A Trip To Paris

Kim and I just got back from a really fun trip to Paris. We both had a really good time, and enjoyed everything about the trip. Tons of pictures at 2010 Summer-Paris

The Flight

From 2010 Summer-Paris Air Canada did a good job. We were two hours late leaving Toronto for the the red-eye to Paris. That was just a good excuse to have a couple of extra drinks, which meant that I actually managed to sleep for a couple of hours. The trip back home left within minutes of the scheduled departure time, and the service was great. Between the two legs of the flight, I killed my iPod battery, and got to listen to a bunch of great music I had not had a chance to listen to for awhile. A funny think happened getting to the airport. The cab driver did not know how to use his terminal to do a credit transaction - he kept trying debit. So, eventually I am standing outside the cab with Kim inside trying to sort this out, the guy moves the cab, and drives right over my left foot. Thank God for high profile tires - while it hurt for a minute - no injury. I ended up running inside the airport and getting cash from an ATM.  One of several little technology glitches.

The Hotel

Kim spend hours finding a hotel that was "just right". I would have to say "Missioned Accomplished". We ended up at the Hotel Sevres Saint Germain, and it was great. Friendly staff, clean, good continental breakfast, perfect location, and a nice little air conditioned room with wireless and a little fridge. Perfect.

The Museums

Wow, what an amazing city for museums. You could spend weeks looking at museums. I am going to mention some highlights, but this list is far from exhaustive - there was so much to seee that impressed at all of the museums we visited.

We started out with a trip to the Musee d'Orsay. The architecture of this building is just amazing. It started its life as an old railway station, and has high vaulted concourses with tons of natural light. I think the highlights for me were Vincent Van Gogh's Self Portrait, and a statue called The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

From 2010 Summer-Paris Next, we walked past the Rodan Museem, and had a look at "The Thinker" in the garden. Just gorgeous. Unfortunately, we picked a day where the museum was closed, so all we saw was the gardens.

Then, we spent a few hours wandering around the Musee de l'Orangerie. Also very impressive. The ground floor is two galleries. Each gallery features 4 very large Monet painting of the famous lily pond and trees of his estate. For me, the lower level was the real treat. It features the collection of the famous collector Paul Guillaume. I really enjoyed that a lot

From 2010 Summer-Paris Last, and far from least, we spent about 5 1/2 hours doing a quick swing through about 50% of the Louvre. What an unbelievable place. Such a huge collection of amazing art. Tons of things to see and talk about. I guess, to pick just one - I have to mention Winged Victory of Samothrace. But, flick through the pictures posted - there are just tons of amazing things to see.

The City and its Landmarks What a great place to walk around. So much to see, so much great architecure. You see all kind of things that are just great, and it is so much fun to just walk - it is really a city built for walking.

From 2010 Summer-Paris The Tour Eiffel - well worth the 40 minute wait in line to ride up the elevator. I got some great photos - have a look.

From 2010 Summer-Paris The Arc de Triomphe is really impressive. After you climb the 284 stairs, you really appreciate the view.

From 2010 Summer-Paris Notre Dame is an amazing piece of architecture. Have a look at the pictures, but face it, you need to go there and see it to really appreciate it. Thank heavens, we decided to not climb the 400 stairs to the top of the stepple.

From 2010 Summer-Paris We went to Moulin Rouge, had a great dinner, and really enjoyed the show. Lots of fun!

From 2010 Summer-Paris Spent a few hours wondering around Montmartre - great places to see some art, get some food, and of course Sacre Couer

Food We had two really great meals, and one really good one. We also had some "Ahh" meals.

From 2010 Summer-Paris For sure, our best meal was at "Le Petit Zinc". A great seafood dinner - expensive and worth it. We shared this gigantic platter of different kinds of shell fish - including some little snails in the shell, and another kind of big snail in a shell - we had not tried these before - they were great. Also, oysters, clams, crab, mussells, shrimp, and likely something else I am forgetting. Really, Really Good!

From 2010 Summer-Paris We also had a really nice meal at le "Relais de l'Entrecote". They serve one dish - beef tenderloan with an amazing sauce, served with french fries and salad. You pick the wine and the desert you want to have with it. It was great.

We also had a nice meal at a place called "Le Rousseau". I had s steak with another yummy rich french sauce on it, and Kim had mussells with a cheese sauce baked on them. We really liked our meals.

Vimy Ridge

From 2010 Summer-Paris This was a very moving trip. The only side trip out of Paris, and well worth it. Truley something worth seeing.

C'est Fini Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. We had fun. If you get a chance - go to Paris