With the car loaded, we began the next segment of our adventure. Leaving the beautiful countryside of Normandy for the bright lights of Paris is quite a change. After breakfast, we needed to get on the road to Caen so we could catch our train to Paris. The fog had rolled in, and the morning was cool. We said our goodbyes to Gérard and Isabelle and headed down the driveway. It had been an amazing week in Normandy!
As we headed to Caen, the topic of the beauty of this region was discussed. I know to date we have not focused on it, but the flowers and the green and yellow fields are beautiful. So here is a quick collage of just some of the flowers we saw in the past few days. And yes, they are big clumps of mistletoe in the tops of the trees.
Arriving in Caen, we had no problem finding the train station. We did have a little difficulty locating a gas station to fill our trusty Fiat. But with that out of the way, we bought tickets and still had 45 minutes to kill before our train arrived.
We had to smile, on the station walls were pictures of many of things we had visited while in Normandy. From Honfleur to the Bayeux Tapestry.
The train was right on time. There was plenty of room for our luggage and our seats had a great workspace with free Wi-Fi. Face masks are still required on public transportation, but the train was not crowded. The ride to Paris was not quite 2 hours, and the time flew by.
Arriving in Paris dragging suitcases, the next task was to locate our hotel. It was 7 blocks away, but where to start was our question. A nice lady got us pointed in the right direction and we were off.
We did make a few wrong turns in locating the hotel, but all in all the walk was not too bad. The Hotel France d’Antin is in the 2nd arrondissement, and just a few blocks from the Opera House and the Galeries Lafayette.
We cannot say enough about the staff. From the moment we walked in they were helpful, friendly, and were happy to recommend things to see and do.
A+ rating for Hotel France d’Atin!
Being close to the Opera House, our room had some funky musical wallpaper. It was a small room with a very nice bathroom.
We were on the 6th floor and had a small balcony that looked over the street and rooftops below.
We dropped our bags and headed out to explore the city, but once again, nourishment was required. The 2 o’clock hour had passed so we located a small brasserie that was still serving French Onion soup and Croque Madame sandwiches. We keep missing the lunch hour.
Finishing lunch, we decided to head towards the river and parks near the Louvre. We had been to Louvre in the 70s and decided to skip it this trip. It is so massive that we knew we did not have the time to do it justice. Also, with COVID spiking again, Tom is still not very comfortable indoors with large crowds. The Louvre and the subway were out this trip.
Some really cool clouds were rolling in, but there was no rain.
People watching in Paris is some of the best in the world!
We strolled along the Seine River just taking it all in. There were very few people walking the river walk and it was peaceful watching the boats transit from place to place.
Locating the Jardin des Tuileries, we spied the famous green chairs our daughter had told us about. They were calling our names and we could not resist sitting down in this beautiful park for a few moments and watching the world go by.
It was getting late, so we began our return to the hotel. The staff had given us good advice about not getting lost in the city: just walk to the monuments or the important buildings near where you are going. Our destination would be the Opera House.
Finding the Opera House, we were only a few blocks from the hotel. The staff’s hint worked… well most of the time. We still got lost a couple times.
We had covered a lot of ground today and decided to eat early (for the French) at 7 pm and relax. Not far from the hotel was a small crepe restaurant and it seemed perfect to end our first day in Paris.
Tom had a crepe that was stuffed with goat cheese, honey, and walnuts with a small salad. It was excellent.
Janet went with the Vegetarian crepe and a large garden salad. The crepe was no more than a salad wrapped in a crepe. The goat cheese crepe was the winner!
Another short evening stroll and we turned in for the night.
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