We boarded the train at 6:30AM on Monday and our Paris adventure began. As I mentioned, there are restrooms on the train. It's similar to an airplane, in that, you are not supposed to travel to other cars/classes to use their restrooms, but should stay in your own. About 45 minutes outside of Paris, Lisa and I braved the moving train (at almost 190mph) to visit the bathroom. We were in a 2 level car and we were on the top "floor". We waited for almost 5 minutes and no one seemed to be coming out of the bathroom. We tried the door several times, just to be sure that we weren't standing there waiting for an empty bathroom. Door was locked, it said "occupied" so we waited patiently.
We continued to wait another 5 minutes…luckily, it wasn't an emergency for either of us. Still no one came out. Finally, at the 15 minute mark we walked down the steps and into another restroom. From my seat, I could see the bathroom door where we had been waiting. I'm not sure what the man who had been "occupying" it ate for dinner, but he didn't exit for over 30 minutes. Glad we used the other one!
When you arrive at the Paris train station (GARE in French), you have access to the Metro (subway), the bus or a taxi. We chose the taxi. You head for the "queue" and wait your turn. There were a lot of people waiting so it took us about 15 minutes to finally land a cab. The weather was chilly and rainy, so it wasn't a pleasant wait, but hey, we were in PARIS.
I like when my taxi drivers use a GPS when they are driving me around. Then, I know that they aren't just literally taking me and my money for a ride. I usually try to pull up the location on my iPhone just so that I can keep them honest. But let's face it, keeping someone honest in a second language is a challenge. He seemed to take the "less direct" route, but was able to get us to our hotel for under 20 Euro.
Our room wasn't quite ready, but we were there about 4 hours before check-in. They offered us coffee and pastries in the lounge while they finished getting it ready. The hotel was decorated for Halloween and had fake "cobwebs" all over the restaurant/lounge area. Not my cup of tea, nor was it Marcie's…somehow the cobwebs kept getting in her food and attaching themselves to her clothing.
Have I mentioned that my wonderful friends brought me a new sweater for this trip?
I haven't worn matching outfits since I was a Junior in HS and my friend group bought a knock off "polo" shirt and sewed a penguin on where the "alligator" should have been. Luckily, we all dressed them a little differently and we only had one man in the elevator asked where he could get his "matching" shirt.
We made it into the room and unpacked our gear and were ready to hit the streets. Well, sort of. You see, the wonderful "steak tartare" from Sunday night was about to make itself known.
Remember the train? Apparently, it had begun then. Lisa thought it was just…. well, you know. I didn't realize that while I was checking us into the Marriott she had used the lobby restroom also. And, well, she also christened our newly cleaned hotel room. She was convinced that it was just the vitamins/supplements that she was taking and that she WASN'T sick.
We took her word for it and headed out. We decided that we were going to travel on the Hop-on hop-off bus for a tour of the whole city. This was Marcie's first visit to Paris, so we wanted to cover a lot of ground. We weren't going to actually "do" a lot of the activities because we are saving those for the next trip when the husbands would join us. (David wants to make sure that everyone knows that he has yet to be in Paris for sightseeing and I've now been there twice)
It turned into a lovely afternoon and so we sat on the top of the bus and were able to get a lot of great photos. We did do a lot of "hopping off" to find "toilettes". It isn't as easy as you might think and can be a little stressful. It stressed me out and I wasn't the one with the issue!!
Enough of the WC (water closet). We were able to browse through some very fun shops for souvenirs. Marcie and Lisa are professional shoppers…I am not. Don't get me wrong, I love to shop, but once I have what I came for, I am ready to leave. Marcie and Lisa apparently never quite "have what they came for".
One of my favorite memories of the whole week came while we were in a hosiery store. Anyone who knows Lisa will understand that she likes FUNKY clothing (my words). She saw some tights in the window and they had her name written on them. I think that they had a white chicken on them….but that's beside the point to the story. There were two sales people inside the store. One was around 20 and the other was probably about 60. Lisa had picked up her tights and they were too pricey. (48 Euro, or $64) In swooped Marcie to save the day…..she would buy them as her birthday present.
While Marcie payed for the transaction, Lisa voiced her concern about sizing. The younger sales clerk assured Lisa that a S/M would fit. The older sales clerk opened them up and showed Lisa how they would stretch to accommodate size. As the clerk held the tights up to Lisa's waist and did the "stretch" thing, her face contorted into a look of horror and she began shaking her head from side to side, clucking her tongue and murmuring the words "no, no no". I started howling in laughter….I actually had to bend over from at the waist to catch my breath. I finally had to leave the store because I couldn't stop laughing.
Fortunately, Lisa thought it was funny too and was not offended by either the sales clerk's reaction or my laughter.
Back onto the bus. We made it to Notre Dame Cathedral and decided we needed a refreshment break. (and a toilette of course) I had been doing most of the ordering and now Lisa and Marcie wanted to take a stab at it. While we waited for our server to come over I gave them the quick French 101 lesson. I want (Je voudrais) sounds like (zhuy voo dray) and then water (eau) sounds like (Ohhh). You just can't say I want water, you have to throw in a couple of other articles like "la" or "de". We were going to drink tap water (to save $5 a bottle) so we would ask for "un carafe d'eau". Marcie asked again how to say water, I said "eau" and then spelled it for her "e-a-u". She said "Ohhh Ohhh"? We obviously cracked up. I explained that I had pronounced it for her and then spelled it for her.
Enter the server. I ordered, Lisa ordered and then it was Marcie's turn. Zhuy voo DA dray…..agua….parlay voo. An extra "da" syllable, the Spanish word for "water" and "do you speak". The poor server walked away shaking his head. The good news is that we were able to get our drinks, along with a carafe of water and use the restroom. By all standards, it was a success.
Back onto the bus. We were now headed to the Eiffel Tower. We had a dinner reservation near the tower at 7:00, but we weren't sure that Lisa would make it. She had had a long day and was not doing well. She had, however, insisted that we stop to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.
I had seen the Tower with the kids in June. It was spectacular. Let me just say that the Eiffel Tower at night from the Trocadero is one of THE most amazing sights I've ever seen. It definitely needs to be a bucket list item for everyone. Lisa was so happy that she was able to experience it with us, but now we really needed to get back to the hotel.
Our bus was going to take too long, so we braved the Metro. It was fun and I was glad we did. We ate dinner at the hotel and Lisa was feeling better, she was NOT SICK. At least that is what she would tell us before she would drink from our glass or sample a bite of our food.
Time for bed. We have taken several "hedge" girl trips and it is typically Lisa and I that share one bed and Marcie and Janaé who share the other. So I was in a bed with Lisa. At 12:30 AM I heard her get up and go to the bathroom. This time it was the other end. She came back to bed and said to me, "you better get in bed with Marcie, I think I might be sick". Wow, that was a revelation!! Poor thing. She had a rough night.
Moral to the story? DO NOT EAT RAW MEAT…..especially when it looks like cat food on a plate and weighs almost a pound.
Tune in next time for Lisa's french hair cut.
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