustache. This church was, in our opinion, much nicer than Notre Dame
Cathedral. Of course, this could be because there were fewer people and the
building was very quiet, as a church should be. St Eustache was in disrepair
but had beautiful, vaulted ceilings and remarkable organ pipes. We also saw
Voltaire’s resting place in the crypt. After wandering in the dimly-lit church,
we went back to our hotel to rest for a bit.
St Eustache Pipe Organ … captured on March 28, 2009
Refreshed—but still tired from all the walking—we hopped the
Métro to the Champs Élysées. Jennifer popped into her usual shops but didn’t
find anything that suited her taste. We eventually made our way up to Porte
Maillot but had arrived an hour before our restaurant opened, so we sat in a
nearby park and enjoyed the sun. Looking around, we noticed dozens of rabbits
wandering around the park…freely. We eventually made our way to Le Relais de
Venize for another scrumptious dinner. As before, dinner consisted of steak et
frites; nothing else, unless you mention the salad and baguette. This time
however, we had a full bottle of wine and shared a profriteroles, the most
heavenly dessert you’ve ever had. Think cold cream in pastry balls, drenched in
a hot, dark chocolate sauce. I’m drooling just thinking about it. We took the Métro back the Sèvre/Babylone and decided to
walk along St Germain, eventually cutting into the narrow streets of the Latin
Quarter.
