The best birthday trip EVER - Day 1

I slipped into my window seat on the Air France flight(yes, I made Big Daddy sit in the middle seat) with my American expectations and limited international flight experience. I was prepared for a stuffy, uncomfortable flight in steerage coach, getting little sleep, to arrive in Paris looking and feeling like a crumpled greasy sandwich wrapper.

Air France was so much different than Continental, Delta, American or Northwest. I had my own little tv on the headrest on the seat in front of me. I had a pillow and blanket in my seat, waiting for me to arrive. They served a hot, fabulous meal that started with champagne. I had wine with dinner, then coffee afterward (all complimentary). I watched a couple of movies, then took my Extra-Strength Benadryl and went to sleep....for 3 hours. I woke up just in time for the breakfast service, which was pastries and juice. (No coffee was served because we had a turbulent landing.....Air France didn't want me to spill hot coffee on myself......Air France is a little concerned with safety these days, and I'm sure you know why.)

We arrived at 8:35 am, Paris time, feeling tired, but ready for a full day of sight-seeing. Charles De-Gaulle airport is the worst airport I've ever been through. We took a bus from our Boeing 777 to the terminal. We made it through customs, found our bags and our driver and headed into Paris.

Paris traffic, that is.

It took us over an hour to get from CDG to our hotel, Hotel Relais du Louvre. Our driver threaded his cab through traffic like thread through a needle. I'm sure it could have taken much longer if it hadn't been for his efforts (by the way, I only saw one tiny Land Rover the whole time we were there. Coming from Big State, you notice the shocking lack of SUV's on the road. We did see lots of Chryslers Fiats.)

My friend Craftier and her daughter met us at the hotel (Craftier's husband is a big wig at one of the better known aircraft engine builders, so they were in Paris for the International Air Show. They've been to Paris many times, so they are comfortable enough to rent an apartment and stay in a neighborhood like real Parisians. Craftier speaks French, so that came in quite handy.)

We dropped our bags at the hotel and crossed the street to the Louvre, where we cut through a courtyard and ended up at the big pyramid that is the entrance to the Louvre. We didn't go in. It wasn't on the schedule for Wednesday, the day of our arrival.


We proceeded from the Louvre shortcut to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (one of the three Arcs in Paris. They line up to form a straight line through Paris.), then on to search out Monet's water lilies at the Musee de l'Orangerie.



After securing our Museum Pass, which allowed us unlimited access to the largest, best museums, we wound down a spiral staircase to find the two rooms that were filled with long panels of blue water, dotted flowers and dancing light.


I wish I had taken a photo with me in front of one of the panels to give you the scale of these paintings. Multiple canvases pushed end-to-end to recreate a the vast expanse of the beauty of Giverny.




From there, we walked the Seine, looking for a place to have lunch (and coffee). We left the small sidewalks of the leftbank and descended to the cobblestone docks. As we came to Pont Neuf (literally translated, it means new bridge, but it is the oldest bridge in all of Paris. The turrets were little venues for merchants and performers.)




With food still on our minds, we found this boat that ran a dinner cruise each night. We booked a reservation for Sunday night, concluding that our last night in Paris should be on a boat, enjoying the view of Paris from the Seine. It was an old boat with wood decks and brass fixtures. It wasn't a tourist boat. (Remember, we're in my fantasy world where, while we don't live here, we aren't tourists.)

By this time, we desperately needed food. We needed to find a cafe. And quick. We decided that Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame would be our next sights to see, so we walked that direction.

We found a cafe and had a lunch of ham and goat cheese toasted on bread, wine, and grande creme (my coffee choice for the rest of the trip). Craftier's 11-year-old daughter ordered a cider, which is basically 4.5% alcohol beer. The waitress didn't flinch and brought it to her. Apparently it is common in France for children of this age to begin to drink a little cider at lunch. Since Craftier only let her drink half the bottle, Big Daddy finished it.

After seeing the long line for Saint Chapelle, we moved it from the Day 1 schedule to Day 2, and moved on to Notre Dame.

We went down into the crypt first (crypt + no-flash-policy = no pictures). The crypt shows how the city of Paris has basically been built upon itself multiple times, which I'm sure is true of any ancient city. The ruins of the ancient walls and passages were there. It was cool and not crowded.

We stood in line to climb to the top to meet the gargoyles before actually going inside Notre Dame. It turned out to be a good plan, since it was a hot, sunny day and what better plan is there than to stand on the sidewalk for 45 minutes in order to climb 387 slippery marble circular steps.

At the top, we saw all of Paris, Victor Hugo's Hunchback gargoyles, and the stunning architecture of Notre Dame. We also climbed wooden rickety stairs to see the bell (those stairs weren't numbered, but they were narrow, steep and scary). We were amazed at how these relics have stood the test of time and the ravages of war.

After exploring for a little while, we climbed back down the 387 steps to go inside the Cathedral. It is a working Roman Catholic church. Since we were there during a non-mass time, we were able to see the area behind the altar. It is filled with art and sculpture, ancient confessionals, and areas for private prayer services (little chapels within the catherdral).

This sculpture struck me. Jesus, as man, being placed into his grave, while Mary looks on, as death takes Him and the angel watches. (At least that is what it looked like to me since I can't read the plaque in French and Craftier was off looking at something else.)


Moving, I tell ya.

Here is one of the rose windows, with the candles lit, carrying prayers to our Almighty.




I could have spent a lot of time here, but we were on a marathon and it was only 4 pm. We had many hours to go before we could sleep, and much to see before our 8 pm dinner reservation.

So onward we journeyed, stopping for an ice cream and a coke (it's cheaper to drink wine than coke in Paris, so it was a luxury for me that I would only have one more time. When was the last time you paid $7.50 for one 8 oz glass bottle of coke?)

We wanted to climb all the steep hills of Paris in one day, so we headed for Sacre Coeur next.


Because shopping is always on the schedule of fun, I popped into a hat shop and tried on a few chapeaus. They were HIGH fashion and extremely expensive. I decided that since I only really liked one of them and I want to send my children to college, I left it in the little boutique, knowing that I would find others.

After a climb to the foot of Sacre Coeur, we found this cool, two-story carousel. I had to ride it because I knew that, had my peeps been with me, I would be riding it anyway.


Yes, the sacrifices I make in the name of my peeps.



After a ride on the second level (which really makes you sick), we dodged the street peddlars and climbed the stairs to Sacre Coeur. No photos were allowed at all. There was a striking scene of Jesus painted on the ceiling, highlighted in gold. After a quick tour, we stopped to take photos outside from the steps of the church, with our backs to the city of Paris. It was a sunny day, and I had problems with the lighting in our photos, so this one had to do.



We gathered our strength to climb down from Sacre Coeur, staircases leading to platforms leading to staircases leading to platforms......you get the idea.......



......until we ended up at the Fondue Restaurant, 12 full hours and over 25,000 steps (according to Craftier's pedometer) since we touched down in Paris. It was 8 pm and the sun wouldn't go down for another hour and a half. Dinner would take 3 hours (as it did every night).



This was a weird little place. There were 2 long tables that lined either side of the bowling alley lane room. The thinest ladies and children were required to use a chair to step over the table(thank goodness I had on pants) to sit in a straight-backed bench along the wall, where the proprieter shoved the table against you so tightly that it almost felt like he was tucking you into bed. He then brought us cheese in a pot to dip our bread in, and hot grease in pots to dip our raw meat in.

Then he brought the wine.

In baby bottles.

With the nipple cut open.




He said his years of experience taught him that stepping over the table usually led to spilled wine (who couldn't see that coming?) and that this baby bottle solution had worked really well.

Folks, my baby bottle fell over no less than 3 times when new patrons arrived and stepped over the table. I didn't lose a drop.


Notice that the guys were required to drink from the bottles as well. The boys called the clinking of three bottles together a Triple Nipple.



I drank two baby bottles of white wine with my bread, cheese and meat. The entire restaurant sang Happy Birthday to me in French. I even had a little candle on my chocolate cake. I was in sheer heaven! Happy Birthday in French, sang to me by French people in a quirky neighborhood French restaurant.

I can die now.

I was too drunk, bleary-eyed and exhausted, so I forgot to sign the wall, as is the custom with the patrons of Refuge des Fondus.

Our happy guides led us back up to Sacre Coeur to see the lights of Paris. (That photo didn't turn out well, but what photo does turn out well when you've had too much wine and not enough sleep?)

We finally made it back to our hotel at 12 am, one of our earliest nights to return as it turned out. We settled into our comfy beds, to sleep off Day 1 and prepare for Day 2.