We started out the day by going to the French Prefecteur and the America
Embassy to clarify some issues about us and schengen countries. Got a lot of info and will keep you all posted. Then we went to the wine cellar at the hospital. See pics. Then we went in search of a chocolate experience. We went to the right place but couldn’t find it. Again we did a lot of walking with no success. We returned to the hotel (walking of course) we decided to have a glass of wine while we waited for the dinner hour (8pm). So naturally here are the pics from dinner. We shared a cheese appetizer. OMG the cheese was good -no pic we just ate. Marsha had the buffet-too many choices if you ask me, and I had the goat cheese and spinach quiche. Marsha decided on desert- profiteroles . The waiter brought out the dish – see pic – and Marsha said OMG and the waiter said “No, my name is Frank”. Tomorrow we leave for Switzerland.

We’re back in France. As usual we took the train and walked to our hotel to check in. Then we walked to the old city center. From our hotel we can walk along the river and it was really nice. When we got into town it was quite a bit warmer. By this time we had walked several hours so we stopped for something cold and wet. See pic. Then we toured the church that is the centerpiece of the town. See pic. We walked some more (Yes, we walked a lot today). Then we went in search of a restaurant. This was not easy. There are a ton of nice restaurants, but I wanted an Alsatian speciality and Marsha is vegetarian and the first dozen or so did not meet our expectations. Finally we settled on a restaurant -we turned out to be the only customers. Our waitress told us the restaurant has been in her family for 150 years and her father is the chef. Marsha had onion quiche and a salad and I had a local speciality of venison cooked in red wine with spätzle. Everything was great, so of course we split a dessert-see pics. Then we set out for the light show on the river. Well we walked in circles for quite some time. Streets here go a block, change name and even direction. Finally we asked someone and they sent us on the right direction. We found the location and the city puts on the laser light, dancing water and firework show every night for free – See pic. It ended past 11pm so we decided to take the bus and tram back close to our hotel. Yes we figured out how to buy tickets and which lines to ride. We are back at the hotel resting up for tomorrow.

The streetwalkers hit the streets of Paris again. First we went to the Cluny Museum. It had all medieval artifacts and was really interesting. See picture of Barbara with a statue of Saint Barbara. Then we went to the Pantheon. The pendulum was removed for repairs. Then we went to the Luxembourg Gardens. See picture. Then we headed towards Montparasse Tower for another view of Paris. On the way there we stopped at a pharmacy because I could not stop sneezing. The pharmacist asked me several questions and then I bought allergy medication, the medicine seems to be working. Also on the way to the tower we passed a lovely pastry store. See pictures. We had lunch even though we weren’t hungry and it was worth it. We went up the Montparasse Tower. See picture. We walked back to the hotel for warmer clothes and then went thru Notre Dame Cathedral. The we went to the Pompidou Museum (modern art) and Igor Stravinsky square. Then we walked to the Louvre. Yes I have pictures of the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo. By this time we were really tired so we went back to the hotel to rest. We went out for a light dinner and then walked around some more. It is our last evening in Paris so we stopped into a Chocolatier and bought desert. Back to the hotel early – 11pm- London tomorrow.

OMG. We get back to the hotel a couple of minutes before midnight.
We left the hotel at about 9.30am. First we went to Versailles. There are a few pictures – one of the hall of mirrors, some of the beautiful gardens and one of Barbara in front of the main gate. It was jammed with people. I took a picture of Marsha waiting in line so you could get an idea of the line. The wait was approx 3 hours. Marsha went in to buy tickets and I went to wait in line, which saved us about an hour in line if we had both gone to buy tickets. We bought 2 day museum passes which are good at all the museums. We left Versailles at approx and headed to the Rodin museum. It is a great museum, they also have beautiful gardens and the most beautiful roses. The Thinker is in the middle of this stunning rose garden. The we walked to the Dome church (Napoleon’s Tomb). The inside domes are magnificent, then we walked to the Champs Élysées and then to the Arc de Triumph. This is a very long walk. Then we climbed the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triumph for the view. See picture of Marsha & Barbara on top of the Arc. Then we took the subway to Sacre Couer to see the church and another view. What a view! The Eiffel Tower is lit and starting at 10pm it has sparkling lights for 5 min every hour. We saw them at 11 and then took the subway back. I took lot of pictures with my regular camera and so did Marsha. I need to get some sleep – tomorrow another day in Paris. Met people from Montana and Sweden at breakfast. Bon Nuit

It is now the next morning. Traveling this way is not for the faint of heart. We are not even saving ticket stubs, because we would have to carry them. After you board a train, subway and then carry your luggage to the 3rd floor you try to make everything as light as possible. It sounds easy, but to get to the subway you have to basically go down two flights of stairs and up two flights of stairs and thru turnstiles. Not that easy with luggage. Also it doesn’t getting dark here until 10:30pm. 8pm seems like 5pm. Weather has been cold and windy, but today it is supposed to be 19 degrees tomorrow. Thank goodness it hasn’t rained. Meeting a lot of nice people.