Paris

We walked across the street to St. Pancras station and took the first Eurostar through the ‘Chunnel’ at 7:01am, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. This happened to be the 80th anniversary of VE Day, a big deal in France and England. The English woman doing announcements gave thanks to her grandfather who fought in France during the war, it was a nice moment. The Chunnel’s official name is the Channel Tunnel. The ride is very pleasant, watching the countryside pass by. You spent about a half hour under the English channel. The view out your window while in the tunnel is a black void, though some people swear they have caught glimpses of the tunnel walls. We arrived at 10:29am, about a 2 1/2 hour ride to Paris. There is an hour time difference between London and Paris. You can buy tickets for the Metro on the Eurostar if you didn’t buy them ahead of time.

Norte Dame Cathedral

I remember riding an exercise bike at my gym and watching the news with the breaking story on Norte Dame burning. I always wanted to see Norte Dame, but it had been there for hundreds of years , I had time, until I almost didn’t. The efforts to rebuild were astounding, there is no evidence of the fire, in fact after texting photos home, my daughter, who saw the cathedral before the fire, said it looks cleaner. My first impression walking inside was the stained glass, oh, the glass, towering above you. The colors, the scenes depicted, and the way it is incorporated into the architecture is all breathtaking. For a little extra contribution, you can visit the treasury, which contains chalices, bishop’s robes and staffs, and other treasures. I was in awe, I can’t fathom how someone in the middle ages must have felt.

Lunch!

On the walk between Notre Dame and the D’Orsay, we stopped at a cafe. A couple of Croque Madames, with fries, and a side salad. When in Rome, or Paris in this case, do as the Parisians do, so I went with a glass of French wine, while my wife went with a cider. The language barrier isn’t much of an issue, our server appeared comfortable with English speakers. It’s polite to try to communicate a little in French; Bonjour (Good Day), Vin Rouge (Red Wine), Merci Beaucoup (Thank you very much), is all it takes. For the rest, I just pointed to the menu.

The D’Orsay

I have one personal rule when it comes to art , if I can do it, it’s not art. I would love to be able to sketch or paint, but don’t have the gift, however, I do appreciate those who can. When it comes to art, I like the impressionist. So, though I realize the Louvre is the more popular museum, it was off to the D’Orsay.

This former train station has been turned into one of the world’s great art museums. What follows is just a few of paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Rodin, and Gauguin we saw, and my thoughts as I strolled among them.

Discovering something new is always fun. I didn’t know much about Sisley, but as I took in his paintings, I discovered a new appreciation.

Art is a wonderful thing, it lets you peek into the past or step into a scene. I found myself examining the brush stokes and colors, losing myself in the different methods these creative people approached a subject.

What was each painting telling me?

As an example of what I’m trying to say, take a look at the following two paintings of dancing couples, both by Renoir. These large paintings are placed next to each other on their own wall.

In the first one, you see a young rosy faced women, dressed in her finest, attending a fancy soiree. T

he girl is smiling, happy, you can sense her snuggling into her partner, leaning toward you slightly. Her colorful fan is open, as if to say, ‘Look at me tonight, dancing with my fella.’ She is making a memory she’ll remember into her old age.

Then your eyes move to the next couple. In this painting you get the same sense of a high end party, the couple also in their finest dress, but the joy you had moving from the first painting quickly dissipates. There is no happiness here, the woman isn’t smiling, she appears stiff, her head covers her partner’s face as if she doesn’t want to be seen with him. In contrast to having the time of her life, she wants the night to be over. You may see something different and that’s also the wonder of the paintings around you.

Here is another example, this painting is called, In a Cafe, by Edgar Degas. Tell me this isn’t the picture of loneliness. The woman is at a table with a friend or husband. I assume they are together because they are at the same table, but the woman’s face is vacant, her eyes looking at nothing, like she is going through the motions of life, instead of reveling in it. I want to step into the picture and give her a hug.

Whether your an expert or a casual observer, make a trip the Musee d’Orsay. You will not leave disappointed.

I’ll finish this section with an art joke.

Why didn’t the impressionists make it to the museum on time?

Because they didn’t have Monet, to buy Degas, to make the Van Gogh.

The Eiffel Tower

Some things you do just to say you did, how could we leave Paris without seeing the Eiffel tower? The tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, and is 1,089 feet tall. When completed it was the tallest structure in the world, surpassing the Washington monument. It remained so until usurped by the Chrysler Building in New York, in 1930.

I try to stay away from the derogatory terms of ‘touristy’ or ‘tourist trap’, because anything which is popular and draws crowds can be label touristy, but at the same time be well worth a visit. These tourist traps fall on a scale from, “it’s crowded because it’s a great attraction” to “not worth the trouble”. The Eiffel Tower is touristy, but falls on the, “I want to say I’ve been there” section of the scale. It’s crowded, there is security to pass through, and you have to run a gauntlet of people selling miniature Eiffel tower sovereigns, but the structure is a cultural icon. The ride to the top is cool, because you are rising inside the framework and can look out as you go.

We took the elevator to the top, and walked the stairs down. The tower has three levels, there are restaurants on the first two levels and the highest level is reached by a separate elevator. We went all the way to the top and the views are spectacular. Paris has a ban on skyscrapers and restrictions to keep buildings shorter than the Eiffel Tower.

So, yes, touristy, but whenever I see the tower on television or in a movie, I can say, been there.

We embarked on the last Eurostar leaving Paris and returned to London at 22:30. Again, the location of the hotel was the huge plus, we walked across the street, and collapsed into bed. We slept late the next day.