France and Italy in June 2007

My husband (Joe Stewart) and I  spent nearly a month away from home in 2007.  I'll continue this travelogue day by day - - more or less.

We left the US on June 4, 2007 from BWI airport on Icelandair, which meant changing planes at Rekjavik airport, but that was no problem.  It appears that no other airlines went there.  No problems either at DCG airport, or finding the Roissybus - other than trying to foind a toilet before getting on the bus.  The  Roissybus is a non-stop half hour ride from the airport to a place just at the back of the Opera Garnier, and cost about 9 euro each. 


June 5 - Paris.  From the Roissybus, we took a taxi at 2:30 to Hotel Atelier Montparnasse in much traffic.  The hotel looks the same - this is the 3d or 4th visit in 6 years.  Joe checked each available room, finally chose "Matisse" on the 4th floor, street side; newly decorated plus airconditioning - it was nice.  While I happed, he went off to Luxenbourg Gardens to explore and then to meet Per Thomas, his Danish internet friend, at 5 pm.  Around 5 pm, Joe came back to get me because Per was already there and they changed the venue to La Rotonde, just around the corner.

Per and I outside La Rotonde

We sat outside in the late afternoon sun, chatting and drinking Kronenbourg beer and snacking on green and black olives.  Per is very nice, very sweet - almost naive - and handsome with light brown hair (receding a bit), lovely smile, blue-green eyes.  His wife, Elodie  Telemaque, is darkhaired, a bit plump, smart and very articulate, and funny, too; she laughs just like my niece Natasha.

La Rotonde, ready for dinner

As the afternoon moved into evening, we moved to the white tablecloths, inside - - doors were all open to the outside.  Joe and I split very good salmon and salty spinach, for dessert Rhum Baba and cherries - - quite tasty.  We were at La Rotonde from 5 pm until 11 pm; walked them down the street to their motorscooter; and said goodby.  There were so very nice - it's amazing that Joe and Per met via the internet 1 year ago.  I think they could be friends for life. 

We set the airconditioning and closed the window against the street noise and slept well.


June 6 - Paris.  Slept until about 8 am!  The hotel has a nice bathtub and handheld shower, good for washing hair.  Breakfast is included in the room cost, so we had as much as we could stuff ourselves with:  bread, croissant, granola, yogurt, OJ, coffee.  We set out down Rue Vavin to Luxembourg Gardens - LG for short - which was empty but for walkers through and some folks practicing tai chi.  I set my chair to face the sun and waited for Joe to finish visiting his favorite spots - - again.  We went down the Rue de Seine and Rue  Buci to revisit them, looked at Hotel LaLousiane where he stayed in 1964 - very little changes.   The sock store has sox for 11 euro - rather much more than last time!

And on we walked, me walking very slowly and looking in shop windows at linen clothes, old prints, fancy flat shoes, antique statues.  We visited the  Citadines Hotel by the river for its restroom and crossed over the beautiful Pont Neuf.  We strolled along under the great trees by the Louvre and considered visting, but the line at the Pyramid was too long.  So on to the pond in the Tuileries Garden - alas, they've added white plastic chair that we see everywhere in the States.  Quel horreur!. Some German teens sat nearby - they were pretty quiet for teenaged girls, and sunned themselves with bared feet and pants pulled above knees.  Six or seven baby ducks, with mommy quacking them along, were very cute, very fuzzy, very very tiny.

At Cafe Diane in that park, where I'd had tuna and salad in Dec. 2002, Joe talked and talked with a waiter about rats in the park - we'd seen a dead one on that December visit.  Finally we arrived at the Orangerie Museum a half-hour before opening time to find nearly three dozen others already in line.  I found one of the traditional green metal chairs and brought it over beneath a tree and sat while Joe stood in line.  A street vendor sold me bottled water for 2 euro.


The Orangerie has Money's large waterlily paintings in two large oval rooms.  I understand that he designed the way they are displayed.  They were a gift from him to the French Nation in the name of everlasting peace after the Great War.  Such forlorn hope brought tears to my eyes.  The only way to appreciate these paintings completely is in person - - no photo or video can appreciate the impact of their size, and the curving way they are displayed approximates reality.

"Waterlilies"

I'll finish this day in another post.