P

aris Blow by Blow, Day by Day

 

June 22 - August 27, 1999











French flag




The following gives a day-by-day view (or almost) of our nine weeks in Paris (follow the links for details). They have gone much faster than we ever thought they would. Gerry's original expectations were to spend more time sitting in parks and reading and less in museums. Jan expected on the other hand to visit the Louvre at least once a week rather than the paltry three visits that we managed.  See June , July , August



June


June 21-22

We left New York and arrived at Aéroport Charles de Gaulle, where we got a rental Hertz and made our way to Paris. There, after some traffic jams we picked up the key to the flat at ParisVision's office and found our way there. We moved the bags into the flat, parked the car legally, and went for a walk.

June 23-25

Because we had the car we made three successive trips outside of Paris. Wednesday we went to Fontainebleau, on the south, where we spent most of the day at the Château but also drove through the forest. Thursday we visited Monet’s home and workshop in Giverny and after a bite went to the American Museum which shows the work of American disciples of Monet followed by a visit to the cathedral of Evreux.

Maisons et Jardins Claude Monet
Maisons et Jardins Claude Monet
Musee d'art Americain
Musee d'art Americain


Friday we returned to Chartres and its cathedral; late in the day we returned to Paris via Rambouillet, seeing the exterior of the chateau and walking the grounds.

June 26-July 1

Parking the car got to be too much of a burden so we returned it a day early. That started four days of extensive walks about Paris. Saturday we drove to the Hertz office at Gare de Lyon (which we found with difficulty; the signs aren’t American size) and then walked home, about 3 miles. Sunday we walked to the Bastille, where we met Francois Dominque Armingaud (Gerry’s assistant when he taught in France) for lunch and then walked to the IRCAM and toured its open house. Monday we walked to the Place de la Republique and back and do some shopping for coat hangers. Tuesday we again walked to the center, this time to the Georges Pompidou center, intending to spend lots of time there, but it is closed for remodeling/repairs. So we walked to the rue de Rennes and had our first sidewalk-cafe meal before going to the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier and seeing Racine's "Mithridate."

title
Theater Ticker
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Louvre Ticket

Wednesday we spent our first day at home.


July


Thursday, July 1, we walked to the Louvre and were amazed by its new grandeur, spending most of our time in the Italian paintings rooms of the Denon wing and eating lunch on Denon's balcony. From there we walked to Blvd de Grenelle / rue Juge and visited for two hours with the Rémy's, friends from our days in Iran.

Batobus ticket
Batobus ticket

July 2-4

Sue (Jan’s sister) and Phil Capstick were our guests for nearly three days. Friday morning they flew in from Darlington and we met them at the Gare du Nord. After bringing them home to unpack, rest, and eat lunch at nearby Zital's restaurant, we walked to Montmartre and Sacré Coeur. From there we walked downhill seeing Montmartre, Pigalle, and on to the opera. Exhausted, we took the metro home.

Saturday we went directly to the Palais Chaillot/Trocadero. Nearby Gerry had his sketch drawn and then crossed the Seine to the Eiffel Tower;. We wanted to visit the tower, but since the line was too long we went to the Batobus and boated up and down the Seine. Our first stop was at Notre Dame and from there we walked about the Latin Quarter and ate a delicious seafood lunch at the Bar a Huitres. We boated back to the Eiffel Tower, still too crowded, so we then boated to the Louvre and walked through the Tuileries to and along the Champs Elysees, almost to the Arc de Triomphe, stopping for a drink on the wide esplanade. Sunday morning we saw Napoleon's tomb at the Invalides and the Military museum (Musee de l'Armee) before returning home for lunch. We then saw Sue and Phil off to the Gare du Nord for the trip to the Airport.

Bar a huitres
Bar a huitres
Bar a huitres
Bar a huitres

We had dinner at the Bar à Huitres after walking around the Notre-Dame and  Saint-Germain areas.

Musee de l'Armee
Musee de l'Armee
Musee de l'Armee
Musee de l'Armee

July 5

The Tour de France starts. From then on nearly everyday we would watch lots of TV about it. In the morning we would often watch the program about the city, town, or village where that day’s segment would start and/or end. Depending on the day we saw the start or good portions of the race itself on TV. Almost every day of the Tour we would watch the evening TV wrap up.

July 5-7

We spend as much time at home as out, lots of it on the Tour de France and lots on computers, trying to get on line. We finally succeeded thanks to some rewiring Gerry did. We also found a super large computer store, Surcouf, and bought a scanner there, which was the beginning of getting all our stuff on the web. 

Opera Bastille Ticket, July 7

Late Wednesday we went out to the Opera Bastille and saw "Don Carlo". The singing was great, music fine, and building not great. And the smokers in "Espace non fumeurs" very annoying.

July 8-11

We're still walking a lot. Thursday morning we explore more of our neighborhood, Belleville, and in the afternoon make a second visit to Cimetière Père Lachaise. We walk home via Gambetta and get our first introduction to that area, clearly upscale compared to Belleville. Friday we stay close to home. Saturday we return to Père Lachaise to see if we can find Gerry's camera. After a short time there we walk to the Place des Victoires where a guided street tour starts (We’d found it listed in the newspaper; 40 F). We also see Place Vendome, and several very interesting covered galleries.

July 12-13

Two "events" on successive days. On Monday we go early to see the Pyramide TV quiz show and become part of it. Afterwards we walk to Montmartre and give ourselves a very thorough tour of it. On Tuesday we relax in the morning and in the evening go to the Opéra Garnier to see the ballet "La Sylphide". We enjoy ballet and building interior a great deal. Alas the outside front is completely covered with tarpaulins for repairs. Guess it is part of cleanup for the Millennium.

July 14

The National Day of France. We spend the whole day on the Champs Elysees, first waiting for the parade, then seeing the parade, and then wondering if it is over. We get lots and lots of photos and enjoy it, but are disappointed to learn that we’ve been standing where the parade forms – we only see the part that forms to our right and miss all that forms to our left.

July 15

Thursday we spend the day in the Palais de la Découverte, in the Grand Palais. Afterwards we walk over to the Madeleine and buy tickets for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem. No time for extensive supper so we buy picnic food and eat in a park near the church St. Augustin.

Hotel Astra Opera Hotel Astra Map

July 16-22

Gerry's aunt Zelda, his father’s sister, visited for a week. At 84 she had a surprising amount of independence but still needed a lot of looking after. We met her at Orly and took her by taxi to her hotel. After some rest and a meal opposite the hotel we walked past the Opera, rue St. Honoré, the Tuileries, and onto the Champs Elysées, returning to the hotel by the Madeline.

From then on we followed a usual pattern: Let her enjoy herself in the morning while we did accounts, diary, or whatever; meet her between 2pm and 5:00 p.m; and then walk or ride to some site. Monday we took her to the Louvre, for our second visit. Tuesday July 20 we had a scrumptious meal at the Hotel Crillon. Wedneday July 21 we went to the Latin Quarter and spent a good part of the day at the Pantheon. Thursday we took Aunt Zelda by taxi to Orly airport where we helped her solve some check-in problems.

July 23

The Museum of Evolution was advertised all over Paris, particularly in the Metro, so we went there on Friday. First we ate lunch in the formal flower garden, then spent a good deal of time in this Natural History museum. Afterwards we walked past the Institut Musulman and on to the remains of the Roman arena, where we stopped. From there we walked to and from one end to the other of Ile St Louis, a romantic corner of Paris. We had an "assignment" from Ann Spanadora to find and try Bertillion ice cream. We did; the Bertillion shop was closed but we bought and like Bertillion ice cream next door.

Rital Ristorante, Cucina italiana

July 24-26

A long weekend was spent celebrating Jan's 50th birthday. Gerry had arranged a surprise party, with 15 people coming secretly from England. They arrived in twos and fours just before 2pm; besides three sisters and a brother and their families two of her college chums came. When all were present we went to lunch at Zital.

The entire party then went by Metro to the Louvre to catch the Batobus and made the tour of the Seine. We all visited Notre Dame together, then walked over to Ile St Louis for ice cream and came home. Sunday morning we took everyone to Montmartre and Sacré Coeur then a quick run down the Champs Elysées including a sandwich at McDonalds and home to pack and off to the station. From the station we hurried back to the Champs Elysées to catch the last few rounds of the Tour de France. Afterwards we met up with the four members of Jan’s family that had stayed on for an extra day and had a very pleasant supper in Le Drugstore.

Zephyr Restaurant Zephyr Address card

On the birthday itself (the party was moved forward two days for the convenience of the travellers), we had a lazy morning, took the four family members to the station, then took a bus ride and ended up at Zephyr, a neighborhood restaurant for a lovely meal.

July 27-28

The birthday celebration still goes on a bit. On Tuesday we go to Bobino's and see "Droit de Succession" (Inheritance Rights) a comedy about eight squabbling friends and relatives who all want to inherit the money of a fashion designer.

Objects Trouve -1 Objects Trouves -2

July 29-30

On Thursday we visited the Jaquemart-André museum because an advertisement had caught our eye — it was well worth it. We lunched on the terrace and then went to the Objets Trouvés in search of Gerry's lost camera. Getting there just as it closed we went again on Friday. After our business was done we picnicked in Parc Georges Brassens.


August



Parc de la Villette

July 31- August 1 Betrand Lavilla, Jan’s second cousin, arrived from Montpellier and stayed with us two nights. We started Saturday slowly with a meal at our place. In the afternoon we made a rush to the Assembly Nationale and tried to joint the last tour, but couldn’t. We then walked along Bvd St Germain, refreshed ourselves at Cafe aux deux Magots, and then walked out Bvd Renne and Bvd Raspail as far as Place Defert-Rochereau. That evening we ate on Bvd Hausmann with Bertrand and his friend, Astrid. While Betrand went off to see the Louvre with his girl friend we went to the science and music park, La Villette, where besides walking about and seeing the mixture of modern and old buildings, we saw an exhibit of photos about native people of Siberia.

Musee Carnavalet

August 2-4 A new week. Monday is happily spent at home cleaning up, reading, webbing, etc. Tuesday we spend in and around the Marais, four hundred years ago the chic area of Paris. Our destination is the Musee Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris. It is great, but tiring. We also see Place des Vogses and many other things in the area while walking about. On the way home we walk as far as Place Republique, looking for and failing to find the shop where Jan bought her mother’s birthday gift. Jan needs her passport renewed and we need visas for China so we go to both consulates on Wednesday. The passport is renewed in two hours. We get encouraging information about visas and staying in China and go away with visa forms. Based on this and the email from China we commit ourselves to an appartment in China for Set-Oct-Nov.


Theatre de la Huchette

We eat lunch at 7 Blvd Madeleine, which may be the place that Florence Ryder recommended. That night we at last see Ionesco’s "La Cantatrice Chauve" and "Rhinocéros" at the Théâtre de la Huchette in the Latin Quarter. The plays are in "répertoire" - the same plays every night, for perhaps the last 20 or 30 years. The stories should be well known, but they are not (at least to us). The plays are good; there is no problem hearing or understanding the actors as they are as close almost as in a living room. But because the building is so tiny it is also very hot with no air-conditioning on this very warm summer evening. But being small and simple means of course that it can keep running in répertoire.

Musee Marmottan

August 5-8

The visitor of the moment is Mike Eddy. He works for Lucent Techonologies and they sent him for two weeks to Saudi Arabia. His first day here in Paris we visit the Marmottan museum and then go to Montmartre and eat at the restaurant Gerry wanted to take Jan to for her birthday. There is a fantastic view of Paris, but this night it is spoiled by rain. Saturday we all go to the National Assembly and eat on the Ile St Louis at Le Monde des Grillades. The next day we see the Orsay Museum with him.

Sainte Chapelle

August 9-10

After seeing Mike Eddy off on Monday morning we clean the flat and then go to Ile de la Cité. There we try to enter the Sainte Chapelle, but it is too crowded, so we tour the Palais de Justice and sit in on a series of misdemeanor trials. Afterwards we see Sainte Chapelle, but the rain clouds so darken the chapelle’s stained glass windows that the great effect is spoiled. Next day, Tuesday, is another day at home.





Parking Authorization

August 11

The solar eclipse has been in the news from before we arrived. We'd already gone to two exhibits in town on it. This day we got up early, picked up the reserved rented car, and headed east and then north to the zone of totality.We saw it, with great pleasure, in an otherwise empty field.

We then went on to Soissons and Reims and saw their catherals, the country side, and various reminders of WWI.

August 12-14

Thursday we went to the Chinese consulates to get our visas and were told that we needed to go either the USA or Hong Kong to get them. It threw a cloud over the whole day. Friday we mostly worked on diary, and web pages

August 15

We went on Sunday for a long walk to see the guinguettes on the banks of the Marne, made famous by the impressionists and hoping to eat at Le Petit Robinson, which we did. On the way back we walked to the Bois de Vincennes and saw the Château and Fort de Vincennes. Sunday evening was spent composing a letter to the Chinese consul asking that we be granted visas.

Restaurant La Lanterne Restaurant

August 20-August 24

Sylvia Kuzmak arrived on Friday. She'll help us close out our stay in Paris. She and Jan formerly worked together for AT&T on an airline scheduling system. As usual, we pick her up at the Gare du Nord. After resting we went out for a walk, first lunching at the Restaurant La Lanterne across from the Parc du Buttes-Chaumont, at a place Mike Eddy said was interesting. It indeed turned out fairly good.

Then we visted the park, walked home, and then walked about the south side of home, having tea at a Turkish bistro opposite Notre Dame de Bellville. On Saturday we visited Montmartre for the fourth time, but made our first visit to the dome of Sacre Coeur, which has a wonderful view, and the Montmarte museum, which has lots about people that we did not know.

Dinner was again at the Drugstore on the Champs Elysees; it is one of the few places where there is a good meal for a reaonable price. On Sunday we say Orsay again, each going our own way; with the two visits we’ve seen pretty much the whole museum. After a very nice walk along the Seine and elsewhere we rested at the square at the Sorbornne where we stopped with Mike Eddy – there was such a change; the first time was so animated and a few weeks later it was dead. The Louvre was Monday’s destination. We saw (and were overwhelmed as usual by the extent) French sculptures and paintings; unfortunatley getting kicked out of the later by closing time arriving. Tuesday was our last real tourist event in Paris, and it was for the most famous: Versailles. Our train trip was delayed because our line was closed and we had to take another.

Versailles August 24.

A hectic day visiting Versailles with Sylvia. The trains are screwed up, we miss some connections, and at last get there. The grounds are peaceful but the apartments are overwhelmingly crowded.
 

August 25-26

We stay home Wednesday and start our packing while Sylvia goes out for her first and last day alone. She sees in turn the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Military museum, and the Basilica at St Denis. We get our five boxes out of Veronica’s closet, unfold them, and tape them into place. We also get out our soft bags and start packing them. Soon four boxes are full and we wonder if we’ll get all the rest in. But it's enough for the day. And we finish cleaning up just before Veronica O’Connor arrives. She’s come to look over the apartment. It meets her expectations so we’re happy, and we’re happy to chat with her for an hous. When Sylvia returns we go out to a nice Couscous and tagine dinner. Thurday we’re up at 5:45 and leave right away to get Sylvia to Gare de Lyon by 7:30. We manage it and then have our breakfast and go mail our last packages. In spite of being tired we go see the old, now Richelieu, branch of the Biblioteque National de France. Most of it is closed, so we come home and eat and rest. Our last job is before us: get the van we’ll use to go to Gare du Nord. That is easily accomplished and, more astounding, we find a parking place very close. Friday morning we’ll fill it. In a few more hours we finish our packing and Jan is surprised that we needed five boxes and that we got it all in. The rest of the day is spent relaxing, including our first heavy dose of TV in a week.

August 27

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It’s going to be Eurostar through the Chunnel and on to London and Darlington.







February 26, 2003