Welcome to Paris (Again)

We accidentally published a draft of this article.  Here’s the completed article.  Sorry for spamming your mailboxes.

Tuesday, February 5

We’ve begun the first leg of our trip back to the United States.  This morning we took a flight from Santorini to Athens.  We returned the rental car and the agent quickly spotted the damage we had done on the first day.  We hadn’t taken the extra insurance but had coverage through our credit card.  In all the years we’d been renting cars we never had to use it so it would be interesting to see if it really had any value.  We were charge €100.00 for each of the three “dings” plus tax at a rate of 24%.  It came to about $400.00.

The flight to Athens was short and uneventful.  We had booked through Aegean Air but in fact were taking Olympic Air and Aegean Shuttle.  Miraculously, the ticket agent told us that our bags would automatically be transferred to the Paris flight.  We were surprised because in another experience like this we had to claim our bags and then go through the whole checkin/security procedure again.  During our four hour layover we had a bite to eat at one of the few eateries available.  The food was unremarkable.

Our flight for Paris boarded on time and was scheduled for 3.5 hours.  During that flight we not only got beverage service but a full meal consisting of something resembling lasagne with meat.  It was quite tasty too.  No wonder Aegean has been voted the best small airline in southern Europe for the last nine years in a row (that’s a whole lot of qualifiers).  Our flight got in at 6:30 pm Paris time / 7:30 pm Athens time.

We planned to take the train from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Gare du Nord and then take a taxi from there.  We bought tickets for the train but when we tried to enter the station an agent told us that there had been an accident and the trains were not running.  If we wanted to get a refund on our tickets we would have to go to the customer service desk.  We could only get a refund that day.  One look at the line at the customer service desk and we decided that we’d use the tickets on our return trip.  We were told that there were busses that went into town and that we could buy our tickets on board.

We found the bus station nearby.  It was an absolute madhouse.  Everyone was taking the bus.  When the bus to Gare du Nord arrived there was a mad crush to get on.  Without being seen the bus driver had disappeared and there was no one to buy tickets from.  We just stayed where we were (as if we could even  move if we wanted to).  Ten minutes later we were on our way.  The schedule said it would take 65 minutes to get to the station.  The ride was pretty bad.  The bus was jerking the whole time and very few of us had someplace secure to hang on to.

After existing the bus we found a taxi and arrived at the hotel a few minutes later.  The driver had put our baggage in the car but when he started driving we couldn’t help noticing that he was coughing badly and constantly blowing his nose.  He was obviously pretty sick and probably couldn’t afford to take the day off.  We really didn’t even want to hand him our credit card but we didn’t have any smaller bills and he would have touched the change just the same.  We’re taking extra vitamins and hoping we don’t get the plague.

Our hotel, called the Moxy, is near La Bastille.  The clerk told us that it had opened just three weeks before.  We were offered a complimentary drink but we were just too tired and said we’d take a rain check.  The hotel still has that new car smell.  It was designed to be a little funky to appeal to Millennials.  The room is fairly small but has odd little touches like miniature oil drums for nightstands and motion sensitive lights under the bed rim that go on when you walk nearby (or in the middle of the night when you ruffle the covers).  It might not be our ideal hotel decor but it will do just fine for the week that we’ll be here.

Before going to bed we setup the computer so that the pictures from Greece would have a chance to sync.  They were done before we were asleep.

Distance walked: 2.8 miles

Wednesday, February 6

We went in search of breakfast.  The hotel had a nice looking Continental style breakfast but at €15.00 per person we were hoping to do better.  We found a little coffee shop that advertised coffee and croissant for €2.29.  The croissant was exceptionally good but it turned out that the advertised price was for espresso and not cappuccino.  At a cost of €15.00 / $17.25 it cost us half of what the hotel would have but was still outrageously expensive.

We’d been to Paris before and knew that it was very expensive.  Given all the places that we’ve been in Europe only London has been more expensive.  We were going to make a real effort to try and stay within our budget.  Normally this would have been impossible but we were paying for our hotel with rewards points and so it cost us nothing at all.

We planned to meet an old friend for lunch and so killed some time by visiting Notre Dame.  Yes, we’d been there before but it never gets old (pun intended).  We’d even climbed the bell tower but we just didn’t seem to have the energy this morning.  Besides, it was a little cold and quite windy.  It was probably unpleasant way up there in the belfry.

(Notre-Dame Cathedral)

Construction on the cathedral started in 1160 and was finished in the 14th Century.  It’s an incredible place.  From the outside you’d never guess how cavernous the interior is.  Everywhere you look there are magnificent stained glass windows and there are a huge number of chapels.  We were surprised to see that a few of the chapels were redecorated and dedicated to different saints.  We suspect that local parishes are given the opportunity to sponsor these chapels on a rotating basis.  It’s a great way to keep the church relevant and for it to raise funds.

(Notre-Dame Cathedral)

On the way back to our neighborhood we walked through Isle Saint Louis.  We wanted to check the hours of one of our favorite restaurants called Berthillon.   You’ll be hearing more about that place later in the week.

We still had some time before meeting a friend from school for lunch so we went in search of a place to get phone service.  Why did we need phone service when we’d purchased four months worth when we were in Greece?  It’s a long story.  When we purchased a SIM card in Athens we got one month free and purchased “packets” for three additional months.  The plan was supposed to provide service anywhere in the EU.  Our phone stopped working when we were in Nafplio.  A lengthy visit to the local Cosmote store was unfruitful; we had to call Cosmote’s customer service line for help.  After a lengthy call we were told that we should have had almost 2 GIGs of data left and that someone from another department would call us back in about an hour to follow up.

Surprisingly, about an hour later, we did get a phone call.  It turns out that the additional “packets” that we purchased were all set to expire on the same day.  It seems it’s impossible to buy packets for dates in the future.  As compensation we were given an additional 30 days and 10 GIGs of data.  That should have lasted until we left Paris but upon arriving in Paris we found that we had no service.  Ugh!  We bought a package from Orange for €40.00 / $46.00 that is good for two weeks, 10 GIGs and lots of texting and talk.  It was their least expensive package.  At least the service is good.

We met Claire for lunch at Cafe de L’Industrie.  We’d originally known her from our time at Juilliard Pre-College and went through our Bachelors and Masters degrees together.  She and Deborah were fast friends and had even played together in a quartet.  Clarire was a French national who spent most of her adult life living in New York City.  A few years ago she returned to Paris.  We had a wonderful time.  The food was great and we had fun rehashing old stories.

Before heading home we stopped at a bakery to get some food for breakfast.  We couldn’t help trying some of the pastries and bought a chestnut cream filled eclair.  It’s hard to believe that we’ve never even seen chestnut cream before we got to Rome.  We like it a lot.

Distance walked: 8.6 miles

Thursday, February 7

Our plan for the day was to visit the Basilica in Saint Denis.  It’s about six miles north of Paris which is a little too far to walk so we decided to take the subway.  We walked over to where we’d seen the subway before, towards Boulevard Richard Lenoir, and got distracted by an outdoor market.  They were selling all sorts of fresh meats, fish, cheeses, pastries and even clothing.  We walked the length and breadth of the market and had a great time just enjoying the scents that were wafting over the booths.  We bought some of apples, clementines and a loaf of what we thought was olive bread (it turned out to be raisin bread) and walked down the stairs at the subway station marked, “Chenin Vert”.  We’d taken mass transit all over Europe and figured we’d wing it.  It was Paris after all, they had to have a good and easy to use metro system.

At the bottom of the stairs all we found were automated ticket machines.  The problem was that we were expected to pay by zone and there was no guide to tell us which zone Saint Denis was in.  We did a quick Google of how to use the subway and it appeared that it was zone 1, part of the greater Paris area.  Anyway, we knew that the ticket was supposed to cost €1.90 / $2.20 per person and that option came up with the right price.  We entered through the turnstile and found train number five.  We were looking for number eight.

It seems that there are multiple stations in the area with the same name which have access to different trains.  How inconvenient.  We left the station, walked to the one that Google maps had suggested and found the number eight.  We tried to use the tickets that we’d purchased moments ago but they didn’t work so we purchased new tickets.

The ride took about 40 minutes.  We had to change to another subway along the way but there were no complications.  Like most major cities the different subway lines were built at different times.  The design of the stations and the cars themselves were somewhat different between the two lines but everything was still clean, efficient and modern – just the way we like it.

The Basilica of Saint Denis is just a short walk from the metro station.  Originally the city of Saint Denis was a separate city but today it is a suburb of Paris.  The basilica is famous for two reasons.  It’s choir, when completed in 1144, was said to be the first to use all elements of Gothic architecture.  It’s more well known, however, as the place where many of the kings and queens of France are buried.  Nearly every king from the tenth to the eighteenth century was buried there.  The site originated in 475 when Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, purchased some land with the idea of building Saint-Denys de la Chapelle – Saint Denis being one of the patron saints of France; his relics can be found within the present day structure.  Charlemagne was present for the consecration of an earlier Carolingian version of the church in 775.

The Basilica of Saint Denis is the second largest church in Paris after Notre Dame.  As with so many of these huge Gothic churches it’s impossible to judge the size of the interior simply by looking at the exterior.  We’re big fans of flying buttresses but this building was built only with standard buttresses.

We entered through the main doors which led to the back of the church.  As with most Roman Catholic Churches there was no charge for admittance.  If you want to see the back of the church or the crypts where the burials are you have to pay a fee of €9.00 / $10.35 per person.  Credit cards are accepted.  Most of these old churches have no heating and this one was no exception.  It was incredibly cold on the main floor and even colder in the crypts below.  We had to keep moving!

Here are some of the highlights.  There is a huge and elaborate monument to Henry II (father-in-law to Mary Queen of Scots) and his wife Catherine de Medici on the main floor.  There is a nice monument to Lous XIV and his wife Marie Antoinette on the main floor but their remains are contained in modern caskets in the crypt.  Perhaps the most fascinating portion of the crypt was a huge chamber that contains the remains of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties starting from the fifth century.  There were lots of dusty sarcophaguses haphazardly strewn about in a dimly lit space.  We were not allowed entry to this area but it would have been fascinating to see what was down there.  Most of the information plaques are written entirely in French so it was not always easy to discern some of the information.  Audio guides are available for an extra cost.

(Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette)

We had lunch in a French bistro type restaurant in the square near the basilica. To try to warm up we both ordered the onion soup and then shared a warm chevre salad.  The soup was rather bland and hardly tasted of onion but the salad tasted almost as good as it looked.

(Warm Chevre Salad)

On our way back we decided to get off on a different stop and head over to Bertillon for dessert.  Along the way we encountered one of our favorite churches and couldn’t resist going in for a visit.

The Church of Saint Eustace is another large Gothic building.  Constructed between 1532 and 1632 it has all of the requisite components to make it a great church.  There are towering vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and a huge number of chapels.  For us there is just something about it that is warm, inviting and friendly.  One of the chapels is dedicated to Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians.  Appropriately enough Mozart’s mother is interred there.

(The Largest Chapel at Saint Eustace)

Finally we were on our way to Bertillon.  Over the years we’ve traveled a good part of this earth and we can tell you that, for our money, Bertillon makes the best ice cream on the planet (before we get angry emails just remember that ice cream and gelato are not the same thing).  Their ice cream is sold all over Paris but they have only one shop and it is located on Isle Saint Louis.

In addition to ice cream they also make sorbet, which we have never tried.  You can get scoops of ice cream but their menu includes some incredible combinations of ice creams, sauces, macaroons, crepes and all sorts of toppings.  Deborah ordered coffee ice cream served on an almond macaroon which came with a cup of dark chocolate sauce.  I had chocolate ice cream served over a meringue topped with milk chocolate sauce severed with chestnut cream and whipped cream.  They were freaking awesome and at almost $18.00 cost more than lunch!

(Coffee Ice Cream at Bertillon)

Before heading home we walked over to a market that we’d read about.  Located in the Basille district, Aligre Market has been around since the days of the French Revolution.  It had the same types of things we’d seen in the outdoor market in the morning but now, since our next stop was our hotel, we were able to buy a small wheel of brie.  It cost about $3.00.  We also saw a booth that was selling foods that were typical of Madagascar.  They had some small fried fish fritters that smelled so good that you can guess what happened next.  The fritters were made from ground fish, cornmeal and some peppery spices.  They were gone before we left the building.

Distance walked: 9.1 miles