I was the first to leave the group of travelers on Monday to head for Paris. Gene, Carrie and Mike will all leave on Tuesday to go their respective ways. It was a great time with everyone. Gene and Carrie are great travelers and a lot of fun to be with, if anyone is interested in hooking up with them for another trip. And, of course, Mike is the lead traveler. We decided that he is the common thread among us. None of us in this group had ever traveled until we met Mike. What a great thread to weave.
As for Miami, Mike and I agreed that we could come back here for a long weekend type vacation again…minus the large Mojitos. Not only is it a clean beach with great accommodations, it is also packed with really interesting food options, which is the second most important thing after getting a great deal. As I mentioned, we stayed in a hotel on Ocean Avenue where there were lots of fun (and expensive) restaurants. But, one and two blocks back from the ocean, there were lots of inexpensive (relatively speaking) ethnic restaurants that had some pretty tasty food. The Cuban and South American food that we had on the first two days was very nice. But, on Monday, we had the best ethnic food, in my estimation. We ate at a small French bistro owned by a young french man. The meal was a perfect send off for me as I headed for Paris. We had escargot, onion soup, a warm oat cheese salad and a nutella crepe. YUMMY! On my way out, I mentioned to the owner that I was on my way to Paris and then on to Arles, which seemed to make him happy and certainly garnered a lot of attention from his staff and the other customers there.
As it turns out, I am glad to have had the nice lunch. My flight was delayed for 2 hours out of Miami. And, of course, we all know the delightful quality of the airline food. I had the cheese pasta surprise….a real treat….NOT!! I’m wondering if Chef Boyardee has the food contract for the airlines these days. It was about the same quality. They did give me a free coffee with Baileys for my inconvenience in waiting to board the flight. That was nice.
Anyway, I arrived in Paris finally and checked into my hotel after being ripped off on cab fair, which kind of ticked me off. Oh well…
I chose to stay at a small hotel in the Isle St. Louis area, which is near Notre Dame. There are shops and small bistros lining the streets right out of my hotel making it easy to get a quick meal. Directly across the street from the hotel is a fromagerie (cheese shop)…my favorite. I can’t get enough of the French cheese. I can hear my arteries screaming every time I take a bite. But, I continue to do this anyway. After all, I am in the land of cheese. There is also a wine purveyor on my street. I have already made friends with the proprietor and purchased a very nice bottle of 2009 bordeaux, which I am sipping on as I write this. I don’t ever need to leave this street. It has everything.
My room here is very cute. It’s tiny…again, the size of a postage stamp. I am on the very top floor that is reached by riding in an elevator that barely fit me, my suitcase and the porter, and then by walking up a set of winding, narrow stairs. I’m not sure how one exits this room in an emergency. I guess I’d better investigate that and form an escape plan. I can’t see how I would ever get out of here if there was a problem. Just a small problem.
The room itself has an exposed beam ceiling and fits into one of the corners of the building. Right next to the bed is a tiny sitting area in case I get tired of sitting on the bed. I’m always amazed at how they can make these small spaces work. It’s a miracle. In this case, it’s almost like being in the loft of a ski chalet. I feel like I am in a cocoon….and, since I am on the top floor, it is very warm…heat rises, I hear. All in all, I think I will be very happy here for the next few days.
I did leave the street and my cozy room to do a little sightseeing this afternoon. I walked over to Notre Dame and then to Sainte Chappelle. I have not been to Notre Dame since my first visit to Paris in the 90’s. It’s still the same. The building is huge and very impressive and the stained glass windows are beautiful. It’s also very commercialized, which I don’t love. If you want to see some stained glass windows and less commercialization, though, Sainte Chappelle is the place to be. The whole chapel is one big stained glass window. I have never seen anything like this. I have been here 3 times and I never get tired of viewing the windows. They are incredible.
Sainte Chappelle is part of the Palace of Justice. The chapel has 1,113 religious scenes depicted in the 15 stained glass windows that make up the building. They tell the story of mankind from Genesis to Christ’s resurrection. Some of the window series read left to right and some from the bottom upwards. If you take the time and look carefully, you can actually follow the stories. I have toured many cathedrals and churches in Europe and this is usually how it works with the windows. But, I still find it fascinating. The stained glass windows are how the religious teachings were communicated to the masses back in the day because of poor literacy levels of the common folk.
On my way back to the hotel, I stopped to have a double hot chocolate as it is freezing here and I needed to thaw out my toes that were like blocks of ice. There is snow on the ground and it was drizzling all day, the only downside to Paris in the winter. Oh well, the cheese and the wine make up for it.
I am going to call it a night at 7:15 pm. I am jet lagged and full of cheese and wine….a perfect combination for sleeping. Tomorrow, I plan to do some museum hopping. It’s a good time to be inside where it’s warm and dry.
Sweet dreams!
Travel With Betsy 
Leave a comment