Paris

On Tuesday we drove to the airport and parked at the Parking Spot, which gave us a deal. With Sandi's knee, she lined up a wheelchair, which took us to the Delta Club. The 5:40 PM Air France flight left on time. The premium economy seat was good, and the flight attendants were attentive. We arrived in Paris Wednesday, a bit early, but had to wait for a gate. The young lady who drove the wheelchair was great; we sailed through immigration and customs with priority, and took a taxi to the Hotel Darcet, which we liked, partly due to the employees. The elevator was too small for two people with luggage, however. We had a good lunch at Le Petit Poucet, around the corner, and went to sleep. We had dinner there as well.

On Thursday, we walked to the Montmartre cemetery, which was an interesting above ground cemetery, and found the graves of the painter Degas, and the scientist Foucoult (think pendulum). We continued walking towards the Sacre Coeur church, but turned around, as we were moving slowly. We came back to the hotel, ate, and tried to take a bus to the Louvre, but the bus never came; we took a taxi. 

 The Louvre was amazing, huge, hard to get your head around, and hard to navigate. We enjoyed being in the castle moat, and seeing the Louvre Couture exhibit, which put designer clothes in the midst of Napoleonic settings. We tried to take a bus back, but it did not show up, so we took a taxi. Sandi had walked too much; my phone said 7 miles! We had dinner at Little Italy, near our hotel.

Friday Sandi decided to stay in the room and rest her knee. We had breakfast at Le Petit Poucet again; it is a classic sidewalk cafe. Richard took a bus to his favorite, the Musee d'Orsay. He was interested in photos from 1945, showing the return of prisoners to Paris. The Impressionists were impressive as usual. The Musee d'Orsay is generally works from 1800 on, and is in an old railroad station, a dramatic metal and glass structure built in 1900. Richard and Sandi had dinner at Mont Liban, a Lebanese restaurant, where we chatted about Trump with Catherine, a Parisian exploring the neighborhood.

 

On Saturday, we took a taxi to the Batobus, which is a hop-on hop-off tour boat on the Seine. We caught it near the Eiffel Tower, and continued to Invalides, where we ate an excellent meal at a Lebanese restaurant. A bag in the store window caught Sandi's attention, so we stopped and talked to the artist for some time, and bought a few bags. 

 We got back on the Batobus to Notre Dame, where we were able to go to mass. We took a taxi back to our hotel, and packed to go to visit our friends in the country.