Mardi (Tuesday) our last day in Paris and still many things on our list to see, but command decision was made to go the the Basilisque de St Denis. It is one of the first, if not the first gothic style cathedral built in Paris.
We started our day with cafe creme, tea and pasteries at the cafe we had been getting coffee from each morning. I conviced the girls that we should sit down outside at the cafe this morming and have a proper cup of coffee and tea instead of the "to go" method. It was a very nice morning, first day of sunshine since we arrived and a nice time at the cafe taking our time.
Our plan for the day included a stop at Notre Dame to see inside the chapel, then head to the burbs to see Basilisque de St Denis. We are very close to Notre Dame at our apartment so we headed across the bridge and into the cathedral after a very small, fast moving line. You can see the inside of the cathedral for free, but you must have tickets to go up in the towers like we did previously. I wondered through and was done in about 10-15 minutes and we had agreed to meet outside the exit if we got separated so I wandered there and waited, and waited, and waited, went back in looked and looked and looked, back outside waited, and waited - getting nervous - and FINALLY here they came. Lesson learned - don't go to Notre Dame with two catholic dames, they can spend forever in there!
BTW, that was church number two for the morning since we stopped in the smaller church right by our apartment on the way to the cafe - wandered through, lit a candle for whatever reason you light candles, then on to breakfast. Oh yeah, we also stopped at the boulangerie where Shan got pastry yesterday and the boulanger was not rude to me, but definitely very brisk. More to follow later on the story of "baker boy"...
And, next on the list, another church... yeah for us! The basilisque st denis is just outside of Paris in a Northern suburb so we hopped on the metro for the trip. The trip to the basilica was uneventful and we easily found it. Now, this was a COOL place, we rented the tour guide things that talk to you in English to tell you what you are looking at and they were SO worth it. We would have been (or at least I would have been) in and out pretty quickly without them. There are crypts at this basilica and it is loaded with royal history. I am going to have to study up when I get home because I know nothing of Louis and his brothers and the royal families of France, but many of them are entombed at this basilica - or they were - can't remember as it was soooo much to take in. At least an hour and a half we spent in the basilica, and it was very cold in there, taking it all in. I think in actuality we all could have stayed longer and listened to more history, but it just got too cold and we needed to get outside to warm up!
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We decided to have beer at a cafe down the street with tables in a small park in the sun. Au Soleil something or other... We got beer/wine and a couple sandwiches to share and decide the french must have very strong jaws from eating baguette all the time - it is so good, but takes a lot of jaw effort! From there back to the metro to go back to the city, unfortunately it was rush hour... The metro was packed with people and eventually I feel Shannon practically climbing into my arms (we were standing), it was very insistent and she kept poking me with her thighs, well she was being "rubbed" so to speak by a french man's wood if you will. She thought it was a bag at first, but then the realization hit and she was not pleased - he was quite a smarmy frenchie, if he had been cute it might have been another very different story I would be telling!
It is fascinating to watch, Shan is a total commodity here, we have decided it is her tallness and her blondness, but the french men can't get enough - she is particularly popular with the middle eastern descendants! The french women are not very tall - mostly like me - and really the men aren't all that tall either, so she definitely stands out. We have no problems keeping tabs on where she is at any given time - find the middle eastern gawkers and you'll find Shan!
So, we were beat and decided to have another cafe stop on our island on the way to our apartment - the plan was to have a beer then head home for some rest and relaxation before having a 8:30ish dinner. It was only 5:30 ish when we got to the cafe - trust me this is an important fact... We were sitting outside next to another couple, one french woman and an obviously gay, american man. The man started talking to us, his name was Mike, and he introduced his companion, Eglantine. She was BEAUTIFUL with extremely short, slicked back dark hair and the bone structure and skin to totally pull it off. Anyways, I diverge, Mike told us to "don't you dare leave"! He went and got his dog, Monkey, a pomeranian that he promptly dropped into Sandy's lap and professed over and over how cute he (Monkey) was, and he was pretty cute.
More people, Egantine's frends, showed up and it became a mini-cafe party. Mike insisted on buying us 3 rounds of champagne after we had gigantic beers and then to return the favor we had to buy a round of champagne too. Are you counting with me? EEEEESH. The champagne was good though and the owner of the cafe - Michael - was tres beau and quite young for the title. We talked and talked and I won't get into the details, but Michael is gay, out and married to a woman - don't ask, it was interesting for sure.
One of Eglantine's friends Jean-Louis, cabaret owner and easily pushing 60, was the highlight of the cafe time (hard to believe when sitting with a gay, married to a straight woman, man eh?) But Jean-Louis was hilarious, calling Mike Elton John and singing "It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside..." He had gone to college at Central Michigan, helped to open Copper Mountain and was one of the first to ski Beaver Creek before it became the posh place it is today. I asked him to come live with me and help me with my French - he said he would but he is love now and doesn't cheat anymore - too sweet. By the end when he was leaving I told him "enchante" and he said I was too cute and if he wasn't in love I would definitely be his choice! So fun and entertaining!
So finally it was at least 10ish and we haven't eaten anything - oh la la - so we headed up the street to a Lebanese place on the island that had received rave reviews! We were seated by a very cute and vivacious young woman named Dana - gosh she was gorgeous, dark and lebanese with curves... Un petit probleme, we ordered and then I was looking for my purse - we had all broken the cardinal rule and taken them off our shoulders, but when I looked down to one side of my chair, there was a small pile of dog poop. Yep, dog poop. I told Dana and she glanced over, couldn't see it and thought I was kidding and joked that I had had too much champagne! I told her - "look again" and she did and then she said "no,
We finally rolled into the apartment after midnight and decided to just hit the hay since we had to get up in the AM, get out and snap some pics before the crowds descended on Notre Dame, get breakfast and pack for our departure to Nice. But, we all said it was the best day - with crazy experiences in Paris! A nice way to say au revoir.
I'll add pics to all past blogs tomorrow - too late tonight. Finally got it all working again though, so go back and look through the past entries in the next couple of days.
Comments (2)
Glad to hear you got over to Nils! And your cafe adventure sounds amazing. Hope you have a completely relaxing stay ahead of you in Nice after such a busy time in Paris.
Posted by Perpetual Traveler | April 23, 2008 6:55 PM
Posted on April 23, 2008 18:55
Yeah, and you got pictures going to!
Posted by Kim | April 25, 2008 9:41 AM
Posted on April 25, 2008 09:41