London, East Anglia & Paris
July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross
Day 3, Tuesday
An American (and 5 friends) in Paris
No surprise that the kettle (hot-pot) in our hotel room didn't work--not much elso did, either. So there was the delay of getting dressed and finding the hotel restaurant before getting my dose of caffeine. The continental breakfast consisted of orange juice, a croissant, butter and jelly, and coffee--instant but strong. We didn't linger, however, because we had to meet the gang in the lobby and get ourselves to the Waterloo station in time to catch the Eurostar to Paris. This we managed, thanks to Mark's familiarity with the underground. We were quickly figuring out the tube map ourselves, and would have little trouble getting around.
At Waterloo station, our first chore was to verify our reservations at the ticket counter, and then to exchange some pounds for francs. As my pounds were apt to run low, I exchanged some of my precious US dollars instead. Things are expensive around here in July! One last coffee at the station, and we were off.
Linda, Bill and Mark boarding the Eurostar We boarded the coach and wound thru southeastern England. At last I was able to see some fairly open countryside--many barley fields with lots of hedge rows under a bright sun. The farm buildings were mostly old, and small by our ranch-like standards, but apparently efficient and successful. Everything here seems to be built of brick with tile roof. The train doesn't reach full speed (180 mph) on the English side of the channel tunnel, but it was quick enough getting to Dover. The cliffs were not visible from the train, since we entered the tunnel on the land side. We were able to glimpse the town of Folkstone before passing into the 20 minute oblivion of the tunnel itself. Juliet, our English guide, took this opportunity to give us much-needed information on where to go, how to say "thank you" (the French do not make an issue of speaking English, altho many can), and where to meet her at different intervals during the day. I took further advantage of the time to search my memory for a few key phrases learned 40 years ago in French class--remembering at last how to say: Good day, thank you, please, Do you speak English, and What is the word for ____ (point at something). Unbelievably, these few phrases got us through the day very nicely!
Emerging near Calais, France, the sun hit us full force as the train gained speed. Roaring past the French farms at 180 was a very smooth ride--the sense of speed barely detectable unless you tried to focus on the nearby hedges zooming past. Right away the differences are apparent! We weren't in Kansas anymore, not even England--but Europe, certainly! Few hedge rows, huge fields of barley and something that looked like soybean crops (but were possibly sugar beets as we later suspected), and small, fenced farm buildings and houses dotting the wide and mostly flattish land; whole, compact, villages visible on the horizon, with one church steeple in each one. The primary building material still seemed to be brick and tile, but with a subtle European flavor to the gables and windows that is not "English." I made no attempt to photograph the view--we were moving too fast to ever frame a shot.
Arriving at Gard du Nord, Paris At last--about 2 1/2 hours later, we entered the Gard du Nord (North Station) in Paris. And I thought the London stations were large! After passing thru appropriate passport lines, we found Juliet by her red coat and signifying red company umbrella. She was very good at herding us through the station and out onto the street where we were met by the appropriate bus.
Juliet, our Mary Poppins, at Gard du Nord, Paris Once on the bus, Juliet introduced Renee (female), our French guide, and Patrice (male), our bus driver. Renee was a giant among guides--I recommend her commentary highly! We spent the rest of the morning riding all over Paris--another blur in my head is about all that remains. If I try to focus on individual moments, I can recall seeing: Napoleon's Palace, the monument to Joan of Arc, the Thinker outside the Musee Rodin, many bridges with many Seine views (not one dog among them!), the Opera (wow--what a building, newly cleaned), the traffic (unbelievable!), the Ritz door through which Princess Di made her last exit, the site of the Bastille, the Left Bank, the Tuileries (gardens between the Louvre and the Champs Elysees), the Place de la Concorde, the ride down the Champs Elysees, the spot on which the Tour de France was to end the next day (later watched on television!), the Arc de Triomph.
Out on the street, looking for our bus,
the first view of Paris.
Rounding the Arc d'Triomph I cannot explain why there are no autos in my photo of the Arch--we were apparently in the inner most "lane" as we flew around the circle at this point. I do remember the traffic on the far side of the Arch!
Side note: While the Arch, above named, was overwhelmingly impressive, I was more astounded at the traffic pattern (or lack thereof) around it. There are apparently few traffic rules in Paris, and drivers feel free to make right-angle turns in the middle of 8 lanes (if they could be called lanes, as a linear pattern was only vaguely implied) of bumper-to-bumper vehicles moving (amazingly enough) in and out of the many streets around the Arch. It is completely outside my comprehension that we did not witness a single fatality all day!There were surely at least 100 other landmarks that I can no longer name--they were wall-to-wall and now just a blur--here's a couple.
Paris While on the canal side, the bus wound down thru impossibly narrow lanes to the docks, where several of our members were dropped off for a side trip on the Seine. The rest of us opted for walking tours. The bus then returned to the avenues, and stopped on the back side of the Eiffel Tower for our long-awaited rest stop/photo op. Not to be outdone by any other tourist in history, we had Mark take our picture with the Eiffel in the background. I look rather pitiful in this photo--chalk it up to the intense sunshine which was fast becoming a liability for my tourist experience.
Finally we rode by the front side (water side) of the Eiffel Tower.
Betsy, Bill and Linda in the inevitable photograph. I couldn't stand there long--you can tell that the sun was merciless--but I luckily found a nearby tree to stand under (and to smoke the rare cigarette) while we waited for all the other tour members to take pictures. Here we chatted with another member of our tour who was from Illinois. He and Bill traded mid-west university chatter.
Renee, our French guide, was very taken with the weather, and mentioned at least 3 times (in her beautiful accent) that we had brought Paris the first sunny day they had seen in a month. All of Paris was apparently celebrating, because the Parks and streets were packed with locals and tourists making the most of a pretty day. At midday, the bus entered the Louvre square.
Entering the square of the Louvre, and the Pyramid. Renee and Juliet herded us from the underground coach level at the Louvre to the "Inverted Pyramid"--still below ground level (not to be confused with the Pyramid in the square). Here, we were told, was where to meet at 5:45 pm, and to syncronize our watches, as there was no other way back to London if we missed this one bus! I took a photo of the pyramid, but a tourist walked in front of me just at that moment. I was able to salvage the right edge of the picture. Here, Renee took leave of us.
The Inverted Pyramid.
Bad luck, the Louvre is not open on Tuesdays. Good news, however, is that we wouldn't have been able to see enough of it to even begin--being hungry and having only 6 hours or so remaining in Paris. We were released from the herd, armed with our walking tour maps, to find our own lunch. Mark, Clark and Jamie headed off in one direction, but Bill, Linda, and I struck out through another exit. We experienced our first anxiety at that moment, realizing that we had just given up Mark as a companion--the only one among us who could speak French!
Just a block from the south side of the Louvre complex, the 3 of us found just what we were looking for--a sidewalk cafe in our price range (and on the shady side of the street)--The Cafe Ruc. Our waiter, after bearing up through our clumsy Bonjours, admitting to having some English at his disposal. I was able to pronouce "Froi gras" reasonbly enough to be served the correct dish, and he was able to explain the drinks menu well enough that we got the right wine and water. All in all a successful first venture into dealing with the language barrier --and in French cuisine, as well. 460 francs later (I gave up thinking what that might be in dollars, or even in pounds), we agreed that we could handle Paris just fine, thank you, and picked (from many others) the walking tour route that would take us down one side of the river to Notre Dame, and back the other side.
We walked back thru the Louvre courtyard to reach the northern side of the complex. The space between the wings of the old Palace is HUGE, and very bright with sunshine. I couldn't linger there long, but stood long enough to savor the moment. The Pyramid, I must admit, just doesn't fit there--I side with the Parisians who are offended by it. Mind you, I like the Pyramid itself--just wish it were somewhere else. After passing thru the arches on the north edge, we walked along the exterior of the Louvre. At such close range, the ornate carving was past all descriptive powers. My bones hurt for the craftsmen who had to swing all those mallets.
We crossed the Seine on the 2nd bridge from the Louvre, putting us on a course with the facade of the even-older Palace--a medieval structure if there ever was one. Finding the tree-shaded sidewalks a blessing, I really enjoyed this part of our tour. I don't often get to go to walk in July! The temperature was low enough that my long sleeves were of little discomfort, and I was a very happy tourist.
Walking across the Seine.
We found the bridge (the Pont Neuf) to the island that stands in the middle of the Seine. We passed the huge Prefecture de Police (police headquarters). Passing through and around the claustrophic little streets between the huge buildings, we suddenly came out on the open square in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral! That sudden opening of space was enough to take your breath, but the sight of the cathedral, suddenly in full view, was good for a couple of gasps! The square was full of tourists and vendors, and the lines for admittance to the church wound all over everywhere. As we expected, we would not have time to stand in such lines, but we were completely satisfied with the exterior views, and spent a long time walking all the way around the cathedral. We took a few photos on the side with the Rose window, but couldn't possibly have had enough film to shot every thing we saw.
The Rose Window, north transept, Notre Dame Cathedral.
Bill and Linda at the north transept, Notre Dame Cathedral.
My long hours in Art History classes taught me much, and I was pleased to learn that I remembered any of it. But no slide can give you that personal discovery. Nobody had ever suggested, for instance, that many of the gargoyles with their mouths open are also part of an elaborate gutter system! Medieval downspouts, if you wish. And the flying buttresses not only hold up the walls, but help to direct the rain much the same way gutters work. We saw many piles of stonework piled under trees, in various stages of cleaning, renovation and repair. The structure is eroded in many places, and under constant repair. The French do a very good job of patching up the stonework without ruining it's ancient appearance. We saw evidence of this constant renovation all over Paris, and London, too. I guess if any of our American structures should reach antiquity (I doubt it), they'll be needing constant repairs as well.
The walk back to the Louvre was less eventful. We crossed the small bridge from the island and proceeded along the other bank. This side of the river contains many garden and flower shops, and pricey restaurants and hotels. We passed another palace, smaller in comparison to the others we've seen, and by this time I was inured to their presence, and cannot even remember what I read on its plaque. Someone noteable lived there, suffice it to say. By now we were remarking on how clean the streets of Paris are, and remembering that Renee said they were washed every night. New York could take some tips. Chicago and San Francisco, of the other American cities I have visited, compare favorably. Our buildings are not so sooty, but neither are they as old, nor so close to the polluting vehicles.
We made it to the Inverted Pyramid in time to do a little shopping in the surrounding underground shops--mostly too expensive for more than browsing. Juliet arrived at the appointed hour, counted noses (we all made it on time!), and lead us back thru the underground labyrinth to the coach park. Here, our bus awaited us for the trip back to the Gard du Nord. Promising us nothing, due to the high level of traffic, Patrice inched our way thru the streets (I'll always remember Paris for its traffic!), and got us to the station on time. Tired but content, we boarded the train and headed (backwards) to London.
Side note: The Eurostar, like many trains in Europe and England, has engines at each end, and simply goes backwards and forwards. They lack the space for side tracks and turntables for turning trains around. It was a bit disconcerting, at first, to be going backwards, but it soon felt quite normal to watch where you'd been instead of where you were going. We were disappointed that our Passports didn't get a France stamp, but Waterloo customs gave us a Channel Tunnel entry stamp, so we can prove we really went to France!It was late evening (about 9:30 pm) when the 6 of us (having rejoined with Mark, Clark, and Jamie) got back to Bayswater. Tired and hungry, we found all the pubs and restaurants packed (Londoners dine late). Desperate for food, and too tired to search, we deigned ourselves to eat at Friday's--the American chain! It had few customers, which should have told us something, but we were starving. As it turned out, the food was excellent, but the service was Lousy with a capital L. We tipped accordingly, and walked to the hotel. Full and happy, we went straight to bed.
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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!
