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Another overcast morning…but our last of the trip. Spent the morning playing with Keegan…expanding his Lego castle to include a Porta Nigra, like we saw a week ago in Trier. Took lots of photos of Keegan, with Cher-like outfit changes…his ninja outfit from Halloween, his knight outfit, his Transformers helmet (Optimus Prime).

Brunch at a Chez RW, a restaurant in a neighboring winery, who’s red-leafed grapevines covered the hillsides…with the Frankfurt skyline far in the distance. We didn’t record the German names of our food, but the dishes were wonderful. A succulent pork dish with dark mushroom and onion sauce. A savory schnitzel with rosemary potatoes. Slight snag…didn’t take credit cards…so had to send Julie back home for four more euros.

An easy drive on the autobahn to Frankfurt airport. Easy checkin. Easy security and passport checks. Time to relax in the Red Carpet lounge…a glass of Reisling and a bottle of German beer.

United 927. Seats 14 A/B. Watched Hairspray (really enjoyed it), Harry Potter (really enjoyed it a second time), and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (so-so diversion).

A delayed flight, but home safe, nonetheless. Glad to be off planes and trains for a short while at least…until that unquenchable wanderlust takes over again 🙂

A light drizzle this morning. Our favorite Patiserie Gabriela (35 Rue des Deux Ponts) was finally open…snapped up a few treats for the day…foutielle avec jambon et fromage, pain aux raisin, pain au chocolat. Our favorite fresh orange juice from nearby Les Vergers de l’Ile Saint Louis (27 Rue des Deux Ponts).

A last minute walk through quiet Ile St. Louis, and then a cab ride to Gare du Nord. Boarded the Thalys train to Köln. Good seats this trip…a table and window…just as we had requested.

The sun came out in Belgium and ducked back under cover before Germany.

Pulled into Köln at dusk under a gray, misty sky. A very helpful (and cute) German ticket person helped us change our tickets to arrive in Mainz…saving Julie a drive to fetch us in Frankfurt. Also shortened our layover by an hour.

Took advantage of our layover for a very quick visit to the impressive cathedral in Köln…literally adjacent to the train station. We tag teamed so that we didn’t drag luggage inside. Dashed-in… oooooo… aaaaaaaah…. listened to a brass band playing reverently. The cathedral is one of those traditional, mammoth, cross-shaped Neo-Gothic structures. Begun in 1248 and completed in 1880. Glad we got a chance to see it.

Boarded the ICE 927 train to Mainz. So clean and efficient compared with the tattered and clunky Thalys trains. A bubbly woman with a soothing laugh punched our tickets. The occasional well-lit Rheinland castle hovered as we sped by.

Arrived into Mainz Hbf. Greeted by Julie and Keegan…Mia just slept. Had to have one last schnitzel from Brauhaus Castel in Mainz-Kastel. Back in Dexheim, Keegan and his Uncle Jeff built a Lego castle…complete with a big tower…and a rathole 🙂

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!