We are in Paris!

So... Paris. There's no other city like it, I think. Reginald and Teresa took us to the gare at Chemille, where we could not get our tickets printed for some reason. We left with a hand-written ticket which basically said that our tickets wouldn't print, so the written note would have to suffice. And so it did.




Dan, Gabi, and I boarded the train which, as do all French trains, left exactly on time. It's pretty amazing, the timeliness of the rail system here.

At Angers, we said goodbye to Gabi, who promised to see us on Facebook. We have been waiting more than a year to see Gabi on Facebook, so  I'm not holding my breath. I have to work hard not to take it personally, but not to worry, Gabi... I am still whole. After Gabi departed, Dan and I dragged our luggage (mine had four containers of sel de mer, three bottles of perlant rouge, two containers of chocolate noissette spread, and a partridge in a pear tree) across the street to a lovely little cafe where we had a drink and lunch.

Out train to Paris left at 12:41 pm, and we pulled into the Gare Montparnasse at 14:21. We looked for the nearest metro station to no avail and finally opted to hire a taxi. I think that's the best 25€ we have spent. And let me say that I would not drive in Paris for any amount of money.

Our hotel is very nice and on a quiet street near the Pompidou Center. We set out to explore the nearby arrondissement. We headed to the Hotel de Ville, where there were several street performers that Dan captured with his camera. 

We then walked part of the Promenade Plantée, or the Coulee Verte as it's called here. It's a long bridge kind of thing that is above the streets of Paris, and it's planted with all kinds of beautiful perennials, vines, and shrubs.

That kind of walking stirs an appetite, so we were off to find moules frites, which we did:

Following dinner, we walked along the quay of the Rive Gauche and saw more people sitting, eating and drinking, and dancing than I would have expected to see on a Thursday nite. Dan says that the Parisians love their parks, and they do

The day was capped off with a boat ride up and down the Seine.







(And Vicki left out that we stopped for a crepe from a street vendor on the way back to our hotel. Just to tide us over until morning.)