This latest trip started as a random comment by the(other)eb. He casually mentioned that there was a conference and training session in Belgium that his company might attend. It turned out that the person who was supposed to go couldn’t. He volunteered and the rest just happened. I know that for most people, the idea of going to Europe for a long weekend seems crazy, but there you have it – it’s what we do. Looking back, we’ve spent 3 of the last 4 Memorial Day weekends in Europe. More about those trips some other time.
Anyway, since we were *just* in Belgium last fall, we decided to meet in Paris since neither of us had been there and it’s one of those “must see” places in the world. I was in Vegas the week before for a tradeshow and left there to fly to Paris. Eric met me there after coming in on the high speed train from Brussels. The contrast between Vegas and Paris was a dose of culture shock.
We arrived around noon and set off to find our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Tilsitt Etoile just off the Arc du Triomphe. My review of the hotel should be posted on Tripadvisor.com soon, but I give the location a thumbs up. After checking in and dropping the bags we headed out to explore the city. We made a pact not to try to do too many things in the short 3 days that we had, but instead relax and let things happen. We didn’t have much of a plan, other than a few key sights that everyone told us we had to see.
At this point we stopped at a café for lunch and immediately realized we were going to have to be more selective about where we ate. We ordered ham sandwiches (baguette et jambon), but the waiter brought us ham omelettes. What? I was too hungry to argue, so we ate them and called for the check. Our second surprise was that we were charged 8€ each for our Cokes. Yikes! Expensive lesson learned.
Leaving the café behind we went to visit Notre Dame. It’s unusual and beautiful, but the experience was slightly tarnished for me because of the huge crowds of people. There were hundreds in line, as well as some who just walked up and pushed in ahead (the American/English idea of a queue is nonexistent).
Once inside, the cathedral’s stained glass windows are everything you hear about. However, the crowd of people talking and tramping through make it feel a little less sacred and special. Back outside, the carvings and gargoyles are fantastic. We especially liked this one of St. Denis who was beheaded and now holds his own noggin (2nd from right).
After Notre Dame we walked around the Ile de Cite and the Latin Quarter, and then to a café for a beer before dinner. This time, we checked the menu and prices first (beer and wine are cheaper than soft drinks). After a great Italian dinner near our hotel, we went for a walk, or really, more of a wander. We ended up at Porte Maillot and then headed home to the Arc, happy, full, and tired!
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