Travel Empress Blog

We're home following a great 10 day trip to Paris, a river cruise on the Seine to Normandy, and back to Paris for two days. I am starting with the end of the trip and working my way back. That is because the last of the photos are the most ready. First of all it was an incredible trip and we had the time of our lives. Next, a commercial announcement! A big thank you to Empress Travel on Upper Union St. in Schenectady, NY for making the arrangements and Uniworld, the cruise line we chose (the River Baroness gave us a lovely experience), and lastly The Good Feet Store (not kidding I would have NEVER been able to do all that wonderful walking (even hiking up a considerably big "hill" without the inserts from Good Feet Store on Wolf Road, Albany, NY.

We sailed back to Paris after a day split between Giverney and Versailles. We enjoyed the Captain's farewell dinner as guests at the Captain's Table (don't know why we were picked, didn't lobby for it, but LOVED it - my Hyacynth (PBS) moment),danced the night away and went topside at 11pm to view the Eiffel Tower (already a Katherine DeMedici's Luxembourg Garden Mansion  light show but it sparkles like a Roman candle for 5 minutes on the hour).

A motor coach tour of Paris in the morning was wonderful. Even tho' we had been on our own in Paris for three days before setting sail; and used a hop on hop off Grey Line type of double-decker bus; we were very happy we had decided to go on the tour. The local "step on" guides from Uniworld were amazing. Art, history, language majors (some Sorbonne educated)! We ended the morning with a walk through Luxembourg Gardens with our guide. It was a Saturday morning and "ever fit" Parisienne's were out in force jogging, rollerblading, practicing Tai Chi, etc. It seemed like "Dad's day with the kids." So many fathers were out teaching their kids to ride bikes and playing with their children.

Saturday afternoon, our last if Paris, found us with free time. Wes relaxed, finished his book, and worked on some e-mail business (he brought his PC - I went almost cold turkey re: technology). I found a friend, Marci, and took a stroll through a great park near the boat dock. We ended up at a treasure trove of a flea market. No one with maps - we used our fractured, but sincere, French, sign language, facial expressions, etc. to buy and haggle. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe amidst the market and had a lovely day. Some of you will be "gifted" with our flea market finds. Marci found a cowbell still attached to a primitively painted wooden yoke. It's for her new garden - heavy - hope she got it home ok. We scurried back to the boat; met our guys for a glass of wine on the upper deck and left ourselves 10 minutes to clean up for dinner followed by a trip to the Avenue de Champs Elysees (glistening with light at night) and a wonderful T&A plus strong men and acrobats show at The Lido. Back to the boat just before midnight and packed (more like shoved things into suitcases) to be ready for our early departure and flight home via Philly. Passing through French customs coming in was a breeze. US customs coming back not bad; but crowded. We were glad we had a bit of a layover and didn't have to push it.

Enjoyed a very interesting conversation with a jewelry designer from Manhattan in Charles de Gaulle airport before taking off for the US. She had been in France for "Fashion Week." Her jewelry is big and bold and she is in Bergdorf's with her line. She said that retail America was virtually absent in total, from the Paris "show" this year. No buyers from Niemen's, no Bergdorf's, no Barney's, and on down the line. She also recanted a story about a high end French cafe where she goes for coffee frequently. This time she was also hungry and ordered an egg white omelets and was "haughted at" by the waiter with a quick "Madam, you are in Paris; we do not do omelet's that way!" So she got a regular omelets and coffee for 45 Euro! We never experienced that attitude. Perhaps that is a virtue of avoiding "high end" cafes!

Rouen, France

This middle ages city is well preserved and so pretty. It is here where St. Joan of Arc was sold to the British who tortured her as a witch and burned her at the stake. It seems that no one spoke up on her behalf. The church built in her memory is an incredible piece of very modern architecture in the town of gothic churches, The cathedral of Notre Dame (so frequently painted by Monet) dominates the city scape. Monet painted it again and again, working with it as much for "light study" as for subject matter. Today, we opted out of the optional tour to a Caldavos apple orchard and cider farm lunch. It's nice to balance really good guided tours with some time to explore on our own. Thankful for comfy shoes, good maps and backpacks.

Normandy, France

Battlefields and cemeteries; whether in Normandy, Gettysburg, Washington DC or anywhere tug at the heart. It is overwhelming to look at the thousands of Crosses and Stars of Davids and think what these brave soldiers went through. The US / Canadian Cemetery is fittingly, immaculately kept. We were given a rose to place on the grave marker of our own choice. The museums were so informative. The signage was in French and English. One light note - we got the word at breakfast on the boat; that the itinerary would be tight to get through the Museum at Fort Winston properly and still have lunch. Ever resourceful, Wes, grabbed baguettes, cold cuts and cheeses from the breakfast buffet aboard the River Baroness; wrapped them in a linen napkin (which we returned later) and packed our lunch. The man is a resourceful traveler! You will not starve or get lost if you travel with Wes.

Eiffle Tower at Night, Paris, France

We took an elevator to a 360 panorama view of Paris from the 54th floor of the Montparnase Office Tower, the tallest building in France. We had a few days in Paris before we boarded the River Baroness. Our room at the Meridian Montparnasse wasn't ready; so we used a two day pass on an open air "hop on...hop off" bus (the yellow one) and got a great overview of the city with taped commentary. We hopped off at the Louvre, where we were so glad that Zita had steered us to visit Napoleon III's Apartment. Our "fellow travelers" never saw this marvel. We did get to Mona, Winged Victory, Venus and other Louvre highlights. The I.M. Pei glass pyramid reminded us of the Guggenheim - especially regarding the spiral stairways. Notre Dame offered our first experience with Gypsy people trying to trick us out of a few bucks. C'est la vie!

A museum highlight of our trip to Paris has to be the Musée d'Orsay, located in a former railroad station on the left bank of the Seine across from the Louvre. It holds an extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne among others along with an impressive sculpture collection. Our trip to the d'Orsay was the first "included tour" in our River Baroness package.

We literally trekked, partly by Metro, up to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre with its lively art scene. We grazed at sidewalk cafés near the Louvre and at Place Michele, and along the Seine. We took our one taxi ride back to the magnificent Opera House once we had settled in on the boat and before we set sail. This is the site that inspired "The Phantom of the Opera," one of our very favorite plays.

The Meridian Montparnasse is a convention hotel with strong ties to the tourist industry. It's fine; but we will stay more centrally at a smaller hotel with a little more Gallic charm on our next trip to Paris. The hotel was in a working class/student neighborhood. It was safe and had good access to public transportation. There was interesting people watching from the sidewalk cafes on Boulevard Pasteur.

Musee d'Orsay had both paintings and sculpture by Degas. And, we learned that his favorite subject matters - dancers and horse racing - were based in rather "personal" relationships between ballerina... [more]360 view from the Montparnarasse Office Tower (10 Euro; no lines); but it is a bit of a ways from where we really wanted to be in Paris. If you happen to stay at the Meridian Montparnasse; we highly recommend Le Chateau del'Ouest for dinner. It's walkable from the hotel. We savored a wonderful dinner on the protected patio.

Subtle, beautiful, peaceful, so in harmony with nature and so impressionistic. Giverny! We felt right at home in Claude Monet's charming gardens and bright, (the dining room is totally painted the brightest yellow we have ever seen) eclectic "cottagey" home. Our own little Ballston Lake garden tends to get a little busy/messy like Monet's (on a much, much smaller scale). We love the wild and muted colors of flowers competing for the light. Even the so called Japanese garden doesn't adhere to the traditional rules of Japanese landscaping - but there is bamboo and little arched bridges and waterlilies galore! What a contrast to the formality we would goggle at later the same day in Versailles. This is not to complain - just pointing out the vast difference between the surroundings of creative types - like Money and royal types - like Louie XIV! We loved this place. Would love to see it in spring and summer. Even this late in the fall (October); the Giverny gardens were splendid! The pictures say it all. We bought a book showing the interior (photos were not allowed inside the house). We exited through the gift shop. The Gift Shop at Giverny, like so many museum shops, is wonderful! No cheesy souveniers here!

Versailles, France

Over the top! Crowded (although seasoned tourists said this was nothing compared to summer throngs)! Beautiful! Decadent (no wonder there was a Revolution)! Versailles! We got to Versailles from the River Baroness docked at Port de Mantes la Jolie after spending the morning at Vernon (blog details of Giverny in process). The River Baroness moved on to Conflans while we were at Versailles on this optional tour. It seems that many visitors to Paris have to skip Versailles because of the approx 2 hour commute time. Our route to and from the Palace made good use of time. We are impressed with UniWorld's intinerary organization. Our step on guide and palace guide were both excellent.

The Sun King, Louie XIV, was a demanding person. Versailles was build at the site of a hunting lodge. To build the palace the King had his engineers level a hill, divert a river, fill a swamp, and wipe out a forest! You have to wonder at the "sense of taste" that motivated such use of gold leaf, massive paintings, impossibly large chandeliers surrounded by detailed ceiling paintings of gods and godesses and such formal landscaping!