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Well, our second full day and the first one we are actually awake. Arrived yesterday am having taken the redeye from Toronto - good flight actually as the plane was about 1/3 empty so there was room and because Air Canada has screens on the headrests and many movie/ tv choices. Got to the hotel at 10 and were told we couldn't get our rooms till 3, but, put luggage in the luggage room and away we went. Walked - a lot! took a bus tour that was included with our trip - only problem was we both mostly slept through it. Got back to the hotel (Hotel Magenta - small room but all we need and very clean!) and had a great night's sleep.
This morning we had a huge breakfast (included - eggs, cereal, fruit salad, pastries, coffee, tea, juice, yoghurt, sliced meats and cheeses) and left the hotel. It is about 20 minutes walk to the Seine and we ended up at Notre Dame. Toured around it, listened to the beginning of the noon mass and then went for a walking tour around the Latin Quarter. Walked back to the Louvre and walked around it - spent 3 hours and Maybe saw 1/4 and maybe really saw 1/100 - saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus deMilo, etc. etc. It is HUGE and magnificent but you can't possibly take it all in. Finished about 7 and took the metro back to the hotel where we had supper at a local restaurant across the street, very nice, not too expensive (for Paris) and then home to bed.
Of course I have been looking at cars - mostly French not surprisingly though I have seen a couple jags and a few other oddballs. Will post some pics later of what I got pictures of. Didn't get photos of the Traction Avant, the 2CV or the Ami - all very cool! My 4 big car surprises so far are a Hummer H3 pickup, a Magnum Wagon Cab, a new Camaro and a Lada Niva 4X4
Have discovered a few things.
1. Coke is more expensive that wine, tea is more expensive than coffee and coffee is more expensive than wine.
2. French people dress really well! Most adults not too surprising, just like downtown Toronto Miami or NY, but, we were in the university area and, instead of female students wearing PJ bottoms or sweats with their school name emblazoned on their b*tts or boys with pants with crotches down to their knees, there were a lot of sharp dressed kids - I was impressed.
3. You don't want to drive in Paris - you just don't.
4. Thousands of motorcycles!
5. McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Starbucks are much more common and much more crowded than reputation lets on. We had Starbucks coffee today and it was better than French coffee leading me to wonder whether Starbucks at least is an American Cultural Export.
6. In the Louvre, there were many revolutionary paintings that with Napoleon switched for George Washington or the locale switched could easily have been painted in the American revolution - made me realize how much the history of France & the US was intertwined at that time and how similar their stories were, and frankly how much they appear to have borrowed from each other in terms of icons and heros - LOTS of carvings of eagles too.
All in all a really great day in a really neat city. will keep you posted!
This morning we had a huge breakfast (included - eggs, cereal, fruit salad, pastries, coffee, tea, juice, yoghurt, sliced meats and cheeses) and left the hotel. It is about 20 minutes walk to the Seine and we ended up at Notre Dame. Toured around it, listened to the beginning of the noon mass and then went for a walking tour around the Latin Quarter. Walked back to the Louvre and walked around it - spent 3 hours and Maybe saw 1/4 and maybe really saw 1/100 - saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus deMilo, etc. etc. It is HUGE and magnificent but you can't possibly take it all in. Finished about 7 and took the metro back to the hotel where we had supper at a local restaurant across the street, very nice, not too expensive (for Paris) and then home to bed.
Of course I have been looking at cars - mostly French not surprisingly though I have seen a couple jags and a few other oddballs. Will post some pics later of what I got pictures of. Didn't get photos of the Traction Avant, the 2CV or the Ami - all very cool! My 4 big car surprises so far are a Hummer H3 pickup, a Magnum Wagon Cab, a new Camaro and a Lada Niva 4X4
Have discovered a few things.
1. Coke is more expensive that wine, tea is more expensive than coffee and coffee is more expensive than wine.
2. French people dress really well! Most adults not too surprising, just like downtown Toronto Miami or NY, but, we were in the university area and, instead of female students wearing PJ bottoms or sweats with their school name emblazoned on their b*tts or boys with pants with crotches down to their knees, there were a lot of sharp dressed kids - I was impressed.
3. You don't want to drive in Paris - you just don't.
4. Thousands of motorcycles!
5. McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Starbucks are much more common and much more crowded than reputation lets on. We had Starbucks coffee today and it was better than French coffee leading me to wonder whether Starbucks at least is an American Cultural Export.
6. In the Louvre, there were many revolutionary paintings that with Napoleon switched for George Washington or the locale switched could easily have been painted in the American revolution - made me realize how much the history of France & the US was intertwined at that time and how similar their stories were, and frankly how much they appear to have borrowed from each other in terms of icons and heros - LOTS of carvings of eagles too.
All in all a really great day in a really neat city. will keep you posted!
