Paris, Île-de-France, FranceIn Paris!
Arriving at Gare de Nord train station, I merge into the hustle & bustle of a big city transportation hub.
My destination is not to far as I am transferring to the RER train to reach the Luxembourg station near our hotel, Trianon Rive Gauche. I stop at the tickets machines to buy a carnet of tickets (10-pack). New machines (not green anymore) as Paris is phasing out the paper tickets and moving to the re-loadable plastic cards. This will be the last time I purchase a carnet of tickets. Things are always changing....
When I arrive to the platform, the train is there so I hop on before the doors close. Three stops and I’m at my destination. Now it’s about a 7 minute walk to the hotel and I’m walking in the doors!
Holly & Cindy are already here! They have been waiting for me to arrive since their flight into Paris CDG airport from Detroit arrived about an hour early and they breezed through passport control, baggage pick up and customs. They visited the Cluny Museum while waiting for me.
It is so nice to see my travel buddies here in Paris! This is Holly’s very first time in France. So exciting! Cindy and I were in Paris together with the boys (my son and nephew) back in April 2016.
Glad to be back! Looking forward to all the fun ahead ...
At the hotel, our rooms are not yet ready so we leave our bags in the storage room. I take care of some communication about my sunglasses with the host in Beauvais. I remembered that I have an old pair of sunglasses packed in my suitcase so it’s not necessary for me to leave Paris tonight and take the hour train back and forth to retrieve my sunglasses. Plus there isn’t a train that leaves after our golf cart tour so I really don’t want to have to do that.... so with these old spare pair, I can manage. I messaged the host to find out if he could mail the sunglasses to our guesthouse in Vouvray France where we will be staying from July 18 to July 23. Perfect he says... will get there quick since it’s close in France and not cost a fortune. Problem solved. Now I just have to wear these ugly old sunglasses until we arrive in Vouvray!
Off we go... we are ready to explore Paris!
Our first stop is a bakery for some lunch - it is said to have gluten-free options and it’s nearby our hotel.
There are indeed a few bread and cookie options in the store but we all opt for the prepared salads instead because they look delicious .... watermelon, tomato & feta and pesto chicken. We also hit the little grocery for some drinks. In a little park by a church we find a bench to sit and eat our lunch. A little food to nourish our bellies is a good thing.
Next we are off to see some art at the Musee Marmottan Monet. It’s a small museum in an old hunting lodge across town. The plan is to take the RER train. We find the platform but the train is not coming. The train seems to be interrupted for some reason that we cannot figure out but all the trains coming are not going to the stop we need... so we decide to get back up above ground and hop in a taxi. In short order after riding through crazy Paris traffic we are at the museum. There is no line so we walk in. This little museum is beautiful. The old villa is amazing and the art.... well, the whole bottom level is filled with the largest collection of Monet paintings in one place. We spend quite a bit of time enjoying this little museum. It’s wonderful. By the time we are ready to leave there is a pretty sizable queue out the door. We got here just in time!
We walked through a park and saw many French people enjoying this beautiful day. There were little activities for the children set out. We saw ponies and donkeys that children could ride. We found the taxi stand and hopped in the first one to take us back to the hotel for check-in.
On the way we passed by the Eiffel Tower!
After check-in and settling in to our rooms, we are off to meet up with our guide Julian. We are going on a 2-hour tour of little places in Paris on a golf cart. A great way to avoid too much walking after a long haul flight. We pass by Notre Dame and are saddened by the poor state it is in due to the fire in April that destroyed the roof and spire.
Julian and the golf cart are super fun! We visit little hidden places while Julian shares a bit about Paris life. We see the Marais and much of the left bank / St Germaine area. We visit the Roman arena tucked behind some buildings where French people come to play and relax. It’s super fantastic! After our tour, Julian walks us near to where some restaurants are .... we are in the Marais and he suggests a restaurant down a little side street. We each enjoy a wonderful Aperol Spritz. Dinner is a burrata, pesto and tomato plate and salmon with salad for Cindy & I to share (yum!). Holly enjoys a steak with French fries. After our nice meal, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower by Metro. There are many people here walking around, sitting & enjoying some wine and visiting the tower. The remnants from this weekends horse jumping competition are sitting at the end of the green space. While admiring the tower, we walk around from the back of the Champs de Mars to the front of the tower.
As the day comes to a close, wehead back to our hotel by taxi. Ready for a good night’s rest before our next adventure!
2025-05-22