Moving on..

Paris was an action packed adventure but this morning we bid, “adieu” to one of our favorite big cities. It was interesting as normally Emily and I avoid big cities when traveling but Paris was an absolute exception to the rule. We left with a ‘wanting’ still in our bellies. We already have big plans for a return trip. After a pleasant night of sleep in our 5 star room we arose early to catch a train to Bordeaux.  This travel company did an amazing job as we had a deluxe Mercedes awaiting to take us to the train station where we boarded first class towards our wine tasting adventure.  

Again, arriving in Bordeaux we had a phenomenal hotel.  With a little time to kill before heading off to wine country we enjoyed a lunch of steak tartar, grilled duck, and good wine. Our guide, Raymond, was a super charming and informative Frenchmen who took us deep into wine country and talked endlessly about the area and the many chateaus.  Our first stop was château de Dauzac which was beautiful and yet very simple. I anticipated old grottos, vine covered villas etc, but found farmlands with unassuming buildings that hid modernized technical wineries.  To be honest, the vineyards of Bordeaux reminded me of the landscapes of El Salvador.  Our first winery was ok but nothing to write home about. Then we moved on to our second winery that was similar to the first only when we arrived we had some extra time and attempted a ‘smell test’ with 16 sommelier smell vials while sitting in a green park-like area under a warm afternoon sun.  I did pretty well, I guess owing to my Jewish sized nose from dad and the olfactory cells I inherited from mom. It was a riot trying to guess the obscure smells from the vials and our tour guide and vineyard representative put us all to shame. This, again, was a very unassuming vineyard but the technical 3D immersive experience was stunning.  They projected ‘how to make wine’ on to their tanks and had projected specialists give master classes on clear panes of glass in front of their barrel rooms. Again, underwhelmed by the wine but the experience was spectacular. Emily and I discussed this and agreed that we have been spoiled by Californian, Oregon, and Washington wines.  But all in all the tour was fun and our guide was hilarious. 

After a quick nap we followed our concierge’s reservation to a great bistro (Le 1925) where we enjoyed Bordeaux’s oysters, foie gras, and prawns in pesto risotto. All of this while sipping through a Bordeaux white wine. Giggling and listening to the French chatter around us we couldn’t help but smile as we recognized that we were eating French food, surrounded by French conversations, drinking French wine, all while sitting in Bordeaux….  Too surreal!  

And on the third day

 

We were back at it again! This was a morning to remember. I awoke early and gently suggested to Emily that we go for a run early in the morning as it would be our only opportunity to run in Paris. She was… less than enthused but begrudgingly agreed that it would be a cool environment to run in. Rolling out of the comfort of our bed and stretching out the reluctant soreness from our legs we donned our running gear. We set out along the Siene, accompanied by a multitude of other ambitious and enthusiastic morning exercisers. The weather was perfect for a light jog and we cruised though the city at a swift pace stopping occasionally to soak up the views and the fact that we were running in Paris! We finished in front of the Louvre with smiles and high fives. 

Today was an ambitious day as we hoped to tour the great palace at Versailles AND scale the Eiffel Tower. We quickly dressed and set out for the golden palace. Opulence and decadence don’t even begin to describe this royal place of refuge.  The town surrounding the palace was quaint and very French appearing with manicured lawns, French architecture, and cafes sprinkled throughout the town. As we approached the magnificent palace, we were met by the golden gates gleaming in the sunlight guarding the vast columned edifices. It was larger than the Louvre which is saying something. We were fortunate and arrived in the morning with our tickets in hand. We started off in the ‘ladies of the court’ wing and viewed elegantly decorated salons with fire places and murals on the walls. Due to the nature of our schedule we had to condense an 8 hour tour into a 1.5 hour time span. Needless to say we nearly sprinted from room to room absorbing the ambiance and speed-reading through most of the descriptions of the rooms. The shear volume of ornate rooms was impressive. We spent the first quarter of our time just in the guest wing before entering the main palace. Holy Cow! Gold and detailed murals covered EVERYTHING! There were rooms where every square inch was either hand painted or bedazzled.  The king’s bedroom was no exception and had a myriad of supporting rooms for dressing, bathing, and concubines.  The dining halls seemed endless and the hall of battles was intense with >80 foot tall murals depicting important battles. With the clock running we dashed towards the finish of the palace and on to the gardens. Only a mere 800 hectares of gardens, fountains, hedge mazes, and amphitheaters.  The palace was on a hill and the gardens extended as far as the eye could see in nearly all directions and intermittently obscured itself with tall maze-like shrubs and hedges.  Elegantly laid out in beautifully symmetrical patterns, the gardens were well maintained as we roamed around slack jawed. An immense fountain system with captivating stories portrayed in bronze statues littered the grounds. Sadly our time crunch forced us to say, “au revoir” to the gaudy royal palace and rush to the Eiffel Tower where we met up with a tour group of other tourists from the UK and the US. 

Our tour guide Clara was awesome and Emily crushed the tourist trivia (we had heard most of the info earlier) which made her look wicked smart. Up the first elevator to the middle level, there was a lot of lines and waiting. I’d be lying if I said our legs weren’t killing us from the run and the 16 mile walk the day before. Clara dropped some more knowledge on us as we met our fellow tourists.  We gained access to the tower and stood in awe under its massive iron legs.  The first elevators were unique in that they had a hyperbolic trajectory. This posed a problem when the tower was initially built but Mr. Ottis rectified this issue and we gained access to the first level in huge Ottis elevators. As we rose the city expanded beneath us. We could already see the entire skyline just from the first tier of the tower.  Hanging ominously above us remained the second elevator to, “the summit.”  We packed 70 people into a 10 x10’ elevator and were rocketed skyward to the pinnacle of French achievement. We were all nervous at first but then they informed us that there was a champagne bar at the top. Needless to say, I was first off the elevator and first in line for booze. With champagne in our hands Emily and I circumnavigated the tip top of the Eiffel Tower remarking to our tour group the great finds we encountered on our previous day’s travels.  It was all surreal. Sadly, our day did not end well. I had picked a restaurant from home to be our crown jewel and it was a total expensive flop. Emily even got a little food poisoning to boot. We made our way back to our hotel to crash. But, I urged Emily out of our room briefly to witness the Eiffel Tower glittering at night (only occurs every hour for the first 5 minutes) which was a sight to behold.  Not the best ending to an exciting day but we still have a lot to look forward to. 

París day duex

 

Day two was an interesting day. Emily had trouble sleeping last night so she’d been up since 2am. I awoke, very well rested, at around 5am and we decided to start our day before the sun came up! We set out and had to have the hotel unlocked because we were leaving so early. The city was quiet, dark, and empty with the occasional garbage trucks roaming around. We walked along the iconic Seine river towards Arc de Triomphe listening to the steadily rising bustle of early commuters.   It was the perfect temperature and we chatted merrily as the city began to wake up. Slightly hungry we soon realized that most French people are not morning people and nothing was open. We wound our way up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées  past Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, and admired the slowly rising sun cascading over the city. The sun struck the Arc just as we crested the hill and we sprinted across the chaotic and devilish Charles de Gaulle roundabout that encircled the arch. Not a soul around, we had the whole monument to ourselves and it was massive! After a very fun photo shoot we continued towards the Eiffel Tower.  What a day! With the sun rising cafes began to open, the smell of fresh baked bread wafted over us, and we found a little corner on a busy street where we could sit and enjoy croissants and espresso. Sipping the hot caffeinated nectar-of-the-gods and biting into a warm freshly made croissant made the whole early-to-rise worth it.   Next we continued down the street and came upon the Eiffel Tower with the sun rising behind it. Epic photos were taken as we roamed around its base awestruck at its shear gargantuan size.   Again, we had the whole behemoth to ourselves. Now on mile 6 of meandering, we darted in and out of small quaint streets and markets. Around midday we happened upon the most magical of book stores, Shakespeare and Company, a store that seems to have fallen straight out of a Harry Potter novel with its ancient stacks, eclectic reading lounges/beds, and enigmatic staff (who we later found out were all starving actors with free room and board).  Closing in on mile 10 of walking we hurried back to our hotel to grab our tickets to the world famous Louvre! Nothing could have prepared us for this endless labyrinth of ancient history. Set into a twice converted, fortress then palace, the Louvre was enormous! 5 floors of about a mile of walking, each. Through exhibition halls and corridors we sprinted as best we could to take in as much as we could. One could easily spend months in this museum and still not see everything. From the ancient Egyptians to France’s medieval era, napoleon’s apartments to the Mona Lisa herself, it was a chaotic dash to soak up the whole experience.   With aching feet, and sore legs we rounded out 16 miles of walking and headed back to the hotel.  

Bad news, my bag had still not arrived and we were booked at one of Paris’s finest restaurant (jackets required). Still exhausted from the day I let Emily nap while I struck out in search of mens attire in one of the most fashionable cities in the world. My first few stops, for I was a stranger in a strange land, were at designer outlets where a suit cost more than my car. Fortunately, with the help of our charming concierge and an even more charming sales woman they, giggling, decked me out in a very stylish ensamble, fit for a charismatic adventurer.  I returned to wake up Emily and dress for our date. Even she was agape at my sleek attire. We proceeded to Apicius, one of the top restaurants in Paris.   I have already spent so much time on this that I couldn’t possibly submit you, the reader, to another 10 pages of how elegant and delicious our 6 course 4 hour meal was… I am salivating even recalling the flavorful explosions we experienced.   Needless to say we returned to our hotel, full, drunk, happy, and found my suitcase had been delivered. What a day….   

First day in France

Off on another great adventure. This year’s second trip abroad takes us to the romantic country of France! What a time to be leaving Juneau, up early in the morning we were greeted by chilly rain and mist, that hid even the glacier from our view. We hastened our transport to the airport where we had 3 flights that carried us halfway around the world. In an amazing fit of luck we hadn’t had a single issue traveling.  Recently this had become a sour theme for the two of us. But the flights were relatively painless. We arrived in Paris on a warm sunny afternoon an hour early! Customs was quick and easy and just when I thought our streak of poor travel luck was over, my bag was missing. Apparently, it got stuck in Philadelphia but not our other two pieces. Fortunately I had packed a spare set of clothes (given our previous luck) and was informed that my bags would arrive the next day and be delivered to our hotel. Speaking of which, our hotel was a true 5 star experience. We were stationed across the street from the Louvre, spitting distance from the Siene, and walking distance to every and any major historical monument. The room itself was opulent and modernized. We didn’t spend much time as we were both hungry. Striking out we found a cute little street cafe to have a late lunch and sipped wine in the shadow of the Louvre. Originally I assumed we had the first day to walk freely but our travel company had arranged for a private car tour of the entire city. Our guide, Fred, was as funny as he was knowledgeable. This turned out to be a good strategy as we learned how close everything was and could easily plan out out our walking adventures for the next day. We saw and stopped by the greats; Eiffel Tower, arc de triumph, louvre, etc. But he also took us to hidden gems such as the first ever built church in France from the 10th century, the church of the secret heart mounted on a hill that overlooked the entire city, and quaint neighborhoods where we could find the best ice creams and macaroons. While touring Emily and I slipped into cafes to refuel our caffeine needs as we were running on 20 straight hours. We lasted through the tour but had a senior moment as we both crashed at 7pm. Can’t wait to explore the city tomorrow!!