Back in Paris again!

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Hello!  We’re back in Paris at a new hotel very close to Porte Maillot, where we will be catching the Ryan Air bus to Beauvais Airport tomorrow morning for our 12:25 pm flight to Thessaloniki, Greece.  So…to recap.

Last night we made one more trip in the funicular up Fourviere hill.  It was really cold and windy, but it was dry, which was nice.  It was such a wonderful view – and I hadn’t realized that the Ferris wheel actually changed colors on the spokes – it was fun to watch.  Then back to the flat for our last night.  

Up around 6 for the last bit of cleaning.  Bathroom entirely, then a bite of breakfast (one last pain au chocolat and croissants) and changing the sheets and towels.  I really wish I could have found the camera, to see Robert try and get the duvet into its new and clean duvet cover.  (He really isn’t a duvet fan.)  I think at one point that he was basically entirely enmeshed inside the cover on the bed.  At any rate, it was a bit lumpy, but it was the best we could do!

We were expecting Clothilde at 9 am, but it turns out that she had written 9 am down on her notes, but entered 10 am on her electronic calendar.  So…as it got closer to 9:30 we were unable to get her on the phone, so decided to leave her a note and one set of keys, and lock the door and put the keys under the mat.  Fortunately, everything was fine by the time she got there at 10, but we were so sorry that we weren’t able to say a proper goodbye!  Clothilde has been a wonderful landlady, and her apartment was so fun to stay in.  We really, truly enjoyed our visit to Lyon, and the comfort of the apartment was a large part of feeling at home!

However … back to us heading out in a light sprinkle to Part-Dieu train station.  It took about half an hour to get to the T4 Tram stop, and then it was one stop right to the door.  That was indeed fortunate, as it had started to rain in earnest by that time, and our umbrellas were packed in a suitcase staying warm and dry! 

Me on the TGV

We had about half an hour to wait for our track to be posted, but by the time we got to the track, it was pouring rain, and windy, and really, really cold!  I would have loved to have had my hat and gloves, but of course, like the umbrellas, they were also warm and dry.  

The train pulled in on time and to the upper level of the car (of course!) to our seats.  They were two of a four-seat facing arrangement, and when no one came to claim the other two, we spread out so that I could ride facing, which I definitely prefer.  No stops at all between Lyon and Paris and before long we were flying along at TGV speed (280 km/h or about 175 miles/h)!  The trip basically takes a little under 2 hours on the TGV, and we were about 15 minutes early!  Off the train at Gare du Lyon a few minutes before 1 pm and heading to the Metro Line 1 toward La Defense.

We bought a carnet of tickets (special price for packet of 10) which are not nearly as fun as the unlimited or all-day passes that we greatly prefer.  However, they work.  A Line 1 Metro was just pulling in as we got to the platform … us and hundreds of our closest friends!  Talk about a CRUSH!  And we had something like 14 stops to go!  Things cleared out a little at Chatelet, which is a major transit hub, but by the time we got towards Etoile it was packed again.  We were concerned about being able to get off at Port Maillot, but fortunately, we’re loud enough and pushy enough that we both were able to exit the train at the same station.

I hadn’t really looked at the map too closely, so we came up in a park, on a direct line from the Arc de Triomphe.  Had to make our way from the park across rows and rows of traffic, but we both managed it without losing any body parts or luggage!  Yeah!!  Finally oriented ourselves properly, and a 10 minute walk to the Villa des Ternes hotel.  Checked in to room 301, and the hotel is quite lovely!  Huge bathroom (with tub) and an acceptable amount of space for all our luggage.  R is stretched out on the bed, which he views favorably, and we are planning a rest before we head out for dinner tonight.  We’ve decided to go back to l’Ecluse Madeleine, where we had dinner on our first night.  Very much looking forward to it!

So, nap for now!

m

xxx

Just back from dinner, and it’s 8:03 pm!  I actually did have a nice nap this afternoon … just hope I’m not awake all night, although if I am, we actually have Eurosport on TV here!!  Terrific!

Ferris wheel at Concorde from Champs Elysees

Beautiful lights in the trees!

Ferris wheel and obelisk at Concorde

We went out about 5 to head to l’Ecluse at the Madeleine.  The nice thing about it is that they open about noon and stay open through the afternoon and evening, so we didn’t have to worry about being “too early” for dinner.  We walked past the Congress (convention center) and the Hyatt Regency (the hotel that we stayed in once when we were following the Tour de France, and our hotel lost power, and it was hot and we were just looking for air conditioning…) and found the place where the Ryan Air buses leave for Beauvais Airport tomorrow.

We finally found the 73 bus stop, on one of the arms of the Etoile (star) leading from the Arc de Triomphe, and in no time at all we were down the Champs Elysees to Place de la Concord.  We walked from there.  The Christmas market/fair is still going on, although there weren’t nearly as many people as the times we visited before Christmas.  It probably ends this weekend.

There weren’t too many people at l’Ecluse when we got there, so we had lots of room to spread out and be comfortable.  It is interesting to note that this is probably the only time I can remember on record where R and I both had the exact same thing! 

L'Ecluse Madeleine

R with soup

We had lovely bowls of four-vegetable soup to start.  It was nice and hot, and at least one of the veggies was squash, as it had a beautiful orange color.  After that, we had entrecote fillets which were cooked rare, and were really just perfect!  With that came ramekins of mashed potatoes and green salad.  Everything was fantastic, and I’m not saying that just because I was hungry!  We washed everything down with glasses of Graves rouge.  Great meal!

Fabulous dinner!

Arc and Champs Elysees

Lovely at night from the bus!

Then, back outside to catch the 73 back to Porte Maillot – and when you know where you’re going, it was SO much easier this time to actually find the hotel!  We are now in for the night, and I’m contemplating seeing if we can print our Ryan Air boarding passes back from Greece – they let you check in 30 days in advance – and they charge something upwards of 10E each to print them at the airport!  So…we’ll see what we can do! [N.B.  Boarding passes for the Greece to Paris flight have been downloaded and printed.  All set! – R]

That’s all for tonight!  Tomorrow, on to Greece!

m

xxx