04/22-23/2026 – Bienvenue!
Welcome to France. The journey starts out in the mid-afternoon on a nice sunny day for WNY. What would normally be construed as a doable journey by us – eleven hours including layovers – seemed to take forever. With both of us nursing knee injuries, we found it difficult to get comfortable and we both spent the entire flight just intermittently dozing – but no real sleep or even naps. We closed our eyes just long enough to jerk them open and reorient ourselves to our plight of no nice, cushiony bed. Soon we arrived and were warmly welcomed by our driver. While we worked at finding him, we did manage to connect and he found us. J One would think that since we arrived at 07:45 in the morning, we would be at our hotel in just a short time. Approximately three hours later, we arrived at our hotel where we were pleasantly surprised that they let us check in so early……but that could be a trap! Knowing that lying down, even for a few minutes, would be fatal to getting oriented to the new time zone, we instead set off to explore the area. We walked… and walked… and walked, and despite all the walking, we never got bored. We arrived at the Arc de Triomphe an hour earlier than the time allotted on our entrance ticket, yet again they said ‘no problem’ and we were soon off to explore the famous memorial arch. Explore we did, as we walked up and up and up. In some ways this was nice, as the pollen at the top of the building was much lighter and Kathy quit crying and sniffling. The views were amazing and – thankfully – Kathy no longer had to view her surroundings through a haze of tears. While Kathy fights the waves of pollen, Dave fights his stuffy nose – not because of pollen, but the start of a cold he acquired somehow before we left.
No trip to Paris could be adequately described unless we talked about food. For the most part, the first day did not wow us. On our journeys we stopped and had a pizza, which we thought would be a ham and mozzarella pizza it instead turned out to be a very thin crust, with a smidgeon of pizza sauce, some lettuce type of greenery, shaved trips of unmelted mozzarella, and shaved unheated trips of cured ham. While good, it was not great. Our next food adventure was a stop to orient ourselves and to get our bearings…where we of course decided to partake of a drink and dessert. Kathy opted for a latte and apple tart and Dave opted for “chocolate milk” (which he thinks they just took a packet of hot cocoa mix and stirred it into plain water) and a perdu pain, which in English is just custardy bread like thing. We shared, and both were good, but large. The apple tart was twice as tall as a normal piece of pie. Lastly was dinner, where Kathy opted for a flank steak. A new try for her and potentially the last try for her. Dave opted for a piece of chicken doused in the obligatory layers of French sauce. It was very good.
Soon we were back to the hotel where Kathy was promptly asleep at the late hour of 7 pm, Dave managed to make it to 8 pm. Dave blissfully slept through the night while Kathy was awakened at a phone alert on Dave’s phone at midnight and neurotically checked the time for the next three hours wondering when she would go asleep. Finally asleep, she roused herself at 7 am as Dave patiently waited for her to get out of bed. He on the other hand had been happily reading for the last hour the good news that the Sabres had won game 3 of the playoff series in Boston. GO SABRES!
04/24/2024 – “Fine” Arts
Today was all about basking in the beauty of Paris, from strolling along seeing the blooming cherry trees to visiting iconic spots. The day started with Kathy and Dave hoofing it over to the Louvre where we were able found our guide for the day, Hugo. We highly recommend hiring a guide. The line for people with no guide stretched more than 1.5 city blocks; on the other hand those with a guide had priority access. We wanted to thumb our noses at the people who not so patiently waited to get into the museum. Having a guide had other advantages. He showed us where we could find the nice and free bathrooms, where the shops and restaurants were, and of course where the Mona Lisa was located in the museum. He also explained many of the works of art which, when compared to others who went their without a guide, was invaluable. They often had no idea what they were looking at or the symbolism hidden in it (like the people at Napoleon’s coronation – including his mother – who had refused to attend, the pope – who was kidnapped and made to attend, Jesus – who probably wasn’t there, and George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson – who didn’t attend, in Washington’s case because he had been dead for years.) Starting out at the beginning of the entrance, we first navigated through remnants of the old fortress that now is home to the Louvre. We then began the tour of the artwork, both statues and paintings, some dating back 2000 years. We got quite a few interesting stories about the various artworks to be found in the museum. Along the way we bypassed quite a few, but then again in order to see all the artwork in the museum it would take approximately 3 months. (that is assuming there are no crowds surrounding the artwork) We finally reached the iconic Mona Lisa where we had to shove our way through the masses to see the painting and get a picture. Phew! Finally, we were in the next room. It was hard to appreciate the work of art when you are being pushed and shoved by people trying to get closer to the painting. Yet we still managed to get a closer look.
With the museum done, we decided on another fine art, the art of cooking! We stopped and had a very expensive lunch consisting of two sandwiches, two pops, and 6 macaroons. “Fine” in the case was questionable, as the definition of crisp bacon left something to be desired. Dave opted for an egg and bacon sandwich and Kathy a BLT. The macaroons through were very fine indeed.
Now off to the very fine and beautiful church, The Basilique du Sacre Couer de Montmartre, located on the top of a mountain in Paris. In this case we opted to get on the train and soon we were off to find the beauty and fine art of an ancient church. The church is considered one of the most beautiful basilica’s in Paris – one that equals Notre Dame. We tried to hop on a funicular once we were off the train to make the journey up to the top easier, but figuring out a ticket was not to be. Instead we hoofed it up the flights and flights of stairs; while we didn’t count how many flights it was we are assuming at least a dozen. Not even the sugar from our cookies made the journey easier.
The church did not disappoint. We said strolled through the side galleries and then stopped to say a prayer for Uncle Carl and Aunt Ann. We are hoping they are getting better and that when we get home Uncle Carl will be ready for his next 5k.
Opting to take a cab back to the hotel instead of the metro again we quickly hopped in the cab and after navigating and dodging the pedestrians we got back where we both rested. We will need it as tonight we will partake in our last “fine art” of the day – the iconic burlesque, Moulin Rouge.
Moulin Rouge did not disappoint. The food was very good and each serving comes with a half bottle of champagne. Since Dave does not drink, Kathy got to enjoy a full bottle of champagne! We also had a nice couple seated with us, Saad and Pega. They are from Dubai, although Pega is by way of Toronto, and Iran before that. They are newlyweds and were fun to chat with during dinner. The show featured many dance routines, with music from the 1930’s to today. We recognized many of the songs, although hearing Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” in French was new. They also had circus-type acts with a guy throwing knives and other sharp and deadly objects at his partner, sometimes blindfolded, sometimes with her spinning in a box. Then he shot balloons held in her mouth with a crossbow – the last time with the crossbow hoisted on his shoulder, shooting backwards, using a cell phone from someone in the audience. Another hugely impressive act as two guys who balanced on each other’s head, feet, hand, etc. – while moving from standing to sitting to a laying position – and then back again! Dave is hurting just from watching the extraordinary fetes of skill, balance, and impossible strength.