Today was a very French Day, in honor of Bastille Day, the beginning of the French Revolution. However, as French as our day was, we encountered Americans everywhere we went. It was actually pretty astounding – a couple of times during the day I would have thought myself back in the States had my eyes been closed. But no matter, I wasn’t going to allow my pesky compatriots ruin a beautiful day in Paris.
Les Catacombes, the Last Harry Potter Movie(!) and the Luxembourg Gardens
What a day! We saw thousands of human bones and skulls, saw the last “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II” before any of our American friends and had a lovely stroll through the prettiest garden in Paris. And to top it all off, there was no drama in the subway today.
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Murphy’s Law Gone Wild and a Stampede
We had a long and crazy day today. A Murphy’s Law kind of day. It was bound to happen at least once during our extended vacation and sure enough, today was the day.
The Mighty Louvre and the Most Overrated Painting in the World
What better way to start off our Parisian adventure than a visit to the Louvre? We decided that we would do another scavenger hunt, and this time we found six out of the seven masterpieces pictured in the postcards the girls bought.
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La Famille
As I mentioned in my last blog post, today was an official family day. We took the train to my husband’s hometown, Thomery, to visit with his uncle and cousin’s family, my sister-in-law and her husband, and one of my brothers-in-law.
Bonjour Paris!
We are here. In the city I love. Actually, we’re on the outskirts of Paris, staying in my brother-in-law’s apartment in a town called Nogent-sur-Marne. The apartment is located in a highrise and their balcony offers a terrific view of Paris. It’s hazy today, but here’s a photo of the city’s most famous monument taken from our digs.
Au Revoir, Annecy
We’re ending our two weeks in this magical town on a high note, for a couple of reasons:
(1) We had two good meals, with lovely waiters. Actually, most of our waiters after the meanie (Sophie’s word, not mine) on the first day have been lovely. We finally found a traditional French restaurant for lunch – a brasserie, not a creperie or a pizzeria. Sounds strange, I know. But in the area of the city where we’re staying, the majority of the restaurants serve typical Savoyard fare (which is delicious but very heavy – raclette, fondue, tartiflette), crepes or pizzas.
Yvoire, a Medieval Village on Lake Geneva
After we dropped Grammy at the airport this morning, we decided to take a detour to a picturesque medieval village on the French side of Lake Geneva called Yvoire. The town, which probably has the most flowers per capita than any other town in the world, is dominated by a chateau owned by the d’Yvoire family. Yes, you know you’re minor royalty when your surname is the town’s name.
The Gorges du Fier and the 2018 Winter Olympics…Not
We spent another relatively relaxed day today – avoiding long car rides so that Sophie would be spared the windy roads a little while longer. We did take a short drive about 15 minutes outside of town to the Gorges du Fier, a beautiful walk through steep cliffs formed many moons ago.
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Un Dejeuner sur l’Herbe and a Boat Ride on the Lake
Today was a designated official day of rest. After a few days of mountain driving, it was time to enjoy a day in Annecy. We slept in, bought lots of fruit at the market and packed a picnic lunch. We enjoyed a dejeuner sur l’herbe on the lakefront, similar to Manet’s painting, except we were all clothed.
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