Travel With Betsy

There is an up side and a down side to visiting Paris in January. The down side is it’s just plain cold and sometimes drizzly and dark. The upside is that there are no crowds and you can walk, look, eat and drink unencumbered by a bunch of tourists who don’t know what they are doing. I had the most amazing day.

first, let me say that the Frye boots that I purchased last year at Christmas are not warm or waterproof. I gave them the test yesterday. They didn’t pass. As much as I love them, I considered buying a new pair today that are rubber on the top and bottom are fur lined so that I could keep my feet dry and warm while I am here in France. I looked in every shoe store in Paris (and believe me there are many) and decided that since I live in the central coast of California where it doesn’t typically snow, I would not be able to amortize the cost of the boots….you know, it’d the deal thing again. Also, I did a purchase like this once before when I visited Zermatt, Switzerland. $350.00 later, I had the warmest and most waterproof boots that money could buy. I still have the boots, at home of course, I just couldn’t justify another pair. So, I started our this morning with my bright white gym shoes. I wore 2 pairs of socks with them and can happily report that while I was spotted as an American tourist and a geek, my feet were dry and warm all day and did not feel like ice cubes like they did yesterday at this time. I am grateful.

I got a bit of a late start this morning…woke up at about 8:30. My cocoon room at the top of this hotel is so cozy, I had a very hard time waking up. By the time I was up and moving, had breakfast, etc. if twas about 10:45. Way too late for a full day in Paris. But, I’m not on a schedule this time, so I just relaxed into the day at a leisurely pace.

I walked all over Paris. I did some window shopping for the above mentioned boots and whatever else was available as I walked along the Rue de Rivoli, the main drag in Paris. This is where the Louvre, the Tuilleries, garden, and the L’Orangerie museum are located. The streets are lined with stores, cafes, restaurants and museums. Lots to do and see here. I passed by, but did not stop in Angelina’s Cafe, where they have the best hot chocolate and pastries in Paris. I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to spend the time, but it was tempting to say the least. I did manage to have a chocolate crepe as I walked along….so good.

Anyway, my main goal was to get to the L’Orangerie Museum and spend some time with Monet and his water lilies. So, I headed in that general direction. I wasn’t sorry. This is my absolute favorite museum in Paris. There are 2 rooms that are dedicated to life-size Monet paintings, in the round, depicting the water lilies that you see when you visit Monet’s home in Giverny. These are my very favorite paintings. When you see them in this way, it’s like you are at Giverny communing with nature. This is my second time here. My first visit was with Mike right after we had seen Giverny. I will always remeber this when I sit in the L’Orangerie and view these works. There are 2 rooms that are set up in this way with the lilies in the round. I spent a lot of time moving from room to room just looking at them. They are spectacular and very moving. Besides this display, the museum is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Paris anytime. INcluded in their collection are a few Renoirs, Cezannes, Gaughins, Matisses and Picassos. But, the highlight is definitely the Monets in the round.

After that experience, I walked over to the Rue Cler area, near the Eiffel Tower. I have never visited this area, but have wanted to explore here. We use the Rick Steves tour books as a rule and he loves this area. I do too. Rue Cler is a street where there are no cars. But, there are lots of fun food markets, cafes and stores to look at. I think this would be an interesting area to stay when next in Paris. Again, there is no shortage of patisseries (bakeries) and fromagneries (cheese shops) in this area. A great place to put together a picnic to eat as you walk. I stopped for a Cafw au Lait here and then walked back to the hotel.

I went through the St. Germain de Pres area. This is the area where Hemingway and his contemporaries hung out in their day. I passed the Cafe Flores and Le Deux Magots. These were Hemingways main places to get a meal and a drink now and then.

I finally made it back to the hotel at about 5:30. I bought a baguette along the way for a snack and contemplated where I should have dinner. I chose a small restaurant with an “early bird special” type meal. An appetizer and main course for a nominal fee. Sadly, I counterbalanced this with 2 glasses of St. Emillon wine from Bordeaux which cost me almost as much as the meal. As I review the meal in total, I think that Gene would be very disappointed that I spent this kind of money on wine. But, it was really good…..and worth it!

Tomorrow I am going on a day long wine tour into the eastern part of the Loire Valley ane the northern part of Burgandy. It took me awhile to decide on this one. I coucln’t figure out how they could cover so much ground in one day.. But, we are leaving at 7:30 am and getting back to our hotel at 7:30 pm. So, I’m guessing that’s how it’s done With a long day.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow! Until then….

This entry was posted on January 23, 2013 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.