One Last Push

Almost there and we are tired enough to prove it. But isn’t that what vacations are all about? Mentally rested but physically tired?

Caught up in the grips of having to go to reality I decided to add a visit to a place I have been putting off, Le Cimetière du Père Lachaise the largest cemetery in the city of Paris and the resting place of some famous people including Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin, Édith Piaf and of course Jim Morrison. This meant to keep to the other plans for the day I had to be up and moving early arriving shortly after the Cemetery opened. That was actually quite nice, I had the place pretty much to myself although one time when I did see a person I had a “Night of the Living Dead” flashback… Since it was a quick plan I missed a few people I would have like to have seen including Marcel Marceau who I am sure would have had no comment either way. One piece of advise I read on-line that I followed and thought worked out well was that the cemetery is located on a hillside and getting off the Paris Metro at Gambetta versus Père Lachaise means you are walking down hill the whole visit. Worked for me and I saw others who came in from the main entrance huffing it a bit more than I was.

Then it was back to the hotel to gather Kim and Syd and off to the Musée d’Orsay. This is our favorite museum in Paris and has been remodeled since our last visit, now has more space for exhibits so had many new items for us to see. The remodel is great although we thought the glare on some of the larger paintings was worse and detracted from them a little. Alas picture taking is no longer allowed at the museum so you will have to visit…

Time for our last dinner on the road and for this we chose La Rôtisserie d’en Face, a restaurant quite close to our hotel that charmed us when we first dined there one cold (and I mean cold) November years ago. Loved it then, time for a return that we have put off. However… this time it is summer so the place was full of families and loud tourists including a woman with one of the sharpest Southern USA accents I have heard in years. But the service and food is still great, Kim and I were happy looked int to each others eyes as we dined and…. TMI TMI TMI… And yes Syd was with us but we think was quietly and happily contemplating returning home.

Centre Pompidou

Spent the day at Centre Pompidou, the French National Modern Art Museum, one of Kim’s favorites. Walked back to the 6th after, just taking things in…

A Day For Sydney

Once again we are in denial… We carve out a time in each trip so that Syd can have some fun and she requested Disneyland Paris. Again. And we said no. Again. We gave it some serious thought this time but decided that it was too far to go with our limited time. Our other choice and most likely place we would have knocked our self out for was Parc Astérix, an interesting theme park based on the stories of Asterix that is popular in France and Syd loves but the location makes it hard to get to and going via public transportation makes for a long day. Disney at least has a direct train… So Syd had to settle for Le Fete Foraine du Jardin des Tuileries… Again… Actually it is a fun setup in central Paris that we all enjoy, rides that you do not see in the United States any more. There are plenty of decorations over most rides that I am sure violate copyrights, no US lawyers taking vacations in Paris these days? Glad they are actually and please stay away law types!

After Le Fete Foraine Syd asked for the Eiffel Tower so off we went for a late night viewing. Unfortunately a technical issue had some of the lifts shut down so ride to the top was not possible. Oh well… Major crowds tonight, peak tourist season here IMHO but still fun. Steak tartar for dinner, C’est tres bon!