Europe 10-02-09

Off to Paris!

We left London bright and early in order to catch the train to Paris. We could easily tell that we arrived since no one spoke English. We transferred to an underground train, but experienced a little difficulty interpreting the train schedule. People tried to be helpful; however, they did not know what we were saying. Once we finally got to our destination, we were not able to get out of the turnstile. A gentleman was kind enough to help us by letting us use his transit pass. We went to the information desk – no help. He directed us to go outside the train station and to the left. This led us to the parking lot. Not helpful. We began our long journey to find our hotel which consisted of several high stairways along the way. Back to asking people for help; we were misdirected by a very helpful couple and ended up on the opposite side of town. It seemed that every few feet, there were stairs. We then asked a Real Estate Agent that was very helpful. We didn’t want to go back the way that we came because of all of the stairs. Stairs are not fun when you have lots of luggage. We had too much luggage. Instead, he directed us to our hotel using a longer path that did not have stairs. We found it. We must have walked a mile and the hotel was probably less than a quarter mile away from the train station. We finally found the place around three in the afternoon. It was too late to do anything so we just walked around town. Nice little quaint town; delightful! Small, narrow streets with small shops. In the center of this little town was a large empty area. It is probably used as occasional entertainment by bands or other types of entertainment. There sat in the corner a small merry-go-round that some children were riding on. We walked back to the train station in order to insure that we could find it – we did and found that is was very close to the hotel.

The next day, we figured that we could take the long way around to get to the train station (probably a mile) or we could take a short cut (about 5 or 6 flights of stairs – with luggage). We opted for the stairs. Fortunately, a kind gentleman offered to take our largest piece of luggage. We struggled on the trains, with luggage, during morning rush hour traffic. After a couple of transfers, we were on the right train toward our next hotel destination. When we arrived, we were lost for only a few minutes. We were in a very small town with an old country charm. There was an abandoned castle surrounded by a few small shops. I stopped at the bakery to buy a home baked loaf of French bread – yummm. We located our hotel, dropped off the luggage, and off to Paree! We began our tour at Norte Dame. Awesome! The stained glass windows, the paintings, the sculptures! The surrounding sights of the city were mid-evil with so much artwork all over. Little shops, outside cafes, and souvenir stands everywhere. We took a riverboat over to the Eiffel Tower. The line to go to the top was estimated to be an hour. We decided to climb. We got to the first floor (huffing and puffing) and found that the height wasn’t too bad. We took an elevator to the next floor for some picture taking. Still no dizziness. We pondered… Should we or shouldn’t we? We did. We went to the top. Spectacular! It was a little hazy, but the weather was excellent. You could see for miles. We tried to identify the various historical monuments using the maps along the walls. Then, back down. It was getting late, so we hopped back on to the riverboat. The boat ride was really nice because we could see a lot from the river. The Louve, Champs-Elysees Avenue with the golden lions stands at the bridge entrances. Also, the artistry on the bridges that is often overlooked when walking along the streets. Back to the train and then to the hotel.

The next morning, we were up while it was still dark. The little town was beginning to set up their food stands in the middle of town. The whole town was enchanting! We were picked up by our balloon guide for an adventure in the air. He took us to a small field as we watched him and his partner set up the balloon. We floated over the forest, spotted a wild boar, took pictures of a flock of geese in a nearby farm, and bumped into a tree or two. It was a bit windy and overcast; but not too cold. It was still a wonderful experience. We shared this experience with a delightful couple celebrating a milestone birthday (50 years old). After landing, we toasted to the experience with a bit of champagne and cookies. Back to the train. The guide and fellow ballooner helped us to our train. Each carried a piece of our luggage to the track which was down a flight of stairs and back up again on the other side of the railroad tracks. Wow – what generosity!

Off to Zurich