I had a great day. I left the apartment before 7:00 in order to be sure I would get to my train on time. I was going to Giverny!! Actually, the train goes from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon. From there it’s a short bus ride to Giverny, the location of Monet’s house and gardens, and the subject of many of his paintings. I tried to buy my admission ticket last night, but after an hour of frustration I gave up. Thankfully the ticket line wasn’t long. I chatted with a few people while waiting for the bus and to buy my ticket.

When I got in I headed directly to the water garden. I was hoping to beat the crowd. I didn’t succeed. I went through the water garden, flower garden, the house, and back to the water garden.

I ran into the couple I had met from Orlando and mentioned a nice restaurant I had heard about in town called Baudy. After I left Monet’s place I set off to find the restaurant. It was in a lovely outdoor setting. I should have taken a picture. Who should I see there but Terri & Ken from Orlando! They invited me to sit with them. I had a delicious lunch and glass of wine. It was a very warm day and the restaurant was nicely shaded.

We were on the same train back to Paris and sat together. I thanked them for taking in a stray. Ha!

From Gare Saint-Lazare I took the metro to meet up with Philippe and his mother. I hadn’t met her yet and was looking forward to it. He was running late, so I met him at the bar where he works, Boteco. It’s a Brazilian place. He made me a Brazilian Mojito. They also serve food kind of like tapas. His mom couldn’t make it, but we did FaceTime with her. I got to meet his “little” brother though.

It was a wonderful day!!

Yesterday afternoon I had a Paris Greeter walk scheduled with Pascal. He planned to spend approximately 4 hours showing me architecture and gardens in the 16th, an area I’m unfamiliar with. Susan decided not to go. In the morning she went her way and I went mine.

The first thing on my agenda was to get my Navigo Découverte (weekly metro/RER/bus pass) renewed. I originally got it the end of December 2008. I thought they were good for 10 years, but mine expired in July 2017. Once done, my next thing was to get train tickets for Giverny for tomorrow. First I tried an address in the Rick Steves Paris 2016 book. It was near Gare de Lyon. Unfortunately I shouldn’t have trusted an old book. But I was only 2 blocks from the apartment we rented in 2014, on maybe the cutest street in Paris. Of course I had to take a look.

When I came out of the metro to try the next place it was raining. Do I have a raincoat and umbrella? Yes. Did I have them with me? No. I ducked into the nearby Starbucks to use the toilettes and wait out the rain. When I left there to go to the SNCF boutique near the St. Paul metro stop, the rain had become a mist. When I arrived at the building there was a crowd of people waiting. It was after 10:00. After waiting 15 minutes without them opening I decided to go elsewhere for the tickets. I took 1 step and felt intense pain in my left knee. A knee I have never had a problem with. Great. I decided maybe Tuesday wouldn’t be good for Giverny. I took it fairly easy leading up to the walking tour. I even resorted to going to Five Guys on the Champs Elysée for lunch. So embarrassing…

I met Pascal for a very long walk in the 16th arrondissement. It was interesting, but too long in my opinion. Afterward I decided to go the the Eiffel Tower. It was disappointing to find the entire side by the river, or possibly more, is blocked off. Then the RER station I walked to was closed for renovations. And I walked, and walked, and walked some more. Susan texted to see if I wanted to have dinner with her at an Italian place on Ile St. Louis. I was exhausted by the time I arrived. I took a bus back to the apartment. It was a very tiring day. I walked 13 miles.

The locals enjoy hanging out along the river on a beautiful warm day.

Today (Tuesday) I went first to Marche des Enfants Rouge, the oldest covered market in Paris. There weren’t many stalls open, so I didn’t linger. I then went to Gare Saint-Lazare to buy my train ticket for tomorrow. That done, I went to Luxembourg Gardens. It is such a beautiful park, and there were many people out enjoying the nice day. Before I arrived I bought a sandwich and ate it there. I love picnics.

After hanging out in the park for awhile I just started walking. I came across a demonstration. The French like to demonstrate. This was to protest the Trump administration’s policy of forcibly taking children from their parents at the border. They were loud and passionate. It’s good to see the world is paying attention.

I went to Saint-Sulpice, a large church I hadn’t been to before. There was a flea market outside. I saw this table set up for lunch. I’m not sure if they were sellers or buyers, but the French know how to eat.

One thing we always do in Paris is we go to the pet store on the Right Bank near Pont Neuf to see the puppies and kittens. They are so cute! I also had my first crepe of the trip, so now I feel I’m officially in Paris! I wandered over to the nearby Louvre, but only to see the courtyard. I’m not sure if I will go to any museums on this trip. I think I’ve seen all that interest me. Some multiple times.

I had told myself I should take it easy after my tiring day yesterday. I went to the Monoprix near the apartment for yogurt and bananas for the rest of my breakfasts in the apartment, then decided to call it a day. I only walked 7.5 miles today and climbed the equivalent of 19 flights of stairs.

I’m so excited for tomorrow! I have to leave the apartment no later than 7:00 in the morning to catch my train. The traffic is loud outside the apartment. I hope I can fall asleep at a reasonable time. Maybe the wine I’m drinking will help.

I arrived in Paris yesterday in the early afternoon. My train came into Gare l’Est and I decided to splurge and take a taxi to the apartment. It cost less than €10, and I didn’t have to hassle with buying metro tickets, etc.

Susan was waiting for me at the apartment, located in the Marais. It’s small, as most Parisian apartments are, but it’s beautiful. There’s even a view from the kitchen window of the top of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. I dropped my things and then we left to meet up with my friends, Nigel and Carol, from England. They came to Paris for the day just to see me. They are so sweet. We went to a café down the street and got a bite to eat. At 4:00 we were all supposed to be at Carette at Place des Vosges to meet up with a Rick Steves forum regular. Brad lives in Virginia and has been in France for a couple of weeks. We had a nice visit.

After leaving the others, Susan and I proceeded to walk around. We eventually stopped at her favorite café on Ile St. Louis. She got dinner, but I wasn’t hungry. I settled for a glass of rosé instead. Before going back to the apartment I stopped in a little store to get yogurt and bananas for breakfast.

When we returned to the apartment the tiny old elevator wasn’t working. The apartment is on the 6th European floor. That means the 7th floor in the U.S. This picture was taken looking down before the final flight of stairs.

Sunday morning we went to Château Malmaison. Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, lived there. He was often gone because war took up much of his time. The Château is outside of Paris. We had to take metro line 1 to La Defense, then a bus to Malmaison.

Susan wanted to linger for awhile and I was ready to return to Paris. When I got off the metro I had to find a place to eat. I was hungry! After I ate I just walked and walked. Here are random pictures of things I saw today.

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I bought a bottle of wine. Looking at the rosés I saw something strange amongst the bottles of French wines. Barefoot wine? In France?

Yesterday morning Jo and I took the Flixbus to Trier. It’s less expensive and faster than the train. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, established in about 17 BC. Upon our arrival, just after noon, we walked to our hotel and checked into our room, then set off to explore. We covered a lot of ground. We walked through the Hauptmarkt, Dom St. Peter (around 350 AD), Liebfrauenkirch (1235-1260 AD), Konstantinbasilika (306-310 AD), Kurfürstliches Palais (17th/18th centuries), Palastgarten (laid out on the 17th century) and some other places. I really enjoyed walking around the town.

We went to dinner down on the Mosel River.

As we ate, outside, it began to rain. Fortunately there was an umbrella over us. By the time we finished eating we decided to walk back to the hotel and call it an early night.

Day 2 –

It was raining as we ate our breakfast. We checked out of the hotel and took a bus to the train station. We stored our bags in a locker, bought umbrellas, and away we went. Our focus was Porta Negra (2nd century AD). It was the Roman gate on the north side of Trier. It was very interesting.

We then checked out a few more things before our 1:00 walking tour.

We stopped for a snack and I tried Spaghetti Ice. It’s actually vanilla gelato (shaped like spaghetti) with strawberry sauce and white chocolate. It was tasty.

The walking tour lasted 90 minutes. We revisited some places we had been (not going inside) and learned a lot more of the history of the town.

I am now back on the Flixbus, heading back to Frankfurt. The consensus was that while the Flixbus world be okay for a shorter drive, the train is better for anything over a couple of hours.

Tomorrow…Paris!!

On Wednesday, 6/13 I arrived in Frankfurt and was met at the train station by Jo and her daughter, Bianca. We went to dinner, where I had a delicious schnitzel with green sauce, a Frankfurt specialty.

We then took a walk around the New Altstadt. It’s going to be fabulous when it’s completed in September.

I saw this in Jo’s neighborhood.

Thursday we leave for Trier.

This week has just flown by, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.  It was a lot of work taking care of the most adorable twins ever, but totally worth it.  Though identical, Jakob and Pablo have very different personalities.  They are both very attentive.  Pablo is more quiet and serious, while Jakob is more outgoing.  They have the sweetest smiles and the cutest laughs.  I just love them and will miss them, as I will everyone else.

 

While the majority of the time was spent in the apartment, the last 3 days we took the babies on long walks in the forest, with access at the end of the street.  I wish I had a place like that so easily accessible.

 

Last night we picked up some very good dim sum at a local Chinese restaurant so Barbara wouldn’t have to cook.  When it was time to put the babies to bed, Danielle asked me to read to them one last time.  I brought some books with me, including Good Night Moon, a book I always buy babies.  I wish someone had videotaped it, because it was hysterical.  Pablo was quiet and attentive.  Jakob was so animated, shrieking and reacting with joy at every page.  Did I mention how much I’m going to miss them?

 

In a few minutes I will leave Dagmar’s apartment for the final time, and spend the rest of the morning at Barbara’s.  I have a 2:00 train to Frankfurt, where I will spend time with my friend, Jo.

 

Goodbye Hannover, it’s been fun!

6/11/18

I have been trying to post here since my arrival, with no success. I’m hoping to have better luck this time.

I flew out of Sacramento on Tuesday, 6/5 and after an uneventful journey, passing through San Francisco and Munich, I arrived in Hannover on 6/6. I found the Europcar counter at the airport, where I was happy to accept an upgrade to a car with automatic transmission at no additional cost. I was fine with a manual, but I’ll take the automatic any day.

I found my way to Barbara’s apartment, where I have spent most of my time since my arrival. I sleep at her sister, Dagmar’s. It is so nice to spend time with cousin Danielle, her lovely mother, Barbara, and her adorable twins, Jakob and Pablo. They will turn 7 months old this Wednesday. It is such a fun age. They took right to me. Barbara thinks they are fascinated because I am dark compared to the rest of them and am speaking a different language.

Yesterday cousin Sascha and her boyfriend, Marc, arrived from Cologne. Yay for more family! We all took the twins for a long walk in the woods down the street from Barbara’s place, leaving her alone to enjoy some peace and quiet. It was nice to get the fresh air and be outside.

Today I will try to take more photos of the family, since it will be the last opportunity to do so.

A few days ago I was walking down Barbara’s street and I saw something I hadn’t noticed on previous trips here. Two houses away on the sidewalk there were something I have learned are called Stumble Stones. They are installed in 22 countries and there are 67,000 of them. They commemorate the people forcibly removed from their homes during the Nazi era. There were five stones that named the people, their birth dates, when they were deported and the concentration camps they were at. It was a very sobering reminder of what occurred during that dark time. One day a year, people go and shine the ones in their neighborhood. We should never forget what happened, and hope it never happens again.

May 31, 2018

When I started this travel blog in 2016 it was to take the place of the blog I had for years using Blogger. I liked Blogger. I didn’t want to start another one. I really didn’t have a choice as Blogger hadn’t updated itself and was no longer supported using my iPad. I don’t find this blog as easy to use. I need easy.

I was very excited about our birthday trip to Paris. As I posted at the time, it took a turn on 11/9/16 when I woke up and discovered that Donald Trump had been elected president. I felt hopeless about our country’s future. Here we are today, on 5/31/18, and I have to say it’s worse than I feared. But this is a travel blog, so no more politics.

Towards the end of March my Uncle Jack called and told me he was going to Germany. My cousin, Danielle, had given birth to identical twin boys in November and he was going to Hannover to see her and to meet his first (and probably only) grandchildren. He hates to fly. Actually, he has a profound fear of flying. He then asked me if I would consider going too. I told him that I could probably do that as long as I could use my airline miles for my ticket, and if Jamie could come stay with Riley on the days Jim works. Done. I also checked with Danielle to confirm it would be alright for me to come, as she is currently living with her mom and I’m sure space is limited now. She was happy to hear the plans. She thought it would be best to come for a visit in June. I assumed Jack wanted me to actually fly with him. I spent the following day online looking for round trip flights from Kansas City to Hannover. Having to go to K.C. first definitely complicated things for me. I was growing frustrated trying to find acceptable flights using my miles, and also allowing for Jack to purchase tickets on the same flights. I decided I would have to call United Airlines and have someone help coordinate this. I called Jack first to tell him my plan. He replied that there isn’t a need to fly together. Oh! That changes everything!

Here’s the plan:

I’m leaving Sacramento on 6/5, flying to San Francisco, Munich, then Hannover, arriving 6/6. I’m renting a car and as far as I know I will be staying at Dagmar’s. She is Barbara’s sister and I’ve stayed with her during two other trips. I will stay one week in Hannover. Sascha will be able to visit for about four days, so no need for me to go to Cologne to visit her. I’ll then take the train to Frankfurt and will visit with my friend, Jo, for a few days. Then I’ll take the train to Paris on 6/16 and will fly home from there on 6/28. In Paris I’ll be staying in an apartment with my friend, Susan. More about that later.

Sadly, Jack was unable to overcome his fears. He stalled getting his passport, so he paid extra to have it expedited. When it arrived I think it freaked him out. He now says that he can’t possibly leave his yard for two weeks in the summer. I suggested he go for a shorter visit. No, he will go in October or November. Except I doubt he will. There will be another excuse. I’m very sad for Danielle, as I know how much his visit meant to her.

I wasn’t expecting a trip to Europe this year, but I’ll take it! I’m sad that Jim can’t go with me. He’s my favorite travel partner and I will miss him. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before we can take a trip together.

Tuesday, 11/8/16

Today is our Paris Greeter Walk in the 12th arrondisment.  We were to meet Gisele Gamelin at 10:00 a.m. in front of the McDonald’s at the Ledru Rollin metro station.  Jim wanted to get there a little early to get breakfast.  I had no desire to eat breakfast at McDonald’s, so I got a pane au chocolat before we left our neighborhood.  We arrived at around 8:30, just to discover that McDonald’s doesn’t open until 9:30.  Oh well.  There was a cafe across the street.  That worked out okay for him.
Gisele was very nice.  She lives in the 12th, so she proudly showed us around her neighborhood.  We saw the Bastille, the market Aligre, Canal St. Martin and the marina, and even Rue Cremieux, the picturesque street we stayed on in 10/2014.  This is not a touristy area and the market was clearly geared towards the locals.

Like many people we’ve met, Gisele talked about the election.  Today is election day in the U.S.  Will it be the first woman elected president, Hillary Clinton, or the first unqualified orange man, Donald Trump?  The newspapers and magazines here are full of articles about our election, and specifically about Trump.  Gisele took us to a shop to see the window, offering the feelings that they have here about Trump.

Trump appears to be pretty unpopular throughout Europe.  People have expressed confidence that the Americans are not stupid enough to fall for Trump.  I’m not so sure about that.
After our walk ended we went to the Marais and had lunch.  Then we walked to the Musee D’Orsay.  The museum is actually in an old train station.  We’ve been there twice before, in 2006 and 2008/2009.  It was time to go back.   We bought our 4 day museum passes there and enjoyed the museum.

I like the Impressionist paintings and this is where to find them.


After we got our fill of art it was time to make our way to the location where we were to meet Philippe for dinner.  He was coming from work in the 19th arrondisment, so we decided to eat at our friend Susan’s favorite place on Ile St. Louis. The plan was to meet at the Hotel DeVille metro stop.  He started walking right by us, only stopping when we said something.  I don’t think we’ve changed that much in 2 years!  We had a wonderful dinner at Le Flore en I’lle.  I can’t believe we didn’t take any photos with Philippe!  We did take some pictures on the way back to our hotel at the end of the night.

This view of the Eiffel Tower is at the corner of our street.

We went to bed not knowing who our new president will be.  It might be our last good night of sleep for a long time.

Wednesday, 11/9/16

I woke up around 5:00 a.m. and immediately grabbed my phone.  I had to know right away…who won the election?  I should have slept in, or better yet not checked at all.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Could it be true?  Trump won?  Impossible!  As it turned out, he won only because of the electoral college.  Clinton won the popular vote.  Either way, he won?  OMG!  We are in deep shit now!  I had what I can only assume was an anxiety attack.  Jim woke up and I decided I would try my best to not let this ruin my day.  I really, really tried.
We went to the Louvre,

the Orangerie, and the Palais Garnier (Opera)


We went to the Louvre in 2006 and 2008/2009, and to the Orangerie in 2008/2009, but this was our first time inside the Opera.  It is a stunning building.

Even all the beauty we saw today couldn’t get me out of my funk.  We decided to go back to the hotel.  Jim’s knee has been bothering him so a rest would do us some good.  I’ll admit I had more wine than usual with my dinner.  We encountered people who expressed sympathy for the U.S.  Good luck to all of us!