Rue Cler, Paris

Arrived from Gare du Nord at our local Metro station, Ecole Militaire, to find the sidewalks and the roads dug up and the post office completely sheathed in plastic. Apparently when they say that the French go on vacation in August, they do mean ALL of the French people. And, they leave all of their projects just waiting for their return. We think all of the road workers, street sweepers and parks maintenance guys must be on holiday in the Canary Islands! We joked to each other in London that France must be empty because they were all in London. Little did we know...

In the neighborhood where we are staying, Rue Cler (7th arrondissement), about half of the stores are closed--just a little paper sign in the window "annual leave, return Sept 2". Luckily, our favorite restaurants, Cafe du Marche (seen here)

and Rouissillion) are open! Our hotel, the Hotel du Cadran, which is new to us, is great. It is all new and modern inside and has an elevator, queen-sized beds that you can walk around, showers that you can turn around in, safes, closets and a/c--what more do you need? Oh, and on level -1, which we believe was formerly the wine cellar, or maybe a dungeon, is the breakfast room where we had a delicious Parisian breakfast. 

Our first full day in Paris and we whipped out our carnet of metro tickets and headed for Notre Dame. Unfortunately, when we tried to make our metro to RER connection, we discovered that the line we wanted is closed for renovations, so plan B--find the replacement bus. 

We put our best feet forward at the center of Paris

and marveled at the architecture of the Cathedral. How did they get those ceilings so high back in the 1200's?

Notre Dame

We visited the Monument to Deportation which remembers the 200,000 French Jews deported to Nazi concentration camps.

Crossing the bridge of locks (we are not sure of the name, but the bridge is covered in locks with couples names on them) we wondered how often they have to come out with bolt-cutters and remove them as most of these were relatively recent.

We even saw one couple, in full wedding regalia, attaching their lock.

Wandering down Rue St. Germain we were lured into a cafe for Citron et sucre Crepes! Just a little snack to keep body and soul together. Onward to the Luxembourg gardens to enjoy a typical Parisian Saturday afternoon--we sat in the sun and watched the kids play with the boats.

Back on the metro, including changing lines, to the Riverfront to take a boat ride on the Seine. 

We again marveled at the fabulous architecture--especially our favorite "Pont Alexandre III"  which looked as if the gold leaf had just been re-done!

Finishing our itinerary for the afternoon we strolled under the Eiffel Tower,

down the park, and collapsed into a cafe for some wine and cheese--we cannot identify it but it was smelly and delicious! The cheese that is. The wine was just delicious. It should hold us until dinner! After which we are heading back to the Eiffel Tower!

Fritz's shot while we waited in line for tickets.

Top of the tower 10:45pm

Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower

We slept well after this full day!

All the rest of London

I am having trouble keeping up with everything we are doing. We are now in Paris having arrived on the Eurostar-from-hell (multiple toddlers screeching for 3 hours, plus the small boy kitty-corner to me throwing up all over everywhere, plus riding backwards). So, before I forget completely, please excuse me if I cobble together some of our London adventures into a collage of miscellaneous events.

One day we went up the Thames (down the Thames?) by boat to Greenwich. It was a beautiful day so we sat on the top and enjoyed the scenery. Starting at Westminster we saw The Eye, The Belfast, both London and Tower bridges, many of the great riverside pubs, the Tower of London and all of the new building at Canary Wharf. I wouldn't have recognized the area. It seems like every major domestic and foreign bank has a tower there.

In Greenwich we did the obligatory hike to the observatory, but declined to pay £10 each to stand with one foot in the Eastern hemisphere and one in the Western. Here we are at the clock.

We visited the Naval College and admired the ceiling in the dining hall that took 19 years to paint--sounds like some of our projects! 

And the chapel with exquisite detailing!

It's hard to believe that this place was originally built to house retired military officers.

In Greenwich we also visited the Naval Museum, which is next door to the college. It has lots of new displays since the last time we came and especially liked some of the things for kids (no comments necessary).

And, don't forget the Cutty Sark is on display at Greenwich too!

Back in town we went to Evensong at St Paul's cathedral. We felt that we had to give the C of E (Church of England) equal time since we went to mass in Galway. The music was beautiful, the service was a speedy 40 minutes long, and the vicar was a woman--3 stars! Plus, we think we were sitting right about where the Queen of England sat during Charles and Diana's wedding. And, did I mention that it was The St. Paul's Cathedral. The one where they have been holding services for the past 1400 years!!! 3 more stars--at least!

The Churchill War Rooms definitely warrant a visit! We all keep commenting how much we learned and how fascinating and accomplished a person he really was. Did you know that, at one point in his early career, he was the highest paid journalist in the world?

The War rooms have been restored to exactly as they were during the war. It's humbling to realize that the decisions made in those underground rooms have affected how we are living our lives today.

Lastly, but definitely for me not least, we were able to spend time with some of my family who drove down from Coventry to have lunch with us. Living continents apart we don't get to see each other nearly often enough, so it was really special that they braved the motorways and London traffic to come and hang out with us. Thanks to Frank, Muriel, James, Liam, Toby and Oliver for a great time!

London we will miss you--until next time--Cheerio!

The Tube

Like fish to water, we have taken to the Tube! 

While we were topping up our pre-paid Oyster cards the other day, the very British gentleman in the suit buying his full-fare ticket at the machine next to us said "Oh, you have the card--very good--I still haven't got one!" Silly man!

We have thoroughly enjoyed zipping here and there, changing lines, and negotiating stations and jam-packed platforms. We even know where the lights go out as you round the bend on the Circle line. We really like the deep platforms, especially the ones that run under the Thames.

There was only one mis-step, on our first day, before we realized that the platform we were on shared both the Circle going West (yellow), which we wanted, with the District going East (green), which we didn't--and we took the first train that came along and it was the wrong one! Oh well, one stop, reverse route--no worries!

We do not particularly like the miles-long passageways at Bank--so we avoided the Northern line (black) to Bank by taking the Jubilee line (gray) from London Bridge and changing at Westminster for the Circle (old but reliable).  

London Bridge is the oldest station, and as the Tube is 150 years old they are renovating it piece by piece. The Jubilee line at London Bridge has fancy new barricades so that you can't fall onto the tracks. They only open when the train doors open. On other lines they still remind you to "Mind The Gap,"

Our other stand-by is the Central line (red) as it goes to Notting Hill Gate and we are right between that station and Kensington High Street. However, Tom likes Kensington High Street better because we pass a couple of good bakeries, a gelato place, and the Greek deli with the feta and mushroom phyllo roll-ups. 

You will be happy to know that the station just outside Harrod's is for the Piccadilly line (blue), change at South Kensington for the Circle.

We did actually do some above-ground sightseeing while we were in London, we were just really glad that we were able to get to those above-ground destinations via the Tube!

Pubs in London

We have been told that there are 7,000 pubs in London. By our estimation that means that you could try a different one for lunch and dinner every day, and it would still take you 10 years to try them all. Well, they are always saying that you should challenge yourself...

We have taste tested a scant few since our arrival, but here are a few. Our locals in Kensington:

 Churchill Arms, great Thai food

The Old Swan 

The Prince of Wales, favorite Ploughman's lunch

We went to The Anchor in Southwark which was Shakespeare's favorite pub.

Had a lovely lunch in Greenwich in the garden at the Kings Arms

We met up with my Elkins relatives near Marble Arch and went to Wetherspoons. This was fun because a pint of Guinness, or whatever, came included with lunch! Plus, the lads liked the chocolate fudge cake!

It is our considered opinion that there is nothing at home that is comparable to a pub. Much the pity!