Everyone arrived safely at CDG and we met up with the other Canadians who arrived the day before me.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Arrival at CDG
Everyone arrived safely at CDG and we met up with the other Canadians who arrived the day before me.
Checking out of Marriott CDW
For those of you celebrating with me, it was a bit premature. Free internet access came with my €30 room upgrade which I didn't realize I had requested. Ah well.
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Parisian Sights
Instead of taking the train from CDG to Gare du Nord, I stayed on one more stop and got off at the Châtelet – Les Halles station. 
This station, combined with its sister Metro station, Les Halles, is the largest underground metro station in the world. It gets the Les Halles name from the central market that used to be at this location. I wandered around the new shopping area, Forum des Halles, but quickly lost interest - shopping is not my thing. Instead, I found a magnificent church, Saint-Eustache located nearby and walked inside. The church was built in the 16th century but the parish dates back to the 13th century.
After the church, I thought, "I wonder if the Louvre is nearby?" and I typed Louvre into Google Maps on my Blackberry. Sure enough, it was only a couple blocks away and the GPS pointed me in the right direction. I headed over and figured I would spend the rest of the afternoon in the Louvre. However, before you come to Paris to take in the Louvre, there's something you should know: the Louvre is open every day of the week except Tuesday. Today is Tuesday - go figure.
To cool my jets, I dipped them in the reflecting pool (no fish were harmed in the making of this movie) near the entrance to the Louvre and plotted my next course.
I debated between heading out to Versailles and staying in central Paris. The latter won as I could check off some more sights ;) and we may get out to Versailles at some point later. I caught the M1 line from the Louvre to Champs-Élysées and quickly snapped some pics before heading back on the M1 line the other way to the Bastille.
Word to the wise: if you want to catch a picture of the Arc de Triomphe you'll need to step lively. The Parisian drivers don't have a lot of patience.
I didn't realize the Bastille is the "former Bastille" (probably should have as I've been here before) and there is just the Place de la Bastille and the Opera Bastille there now. Disappointed and somewhat tired, I decided to rest and rejuvenate at a nearby cafe, la Caveteria at 41 Boulevard Bourdon. With a nod to Anthony Edwards, I ordered a pernod for an aperitif and then selected their Salade Estivale. I can't tell you all that was in it but it was close to a chef salad with turkey, avocado, tomato, radishes and some vegetable that was close to eggplant but different - very tasty. As you can see, I'm no food connosieur but the food was good here and the owner was friendly.
A quick google search suggests I may have stumbled upon a little treasure in Paris that has local character, a great proprietor and good food.
This station, combined with its sister Metro station, Les Halles, is the largest underground metro station in the world. It gets the Les Halles name from the central market that used to be at this location. I wandered around the new shopping area, Forum des Halles, but quickly lost interest - shopping is not my thing. Instead, I found a magnificent church, Saint-Eustache located nearby and walked inside. The church was built in the 16th century but the parish dates back to the 13th century.After the church, I thought, "I wonder if the Louvre is nearby?" and I typed Louvre into Google Maps on my Blackberry. Sure enough, it was only a couple blocks away and the GPS pointed me in the right direction. I headed over and figured I would spend the rest of the afternoon in the Louvre. However, before you come to Paris to take in the Louvre, there's something you should know: the Louvre is open every day of the week except Tuesday. Today is Tuesday - go figure.
To cool my jets, I dipped them in the reflecting pool (no fish were harmed in the making of this movie) near the entrance to the Louvre and plotted my next course.I debated between heading out to Versailles and staying in central Paris. The latter won as I could check off some more sights ;) and we may get out to Versailles at some point later. I caught the M1 line from the Louvre to Champs-Élysées and quickly snapped some pics before heading back on the M1 line the other way to the Bastille.
Word to the wise: if you want to catch a picture of the Arc de Triomphe you'll need to step lively. The Parisian drivers don't have a lot of patience.I didn't realize the Bastille is the "former Bastille" (probably should have as I've been here before) and there is just the Place de la Bastille and the Opera Bastille there now. Disappointed and somewhat tired, I decided to rest and rejuvenate at a nearby cafe, la Caveteria at 41 Boulevard Bourdon. With a nod to Anthony Edwards, I ordered a pernod for an aperitif and then selected their Salade Estivale. I can't tell you all that was in it but it was close to a chef salad with turkey, avocado, tomato, radishes and some vegetable that was close to eggplant but different - very tasty. As you can see, I'm no food connosieur but the food was good here and the owner was friendly.
A quick google search suggests I may have stumbled upon a little treasure in Paris that has local character, a great proprietor and good food.
Day Early in Paris
I left a day early so that I could fly United and get upgraded to business class ... yes, I know, its a bit highfalutin but I'll live with the criticism. Anyway, the flight was uneventful and I managed a little sleep - not enough to call it a full night's sleep but enough to not be a walking zombie. I arrived this morning about 10 am and caught the shuttle bus over to the Marriott. I didn't know if I'd have to call but didn't really want to look up the number or burn the minutes so I waited it out. My patience was rewarded with a nice clean shuttle bus and a friendly driver. The Marriott is normal Marriott fare although maybe a bit plain. Unlike most of the Marriott hotels, however, it has one great perk: free internet! So now I get to geek out on the web and not have to pay a dime. Life is grand. After dumping my bags in my room, I decided I would try to stay awake the whole day. I had a quick shower and then caught the shuttle back to the airport to catch the train into Paris. For those who are interested, you can catch the RER (8.40 euro) from either Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 into Gare du Nord or whatever other central Paris stops you want and then take the Metro all over Paris. I'll tell you about the sights in Paris on my next post.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Red Carpet Club at SFO
Ok, you probably don't want to hear about the Red Carpet Club at SFO. I just wanted to check posting from my berry. If you do want to know, leave a comment.
Later,
Colin
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Heading out
Today, I'm jumping on a plane (just got off one last night) and heading to Paris where I'll meet up with a bunch of friends and tour France and Germany with a veteran of WWII. Hopefully, I'll keep up with my thoughts on this blog so the rest of you can join in. :)
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