Blog Archives

Returned in the morning to the Gare de Lyon for our train to visit the famous Chateau de Fontainebleau. This has been on our list each trip to Paris, but the logistics have always seemed daunting. But at long last…today was the day.

Prior to boarding, we found a cheery woman at the international ticket window who “helped” us purchase tickets for Germany for Saturday. Once again, not simple, because she could only sell us tickets to Frankfurt with a quick stop in Köln…but her little computer device could not get us to Mainz. Why not? Who knows. So…bought our tickets…good seats…all seemed well, and we were happy…more on that later.

Took a regional train (a line bound for Montereau) to the town of Fontainebleau Avon. Hopped on a busy ‘A’ bus to the Chateau.

We had pre-bought our Chateau tickets at the Gare de Lyon, so we easily skipped the crowded ticket lines and entered the grand Chateau, portions of which date as far back as the 12th century. The Chateau was primarily used for hunting in the fall. Visited elaborate apartments, galleries, and chapels. All the kings of France since the 12th century have lived at Fontainbleau, as well the Emperor Napolean I (who signed his abdication and took leave of his troops from this favorite of his residences after his first defeat by the allies). Several of the rooms have exquisite gilded ceilings and lush tapestries. It is quite an extensive tour weaving from one royal apartment to another. A much different tour from Versailles which was the primary seat of state.

Exited the Chateau and headed into the gardens. Took a horse carriage ride to the end of the property through the beautiful woods. Saw long horse paths, outlying buildings, and springs feeding into the Chateau and gardens. Walked around the formal French gardens designed by le Nôtre during the reign of Louis XIV, with fountains, sculpted trees, and hedge mazes.

A delightful lunch in Fontainebleau Avon…croque monsieurs w/tomato and pain de raisin for Jeff from an artisinal patisserie in town. Caught a crowded rush-hour ‘A’ bus back to the train station, and then a train back to Paris Gare de Lyon.

After we had returned to the apartment, we discovered a problem with our Germany tickets. Our “15 minute” connection in Köln had become almost two hours…which just did not make sense. Sooooo, back to Gare de Lyon on a crowded Metro 1 line. All to no avail…we had just been misinformed, and the two-hour layover was required. Just really irritating…and something that we could have figured out if we were able to make our own reservations online. Oh well. The French love to keep humans in the loop, I guess. A big jobs program which we might suggest doing well to keep computers at bay.

Took Metro 1 line to Concorde. Walked along the Tuileries. Jeff went NUTS taking time-exposure night pictured around the Louvre. He got some really wonderful shots of the buldings, fountains, and glass pyramids. He will have to post them to his blog labeled ‘Louvre á nuit’.

Dinner at one of our favorites…Sant’ Antonio Pizza in le Marais. Being that the weather was not too cold and the overhead heaters blasting, we got to dine al fresco on the square in front. Jeff got his favorite Reine (with ham and mushroom). I tried the amazing Chêvre…with goat cheese, diced bacon, and creme freche…wow…a fantastic blending of flavors. Cappuccinos and a banana split capped off our meal.

Strolled through the active streets of the Marais. All the hip and gay were out hanging out in the bars and restaurants. Another tired night…but a wonderful day of firsts and favorites..

Happy All Saints Day! (And Happy Birthday to Susan and Matt.) We were warned that “everything will be closed” for the holiday, but the exact opposite seemed to be true. By midday, the streets and parks were teeming with Parisians, in defiance of the gray cloud cover.

The day started quietly…the morning streets were silent. Walked to the Gare de Lyon to figure out how to buy next-day tickets for Fontainebleau. Discovered that none of the self-service machines would get us where we wanted…so, we had to ask information, who directed us to a non-descript set of ticket windows that only sold tickets to the Paris suburbs. Still, the people were mostly helpful…but they each only gave us a little bit of information, and then we had to go get another bit from someone else. Let’s just say that it was not obvious, and more than a bit frustrating.

Since the international train ticket lines were long, we thought we would find an internet cafe and reserve our tickets that way for our Saturday return to Germany. (And since there were no self-serve international kiosks in the station.) Many blocks away, at a hole-in-the-wall internet cafe, we soon discovered that you can’t buy these tickets online two days ahead…not sure why…and not sure how many days in advance is ok. We believe this is due to manual labor still existing and hanging on to their privileged jobs. Very frustrating…and not how we wanted to be spending our day. Sooo, we gave up for the day, since we would be back at the station in the morning.

Enough about THAT fiasco. No rants on vacation…right!.

The remainder of the day was fantastic. Randomly visited a big, brooding church…Saint Eustache…off the beaten path in Les Halles, so not many tourists…but many worshipers for the holiday.

Lunch at Crêperie Suzette…a cozy cafe in the Marais…fantastic galettes full of savory ham and cheese and potatoes…a warm cioccolate et banane desert crêpe…and two strong cappuccinos. Window shopping with the now-bustling holiday crowds in the Marais.

In late afternoon, walked through the Jardin du Palais Royal. Crossed the Seine to the Musée d’Orsay for obligatory photo-ops with the rhino statue. Wandered into the Jardin des Tuileries and down to the Place de la Concorde. Our first-ever ride on the seasonal ferris wheel…La Grande Roue de Paris…a popular diversion and a unique view of Paris at night.

Walked back to the apartment along the Seine. Dinner at one of our old favories…Starcooker…really wonderful risotto with chicken and mushrooms…very yummy mojitos as well. Stopped for gelato afterwards. Took our tired feet home to bed.

Problems in Germany…and the Netherlands…and now Paris…finding a compatible network. Now I'm concerned that something has changed with my service.

So, it turns out that when The New AT&T generously offered to combine our phone, internet, and mobile services into one bill…they disabled some of my international features on my cell phone.

Fingers crossed that this post makes it!

Happy Halloween. Awoke to a cotton candy sky…brilliant light blue with lacy pink clouds. A fitting decoration for Halloween…the king of all candy holidays. The weather stayed perfect all day long…Mother Nature’s thoughtful birthday present to me on my 40th.

Took the RER C5 train (VICK) to Versailles Rive Gauche…got the right train without any hiccups on this trip. [The RER is a bit counterintuitive, because the trains ride on and arrive on the left-hand side of the tracks, unlike Metro, for example. In the rush of a crowded train station, its easy to go down to the wrong platform.]

Versailles is always our favorite destination in Paris…but this trip was definitely special. Our first trip without cold rain…that was a biggie! Instead, we found a typical October day. It seems that every local and tourist chose today to visit as well…but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The lines to go into the main Chateau were insane…INSANE…so we diverted off to the less visited parts of the grounds.

Winding walks though the gardens with their hidden bosquet and fountains…several of which we had never seen before. A long path along the Grand Canal with silent boaters. All the trees were radiant in yellows and reds. Visited the Grand Trianon…the elaborate retreat built for Louis XIV…some new rooms were open.

Visited Le Domaine de Marie Antoinette. The building and grounds around the Petit Trianon…a retreat bequeathed to Marie Antoinette on her husband’s ascending the throne as Louis XVI…have been spruced up with newly opened buildings and better interpretive signs. All to take advantage of the wave of new interest in la Dauphine et la Reine. The most brilliant new sight was the elaborate but small theatre, which has been restored. Marie Antoinette’s personal lakeside peasant village (hameau) and farm were bustling with people and animals in the warm afternoon sun. Peacocks, chickens, and rabbits living in the same pen. The white marble Temple of Love shined brightly in the sun.

Another first for us: one of the large fountains near the Chateau was running late in the day. The amazing array of fountains at Versailles all run on an elaborate engineering triumph…an extensive historic (and revolutionary) gravity-fed plumbing system drawing water from far away sources since Versailles has no water source of its own. Louis XIV…who put absolute in absolute monarch…defied the laws of nature to fit his own desire for a palace and garden befitting his self-proclaimed role as the center of the universe. The fountains only run periodically…so it is a special treat to see one in action.

The setting sun lit up the Chateau, the Grand Canal in the distance, and the surrounding trees.

Took the train home. Dinner at a cozy restaurant on Ile Saint Louis: Auberge de la Reine Blanche. Traditional French fare…rich and flavorful. A mouthwatering appetizer to start…ravioles de royan aux champagiones. A wonderful bottle of Côtes du Rhone. Traditional Bouef Bourguignon for me. Coq au Vin for Jeff. Finished with a warm gateau moelleux chocolat and two espressos. Our waiter was charming, and did a masterful job serving all 10-or-so tables at once.

Topped off my birthday watching the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance marking midnight, followed by quick mojitos and bed. A call home for warm trans-Atlantic birthday hugs. What an amazing (and long) day. (Thank you, sweetie.)

[Halloween report from the nephews and neices: Mia was a pumpkin. Benjamin was a skunk. Natalie was a witch. Keegan was a ninja. Dominick was Captain Hook.]

Awoke to a brilliant blue sky accented by puffy cumulus clouds. With about an hour and a half between breakfast our our taxi pickup, we ventured out for one last walk. Of course, not 100 yards from our hotel, a rogue dark cloud swept across our path, unleashing wetness…not rain, but whatever that maximum drizzle is before it becomes rain. We ducked in an antique print shop…and the cloud passed. The stopover was fortuitous for Jeff since he bought an antique 19th century photo postcard of the Heresgracht canal. Crossed the Amstel river, visited the bookstore of the Amsterdam Hermitage (branch location of the Russian Hermitage Museum)…one of Jeff’s favorites…even though he hasn’t yet made it to St. Petersburg.

Returned to the hotel and our taxi arrived shortly to whisk us to the train station.

Boarded the 12:56 Thalys train to Paris. Rijtuig 16, Zitplaats 63/64…the worst zitplaats in the entire car. We squatted in zitplaats with windows until we had to move. Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Brussels among the distinctive stops.

Beautiful sun for traveling. Along the way…extensive canals of varying size for transport and irrigation, herons, ducks, alternating fields of leafy green and tilled brown, cows and sheep mingling, a lone alpaca, sleek modern windmills for electricity, quaint old windmills for water (or perhaps nostalgia), two children on a trampoline.

A bomb alert stalled us for about 15 minutes in Rysjwick outside Der Haag. Oddly, they have gentle, pre-recorded messages to apologize for bomb alerts.

Slipped from the Netherlands to Belgium and finally to France. Dinsdag became Mardi.

Lost our ‘squatters seats’ in Brussels. Between Brussels and Paris, much of the countryside disappeared as the train reached high-speed tracks isolated by high grassy berms and concrete walls. What we did see was lit by the warm late afternoon sun.

Arrived at Gare du Nord in Paris…about 40 minutes late due to the bomb threat slowdown. A long taxi line, but moved nicely. Lots of evening traffic.

On to the Ile Saint Louis where Christophe and Phillippe welcomed us back with big smiles and hardy handshakes. (We had used their Guest Apartment services on our previous trip…highly recommended…thank you again Brooks!) A different apartment on this visit…this one on Quai d’Anjou…a cozy apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Seine. The beautiful building was built circa 1640 as the mansion of Merginy who created the Machine de Marly which supplied water to the fountains in Marly and Versailles (a wonder of engineering at the time).

Paris feels about 5 degrees warmer than Amsterdam, which felt about 5 degrees warmer than Mainz. Took a leisurely evening walk to the Place de Voges and quiet surrounding streets. Still some bicycles here, but many more motorscooters. After a long day, craved something known and comfortable…so ate at Cafe Vito in the Marais…yummy pizzas plus a fantastic Chianti Classico. Barely recognized Cafe Vito, because it got a radical facelift since we last visited in February…discarding its faux Italian interior for a cleaner modern look…but keeping the same reliable food. The crowded tables seemed to agree with the changes.