Simon and Katie's European Travels

Paris, France, Day eight

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:20:58 +1000

Our last full day in France, and for our trip! We had planned to go to Versaille today, so we made our way to the train station and caught the regional train for the 25-minute ride. It was nice to get out of the city center for a little while, and we really noticed the change in smog levels!

We must have timed our trip badly, because the queue for tickets took forever, even though we were buying them away from the palace itself. Then the queue to actually enter was enormous as well. As we were leaving, neither of these queues were anything like what we waited in, but we’d already had plenty of practice waiting in line, so it wasn’t too bad - at least it was a nice sunny day.

The palace was great, with lots of history about Louis XIV, XV and XVI to learn about, as well as a bit about the revolution and Napoleon too. The Hall of Mirrors was a particular favourite. However, it was so crowded inside the palace that it wasn’t much fun, so we headed out into the gardens, which were just amazing. Louis XIV designed the palace and grounds to ensure that the court did everything but worry about politics (pretty much so he could do it all his way), and you could just imagine hundreds of courtiers and their retinues wandering the grounds, sitting by the canals and basically doing not much at all; all very politely mind you. The gardens stretch for kilometers and include smaller palaces where the kings and queens could retire to if things got too hectic at the big palace. Tough life.

We caught the train back into Paris and started packing our bags, sadly realising that the trip was nearly over. Despite my concerns, all of Katie’s shopping actually fitted easily into her pack!

Afterwards, we went out for a drink to do some people watching and to let Katie soak up the last of the European sun. Later, we had a nice dinner, then made our way one last time to the Eiffel Tower, sitting on the grass of the Champs du Mars and watching the tower sparkle, a fitting way to end our time in Paris. Simon

The gardens of Versaille stretching into the distance

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:19:42 +1000

The gardens of Versaille stretching into the distance

Paris, France, Day 7!

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:18:14 +1000

Our apartment was across the road from Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. The huge building was where many of war wounded lived and Napoleon was eventually laid to rest. His body is in an impressive five coffins (ebony, mahogany, tin and two lead) and then in a massive quartz monument underneath the huge dome.

We then headed to Montmarte, a suburb in the 1st district, most famous for the huge basillica, Sacre Coeur, which is on top of Paris’ only hill. Before heading up the hill, I thought I would need a bit of energy so i gave the famous Nutella crépes a go. It’s great watching them being made before your eyes. Yes, they were great Lynelle, thanks for the tip! We then headed up the hill. It was covered in hawkers selling Paris souvenirs, alcohol etc. Trying to ignore them, we made it to the top to a wonderful view of Paris. As usual, the city was covered in a haze, but that’s the city we know and love! We also had a wander through the inside of the basillica.

On the hill is the gorgeous little area of Montmarte. It is all winding paths filled with cafés and artists doing people’s portraits. Some of them were really impressive! I did consider getting one done but wondered if it was really necessary since Simon wasn’t keen to be in it! Moving on, we made our way to Moulin Rouge, a ten minute walk from Sacre Coeur. There were no queues out the front (which we were warned about) so we went and grabbed some dinner before the show. It was a really nice evening and the colours from the sunset filled the air beautifully! Back at the Moulin Rouge, we wandered straight in. I figured being a Monday night it may not be as busy. Boy was I wrong! We got shown to our seats which were on a tiny table with two Aussies already seated. Another two people joined us which made it very squishy. I could hear lots of complaints about the seating… not good! The show was entertaining, great costumes but no story to follow. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see past the people in front and I was worried if the people behind could see past us! The two behind us left about half way through as they were too hot and they couldn’t see very well. Made it better for us to see, though, and they left half a bottle of champers for us to enjoy! We were packed in like sardines but it was entertaining overall. Maybe not the singing in English though!

I’m finally getting used to being called ‘Madame’ everywhere… so funny! At first I couldn’t work out why they weren’t calling me Madamoiselle… a ring will do it!

One day left in Paris… can’t believe it! Katie xo

Katie and one of her Nutella crepes for the day…

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:00:58 +1000

Katie and one of her Nutella crepes for the day…

Simon at Sacre Coeur

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:59:48 +1000

Simon at Sacre Coeur

Housewife in training (even on holidays) ;)

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:58:54 +1000

Housewife in training (even on holidays) ;)

Napoleon’s Tomb

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:57:26 +1000

Napoleon’s Tomb

Paris, France, Day six

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:28:32 +1000

After shopping yesterday, we thought it was about time we headed to some museums for a bit of culture. We first went to Musée Rodin, which was quite close to where we are staying. This museum is mainly set in some beautiful (and surprisingly large) gardens, with Rodin’s sculptures scattered around the grounds. We saw his most famous work, ‘The Thinker’, but there were also a lot of other great pieces, including a very large piece that you could use a telescope nearby to look through at the detail.

The next stop was Musée d’Orsay, full of Impressionist works and set inside what used to be a train station. This meant the layout inside the museum was quite different and included a scale model of Paris set into the floor. It was amazing to be able to see so many great works here and the list reads like a roll call of great artists: Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne and so on. We climbed out to the roof to look at the view, but unfortunately, the view from the back of the clock face was roped off.

We then had a quiche and delicious fresh raspberry tart for lunch and continued along the Seine to the Louvre. We skipped straight past all the queues with our museum pass and slipped straight into the museum under the big glass pyramid. Now this place has a lot of stuff! First up was the biggie: the Mona Lisa. It really is a charismatic painting and you could stare at it for ages. After previously hearing everyone’s surprise at how small it is, we may have been the only people there surprised by how big it is in reality! We then continued through the halls, passing by so many amazing paintings until we reached the Venus de Milo. It is a very strange feeling actually seeing these famous sculptures and paintings first-hand!

We’ll try to get back to the Louvre again before we leave, although I think you could spend weeks in there! Simon

Painting of some chick.. Hehe ;-)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:12:23 +1000

Painting of some chick.. Hehe ;-)

Katie at Musée d’Orsay

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:10:10 +1000

Katie at Musée d’Orsay

Simon and The Thinker…

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:08:09 +1000

Simon and The Thinker…

Paris, France, Day five

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:15:27 +1000

We woke eager to find the Aussie pub for Simon to watch the Collingwood preliminary final. After finding one, they directed us to another ‘ten minutes’ down the road. After walking for over an hour we arrived at the next pub, eager to watch the game. Sadly, they were showing yesterdays game - pathetic! Hot and bothered we went and grabbed a bite to eat. We had a great charcuteries plate with lots of delicious meat and cheese to try. Our waitress was very enthusiastic and loved practising her English with us! Putting the game behind us, we headed to Arc de Triomph. It was a maze working out how to get to the arc, which is in the middle of a huge, crazy roundabout! Then we hit the shops of Champs Elysees. Mainly window-shopped, but we did get a few goodies. Highlights were a HUGE Sephora and, of course, Louis Vuitton for which we had to line up for entry! We also made sure we stocked up on macaroons and eclairs from Ladurée, a well known store Simon’s aunty recommended. We shopped for hours, but that wasn’t enough, so we got a taxi to Galleries La Fayette where we spent a few more hours (and euros). What a jam packed shopping day! Simon coped sooo well. We’ll have to do it more often! Hehe.

We headed out for a late dinner of more snails and French wine. To top it off we had our eclairs from Ladurée… Mmm. The coffee one was really good! Katie xo

A successful day shopping. What financial crisis?

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:21:38 +1000

A successful day shopping. What financial crisis?

Katie very happy outside the Louis Vuitton flagship store on...

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:20:14 +1000

Katie very happy outside the Louis Vuitton flagship store on Champs Elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:18:54 +1000

Arc de Triomphe

Place de la Concorde

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:18:23 +1000

Place de la Concorde

Katie eating her snails

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:17:40 +1000

Katie eating her snails

Paris, France, Day four

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:12:17 +1000

We woke to our first hint of blue sky! Is that a rarity in Paris? Simon went and found us some pastries, our normal breakfast now. We got going pretty early in order to find the Catacombs by opening time. We passed some huge cemetaries, with huge tombs put aside for families. Simon tells me there just wasn’t enough room for all the bodies though, thus there are the Catacombs - old quarries filled with bones. With much disappointment, the Catacombs had been vandalized and are not open to the public until further notice. We then had a drink and a croissant while we disscused where to next. We ended up on Rive Gauche, the Left Bank, an headed for Pont Neuf. Once there, we walked along Ile de la Cité to Notre Dame and had a look around inside. I really liked the stained glass windows and Simon thought the statue of Joan of Arc was pretty cool. We decided not to climb the towers, but Simon was sure to stand for a photo on ‘point zero’ outside the church.

We then spotted a really cute, old restaurant on Ile Saint-Louis. There we tried the famous buckwheat crepes. Mine was very nice… cream, fresh tomato and basil. There’s something about the tomatoes in Europe, they just taste better!

We then walked back toward Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower. The undercover cops had just busted some of the dodgy souvenir sellers and were dropping their confiscated merchandise all over the place for greedy tourists (like us!) to grab. Good one! We had another great view of the tower before heading down Rue Cler and looking in the cheese and meat shops. We bought some delicious ham and cheese, as well as some amazing chocolate and raspberry macaroons. After a leisurely afternoon drink we found a spot for dinner. Being the great tourists we are, I ordered snails and Simon got French onion soup. Both delicious! I can’t believe all the good food we’ve had! The snails weren’t too garlicky which was good. I was a bit scared of them at first but I’ve taken a liking to them now… yumbo! Shopping tomorrow - can’t wait!!!! Katie xo

Paris, France, Day Three; Lunch @ Le Jules Verne

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:10:41 +1000

After a relaxing morning we prepared ourselves for our first outing to the Eiffel Tower and lunch at Le Jules Verne. It is great staying so close to the tower: we are only a 10 minute walk, max. All rugged up in my new coat, it was great walking toward the tower and, as rain was forecast, it appeared to have scared off the crowds to some extent which was nice.

The elevator up the tower was amazing, we could hardly tell as it changed angle and the view was wonderful. With us in the lift was a family with two children and two English speaking women. The women rudely asked not to be seated next to “those screaming children.” They were then shown to their seat and when they asked if they could have a seat next to a window, they were refused. We were seated last, next to a window if course! Such good luck and the best table ever! So impressed! We started our meal with a drink. I got a Belle Eiffel which was champagne with passionfruit liquor and peach purée… sooo good! Lis, u would have been in heaven! We were then served a gaspacho of watermelon with tomato, capsicum and duck - very nice. We chose a three course menu and they chose three wines to match - good choice! For entree, I chose the duck paté which came with stewed berries and figs. Simon got a cauliflower soup with foam. He wasn’t really interested in the foam, but certainly agreeed it was the best cauliflower soup he’s ever had. For mains I had a lovely fish with a fresh ratatouille.. yum! Simon had poultry with vegetables. Dessert… mmm the dessert was soo good! It took three waiters to serve Simon’s. The first one brought the cake over, another filled it with Amaretto then the third filled it with Chantilly cream (once the alcohol soaked in). I had a mint/chocolate delight with THE worlds best fresh mint sorbet… we both agreed that was the best thing ever! The view was just wonderful and we really enjoyed the whole experience. Once finished our meals, we were able to access the observation deck (saves queing and paying), then head back into the restaurant and back down their lift! Even though it was overcast, we still had a great view over Paris and really enjoyed looking st all the buildings that make up the city.

After our hectic day we needed a rest, so we relaxed at our apartment for a few hours before heading back to the Eiffel Tower to see its night lights. It was so beautiful all lit up! On the hour it glitters white sparkles… so pretty! I could have sat there all night watching it! It’s definently my favourite thing in Paris so far. Katie xo

Paris, France, Days one and two

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:29:23 +1000

We were faced with a long train ride today, first from Berlin to Cologne (Köln) and then swapping trains and continuing on to Paris. The leg to Cologne was fine, and we quite enjoyed riding the Italian and German trains, not least because we were able to travel in first class. The Paris leg wasn’t quite as smooth though. Firstly, we were back in the packed cattle class and secondly because the train seemed to be heading through Belgium on its way to Paris, and our ticket was only valid for travel in Italy, Germany and France - an expensive oversight for us on behalf of our booking agency.

Still, after eight hours on trains, we arrived at Gare du Nord in Paris and set about finding the apartment we had booked for the week. This wasn’t too difficult, but the apartment itself wasn’t exactly what we were expecting and turned out to be pretty ordinary, really. Still, the location was good, so we decided not to dwell on what kind of hotel we could have got for the same price. We ended up finding a supermarket and, after bread, cheese, ham and wine (our new staples) for dinner, we headed to bed.

The forecast for the week looked a bit cool, so Katie thought this would be the best time to start shopping and the next day we headed to Printemps, a huge department store. Katie found a couple of jackets to buy and we went up to have lunch on the ninth floor of the store, with a great view of the city. After this, we just explored a bit more of our neighbourhood and finished up another quiet day.