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Tuesday August 11 - Paris
We went downstairs and had buffet breakfast quickly. We met our driver, David, who was taking us on a 4-hour tour of the city. He was very friendly and had lots of interesting and valuable information. Jacob had trouble understanding him. We were extremely lucky because there was virtually no traffic. We saw all of Paris, including the Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe, the Bastille monument, Notre Dame, the Marais district with its oldest house in Paris, an incredible Patisserie called Ladurée founded in 1862, where we bought some pastries much to Jacob's chagrin. We saw the original Statue of Liberty, the Musée d'Orsay, the Rodin Museum, the Champs Elysées, Montmartre (which had a beautiful overlook of the city, but it was so hot that the haze dimmed the view), Sacré Coeur, the Sorbonne, Tati (the Wal-Mart of Paris and a full city block long), Rue de Rivoli (Paris' 5th Avenue) the Chatalet area, and ah - the shopping! Nancy has visions of Arlene roaming the streets and shopping Mike right into bankruptcy! We stopped at a local brasserie for the men to change into long pants for our 1 pm lunch at the Eiffel Tower restaurant Jules Verne. The view was spectacular, though we chose not to wait in the hour-long line to go up to the top. The 2nd floor where the restaurant is located is 125 yards high, which was more than sufficient. Besides, we have already discovered that the city is too hazy from our perspective in Montmartre. David had bemoaned the pollution of his beloved hometown. Lunch was delicious, if rather ridiculously expensive. It was essentially a dinner menu, and much more food than any American would ever eat at lunchtime. Mais, c'est la vie! Jacob wanted lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and we enjoyed every bite! We caught cabs back to the hotel and changed back into lighter clothes. Jacob and Marcus relaxed in the hotel while Harvey, Nancy and Elliot went to buy our museum 3 day passes and visit the Louvre, if only briefly; but alors! The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays! We attempt the metro, but can't quite figure out how to pay because there's no window - only a turnstile. So we hail a cab instead and head to the Musée d'Orsay. We arrive with under an hour before closing, but we make the most of it - the impressionists were stunning, an entire room of pastels by Toulouse-LaTrec; wonderful Gaugins and Cézannes. The sculptures were also particularly magnificent. We return to the hotel and prepare for our dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge. We had purchased a package, which we were told included dinner, the show, ½ a bottle of champagne and round-trip transportation. Sounded like a good deal. We meet our driver downstairs and are surprised to find out that we're picking up another couple at another hotel. They are an older couple from the South of France who speak little English, but seem nice. We arrive at the Moulin Rouge and are escorted to our table - clearly the worst table in the entire club with an obstructed view of the whole right side of the stage. This was after Nancy introduced Jacob to the maître d' as the former owner of the Moulin Rouge in Munich (and whose idea was that, do you think?) We are all perturbed, no one more than Jacob. Nancy and Harvey descend to speak to the manager about a better table. We only then discover the real mistake - our dinner is not included (for the price of 131 euros each) and this shitty table is only for those NOT eating. They gladly move us to a 2nd level center table where we are served dinner for an additional 60 euros each. OY! But the show began and all was forgotten. It was a first class production from the beautiful dancers to the excellent sound and lighting, to the choreography and the imaginative costumes. Marcus and Elliot managed to keep their eyes from bugging out of their heads; many of the female dancers are nude above the waist. Even the acts between the dance numbers are great. There was a balancing act that made everyone nervous - no safety net for this lunatic who did feats that his mother couldn't possibly know about (or she'd never have let him leave the house), a comedic juggler who had us all laughing out loud, and a ventriloquist. After speaking to the other couple after the show, we find that they paid the same package deal and knew that dinner wasn't included. We felt misled and ripped off, but Jacob promises to take it up with the hotel (and he does before our departure, and receives full credit for the amount paid for the dinner). |
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