History and Monuments

September 24th

Today we visited the Carnavalet Museum which focuses on the history of Paris.  It has wonderful displays and tons of history to absorb so we did a fairly quick walk through to get an overview. We will definitely need to return to really be able to retain even a morsel of the information offered.  

The courtyard entrance

The entry hall

An element from the tomb of King Louis of France

A Plate Celebrating the Liberation of Paris in 1944

Hot air ballooning became popular in the 18th Century, people could fly for the first time.  The images appeared on ladies clothing, dishes and furniture.

Vase depicting 1924 Paris Olympics

La Fayette's Oath to the Nation of France

Marie Antoinette in the Prison du Temple

The French Moto Liberte, Égalité, Franternite originates from the French Revolution, when it was a rallying cry against the oppressive monarchy and a call for basic rights for the French people. 

We moved on to making an attempt at going to the top of the Arc de Tromphe.  We tried before but hadn't purchased tickets ahead and the line was too long to wait.  This time we were a little smarter but after climbing 250+ stairs I'm not so sure.  The views were amazing and worth the effort.

Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

Le Tour Eiffel

We made it to the top!

The Champs Elysees

On our way down, down, down...

To end the day we had a great dinner at Chez Mademoiselle in the Marais. We have been here every time we've been in Paris.  It's a small, casual place but the food is very french and a little different than the usual but always good.  The server normally brings a small glass of limoncello as a digestive at the end of the meal and in the past they have even left the bottle for us to refill on our own.

Caprese salad starter with figs

My excellent tuna steak and Jay's dorade

Yummy Chocolate Mouse with Marscarpone

So much to see, so little time

September 23rd

Walking about Paris is always a treat.  There is such great architecture, gardens and of course the Seine to enjoy.  As we passed by these places we decided to look up a little information about them or at the very least the name of the buildings, fountains and churches.  

For instance, the Institut de France is located at the end of the street we were staying on so the large blue dome led us home each day.  The Institut houses over 1,000 different non-profit foundations having to do with the arts, sciences, politics, the french language and writing. The Palais de Justice is the judicial center and courthouse that contains the Court of Appeals. Both Saint-Sulpice and the Madeleine are Catholic Churches.  Saint-Sulpice's Grand Organ draws people for its weekly preludes before the 11:00am mass.  The Madeleine is surrounded on all sides by Corinthian columns and the interior apparently has amazing frescoes on the domed ceiling.  We weren't able to go inside because both the inside and outside are undergoing a major cleaning and restoration. You can see from the photo below it really needs a good cleaning.  The Hotel de Ville is the official office of the Mayor of Paris and of local government, in other words it's the City Hall.

Institut de France 

The Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine

Palais de Justice

Saint Sulpice

The Fountain at Saint Sulpice

Notre Dame

The Madeleine

The Hotel de Ville

The Irish are in Paris for the World Rugby match between Ireland and South Africa.  I don't really follow rugby but these fans are really excited and they came in droves.  We decided to go to an Irish bar to check it out and as we rounded the corner for the Little Temple Bar we found a street full of Irish men and women getting geared up for the game.  They are a lively bunch for sure!  As it turned out Ireland was victorious!

Before dinner we popped into our neighborhood boulangerie for "our daily bread."  Then off to another great restaurant for dinner.  Tonight was L'Oliveto just a few blocks away and I highly recommend it as one of the best Italian restaurants we've found in Paris.

Delicious Linguine Alle Vongole

A Visit with a few old Frenchmen 😏

September 22nd

Today we toured the Catacombs beneath the city of Paris. The exterior of the entrance is a modern building which was a little weird but as we descended the 125+ stairs into the underground tunnels it seemed like a walk back in time. The tunnel system is believed to be over 300km and is the final resting place of more than six million people. Apparently the walls of some of the cemeteries were collapsing and a major public health problem was tied to the failing cemeteries. From 1786 nightly processions of covered wagons transferred the remains from most of Paris's cemeteries and they were tossed into a mine shaft near the Rue de la Tombe-Issoire. Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury, director of the Paris Mine Inspection Service from 1810, had renovations done that would transform the caverns into a visitable mausoleum and not just a bone depository.

Dinner at Huguette was a recommendation by our Wenatchee Francophile friends, the Foremans. After our main course the owner came along and wanted to know if we would like to know what the dessert of the day was and I of course said, "Oui!"  He proceeded to point at our very handsome waiter and said it would be him! I again said, "Oui, pour moi!"  Then we instead ordered an apricot tart which was very good indeed. 😂

Sweet Oysters from Normandy

Jay's Razor Clams

My excellent Moules et frites

A Drippy Day

September 21st 

We left Tours this morning in a downpour and it rained the entire way back to Paris.  Jay did a great job manuvering between trucks and cars to get us back to Orly where we dropped off our car.  The day started off with us trying to load the car in the rain and not end up soaked.  At one point we went out the gate without the key to get back in so Jay ran around the building and found someone in their window to come let us back inside.  It was lucky that we left the apartment door unlocked so we could get the rest of our things.

The TT Car Transit office is offsite at Orly so we drove right in, under cover, and turned in the keys. Such a simple transaction...no lines, no complicated forms just turn in the fobs and off we went. The FreeNow AP is what we use in France (and last year in Ireland) and works like Uber or Lyft.  I dialed up a van and it came in about 3 minutes.  Arriving mid-afternoon made it a quick 30 minute trip to our apartment in San Germain.  The apartment is perfect with a comfortable king bed, a washer and dryer, dishwasher and view of the center courtyard so it is very quiet.  We will definitely return next year!

There is a fun restaurant down the street and we really needed a drink after the stressful drive.  I was a little hungry so ordered the pate compagne which was delicious.  With no reservations for dinner we headed off to Leon of Brussels for mussels.  I actually ended up ordering the sole meunière because it was half the cost of other restaurants but Jay stuck with the moules in curry sauce.  This particular Leon's is pretty large and has several little separate seating nooks and when Jay tried to return from the WC he couldn't find our table and the waiter had to help him. I guess I should put an AirTag in my purse so he can locate me.😏

Another Chocolate Lava Cake - Yum!

It's great to be back in Paris!