Saturday September 27th – Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Anna was true to her word and we left Clamecy promptly at 9:30.  The entire staff came onto the quay to see us off. 

We were dropped off in Paris at the hotel of Karen and Conrad.   Ours was just down the block.  We said our good-byes to everyone, me losing count of who was staying on and who wasn’t.  Jodie and Glen had to catch a train for London later in the afternoon, so we  (6 of us) ventured out for lunch.  We couldn’t believe we were actually eating…AGAIN! 

Feeling the need to regroup, we planned to meet later for a walk to Notre Dame and Mass. 

Pre-mass quest for somewhere to dine tonight – there’s a trend here!!  We tried to find the restaurant that Cate recommended, but it is no longer.  The girl at that current address suggested a place across the square, called Petit Chatelet.

We made a reservation, and were a little leery by the way the maître’d responded to our request.  We ventured to the church, and I couldn’t get over how crowded and congested the city seemed.  Don’t remember it like this at all.  Anyhow, we attended Mass in the splendor of Notre Dame – vespers

came first.  We owe Conrad and Lenny, big time!!! 

Dinner turned out to be wonderful, but couldn’t even attempt a crème brulee for dessert.  We walked back to our respective hotels, taking in the beauty of the monuments lit up.  Truly, the City of Light!

Sunday morning, we had a food walking tour with Karen, Conrad, Mike and Susan.  We had to be at the meeting place by 9 AM.  Our guide was a young girl named Adeline.  Our tour began in the Latin Quarter in a Frommagerie.  WHEW!  What a place – don’t know how the French don’t have more clogged arteries!!   We chose a cheese, and Adeline picked the rest.  Then onto a boulangerie for bread (baguettes and croissants) and something sweet.

We were happy to be in an area we hadn’t seen before.  The timing was nice, too, since it was quite empty of crowds. She took us up to the church of St Genevieve (opposite the Pantheon) with a quick walk through. 

The choir was practicing and it sounded beautiful.  We made our way up the popular street, Muffatard (?) a well-known market  area.  We stopped in a shop that specialized in delicacy.  Here, Adeline set up lunch of all our purchases and a bottle of wine…what else?!?  Fantastic!  It was fun and yummy.  Then she took us next door for a little sampling of olive oils – who would think?  We parted ways, Len and I opting to cab back to hotel, planning to meet later.

Later, we touched base with Karen and decided to make our way up to Montmartre,  to the basilica of Sacre Couer.  Another beautiful edifice.

Some service was going on, so we just meandered around gawking at the beauty of the interior.  We strolled around, Len and Conrad, having a beer, while Karen and I shopped the square.  This area, place du Tetre, was mobbed.  It  was once the haunt of Toulouse-Lautrec, and the original bohemians.  We found a really great place for dinner (La Basilic).  I picked the wine, and it wasn’t half bad!  We enjoyed the ambiance .  We cabbed home, without first seeing the Moulin Rouge (Red Windmill) nightclub, which still offers glitzy, pricey shows.  The ironic thing, it’s missing some of it’s neon lettering, making it look pretty dumb for such a landmark!!

Monday morning dawned grey and rainy.  It was nice not to have to punch a clock.  We met up with Karen and Conrad around noon, taking all the leftover lunch stuff with us.  Karen had champagne, we took some fruit from our breakfast buffet, and we headed up the Champs-Elysees (a 2 mile boulevard) in search of a picnic spot.  The Arch de Triomphe stands majestically at the top, and it is haunting to remember the history of France.

We found a place (Josephine’s) to buy some additional lunch fare, then we found a park bench and had a grand lunch!!!  Walking back toward the Grand Palais, there was an exhibition of WWI photos.  This week marks the centenary of the War.  We took our time browsing this outdoor exhibit, then decided we needed caffeine.  Cabbed to the left bank, and realized we were right where we had dinner on Sat.  So here is where we sat, and who should be sitting on a stele, was Craig!

He was waiting for Pam who was in the shop, Shakespeare and Company!  (This place was mobbed on Saturday night, with a line to get in).  They joined us, and then Mike and Susan also met us.  It was great-8 of the 14 from the barge!!  We caught up and then parted with promises of getting together sometime in the next year.

With plans to have an evening boat ride après dinner, we went back to hotel to freshen up.  Alas!  The rain came during dinner, dampening any idea for a boat ride, so we said our goodbyes to Karen and Conrad and returned to hotel to prepare for our departure.