Paris
Thursday, July 14
We took the early TGV train from Metz to Paris, arriving at Gere de
l'Est. At this station, you can stay indoors while proceeding to the
Paris Metro. With a little help from an English-speaking fellow
traveler, we were able to use the machines to buy tickets. We were
concerned that because our arrival date was Bastille Day and our
arrival time corresponded to the start of the main parade, that the
Metro would be crowded, and that we would have difficulty finding space
for ourselves and our baggage. However, the line we were using was
going in a different direction and we had no difficulty getting to our
stop and finding our hotel, Hôtel
de l'Abbaye.
Our arrival was well before check-in time. However, the hotel allowed
us to leave our bags and even partake in a free breakfast. We then
walked over to the nearby Jardins du Luxembourg, where we took the
pictures found here.
By the time we had completed our visit to the Jardins, our room was
available for check-in. Our plan was to spend the afternoon in the Musee-Orsay, one of
Paris's many extradordinary museums. We walked north until we hit the
Seine and continue east until, voilà, we came to the museum.
This museum was one of the highlights of our visit to Europe. The
section devoted to Impressionism contained alcove after alcove of the
world's great paintings. Not even the crowds could dimension the thrill
of encountering these masterpieces.
After the Musee-Orsay, we headed back to our hotel. I found a nearby
grocery store that was open and purchased enough fruit and snacks to
get us through the evening. We decided that we were too tired to make
it over to Champ de Mars for the free concert and fireworks, so we
watched them on television before crashing for the evening.
Friday, July 15
The next day, we headed to Versailles. This required us to take an RER
train, which is different from the Metro, although they often share the
same stations. With some help from the attendant at the Metro station,
we were able to purchase our tickets, board our train, and proceed to
our destination. Pictures from our visit can be found here.
Saturday, July 16
Our plan for Saturday, was to walk around a bit, visit Sainte-Chapelle,
and end up with a late lunch at a restaurant we had had recommended to
us. Here are the pictures from that
day.
Sunday, July 17
Our plan for Sunday was to leave our bags at the hotel and visit the
Louvre, before heading back to Metz. Here
are the pictures from that day.