Thursday, September 30, 2010

Paris Day 4 - Assault on the North Face (of the Louvre)

We awoke today to the sound of steady rain on the roof of our hotel - it is such a cozy feeling to be tucked up under the eaves/rafters of the hotel's top floor...and Peter avoided smacking his head into them today as well, simple pleasures.




This was the day to gird our loins (however one does that) and make our way to the Louvre - a 4-day Museum Pass is worth its weight in gold, as we simply breezed through the north entrance, aka the Passage Richelieu, and down into the I.M. Pei-designed Pyramide  - it is a very dramatic space that is understandably controversial when looked at in context with the architecture that surrounds it.




As we had not set foot in the Louvre in our 2007 visit to Paris, we vowed to brave the masses and see as many of the iconic masterworks as we possibly could - and we did.  Just a glimpse of one of the parade of greatest hits the Louvre houses:


Add the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and 24 Rubens murals in their own special room, and you get an overwhelming exhibition of not only great art but unbelievably opulent architecture - each expansion of the royal palace tried to top the last.  Even the exterior is a gallery of amazing sculptures:



We were also stunned at the elegant subterranean shopping/food court that has been added to the west end of the Louvre, called the Carrousel.  So much has changed since I visited 30 years ago! 

As tired as we after the Louvre, we decided to take on Notre Dame Cathedral as well since it was generally on our way back to the hotel.  We enjoyed sitting inside and outside this magnificent edifice, and Peter took a photo which presents a less common portrait of its grandeur:



As you can see, the weather also rallied after the rain to produce a lovely, cool and sunny day!

Sending our love from the sumptuous and spacious lobby of our hotel:


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Paris - Days 1, 2 and 3

We had the smoothest travel experience in recent memory - flight left on time, we had 2 seats at the exit row (legroom!!!), the plane arrived 30 minutes early at 7 AM Paris time, the airport had NO lines and we were in our hotel room at 9 AM - amazing!  Some planning and some luck combined to make it so sweet.

Monday agenda was very light - nap, take a walk in Luxembourg Gardens, drink coffee to reset our body clocks and enjoy the Paris street scene.  Our room is just delightful at the Hotel Les Degres de Notre Dame.  We are on the 5th floor of a 17th century inn, 82 steps to the top.  Whew.  But the view is incredible with the cathdral de Notre Dame out the window - Peter is loving the zoom on his new travel camera:

We lasted through a lovely dinner at the hotel and absolutely slept the sleep of the tired traveler.

Tuesday presented some challenges as most museums are closed, and those that are open are usually packed.  After a lovely breakfast (good bread!) we visited the Pantheon to see Foucault's Pendulum and buy a 4-day museum pass. We then hiked over the Seine to the Musee Carnavalet - the museum covers the history of Paris, and is housed in two mansions that have 104 total rooms!  It was a bit overwhelming but a great way to get a feel for the city past and present.



We thought if we waited until early afternoon we could slip into the Musee D'Orsay (our favorite) but after a long walk to the site, the lines were horrendous - even for museum pass holders who can skip ticket lines!  So, we changed plans and enjoyed a late lunch near the Orsay, then headed back to the hotel.  We made reservations at a restaurant - "Le Pre Verre" - that we discovered when visiting in 2007, and we celebrated Peter's "real" 70th birthday in Paris having a delightful (and unusual) meal.

Here's the hotel, with the birthday boy standing in front:


Wednesday, aka "hump day" in our Paris adventure was, in retrospect, a bit too full even for us.  We set out to see the Delacroix Museum which was a bit hard to find (try hidden).  It was a little gem of rooms the artist inhabited as his apartment and studio in the last 6 years of his life. We then returned to the Orsay via some wonderful shopping streets - and we found our next great kitchen accessory:



Unfortunately it won't fit in my suitcase.

The Orsay was as delightful as we remembered, even though it is undergoing renovations and its collection is on limited display.  Fantastic Impressionist paintings, beautiful art-deco furniture and great sculpture.  Being gluttons for punishment we headed to the Eiffel Tower to see what the lines looked like to (perhaps) go to the top.  Alas, the lines were rather long and we made a unilateral decision to move on.  Plan B was to visit the Museum of French Architecture and we were rewarded with a life-size model of Le Corbusier's apartment design for the Unite d'Habitation, a building we had visited outside Marseilles some years ago - loved being able to actually experience the space!

With our dying legs we slogged to the Arc de Triomph and climbed 284 steps to get the incredible views, including the Champs d'Elysees:



As we had now used up any remaining leg power (how is it we can bike 60+ miles in a day but walking around Paris nearly kills us?) at the Arc, we caught the Metro nearby and rode it, packed in like sardines, to a stop fairly near our hotel.  After a reviving dinner of salad Nicoise and wine, it was back to the beloved room:



Thought I'd end with my favorite image of the day - thanks for reading!





Saturday, September 25, 2010

Packing is NOT my favorite pastime...

Why is it SO hard for me to get down to packing???  I have a great list borne of years of similar bike trip experiences and European travel, yet it is like pulling teeth for me to actually start pulling my stuff together!  But with less than 22 hours before takeoff I have little time left to mess around - so here goes...

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Counting Down to Departure...

Finally have set up our blog page - only 1,000 to-do's left before we board our flight Sunday afternoon!
Follow us as we get a second shot at Paris (first visit was 2007, we are so thrilled for a second chance) and our first visit to Greece - biking the Peloponnese! Stay tuned.