Friday 13 April 2012
Nicole's Day:
I left with Astrid for school, arising at 8 AM and leaving by 9. We boarded a two-level train that went straight to her building, and although I peeked into her classroom I left Astrid before it started. She gave me directions for the best way to get to Le Marais, a district that I had heard good things about, but I ended up scrapping it after I figured out a route with fewer line switches on the metro (even if it was a longer trip, I appreciated the simplicity).
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She didn't get to look around Belleville (from "The Triplets of Belleville"),
but she did see the metro stop! |
I arrived in Le Marais right near a great museum featuring Matisse and walked around some. I wasn't sure whether or not I would be meeting up with my parents soon, so I killed time while I waited to hear from them. I got a text saying they probably wouldn't come to Sacre Coeur because they wanted to rest their feet some more and were enjoying talking to some people they'd met in the campsite, so I decided to go there myself, not knowing when I'd get back!
There weren't as many artists as I had heard there would be at the top of Sacre Coeur, but the weather was gorgeous and I seized the opportunity to get a banana and Nutella crepe and eat it on the hillside.
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Really the only artists Nicole saw, just comparing
their art pads. |
Back on the metro I traveled to the opera house, made a stop at Gallerie Lafayette (not knowing what I was stepping into, but being very pleasantly surprised), then strolled down the street towards the Louvre with the Palais Garnier in the background. With a quick stop in an American bookstore and a sandwich shop for lunch I ate in the gardens surrounding the Louvre and waited until my parents came. It was a different pace being on my own, but a pleasurable one.
Dian and Charles' Day (and then Nicole): It was hard to remember how many kisses we were up (or down) to but we were pretty sure we were down to two from the three we had been receiving and giving in Holland. These things were only minor blips on the radar of our adventure but we wanted to be correct and not have too many bumped noses. It was strange not having Nicole in the van but Dian and Charles left on the bus (with a borrowed walking stick for Dian from the nearby Dutch couple John and Marion) and they took the metro from the bus stop to the Opera House. The Gallery Lafayette was where Dian and Charles had a coffee and wrote a couple of post cards on the top floor with the magnificent view. (It was also where Dian, her sister and mother had eaten a few years before). They also met a woman named Kristine and her two daughters Parker and Perry and enjoyed chatting with them.
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| Gallerie Lafayette |
In front of the Louvre the family reunited and Charles and Nicole went in after 6PM for a free entry. Dian, who was nursing sore knees and ankles opted to stroll leisurely along the Seine where she bought a vintage Daisy Duck comic book and some old postcards from a vendor. She went to a bizarre comic book store near Hourik’s house then heard, “Dian? Is that you?” It was Hourik who was just returning from work. She opened the door to her apartment and gave Dian a wonderful treat...40 minutes in the Jacuzzi!!! While that was happening Hourik was getting a new refrigerator brought up four flights to her kitchen. Yikes! It nearly fit. Charles and Nicole came to the apartment and with Astrid we all went out for Indian food at Bollywood in the Latin Quarter. It was sensational!
Charles and Dian left Nicole with Astrid and Hourik and took the metro back to the bus stop. On the way back Dian, desperate not to miss the camp shuttle again threw her walking stick in the metro door when she and Charles were about to get stuck inside. It worked and three men pried the inner and outer doors open so Charles and Dian could RUN for the bus. They almost missed it as they had exited on the wrong side of the street but finally the driver had to stop...a block down the road!
Charles returned the walking stick to John and Marion who commented after hearing how their stick had been used, “ Of course, that’s what it’s made for.”
There weren't as many artists as I had heard there would be at the top of Sacre Coeur, but the weather was gorgeous and I seized the opportunity to get a banana and Nutella crepe and eat it on the hillside.
In front of the Louvre the family reunited and Charles and Nicole went in after 6PM for a free entry. Dian, who was nursing sore knees and ankles opted to stroll leisurely along the Seine where she bought a vintage Daisy Duck comic book and some old postcards from a vendor. She went to a bizarre comic book store near Hourik’s house then heard, “Dian? Is that you?” It was Hourik who was just returning from work. She opened the door to her apartment and gave Dian a wonderful treat...40 minutes in the Jacuzzi!!! While that was happening Hourik was getting a new refrigerator brought up four flights to her kitchen. Yikes! It nearly fit. Charles and Nicole came to the apartment and with Astrid we all went out for Indian food at Bollywood in the Latin Quarter. It was sensational!
Bollywood Restaurant:
Back on the metro I traveled to the opera house, made a stop at Gallerie Lafayette (not knowing what I was stepping into, but being very pleasantly surprised), then strolled down the street towards the Louvre with the Palais Garnier in the background. With a quick stop in an American bookstore and a sandwich shop for lunch I ate in the gardens surrounding the Louvre and waited until my parents came. It was a different pace being on my own, but a pleasurable one.
Charles and Dian left Nicole with Astrid and Hourik and took the metro back to the bus stop. On the way back Dian, desperate not to miss the camp shuttle again threw her walking stick in the metro door when she and Charles were about to get stuck inside. It worked and three men pried the inner and outer doors open so Charles and Dian could RUN for the bus. They almost missed it as they had exited on the wrong side of the street but finally the driver had to stop...a block down the road! 
What? No Paris postings yet? This is of course the day that you met Kristine, Perri and Parker in Galeries Lafayette. I enjoyed telling my husband "we met Charles and Dian having coffee!" I was looking for you at Versailles on Saturday, but it is a pretty large place! Happy travels!
ReplyDeleteOf course! Patience, Kristine, we're trying to catch up! We found out later our daughter Nicole came to the same place, Galleries Lafayette, on her own wanderings around Paris that day, about half an hour after us!
ReplyDeleteDidn't make Versailles,had to scoot straight to Surrey to meet our friends there, Mary and
Nigel. Loved chatting with you and the girls, thanks for checking our
blog, and happy trails!