Bienvenue à Paris (Welcome to Paris!)
On our first day with the Rick Steve's 14 Day Best of Europe Tour, we had our initial introductions while waiting for everyone to arrive in the lobby of our hotel. Because it was a smaller hotel we walked over to the same restaurant Nestor and I had breakfast at on our first day to begin our meet and greet. We spent time getting to know our guides and each other. After that we established a buddy system. To avoid losing tour members while utilizing public transit or moving about in heavily crowded tourist locations, Dimitri would call out " A-m-i-c-h-e check" (which sounds like "ah-mee-chee check) and we would look around to make sure our buddy was present before continuing on our way.
We left the restaurant and took our orientation walk around the neighborhood to get acquainted with our surroundings. We then made our way to the restaurant where we would share our first of many meals together. This presented the first opportunity to try the escargot. For us, this would wait until our dinner in Beaune. On this evening instead, I had the duck confit with fries. As this was the first duck I had tried, this was a tasty treat and foreshadow of the culinary surprises to come.
This may come as a surprise to you, but I am a picky (or as I'd like to call it, selective eater). So for all of you travelers considering a tour such as this, but are not so sure about the menu; you will be pleased to know that there are many options to choose from when meals are eaten as a group. They try to have something for everyone's tastes. And even with my choosiness when it comes to what I eat, I was always able to find something delightful.
Crusin' on the River...After dinner, we boarded a riverboat and made our way up the Seine. Above you will see some of what we saw on our cruise. Unfortunately for us, the Seattle weather followed us to Paris and joined in on our river cruise. The bright side is that it painted the sky with colorful rainbows which can be seen peeking through the clouds in a few of the photos above.
What was interesting though was that the Parisians were not deterred by the raindrops that fell on us that evening. They continued with the picnics and strolls along the riverbanks of the Seine, taking in what we in Seattle like to call our "liquid-sunshine." And while we passed by, they would wave to us as if we in a parade of boats making our way around the "Île de la Cité." That's the main island in the center of Paris what is home to Notre-Dame Cathedral and St. Chappelle Cathedral.
Day 2On our second day of the tour in Paris, we would begin with a lesson on how to easily, efficiently and in-expensively make our way around Paris. I wish we would have known what we were about to learn earlier because it would have made our first day and a half much easier when we did use the underground train. Paris has 14 lines on it Metro system which can be simple to figure out once you understand how it works. In Seattle we only have one line, so when we initially tried using the train on our pre-tour, it was a little daunting at first, but we were able to figure it out.
After our public transit lesson, we took the Metro to the Île de la Cité and started our tour of Saint Chappelle Cathedral. What I remember about this church are the stories we were told about the significance of its architecture and how it was built to sustain attacks. They made narrow and short stairways so that it was difficult to run up the stairs. In addition, they had several holes/niches that are still visible today on the exterior that were made to fire guns out of if the church were under attack. What unique inside though are all of the stained glass windows that were constructed to tell the stories of the bible to those who were unable to read, but could understand the pictures. To the right are photos of inside Saint Chappelle Cathedral.
The Latin Quarter...After leaving Saint Chappelle we visited the Latin Quarter. This is where you can get food representing cultures from around the world, listen to live music or find a cozy little American Bookstore where writers such as Ernest Hemingway and James Baldwin would gather.
From the Latin Quarter, we walked to Notre Dame Cathedral. Outside was the center of France. This is the point in which all distances in France are measured by. Some people believe that if you toss coins on it, you will have good luck. That is why you see some in the photo below.
See the slideshow below for images of what we saw inside and outside of Notre-Dame Cathedral. From the pictures you will see that mass was in session when we arrived. The relics pictured below were in the church museum.
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Tips for walking towards the Eiffel Tower or near tourist attractions in Paris:
Tour Itineraries
Each day of our tour, our tour guides would leave a daily itinerary for us in the hotel lobby. They would provide a glimpse into the day's activities. See the plan for day two below. The pictures above were taken inside Saint Chappelle Cathedral.
Shakespeare and Company is a must-see for those who love to read or those who enjoy exploring cozy and eclectic little bookstores. This one was still reminiscent of a time long ago with its exposed wooden beams and creaky staircase that led up to a second-level seating room where you can have a seat and read a thread-bound novella.
The photo above is a Metro sign for Saint Michel. This is where you can get of the train to go to the Latin Quarter.
To find out how we spent the rest of day two in Paris, click the button below.
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