We have started our 3 week trip in which we will visit Paris for three nights, Bruges for 2, Amsterdam for 3 and then fly to Athens to join the Rick Steves' tour of Greece. Here is my report for Paris.
Day One
Our first day in Paris we were scheduled to arrive at 1 pm, but due to two flight delays and an incredibly long taxi ride (the RER was down due to the strike), we didn't arrive to our hotel until after 8 pm. This messed up our jet lag strategy, as we usually try to stay up until 9 or so and then sleep. Well, we were hungry so we had dinner at a bistro down the street, and then we decided we couldn't let the whole day go to waste, so we took a walk through town to see Notre Dame and the Louvre lit up at night. We didn't get back to our hotel until after midnight. We were surprised we made it so long, but we would pay for it the next day!
Day Two
We got up early this morning hoping to get to the Orsay near opening. We stopped at this beautiful little tiny park on the way called square Gabriel-Pierne. We had run across it last night purely by accident and it had several of the most beautiful blossoming trees, so we knew we had to return to take some photos in the morning. We got just a glimpse of blue sky against the pink blossoms with the dome of some building in the background that I don't know the name of, and it was just stunning. Perfect start to the morning! We went in search of breakfast and had an amazing one at a place called Cocorico right next to the Orsay. They have the most delicious croissants I have ever tried so far.
We visited the Orsay, but honestly didn't enjoy it as much as we should have because we were both a bit tired and cranky and not in the mood for a museum after all. So we decided that rather than force ourselves to see everything just because we had paid admission, we looked at our favorite impressionists on the 5th floor and headed out. I did enjoy the building quite a bit. We walked to Tuilerres where there were some beautiful tulip and daffodil displays and some more flowering trees. We took the metro to visit Sacre Coeur, which was new to us this trip. We loved the outside of the church, but were feeling overwhelmed by the oppressive crowds that were in Montmarte mid-day, so we didn't stay in the area long. I had originally planned to take a Paris Walks tour of Montmarte this morning, but we hadn’t felt like joining an organized tour. On our next trip I would like to take that tour and get a feel for the real Montmarte, because what I saw today just felt like a big tourist trap with a bunch of pushy sales people, scammers and touristy restaurants. I am sure there is more to the area than that.
We used the metro to return to the museum area and had lunch/dinner and dessert at Angelina’s. This is my guilty pleasure. It is quite busy and touristy, but I just love the look of the building inside and all the little pastries in the cases, and their hot chocolate is the best I've had. After dinner we popped into the Orangerie to see the Waterlilies and enjoyed that visit very much. The museum is tiny, which was more our speed today, and it was not crowded at all as we went about an hour before closing. We sat there for an hour just soaking up the paintings and relaxing. We have a tendency to always push ourselves too hard, not wanting to waste a second of time. I am determined that I don't do that on this trip because 1) the forum has brainwashed me into believing I WILL return, and 2) I always end up sick and/or injured on every trip and I don't want that to happen again. So although it was only 6 pm, we returned to our room and spent the rest of the night reading, organizing photos, and getting to bed at 8 pm.