Paris and Barcelona September 2007

1st day air travel -Arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport. Continental better than KLM.

Please note that the scheduled itinerary will not match up with the journal.  I made the schedule by placing locations, noting operating times, and times mentioned that each stop should take. Ha! Best laid plans and all that.  But the schedule was able to be changed and we managed to see just about everything on it.

Notes on Paris - The people are normal, which means some  are  friendlier than others. In one cafe our waiter who was very courteous to us after we asked him in French if he spoke English was not as courteous to another couple who sat down and just started jabbering away to him in English.  So, take the time to learn  that one phrase. 

Women, keep some Euro coins on hand in case you need to use a restroom.  Many are free but some are pay. The cafeteria toilets at Napoleons tomb are pay.

The atmosphere of Paris was more hectic than Barcelona. The metro in both can be complicated but very efficient although crowded during lunchtime and commute times.  Take time to search the internet and videos to learn more on them. Both cities have women who will walk up to you and ask you if you speak English then proceed to ask for money to help them save their husband.  I had my husband tell them no in Russian.  Another trick in Paris is a women drops a wedding ring then tries to give it to you then asks for money.

Eiffel Tower is always busy. With long lines it can be time consuming so either go first thing in the morning, make reservations at one of the restuarants, or be prepared to wait.

Research operating times.  Because of this we went to the Orsay, Pompidou, and the Louvre on the nights they were open late and the lines were very, very short.  The sunset from the Pompidou was fantastic. See the Mona Lisa last as maybe that will mean the crowd will not be as intense as it was at 7pm.

Research Versailles fountain times and if possible do the Garden and Village tour first to avoid crowds and for best photo ops.  If you have the money rent the golf cart as the gardens and the Village are long walks. The restaurant  at the bottom of the garden is excellant but not the bathrooms there.  Keep your ticket to get back into the gardens because you may leave them without noticing.

Whenever possible rent the audio tours.  They add so much meaning to the sights.  Rick Steves has some mp3s to download which we followed and they were all excellant.

I did not have enough information or guides for Barcelona.  The walks I downloaded did not match up with the maps they  provided.  We saw some fantastic sites and I only wish I knew what they were.  The architecture of Gaudi is just extreme art which a person can live, work, visit, or worship in and is not to be missed.  A day on the beach makes a nice break and there are many sidewalk restuarants to select from but beware as like many cafes in Barcelona they may close up entirely after lunch until reopening for dinner.

Because of heavy rain for an entire day and my getting sick with a cold afterwards we did go off the schedule and missed several things.  I would love to return after the Cathedral is complete.  

For us Renting an Apartment in both cities was so much better than living in a hotel.   Note: Not all apartment rentals have to be for 7 days so look around.

In Paris we lived on a boat underneath the Eiffel Tower and the metro was just a few minutes away. The interior is rich in wood with elegant yet comfortable furniture.  There is a full kitchen but we only used the microwave and the refrigerator.  Loved having coffee first thing in the morning along with a chocolate crossaint.  I loved sitting up on deck in the evening while sipping a glass of red wine while tourists went by and I could see the envy in their eyes. The shower looked small but there was more than enough room.  Plenty of hot water and the water pressure was great.  Best thing about the boat was the owner.  Bob is full of life and spending time with him was a highlight of our trip.

The apartment in Barcelona was obviously once someones home which you can tell by the giant closet you pass through on your way to the bedroom.  The sofa and the carpet are a bit soiled but the interior decorations are lovely. There are 2 small balconies.  The living room balcony overlooks a very busy street during the day which means the doors have to be closed if you want to hear the television over the car horns honking but then again we did not watch much tv and busy street watching can be very entertaining.  The back balcony is outside the bedroom and looks over what I am going to call courtywards of a bunch of other apartment buildings.  The bathroom was so spacious and the hot tub was my favorite.  The shower which had looked so inviting in the pictures with the added body sprays was broken the first few days and once repaired the water pressure was so low that it was a major dissappointment.  The location was a few blocks away from the metro station which wasn't bad but I was spoiled in Paris so it seemed far away

Paris top 5 attractions to be toured

Orsay Museum, Basilique du Sacre-Coeur for the view from top alone, Pantheon, Versailles, Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise, Eiffel Tower but I would not go back unless it was a warm sunny day, sunset or nighttime.

Barcelona top 5 attractions to be toured

Gaudi Sagrada, Gaudi Parc Guell, Gaudi Casa Mila apartment, Gaudi Palau Guell apartment, Castell de Montjuïc at sunset.

1st day in Paris

Going thru customs was quick and painless.  Hit a foreign exchange window to get smaller euros and that came in handy when purchasing the RER ticket from a machine rather than standing in a long line at a ticket counter.

The train trip took about an hour.  Exhausted but triumphant we arrived to the houseboat proud of ourselves for not getting lost. The fact that the houseboat is about 30 feet from the metro stop did help with that.  Our generous host for the week Bob welcomed us aboard the Bateau Simpatico. Over a refreshing glass of wine (Domain Fenelon Cahors) and between nibbles of cheese he advised us that there is an express train which we should have taken.  The express train skips the outer Paris stops and come directly into Paris which would have cut the time in half. Bob is from the USA but has been here in Paris since 1971.  Bob seemed amused at my energetic declaration of boundless energy and determination to hit the town immediately.  2 glasses of wine and 2 hours later I could barely hold my head up as he explained how to use the German washing machine.  Did I hear correctly that a quick wash would take 1 hour? and if  it required a special pill to soften the harsh mineral water and did that mean I should not be drinking water out of the faucet?

Bob left after we downright lied about understanding all of his instructions (okay, not quite true.  I knew to keep the portholes closed and the armoire doors locked.  I had already folded and stowed away the beds coverlet as requested but I was still tripping over that one step to the bedroom and a fear of hobbling around Paris with a sprained ankle would not disappear.  We took a quick 3 hour nap before heading out to see Paris .

Our goal was to hit Place de la Concorde, walk up Avenue des Champ-Elysees, visit the Arc de Triomphe and have a nice meal not on the Champs Elysees .  The 1st signpost we came across was to the Arc Triomphe so plans quickly changed.  First picture taken of me with the Eiffel Tower showed us that the 4gig memory card we had purchased for the camera was defective and reading that memory was full. No files found to delete and error formatting. Okay....no biggie, a few curses and great pep talk from me about the merits downloading other people’s pictures off the internet which would probably be better than the ones we took anyway saw us back on track.

We saw a sign that said Concorde so we changed plans again and went that way instead.  Back on schedule we thought.

It was a chilly but exhilarating walk in which we zig zagged our way through charming side streets until we bumbled our way to Champ-Elysees.  Hmmm where did  Place de la Concorde go?  As we debated which direction to go in we saw the Arc de Triomphe stood not even 100 yards away. Apparently we did a lot more zigging than zagging.

Best photo op was from the middle of the street were we found ourselves taking the last picture we could fit onto our now defunct cameras limited drive space. Several curses about the fate of the camera and another pep talk had us deciding to save the visit to the top of the Arc for another night and off down the other side of  Champs Elysees towards Place Concorde.

We had passed several restaurants on the side streets before Champs d Elysees. Guidebooks will tell you these are the best places to eat and to avoid the tourist trap places.  We ignored them as the menus were all in French which was a bit intimidating and also food just becomes a source of fuel when we are traveling. We rarely eat until we are starving.  

We joined the other hundreds of people who apparently ignored the same good advice and finally gave into our hunger and selected an outdoor eatery.    I can't say I am sorry as the wine our waiter suggested saint something and my beof bourgionone stew were both delicious.  My husband’s steak which he ordered as medium rare was tough and rare.  He is not as finicky as I am about steaks so if I knew the name of the place I would warn you of that but as you know my camera was not working and I had intended to use that to help me with this journal. After paying the bill and waiting for our 3 euros in change which suddenly had turned our waiter into a missing person we left.    We made it less than a 1/4 mile before stopping off at another little café to warm up and this time indoors to have a delicious cup of cafe lait. 3 miles later we finally arrived at the Place de la Concorde.  After gazing in awe at the 3500 year old obelisk from Egypt , reading about the statues and how the site where the ferris wheel now resides is where the guillotine was once used and considered humanitarian we saw the Eiffel Tower beaconing to us and knew it was time to head home. 

Paris at night is beautiful and with the Eiffel Tower in view for most of the walk home we managed not to get lost.

Oops..forgot to do the shopping or to at least pick up a bottle of wine.  There are Starbucks and MacDonalds here but  not one 7 eleven to be found.  Good thing I saved that last glass from the bottle Bob had welcomed us to the boat with.

Crawled into bed tired but delighted with the days events.