A last wander around Paris

We learned that getting a taxi on a Tuesday morning in Avranches was, like most things in this town, difficult.  Fortunately the hotel desk person worked her magic and we made it to the train station for our ride back to Paris.  I wouldn't have minded walking the mile, but it included stairs down a cliff!  Geesh!


After finding the hotel, just steps from the Gare du Nord, we took the metro to see the Catacombs.   We actually stopped at McDonald's nearby for lunch first, which was not as fun menu-wise as a trip to McD's can sometimes be in other countries.  If I closed my eyes I could have sworn my filet-o-fish came from the McDonald's on Snelling in Roseville, off-center cheese and everything.  I do, however, really like their system for ordering from a kiosk.

We found the Catacombs door and were greeted by a sign saying they were closed that day and the next.  About 40 people must have showed up in the 5 minutes we stood there, deciding what to do.  This is a popular site, what a disappointment!

I then did something I never considered before in Paris, we got out the map and decided to walk somewhere instead of going back underground.  I had no idea how truly small the city was.   We walked straight up the grand boulevard we were on in the direction of the Luxumburg Gardens.  We had been there already to see the Tour de France photography, but hadn't walked through the gardens themselves.  The walk was easy and we enjoyed the gardens (again). 

We did some shopping and continued on up toward the Seine.  We never really went by Notre Dame the week before, so we decided to walk by.  En route we had a last crepe and generally just enjoyed looking around.   As we neared the cathedral, we saw/heard many emergency vehicles go by.     We learned later that a man had shot and killed himself on the alter at Notre Dame.  We had no interest in going in, but did see the crowds and ambulance.   I am grateful we missing seeing that.

We checked out the rest of the island and proceeded north to the other side of the Seine.  We decided to walk towards the Bastille (well, the area, the thing itself is gone of course).   We walked around the Hotel de Ville and noticed signs for an exposition.  Turns out it was free, so we went in.  We couldn't read the displays but I always enjoy looking at fashion history.  I am so glad Bob doesn't hate this kind of thing.  We are becoming experts on Yves St. Laurent (see Denver blog post).

I like these new Metro signs.  I am going to print one of the pictures and hang it up in my house.  I hope no one thinks  it's a sign for McDonald's...

 I didn't know the stretch between Hotel de Ville and Bastille was going to have good shopping.  Finally I got myself a few French clothes and some final souvenirs. 

We made it to the monument for the Bastille.   There was a concert being set-up, and a major traffic jam, not very charming.

 After a lot more walking, we made it back to our hotel and found a restaurant.  This time a Basque-style menu.  I had tuna (can't recommend it...)

 Bob had a casserole.  They really know beans and spices!  It was really good.

This is the view from our hotel room.  The elevator to the 6th floor was really scary, as was the spiral staircase right outside our door.  I wouldn't recommend this hotel, so I won't even bother giving the name.

We left the next morning on the metro for the airport.   I wished we had taken a shuttle because the train was not a lot cheaper and managing big suitcases on the train is a pain.  Getting to the CDG airport in Paris is a long ordeal, but this time we made it with about 20 minutes to spare  before boarding and got on our  direct flight.  It was SO awesome to not have to stop in another city and we made it home with time to get settled and ready to get back to real life.