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Day 14 Monday, July 24, I woke up about 7:00 and made some coffee from the coffee maker provided by Campanile. I showered and dressed and went down to the buffet breakfast in the restaurant. The set-up was just the same as the Campanile in Metz, except the selection was even more extensive, with a few more kinds of breads, juices and cold meats. I went back up to my room to pack and to study my map of Paris. I knew driving in Paris would be a challenge, so I wanted to be as prepared as possible. I also read up on some of materials I had brought along in two notebooks concerning tourist attractions and Metro (Paris subway) stops. The weather was drizzly when I left Reims about 9:30. I didn't need to return the car back to the Eurocar rental office at Gare du Nord in Paris until 4:00pm, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time just in case I ran into trouble. I am glad I waited until after rush hour to drive into Paris. I think I
would have been in a big traffic jam if I had left earlier. The traffic
kept getting heavier and heavier as I neared Paris. Finally I spotted one
of the roads that ring Paris, Boulevard Peripherique. I hooked a right
and started going north. I don't know how I missed Avenue Jean Lolive ,
which was where I wanted to turn left, but I kept going (West now) until
I took the Rue de la Chapelle exit. Miraculously, I found a place to
pull over so I could consult my map. If I continued on the street I was
on, the Gare du Nord should be on my right. Well, it wasn't quite that
easy, but after about half an hour of following parking signs down
one-way streets, I finally made it to the underground parking area under
the Gare du Nord.
I pulled out my map again to get my bearings and started walking to my hotel, bags in tow. The Drizzle had stopped on my way into Paris, and it was very pleasant and overcast. I arrived at the Hotel Danemark, for which I had a reservation, at 1:00pm. The courteous English speaking desk clerk said my room was not ready yet, but would be ready in an hour. I stored my bags in a room at the hotel and hit the streets of Paris. I went into a few shops and observed the architecture and the people. This area of Paris has two major train stations a block from each other, Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, so the area is bustling with foot traffic. There were numerous sidewalk cafes in the neighborhood. I was hungry, so I spied a little Chinese restaurant a couple of doors
down from the very busy Burger King on the corner. I asked the lady at
the counter for a number 2 and she asked me if I wanted to go to the
dining room upstairs. I went up the little spiral staircase and was
seated by the upstairs waitress. There was a very nice view of the
street from the second floor French door-type window. I ordered a pot of
green tea, spring rolls, fried rice and duck with vegetables. Everything
was delicious. These people in France know how to cook any kind of food.
Of course it is an important part of the French culture.
I had a kind of Chinese (I think) ice cream with nuts and fruit inside
for dessert.
I walked over to my hotel and picked up my key, collected my bags and took the tiny elevator to my fourth floor room. Have you ever been on a cruise? If you have, you have an idea of the size of my room. It was about the size of a medium class stateroom. The bathroom, however, was, while not spacious, big enough. It turned out the room was big enough too, since I didn't plan on being in there for long periods of time, except to sleep. I figured that $64.00 per night at a clean, secure strategically located hotel in a major internationally important metropolitan area was not bad. After getting settled in my room and learning that the cable tv had CNN World in English, I decided to buy my Metro tickets and go down to the Notre Dame Cathedral area. I boarded a train and thought I was going in the right direction. When the train stopped at the end of the line I went up and immediately knew I had done something wrong. It reminded me of a time in New York when we ended up in Brooklyn instead of Wall Street. I quickly went back down and boarded the train going back the other way. I had the right train all along, just the wrong direction. I exited the train again at the Palais Royal stop. I walked to the left and across the street toward Notre Dame Cathedral. I was close to Sainte-Chapelle, which is a church in the Law Court
complex. Sainte-Chapelle is reputed to be one of the finest examples of
Gothic architecture in the world and houses the oldest stained glass
windows in Paris. I was there in the late afternoon and the west windows
through which the light shone were breathtakingly beautiful. The whole
church is very ornate, and gargoyles decorate the upper roof.
I walked over to Notre Dame Cathedral and stood in awe outside, thinking that I was actually there in that place that I had only seen in pictures. I went in and walked around marveling at the majesty. I must say, though, some of the churches and cathedrals I visited in England are just as impressive as Notre Dame from a purely architectural and esthetic standpoint. I walked around the Cathedral, crossing the Seine again. I spied a double decker tour bus and got on. The sign on the bus said you could pay on board. The bus traveled by several Paris Landmarks including the Opera House in the opera district, the Louvre Museum, the Museum d'Orsay, The Rodin Museum, The Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and the Pantheon. I got off on the Champs-Elysees. They never collected my bus fare. I knew I would use the bus the next day and would pay my fare (good for two days) then. The commentary on the bus was in four languages, French, German, Italian and English. I visited several stores along the Champs-Elysees and I was getting a little tired and thirsty. I went to a Virgin department store, which by the way, seems to sell everything. The grocery department is in the basement (low mark-up). I purchased a liter of orange juice from Florida, a half-liter of Coke and a bag of French potato chips. I'll bet I really looked like a local with my bag of groceries on the Metro back to my hotel. I drank the entire liter of orange juice immediately and ate about half the potato chips with the Coke. I watched a little CNN World and went to bed. The bed had a very long pillow underneath the bottom sheet that drove me crazy. I finally took it out and remade the bed. I guess I went to sleep about 10:30. End Day 14
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