April 23, 2017
This is what we saw this morning when we woke up in Giverny. Our garret windows looked down on a magical scene. What is missing from the photo is the brisk air, the grassy smells and the sounds of the birds in the trees and the cows frolicking or snoozing in the grass hidden by the clouds.
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| Our last view of Giverny. |
The train ride to Paris, and the taxi to our hotel were uneventful, but the contrast between the pastoral and the razzle dazzle of the city was remarkable.
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| Our hotel is the exact opposite of the small, unassuming hotel in Giverny. |
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Is the room ridiculous or sublime? Or just plain comfortable?
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Not only is the bathroom fancy, it comes with shampoo. (I learned in Giverny, when it was too late, that I needed to go to the front desk and ask for shampoo. I used a bar of soap on my hair.
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I admit it, I have been wowed by the elegant fixings of the hotel. Fortunately, I was able to pull myself away from the comfort of our room, the glamor of the elegant stairs, and the charm of the patio with the painted building next door. Paris, beyond the hotel walls, has a lot to offer.
We walked through the historic areas of Paris dropping in to Notre Dame (it's huge), strolling by Shakespeare and Company, going through Sainte Chappelle and walked along the Seine on both the Right and Left Banks. We saw a lot.
Here's a few snaps of what we saw in our half a day.
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| We came into this little Bistro when there were hardly any customers. By the time we finished our dinner the place was packed. |
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| We stumbled across this magnificent arch on the way back from dinner. Paris is full of surprises like this. |
All in all, our first half day in Paris has been magnificent. We made the transition from the enchanting countryside of Giverny to the intensity of Paris and have enjoyed both.
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