Paris, France

The cruise originated in Paris, so we'd get to experience the City Of Light as well as the cruise. To do this we flew over to Paris a few days ahead of the cruise and booked into a hotel on one of the side streets. Less expensive than the fancy main street accommodations, it had all the amenities and was close to a number of restaurants and large selection of shops. Unfortunately, we would soon discover that two days to see Paris wasn't nearly enough time. A week would be the minimum someone should plan for to do it justice.

The Hotel Littre was an older hotel, and we were told that it was about to go through a major refurbishment. It certainly would have been nicer to stay there after the work had been done. Air quality wasn't very good because of all the old carpeting and furniture, but the amazing breakfast buffet we got each morning almost made up for it.

Touring Paris

A tour of the city was the first thing on the agenda. But Paris is a big city with historical places and famous locations around every corner. So we chose to let the Hop On-Hop Off bus give us a good feel for the city. Something that Paris offers that most other cities don't, is a Hop On-Hop Off river boat as well. Even better, we could buy a combination pass that would allow us to use both forms of transportation at our whim, and at an economical price. 

It was mid September when we were in Paris, and the weather was absolutely perfect. A little warm in the sun still, but the shaded areas were great. It made outdoor eating at restaurants idea. Well, almost ideal. The problem with outdoor restaurants in France is that they allow smoking. And there are still a lot of people in France that smoke.

Scenes from the street

Scenes from the River

The Louvre

One of the main stops for the bus was the world famous Louvre Museum. A former military fortress from the 12th and 13th century, it's now the largest art museum in the world. Although art is not high our our priority list, it would have been nice to look around inside it. Unfortunately the mile long lineup stretching across the courtyard from the glass pyramid put a crimp in those plans. We just couldn't see ourselves standing for hours in the mid day sun to finally get in. Perhaps on another visit during the rainy months of the year might be the time see it.

The Eiffel Tower

Visible from just about anywhere in Paris, the Eiffel Tower definitely lives up to its reputation of being an engineering marvel. What we weren't prepared for was just how big the tower really is.

The view from the top must have been amazing, but unfortunately we didn't get to see it. Like the Louvre, the lineup was imposing. Since our time in Paris was limited, we couldn't afford to spend a whole day waiting in a queue. We'll save the tower view for that later time when no tourists are in Paris. Whenever that is.

One of the slightly unsettling thing that we experienced at the foot of the tower was the ever present contingent of military soldiers walking around with their automatic firearms slung around their necks. It's an expected result from the terrorist attacks in France. It's nice to know they're there to try and protect the people, but it makes taking pictures a bit more awkward since they don't like being in the frame when you push the button. Of course the other concern is if there is an attack, will the bystanders get hit by flying bullets from the terrorists, or from the responding French military. Automatic weapons tend to not be very discriminating.

Notre-Dame DE Paris Cathedral

We had the opportunity to see Notre-Dame Cathedral from every angle except inside. Once again the lineup to see inside was a mile long.

If the outside was anything to go by, the inside must have been over the top with detailed craftsmanship. The exterior had so much it was hard to know where to look first. How many people, and how many years each one must have spent working on the building is in itself amazing.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1163 and was essentially complete by 1345. So it's very likely that the craftsman who worked on the project were multi-generational, with sons learning from, and then working alongside their fathers. As an individual that has spent most of my life working with my hands, I can't imagine working on something that I would never see finished. It would be very disheartening.

The Palace of Versailles

The tour of the palace was courtesy of the cruise ship. We spent one night in Paris on board ship, and then took the tour the next day. Then after dinner the ship started on its way down river to our first stop of Les Andelys. 

The bus ride to the palace was short, only ten or fifteen minutes. The wait to get inside, however, was considerably longer. What's somewhat amusing here is that the ship's guests supposedly had preferential status, and entered the palace through a side door. The delay was due to all the other tour groups that also had "preferential status". So despite all this, we waited a long time outside while we watched all the individual tourists go through the main entrance at a considerably faster rate.

The grandeur and expansive size of the palace itself is unmatched, but despite this, it's not a place for those who suffer from claustrophobia. Crowded into these expansive rooms like sardines in a can, hundreds of people in each room have to navigate from area to another. It's a good thing that a lot of the art to look at is actually on the ceilings. The stuff on the walls is often obscured by the throngs of people. Despite all this, one has to marvel at the extravagance in every room. I doubt any of todays billionaires can match it.