|
Monday August 11 - Madrid to Paris
Our departure from Madrid was without incident. The van took us to the airport and we checked into the ticket counter, proceeding to our gate. Elliot's cast is drawing stares everywhere. Many people asked sympathetically about how it happened. Our flight left nearly on time, and we arrived in Paris around 2 pm. Our driver was there to meet us, and he was very friendly and helpful. Nancy greeting him first (in French, of course) and he gave her the best compliment of all - he didn't believe she was American! Her French accent had passed its first test. We drove into Paris, gaping at every turn. We went through a tunnel and the driver pointed out the very spot where Princess Diana had died in the car crash. We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel Du Louvre, and it is indeed impressive: elegant and lush inside with rich fabrics on the walls, beautiful furniture, and marble statues. The rooms are spacious and the bathroom is first rate. We spend some time with the concierge making reservations for various activities and getting information. We leave the hotel for dinner at "Chez Pauline" - it's 2 blocks away, except that Harvey decided Nancy had the directions wrong from the concierge, so we ended up walking twice as far as necessary. Only one problem: it has been 104º in Paris and the restaurant isn't air-conditioned. It's beautifully appointed inside, but we're sweltering. The food is delicious: escargots in a mashed potato pancake, Caesar salad with a French twist, duck with peaches that is out of this world, Jacob loved his fish, and 3 of us had the specialty of the house: beef bourguignon. Desserts were yummy too: crème brulée, raspberry charlotte and chocolate chocolate cake. No coffee - we couldn't wait to get out of there to cool off. We drank 8 bottles of water!!!! We walked back the short route toward the hotel. Nancy and Jacob walked through the gardens of the Royal Palace and sat in chairs around the fountain with dozens of Parisians and other visitors. It cooled off as the sunset, but it never got cool. The sun didn't set until 10 pm. Back to the hotel to renew for our first full day in Paris. |
|
||||||
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | ||||||