SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2012

PARIS, FRANCE

Today was the only day Linda, Sandy, Diane, Sue and Carol had to spend in Paris. Their must see, of course, was The Louvre. Sandy had ordered all of us tickets ahead of time which was very helpful. They were up early and, I think, walked to The Louvre. It opens at 9:00 a.m. and I'm not sure if they ate first or visited the museum first but I know they did both. They all absolutely LOVED The Louvre. They spent about a half a day there and could have spent much, much longer but Paris awaited! I know that they ate at a small cafe somewhere close to the museum and I think Linda remarked that it was her best meal of the trip. I'm sorry I don't have more details but that's what happens when the Group of 9 splits up!!! I know that after the museum they took a hop on, hop off boat and did some sight-seeing and shopping.

Sheryl was up early and went out to look around and photograph Notre Dame. It was a very short walk from our hotel. It was cloudy and rainy on Saturday and I think she was disappointed in her photographs. She had to stay pretty local because she was meeting Tom (who had flown in that morning) at the train station.

David and I had a bit of a lie in because it had been an exhausting and exhilarating week. After we got up and dressed we walked down the street to find a cafe for breakfast. At the corner, with a view of Notre Dame, we discovered Le St. Regis Cafe. It was pouring down rain so it was the perfect time and location to stop. It was a bustling cafe but we managed to get a table right in the front for good people watching. We had coffee and hot chocolate and we both had omelets. Mine was ham and cheese and David's was just cheese. It came with really good bread and a side salad. David commented that the eggs in France are so, so good. We don't know why -- maybe they are fresher, but they are delicious. Side note: Sheryl had an omelet in Bayeux and she agrees that the eggs are better than what we eat in the States. David and I lingered over breakfast hoping the rain would stop. It did not. It rained on and off all day but we only had a few big downpours.

After breakfast we walked over to Notre Dame which is GORGEOUS. We took some pictures but who knows how they will turn out since it was cloudy and drizzly. We walked into some shops and looked into the windows of many patisseries. If only you could eat one bite of every pastry!

David collects hand-painted metal soldiers and we stopped into a toy store to see if they had any. They did not, but the salesperson told him about an antique store just across the river on the left bank. We walked over there but it was closed. David decided to return later.

We crossed a different bridge back to our hotel which is called the Pont de l'Archevêché Bridge. The metal railings on the sides of the bridge were filled with hundreds of bike locks, padlocks, etc. Apparently starting in early 2000, lovers engraved their initials on locks, locked them on the bridge and threw the keys into the Seine River as a way of declaring thier love forever. In early 2010 this caused concern to the city officials because they worried about how they might be damaging the bridge railings. Also they were concerned about ex-lovers hacking away at the locks to remove them!!! Almost overnight the locks disappeared. But they are re-appearing by the hundreds again now. I think it's very sweet! Of course there are street vendors on the bridge selling padlocks now!

We went back to our hotel to dry out our shoes and the hems of our pants and just to get out of the rain for awhile. Sheryl texted that she and Tom were at the hotel and they came to our room so we could greet Tom and visit a little bit. Then they headed out to walk to the Eiffel Tower and do some other sight-seeing. When Tom saw the Eiffel Tower he said his trip was complete!

David walked back to the antique store and bought a few soldiers so he was very happy. I wandered the streets looking into the shops and people watching. David returned and we went out to get some of the famous Paris ice cream from Berthillon. On the way we ran into the Group of 5 -- Sue, Diane, Carol, Linda and Sandy, who were shopping close to our hotel. They had already had ice cream but they visited awhile while we waited in line to get ice cream. It was DELICIOUS! I wish I had ordered more!! Hmmmmm, I believe I will gain back all of the 22 pounds I lost before this trip!

We decided to gather back at our hotel at 5:30. We texted Noel to meet us there too. David and I bought two bottles of wine for the Group of 10 and we really enjoyed it! It was the last night for the whole group to be together so we all hugged and said goodbye and carried on! We were very sorry that they had to leave the next day.

Sheryl and Tom left for dinner because Tom was very tired from his flight and wanted to get to bed early. The Group of 5 decided to walk to Notre Dame in the hope that the lines would be gone and they could get in to see it. Noel stayed with us for another glass of wine. They said they walked right in! When we were there earlier, the lines were probably 200 people long so we did not wait. We will try their trick when we go back to Paris so we can tour Notre Dame.

They came back to the hotel and collected Noel for dinner. David and I were just planning to buy a sandwich from the patrissie across from the hotel but by the time we finished the wine, it was closed. So we wandered down the street to find a restaurant too. Funny enough, we ALL ended up at the exact same restaurant -- Sens'o. Tom and Sheryl ate early and I think they had pizza. When we arrived, Noel, Sue, Sandy, Diane, Linda and Carol were eating at a table on the upper level. David and I were not that hungry so we just split a cheese pizza. I visited the Group of 6 and they had a wide variety of dishes -- lasagna, linguini with pesto and I don't know what else. All of us liked eating there. After dinner most of us headed back to the hotel for the evening but the wild ones -- Carol, Noel, Linda and Sandy headed out into the night. Noel took them to the Latin Quarter and a few other places and they had a ball!!! I'm so happy they all had a great day because they had to leave the next day to go home.

That concludes my report from our first day in Paris. I think we all enjoyed it very much. Note to Carole Lang . . . now I know why you love Paris so much. We cannot wait to spend a few more days there at the end of our trip. I definitely think you should celebrate your next birthday in Paris! Note to Stephanie . . . KEEP SAVING!!!

Love to all!