PAris – Lees in France

Last Day in Paris

May 31, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Our final day in Paris was spent together, apart and together again. We made our way to the Montmartre area with a few stops along the way. We really have been spoiled with touring on less crowded days. Today was Saturday and the crowds began early.

The artist area up top was interesting to walk around. I enjoyed seeing the variety of art expressed by the artists. The crowds were too much for the kids so we found refuge in a church courtyard. Randy on the other hand enjoyed being amongst the crowds and artists. After lunch he wanted to return to the artist square and the kids decided to join him. See ya, I was off to find adventure in different parts of the city for a few hours.

They found a sinking house optical illusion near a nifty pink car, a bakery on a corner, a windmill, one of Van Gogh’s hangouts, and a craft brewery spot for an afternoon sip.

I found broken down metros(#1), Arc de Triumphe, and a long walk to the Jardins du Trocadero across from the Eiffel.

I wanted to see a library so I ventured to The American Library in Paris. Guess what, it was private, therefore not allowing me or any guest to enter (#2). I walked and walked and could not find a place I wanted to grab lunch (#3). I finally opted for a small grocery store with hot rotisserie chicken and potatoes, a baguette, freshly squeezed OJ, and wooden cutlery for 7 Euros. I managed to find a bench to rest upon in the shade while I ate and people watched. My last stop before I headed to the hotel for luggage was the Chateau of Vincennes where I saw sheep. Despite spending just about 365 days 24/7 with my family I missed them today, especially during my 3 frustrations. On the train home we saw fields and fields of yellow rapeseed.

Paris Day 3 Evening

May 26, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Tonight we chose to experience the Louvre during the extended hours, hoping for a smaller crowd. Mazie was so excited to see the glass pyramid.

It was a fast paced experience for us. We saw the Mona Lisa. Two of us waited to get a front row standing photo op. The other 2 were ready to find a corner and wait.

We strolled through the French Painting Hallway over and over trying to exit and find landscape paintings. Freedom guiding the people AKA Liberty Leading the People 1830, depicting the citizens as noble, beautiful and great. This painting has inspired the Statue of Liberty, Les Misérbales, ColdPlay’s Album cover.

The sun was setting, displaying a beautiful array of colors. The King’s crown and the sunset share a similar color pallet.

We decided to speed walk to the Egyptian wing however we arrived too late to enter. Mazie did get some photos of things we sped past before taking the escalator outside.

Versailles

May 26, 2023Michelle Lee2 Comments

Day 3 We began this morning with closed metro stations and extra walking. We finally ended up in Versailles. Before heading in we found a cafe under big sycamore trees and fueled our bodies.

Our tickets were for the garden only. None of us wanted to see the palace. The gardens were HUGE. The photo caption with Randy and Zach would read: New photo enhancements magically erase unwanted images, yet leave the shadows. I found this hilarious and kept it.

We think that the horses were doing a photo shoot

The sun was warm. We skipped the lines for the petite on/off train and golf carts. Once at the bottom, we scored a golf cart without a line. The golf cart was the same price as renting 4 bikes, plus it is more fun to ride. Randy said where to? I said I only wanted to see Queen Marie Antionnette’s hideaway village and musical water fountains. We took off for the village dodging walkers, bike riders, and barrier markings.

This is my all time favorite place in Paris. I could live here or at least visit weekly being surrounded by beauty and seclusion. I wish we had more time to explore slower and relax in the beauty.

The golf cart came in handy especially since some of us were struggling with sore legs. We managed to come across an active musical water fountain. So lovely indeed.

Getting the cart back to the regional start was a feat of its own. Although we had total control of the cart it did come with sensors and limitations. These sensors shut the power to the cart off if we drove off the prescribed path. This did happen a few times. Once we had to actually push the cart…good grief. Total embarrassment followed by uncontrollable laughter on my part. AND MAZIE SAYS HIIIIII!!!!!

Paris afternoon and night

May 21, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Walking around we found the monument of the 1793 beheadings of King Louis XVI and Marie Antionette. Place de la Concorde is situated at the end of the Champs-Elysées. This is also the route of the last stage of Le Tour de France. The Obelisk is known for its Egyptian antiquity dating between 1500-1180. This is the oldest monument in Paris, installed in 1836, a gift of good understanding from Egypt.

Later we found a statue of Thomas Jefferson which was surprising to us, cue the Hamilton soundtrack. Although Zach does not look happy he was delighted to grab dinner at the exact Chipotle we visited in August upon arriving.

We ended the night on the Seine River cruise. We actually took an earlier one due to rain and exhaustion. We did not get to see the Eiffel lit up on the boat ride, however we did see it as we were walking to the Metro and home. It was good to go early because the rain was cold…and wet.

Paris-Eiffel Tower

May 20, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Night 1 and Day 2 Morning

Our family doesn’t like to be on-the-go at a fast pace when visiting cities. My quandary lies in visiting a HUGE city, deciding what to visit, how to avoid crowds, managing expectations, riding public transportation, and having four different opinions.

We opted for 2 ticketed events per day, one in the morning and one in the evening to bookend our days. This allowed for meandering, cafe food breaks, stores to visit, and the slower pace. We also stayed on the eastern side of Paris, allowing us to retreat from crowds, which saved us money in hotel rates, yet caused us to ride the metro longer each day. Night 1 we arrived after the kids’ school day. This was our first time traveling late on trains. We are not fans of the end of the day train bathrooms and overall cleanliness. We found our hotel, and walked to a local Italian restaurant that we all enjoyed.

Day 2 began with Eiffel Tower elevator tickets to floor 2 and the top.

Zach was not impressed. He thought it would be higher. It is 3x the size of the Kings Dominion Eiffel Tower. We rode to level 2 and walked around. We rode to the top and walked around.

We rode back down to level 2. Then took the stairs down to level 1. The boys continued down while Mazie and I visited gift shops. Her love of giving gifts found us buying an Eiffle keychain and a baguette shaped pen for Zach. We located the boys from level 1, then took to the stairs.

Day 7- April 4

May 5, 2023May 5, 2023Michelle Lee1 Comment

Drive to Paris, French strike implications, train to Lourdes, ride to Pyrenees

Today was a travel day for us. We all said our goodbyes to the Rogers family in the wee hours of the morning. A travel center on the way allowed us to fuel up and indulge in a bonus self serve Starbucks!! We lived, laughed, and loved for 7 days. We ate, drank and were merry for 7 days as well! Our hearts and souls were full with friends and fellowship.

We saw key sightseeing places along the way to the car rental in Paris.

Princess Diana Memorial Flame and the Eiffel Tower

Then we ventured south to the Pyrenees to rendezvous with my sister and family.

France has had a lot of strikes more recently due to the president raising the retirement age. Fortunately in France there is a law in place that mandates a 48 hour notice of strikes. Our train from Paris to Lourdes was canceled a few days ago. Randy quickly rearranged our tickets and placed us on a different train route. Our new route went from Paris to Bordeaux and Bordeaux to Lordes. The first leg was normal. The second leg was an experience that was blog worthy for sure and here it comes….

Ohhhhh Laaa Laaaa the train prior to us was canceled. The train after us was canceled. Therefore three trains were crammed into one train without seat assignments. Unfortunately, our train was packed like sardines. Fortunately, we had seats. Randy stood the whole time. All this to say for 3 hours we rode in the luggage rack. Unfortunately, my face was 12 inches from a guy’s bottom for 3 hours. I know what you readers are all thinking…fortunately he did not fart! I enjoyed facial expressions and eye contact with the lady next to me. Fortunately the kids enjoyed the luggage rack. Zach even found a way to relax with his head resting between luggage and the rack.

At last, we arrived in Lourdes!!! It was so good to see Jan and family. We rode in a nine passenger van on hairpin turns at dusk. For the next two nights we will be in the Pyrenees with cousins and my sister and brother in law.