A
Honeymoon in the City of Lights accompanied by Lena’s daughter, Anya,
is something we will all remember!
We
were totally pleased with our GLOBUS bus tour with hotel and meal accommodations.
Our Paris “Hotel Mecure” was quite nice and provided free transportation
to the subways.
Anya
could not get a visa to visit us in USA, so she flew from Moscow to France,
stayed with a French family, and then joined Lena & I in Paris for
our 9-day GLOBUS tour of Normandy, Britiany, and Chateaux Country.
“Oh,
My, THAT’S a BIG ONE! French family friends of Lena & Anya met
us at the hotel and we presented them with a little something to quench
their thirst!
Financial
Essentials-Prices in France were not exactly CHEAP! But, hey, who wants
to visit France and NOT be able to enjoy themselves?
Shopping
in the “tourist” areas is pretty much the same all over the
world! The Montmartre area was interesting, however, and Anya already
knew the shops quite well from her previous visits to France and to Paris.
A
Parisian Cafe-thank God Anya is TOTALLY fluent in French and could do
the ordering for all of us!
We
all enjoyed watching the artists doing their paintings right on the street,
but we discovered the PRICES for French art were CHEAPER in San Diego
than in Paris!
This
French artist liked tall, blond Russians, but Lena still did NOT BUY any
of his paintings!
“All
American” Shoppers in Montmartre.
Everyone
has to get some T-Shirts either for gifts or to wear and impress people
with where they have been!
The
cobblestones on many of the streets in the Montmartre shopping district
(and many other parts of Paris) were a bit different...especially when
they were WET from the rain!
An
interesting cathedral near the Montmartre shopping area best remembered
(at least by Steve) as the “House of God with the most PICKPOCKETS
in Paris” (based on the many warning signs for tourists)!
Several
different MIMES performed outside the cathedral and were very impressively
done. This 'statue' was actually a woman who very slowly moved her eyes
and parts of her body to assume different positions.
Our
Paris “Hotel Mecure” was located in a very modern area in the
outskirts of Paris called "Le Defense."
There
is still a great deal of construction being done in the La Defense area
and the architectural theme is quite different than anything else we saw
in France. (Of course, most of the other parts of France seem to have
been built 400-500 years ago......!)
Moulin
Rouge is worth seeing ONCE, but we felt the only way they could PACK MORE
PEOPLE inside for the show would be to hang them from the ceiling. AND,
after spending $100 per ticket, Lena couldn’t believe they ALSO wanted
her to PAY each time to use the bathroom!
The
Louvre....the lines of people waiting to get inside were so lengthy (requiring
3-4 hours) that we did NOT even TRY!
While
it would have been nice to actually see the Mona Lisa (as well as other
famous art works), the ‘experience’ would have required an entire
DAY.
The
Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées. Rather than CLIMB the steps,
Steve elected to sit in one of the many street-side cafes, eat pasteries,
and watch people stroll along the street.
This
double-decker tour bus on the Champs-Elysées was rather impressive.
As
many of you know, Steve can be easily IMPRESSED. You've heard about all
those FRENCH POODLES being walked on the Champs-Elysées? This is
the French’s MOTHER of all POOPER SCOOPERS!
Unlike
Italy, it was NOT possible to get a REALLY good Cafe Latte anywhere in
France. The French would probably be REALLY upset if we suggested they
needed to open some STARBUCKS!
