We have returned from our Parisian experience and can report that the City is lovely even in January. The weather moderated upon our arrival and, while not balmy, was at least not frigid. Most days were cloudy and some rain dampened our visit, but a little adjustment of our plans allowed us to mostly avoid the rain drops. The rain scarcely dampens a day in the Louvre. Travel is always an adventure. We flew from Philadelphia and by the strange magic of Internet travel arrangements were supposed to arrive in Paris via a Chicago connection. Our plane was at the gate in Philadelphia when we arrived, but we were to learn “there were mechanical problems.” With a tight connection in Chicago we immediately called United which changed us from our U.S. Air connector to Chicago to a U.S. Air direct flight to Paris. This was great except that our luggage was already aboard the airplane. We were unable to retrieve it and were also told that Chicago was backed up because of weather. Because our departure was a couple of hours later we were even given meal vouchers. One problem remained. Chuck’s sister Laurie had arranged and given us a limosine ride to her apartment. We had to call her and let her know about the change in flight and arrival time. We discovered that a international debit card we had purchased in Canada last year expired after six months. It was in the fine print. We also found that our AT&T card would not work for international calls. We finally purchased another call debit card and successfully dialed through. The process took almost two hours. The dinner in the airport was very nice however. Our flight was good, but the seats inclined so slightly it was difficult to sleep well. Morning found us over the French countryside and provided fine views of pastoral lands on our approach to the Charles DeGaul Aiport. Of course our luggage was still in Chicago and we had to arrange for delivery. We met our driver and enjoyed the adventure of driving through a City that was laid out before the automobile was even a glimmer in an inventor’s eye. Finally the GPS told the driver that we were there and we had arrived at the apartment at Rue de Richelieau across from the Palais Royal and separated by only the Theatre Comedie and the Hotel Louvre from the Musee Louvre. Location. Location. Location. After freshening up we grabbed the shopping list and explored the Avenue Opera. Laurie had been in Ireland up until the day before our arrival and had no chance to shop, so we went to bring home the bacon. First we walked the length of the Avenue to the old opera house and enjoyed some Parisian architecture and ambiance. It was very nice. A glance told us we were not in Kansas anymore. We found lunch in a deli and managed a bit of French and finance a la Euro. The grocery was a challenge. The downtown store was on two levels and included clothing and some housewares as well as food. The bakery was outside of the grocery section and each section had separate payment. So we had to visit three registers, one for most of the food, one for the bread, and one for tissues that were in the housewares part of the store. We dared not tackle the deli counter yet and found cold cuts and cheese on a shelf. Leaving, we loaded one backpack and carried the balance in bags. We celebrated back in the apartment after unpacking. Laurie called and told us when she would return from work. Anne prepared a fine beef stew from ingredients we had brought home. At dinner we shared a bottle of wine and made plans for the weekend. On Saturday we took a subway and walking tour first to Montmartre and the Parvis (basilica) du Sacre-Coeur on a hill overlooking much of the City. Being “soldes” (solda) sales time in Paris, the ladies spent some change and we returned to the apartment. As evening approached we walked along the Seine then turned and crossed at the Tour Eiffel (Too Eiffel) or Eiffel Tower. It is a noble erector set. Crossing back we climbed in a riverside park and waited for the hourly light show to begin. This Y2K addition to the tower is a series of strobes that flash at the beginning of each evening hour. After our walk we went to a dinner party where we enjoyed the English and struggled with the French, but loved all the food. We enjoyed the famous pate de fois gras, the soft cheeses, the wine, and French beef bourgonion. Beef stew twice in two days, but we didn’t care. The weather forecast for Sunday was promising so we went to bed planning to wander to Versailles the next day. We went to bed at 12:30 a.m. on our second night and were in a bit of a jet-lag fog. We still woke at about 7:00 a.m. to make an early departure for Paris. We took the train to the town of Versailles and walked up the hill to the palace. Our walk through the museum gave a glimpse of the wealth of the French monarchy and a pause to reflect on the consequences of executive greed on a scale almost unimaginable today. The Hall of Mirrors remains one of the grandest halls in existence. We finished our visit with a cold walk through some of the gardens that were hibernating in January. On Monday Laurie went to work and we crossed the street to enter the Louvre. We had reviewed its plan the night before and decided to rent audio headsets and take the “French Tour” first. It was supposed to take two and a half hours. Mastering the tour program and finding our way about proved a challenge and we spent more than five hours on this tour. But that was not bad. Nothing is bad about this museum. As at Versailles, the place was once a palace and the buildings are wonders even without the art within. Once during our tour Anne glimpsed the Venus de Milo to one side. She stopped Chuck and we walked around it admiringly. Not being French it was not on our tour, but how can one just walk by such a thing. We also detoured to catch an early view of the Mona Lisa and a few of the other famous Italian paintings. We left the museum for lunch but went back and stayed until almost six o’clock before returning to the apartment to start dinner. We had so much to report to Laurie. On Tuesday we walked to the Museum D’Orsay which houses more modern art including that of the Impressionist School in an elegant but retired railroad station. Unlike the Lourve with its ornately finished halls, the Orsay houses its collection in the open under a broad half cylinder of glass that once covered the tracks. There we saw 19 Van Goghs, numerous Monets, Manets, Gaugans, and Renoirs. We even found the portrait of an artist’s (Whistler’s) mother. So much fun. The weather was not with us on this day, but we walked on through a windy rain to the Musee de Quai Branly which houses “primitive arts” brightly lit within a dark interior. We finished our day with a subway trip to the train station to buy tickets to Amsterdam. Our navigation and language skills were tested, and we passed. See the next blog for a report on Amsterdam.