Day 2 - Giverny (outside Paris) continued.
We walked back to the bus area and had to wait a bit for our bus and it was raining but we survived. :) Note - after reading all the packing pages where everyone said bring an umbrella...I didn't! Another lesson learned. Even though it as July it rained at least once in each country we went to! Anyway, got on a train back to Paris and I think we took a nap. Then we got ready and took a taxi to the restaurant Le Grand Colbert that we’ve wanted to go to for a long time. Have you ever seen the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton? At the end of the movie they end up in this restaurant in Paris! The food and service was wonderful and our waiter took me to the table they sat in and let me sit there. Took a taxi back to our hotel.
Day 3 - we went and checked out the Arc de Triomphe. It was within walking distance of our hotel so that was nice. We then went to the Eiffel Tower. We meant to go to the top but I had gotten lunch reservations at the 58 Eiffel restaurant so we could skip the line.. I thought we could go up from there by another elevator. I was wrong. Had a great lunch, walked around the first level and took an elevator down. It was fun. Didn’t want to wait three hours for tickets and line to go up. Note - we could have walked up to then next level and then taken an elevator but we were pooped!
On the way back we went to the L'Orangerie Museum. I was thrilled. They had so many of my favorite artists' paintings. It was almost as good as the D'Orsay. We had dinner at a place called Bistrotters. It's a small restaurant so you have to get reservations 30 days in advance and then confirm them the day before. The food and service was wonderful.
July 3 - D-Day
We took a tour in Normandy. Took a train from Paris to Bayeux and that's where we met up with our guide for a half day tour. We used Overlord Tours and recommend them. This was the description "Beginning at the location of the “Longues sur Mer battery” located in the sector liberated by the British landing, this tour will take you from Longues sur Mer to the infamous Omaha Beach , and to Pointe du Hoc. The detailed story of what was the most deadly part of the liberation of Europe will be described to you in this historical tour, which will be supplemented with maps and pictures of the area.
From the German weapons strong hold of “WN 62” with it’s unmistakable view of Easy and Fox sectors on Omaha Beach, and the beach exit “D1” of Vierville sur Mer, we will take you back 60 years ago and relive the history again of our liberators." My husband really, really enjoyed it. After the afternoon tour our guide dropped us off at the train station. Our train was cancelled so we had to wait for the next train. Had chips and water for dinner. :)
July 4 - We went to the Musee D’Orsay, my favorite museum. I've been here before but it was just as wonderful the second time.
We checked out and left our luggage and went to the Luxemburg parc and walked around, bought sandwiches and wine to go, and took them to a nice spot that had chairs going around a rectangle pond with a fountain. It was so relaxing. We then went back to the hotel, got our luggage and took a taxi to the train station. We took a 5 hour train ride to Munich and walked to our Platzl hotel. Probably should have taken a taxi but it was fine. Our hotel was across from the famous Hofbrahaus and on top of the Hard Rock Cafe, great location. We weren't tired for some reason so we went to a local pub and had a beer and a glass of wine outside.