Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Dreaming of Paris-Part Trois

This is part three in a series of posts from my trip to Paris three years ago with my Dad. Each night I wrote down what we did that day so I could remember all the things we did, saw and ate. Most nights I was too tired to go into much detail but you can get the general idea. Also, this trip was pre-blog and I didn't take as many pictures as I would if I took the trip today. If you want to read parts one and two you can do so here and here.

"Woke to clowdy skies and took bus #69 to the Marais area. Grabbed a chocolate/almond croissant and oj at a bakery once we got there. Found Avenue St. Paul which was suppose to have a flea market, but we didn't see one. Shops in the area not opened yet so we strolled around the area a bit and visited Place de Vosges, a neat former Palace with a park in front.


Went back to St. Paul and a couple of the shops were open. Very expensive stuff. Did not buy one thing. Decided we would head to Montmartre (the area in the movie "Amelie") so we took bus #65 to bus #30 to the base of Montmartre and went to the top to Sacre Coeur.
Great view of Paris, but couldn't see Eiffel Tower from there, too cloudy. Walked down some really quaint cobbled streets to this square with lots of painters selling their works of art. Lots of people there to paint portraits too. Such a neat atmosphere. We stopped in the square at a restaurant to have lunch. Escargot and a croche monseur for me. Very tasty, but too much food. Surprised by the large portions here in Paris. Oh yes, I forgot to say, I paid .50 euro to pee in pub in Montmartre.


After lunch we made out way to the Moulin Rouge on a very seedy, X-rated, touristy, street. After that we had a hard time finding a bus back to our hotel. Ultimately we took a cab back to the Marais area and then caught the #69 bus back to Rue Grenelle right by our hotel. Rested and cleaned up for dinner.

Spotted a fancy restaurant called the "Cafe de l'Esplanade" on Rue Grenelle. Very posh. Valet parking on a busy street. Hard to read menu. Had some kind of fish with Bearnaise sauce and yummy mashed potatoes. Keith (my Dad) had steak again which ordered medium well and it came pretty red. He sent it back after he had eaten most of it and it came back okay looking on the outside and raw on the inside. He wasn't too happy. I guess he should have said "well done." He had fancy cookies for desert and I had some kind of pastry with strawberries and cream. Walked back to the hotel on St. Dominque and passed out."

Hope you are enjoying my little trip down memory lane. Part four will be be about meeting up with Isabel and her family for a little site seeing.

11 comments:

AuroraSuzette said...

This post is exactly why I follow your blog! I miss my Dad, but have wonderful memories of trips we've taken together, and I am so happy he continued traveling almost to the end. It was something he loved to do! Our only trip to Europe was the year we lived in Amsterdam, and I was in fifth grade.

Amber Strehle said...

Lisa!!

Love the picture of you and your Dad in front of Sacre Coeur!! I loved Montmartre!! Actually a street musican grabbed my boob there..it's ok at least I had my boob grabbed in Le Grand Paris:)

Lori said...

that looks and sounds like a wonderful trip...except for having to pay to pee...LOL...and the seedy section...i would love to go myself one day!!!

trash talk said...

There have been times I would have paid a lot more than that to have access to a bathroom!
I feel like I'm seeing it through your eyes and loving every moment of it!
Debbie

Sheila said...

WOW What a wonderful trip.. Such a romantic feeling when i think of Paris. Now i got to see some of it through your eyes. Thanks so much for sharing. I have a penny bank from the 50's that says My Trip to paris.. It has the eifel tower on it and some poodles of course.. lol .. the bank is on my website.. it is so much fun to look at.

Zita - Mlle Magpie said...

Ahhh, memories of Paris. Sounds like a wonderful trip with your father, Lisa.

Herbgirl said...

So wonderful to read your memories as they are just like my recent trip there for the first time...except with friends not my Dad. Too bad you couldn't see the Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur as it looked like we could reach out and touch it when we were there.
Herbal Blessings, Mandy

Timi said...

WOW!! Thank you! This just makes me want to go there even more. What a beautiful place. Your pictures are fantastic.
Timi

Alicia ~ Time Worn Style said...

just love dropping in to have a peek at all your wonderful finds, so lovely
Alicia

prashant said...

that looks and sounds like a wonderful trip.
Work from home India

prashant said...

I feel like I'm seeing it through your eyes and loving every moment of it!
Work from home India