April 15/16 - Off to Paris!

      Wednesday was a long day, mostly of waiting. We got up at 5 a.m. and took Willy to Logan as he was going to a conference in Texas. Around 2, we drove to Roslindale and left the car with Alec and JuliAnn, but we didn't see them as they were at work. (We did see Letty, the dog, though.) An Uber took us to Logan. 

    We breezed through security which was a blessing as the government is still in partial shutdown. We ate a light meal at the Delta Lounge and the plane took off right on time - 7:05 p.m.

     There was a mini drama on the plane as a seat behind us had been assigned to two different people. One of them eventually was moved to Business Class. It was lucky that the plane was not fully booked. We both managed to sleep for over half the flight, but still got in around 1 a.m. to our bodies, despite it being 8 a.m. in Paris. 

     We took the B train into St. Michel in Paris and walked about 1.2 kilometers across the Ile de la Cite to the Hotel de Nice on the Rue de Rivoli, the hotel we stayed at with Nick and Jecca in 1982 and 84. We have fond memories of the children going down to have breakfast on their own, feeling very grown up. And, we have distinct memories of it being a garishly decorated hotel with an incompetent innkeeper (Basil Fawlty!). Mark took a time lapse photo of traffic on the Rue de Rivoli back then. 

     Anyhow, the hotel took our luggage, but couldn't check us in, so we walked and walked, despite little sleep. We went back to the Ile de la Cite and stood in line to see the cleaned, renovated, rebuilt Notre Dame. The line went fast and we spent a good hour in the cathedral. Last year, when we were with Sebastian, we couldn't get in because it was Holy Week.

    It is so beautiful. Grand, awesome, humbling. We stayed for part of a Mass and heard the organ and some singing, too. It was pretty special.

      Afterwards, we bought cheese, baguette and ham and ate on Ile St. Louis on the banks of the Seine, watching people and biding our time to get into the hotel. We ended up walking just over 4 and a half miles all day, pretty good for two jet-lagged oldsters.

      The Hotel de Nice is similar and different. It is still ornately furnished and wall papered. The breakfast area is the same, but not included in the price, so we won't eat there. There is now an elevator and each room has a bathroom. We were there when the bathrooms were down the hall and there was no lift. And, of course, it has gone up in price. This night will cost us $290 dollars which is above our normal budget, but it's a one-off for this trip and we've been tempted by wanting to return here for years. Our room is great and overlooks the little square beside the hotel.

      We went into the square for a decaf coffee and watched the hustle and bustle before heading to bed.