France
"Every man has two countries: his own and France" - John F. Kennedy
Day 11. Thursday. 10/2. Red Red Wine
An early morning departure from wonderful Switzerland. What a drive, watching the rising sun drench the hillside hamlets in beautiful golden light and dance off the surface of the still blue lakes! I just can’t get enough of this bucolic countryside driving. Being on a big comfy bus and watching out the window is all the entertainment I need. Heading to France now, with Beaune our destination. Our first stop in this quaint medieval walled town was a winery… Bouchard Aîné & Fils, family owned since the 1700s, and we were ready for some serious wine tasting. We went down below and walked through various rooms full of wine barrels and old wine bottles and the pouring began. We started with whites and eventually graduated to full-bodied reds. The bottles we were sampling go for I think our host said 28 - 58 euros. We got to taste a 1er Cru, but not the grand-daddy of wines, a Grand Cru, which sell for thousands of dollars. Some of the bottles dated back to the early 1900s and were surrounded by cobwebs as proof. We then walked to the Hotel Dieu, the hospital built for the poor. Its look is unique with its Burgundian tiled roofs. Inside rows of red beds lined the Pauper's Ward. Next up, we were on our own for dinner. I picked a place I loved when I was here in 2023… Le County. Their boeuf bourguignon was out of this world! We sat in the “cave”, like I did before. Nice ambiance. I got the boeuf bourguignon again. It was not the same presentation as it was when I ate here before but still very tasty. I had been thinking about this meal for two years, wondering if I would ever get to try it again. And here I was trying it again. After a walk back to our hotel in the dark, our time in Beaune was just about over. A short and sweet visit. But time to move on.
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Hotel Dieu
Dinner at Le Conty
Day 12. Friday. 10/3. Paris. Yes Please.
We loaded up the bus early this morning and said Au Revoir to Beaune and headed northwest toward Paris. Again, the only good part about leaving early was the beautiful sunrise we got to watch as the eastern sky turned varying shades of pink and orange. Beautiful! We arrived in Paris before noon and checked into the Hotel Apollinaire in Montparnasse. Glad we’re in this area as I haven’t explored it yet. I think this hotel is one of the oldest around. Everything was good about it, even had a mini fridge. The staff was very nice and helpful with suggestions on where to go eat. Jo says this is a great area for food and that proved to be true. We had a lunch break on our own and I ended up at a very crowded crepe place, Creperie Le Petit Josselin. I had the most delicious smoked salmon crepe! I think the batter was maybe buckwheat as it was a dark color and very crispy with a generous topping of salmon. So, so good! Would love to come back to this place for sure. Next up, the group headed to the Metro and made our way to the Louvre. Since I had been there before, I had seen the Mona Lisa and Napoleon’s apartment, two of the main highlights. I wandered until I ran into a mom and her daughter from the group. We stayed a short time and then headed out. I showed them the Tuileries Gardens, as the mom is into gardening. We were near Angelina’s, the popular hot chocolate place, so we headed there but the line was long. So we decided to make our way back to Montparnasse. We were all on our own as far as finding our way back, and thanks to the navigation skills of the young and smart daughter, she led us right back to the Metro and back to where we needed to be. An early dinner sounded good so we went to a place the hotel desk recommended that they said had good French Onion soup, which is what the mom wanted. I think it was called Cafe Milou. She got her soup, her daughter got fries and I ordered mashed potatoes with cheese. They brought a whole big pot of potatoes and dumped them all on my plate. They were pretty good, but way too much for me to eat. On the way back to the hotel, we had to stop at La Parisienne, an award winning bakery/boulangerie. I got the most delicious chocolate eclair. Went back to the hotel. Was in pj’s by 8 pm and I had the eclair as a bedtime snack. Best ever!
Delicious Salmon Crepe
Eclair + PJs = Bliss
Vital Information
Sunrise
Montparnasse
LOUVRE
Luxembourg Garden
Day 13. Saturday. 10/4. Paris Highlights
We left our Montparnasse hotel early this morning, took the Metro as a group, and met our local guide, Sylvie, in the heart of Paris. It was raining but not enough to ruin our day. We walked by some of the Paris favs, like the Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame with all its majesty intact after reopening a few months ago, following the devastating fire in 2019. We walked through Saint Germain and it was market day…great little market with all the typical produce, flowers, breads, pastries, seafood, cheese, etc. Good place for a lunch break. We resumed our walk and stopped in a church, Église Saint-Séverin in the Latin Quarter. Like all the churches, it was beautiful inside and is one of the oldest churches still standing on the left bank. This was just a warm-up for what was coming next. We visited the royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle. Oh my! It was another moment that took my breath away. Unbelievably gorgeous on the inside. The stained glass in the upper level was out of this world! It’s in an interesting location, connected to a courthouse, so tight security screening was in place. It is situated within the medieval Palais de la Cité where the Kings of France lived until the 14th century. It was just stunning! They have concerts there and I hope to go to one at some point. Then off to find our boat for a river cruise. The cruise lasted about an hour and cruised by all the famous sights along the river, Notre Dame, the Conciergerie which looks very impressive from the water with its twin towers and it’s near where we just were at Sainte-Chapelle, the Orsay, the Louvre, the Pont Alexandre III bridge and of course, the Eiffel Tower. It was a little chilly but fun. After the cruise, we walked back to our hotel, with a very worthy detour through the Luxembourg Garden. So so pretty! Gold, yellow and orange autumn leaves on the trees, flowers, fountains, statues, ducks, little sailboats. It could not have been more picturesque! Next up was our final dinner. We bussed over to the 7th to a restaurant called Le Bosquet. French Onion soup to start, followed by a sea bass filet and veggie dish and a Dame Blanche for desert. All very good!! It was great fun! But the party was not over yet! We went back to the hotel and continued. Joe had us all draw a number and then gave us each the corresponding gift. So thoughtful. At each stop we made, he snuck into shops and bought gifts just for this occasion. There were all kinds of cute gifts, from coffee cups to beer mugs to Christmas ornaments. Mine was a Florence calendar. Really fun night and boy did we cram a lot in today! We all exchanged contact info and said our goodbyes. So sad for it to end. What a great group of people!
Saint-Germain -des-Prés Market Day
↑ River Cruise on the Seine
Farewell Dinner 😭
Église Saint-Séverin
Parting Gift from Joe
Day 14. Sunday. 10/5. Thanks for the Memories
The RS tour officially ended this morning. Everyone went their separate ways, with just a few people staying around Paris for a few more days. I really hated to see it end. It was a great trip and so many nice people! Said a few more goodbyes to the people who showed up for breakfast. Then checked out at 11, stored my luggage for a bit, and went out to explore Montparnasse. I ran into a few people from our group and they went with me to the top of the Montparnasse Tower. What an excellent view from the 56th floor! You could see all of Paris. Then we went to lunch at Zhao, the Chinese place with the giant noodles that these girls had been to earlier in the week. It was soooo good! Perfect ending. After that, the party really was over and I took a taxi back to my apartment, unpacked, went to the store, got caught up with a friend and sent her some pics, so got to relive the trip for the first of what will be many times, Then collapsed in bed, full of new memories, new friendships…and already thinking about where to go next! ❤️
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page" - Augustine
