Anniversary Vacation

This is our travel home day. We left the apartment at 05:50 for a 15 minute walk to Sainte Michel Notre Dame metro station. We had purchased metro tickets to the airport two days ago because we knew we would be leaving very early on a national holiday and didn't want to worry about a ticket booth being open or if our credit card would work. We did not see any ticket booths open, so buying early may have been a good idea. We got on the 06:10 to the airport and 30 minutes later we were there. It took us 50 minutes to get our luggage checked and through all the security with no lines. I could not imagine the time it would take later in the day when the airport was busier. We had to check our luggage to Seattle so we had it with us to go through customs. We had breakfast at the airport. Our flight left Paris on time at 10:30 Paris time. After take off we were served lunch. Then four hours later at about 07:30 Seattle time, we had breakfast again. I noticed traveling west, we eat more; five meals. While traveling east we ate four meals between waking up and going to sleep at the final destination. 

We arrived in Seattle on time and it took 40 minutes to get luggage and through security and customs. I would want to have a couple of hours to make a connection in Seattle. We had two hours and 45 minutes so we were not rushed.

We left Seattle at 14:45 and arrived in Spokane at 15:40.

I was a little nervous about this trip because of what we paid for in advance to insure we saw the things we wanted to see and stay where we wanted to stay. We had bought tickets for the Doge's Palace, the night train to Paris, the Paris apartment, the train to Tours, and the Loire Valley château tour all before we left home. As it turned out everything went smooth.

The night train to Paris was something I always thought would be fun to do. It never made financial sense, but was something my college age self thought would be fun. I'm glad we did it but it was exhausting for people much older than college age. I had big plans for our first day in Paris that were cut very short because we were so tired from the night train.

I have to praise the iPhone 5S camera. It took much better indoor pictures than my digital camera. The wide angle lens was a great advantage in the close quarters of the cities. 

Overall, a great vacation.

Easter of Our Anniversary Vacation

We started our 40th wedding anniversary off with 08:30 Mass at Notre Dame. The security around the Cathedral was very high this morning. We had to pass through security across the street from the Church. We arrived at 08:00 because the Church opens to the public at 8:00, it does not close for Mass like the Basilica in Venice did. We had to go through the same lines to get in as the visitors. While attending Mass there you are part of the entertainment for the non-mass going visitors. The mass was wonderful. It was all in French except the Agnus Dei was sung in Latin. The Canter and the Priest both had beautiful singing/chanting voices.

Easter Mass at Notre Dame

After Mass Breakfast 

After mass, we went back to the apartment to change out of our church clothes. From there was walked to Saint-Germaine. It is the oldest church in Paris. The 11:00 mass was in progress and the play was packed, so we looked around quickly and left.

Then we walked to Saint-Sulpice. The 11:00 mass was in progress and the place was packed. The organ was amazing as we heard them sing Amazing Grace in French. We looked around a bit to see the stain glass windows.

We time to spare we thought we would wonder over to the Musee d'Orsay, museum of art between 1848 and 1914. We had to hang out in a 45 minute line, but it was worth it. We saw works be Monet, Van Gough, and Manet.

Then it was time for ice cream and rest. We stopped in a Berthillon for ice cream. The rumor is they have the greatest ice in France. They are located two blocks from our apartment, so this was not our first visit. But it was the first time we had to wait in line. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday in Paris and the streets were full of people, and they know good ice cream.

After a little afternoon break, we went to dinner at L'llot Vache about two blocks from here. I tried escargot and duck for the first time. They were both good. The waitress spoke perfect English, so we had to ask her where she was from; Michigan she said. As we left, a woman wished us a happy anniversary, so we stopped and chatted with her and her husband for a bit. They were from Brooklyn.

A Need for Feedback

I finished a book by Jon Ronson titled, You've Been Publicly Shamed. In his book he talks about many examples of public shaming and its history. While it can be used for good effect it can also ruin innocent people's lives. With one example from the political right and the rest from the left, he told stories of public shaming. He concluded the book by suggesting it is caused by feedback which amplifies a person's views and lack of charity; positive feedback. Feedback which causes a political "Larsen Effect," a feeding frenzy.

I think negative feedback can include a better understanding of history, reason, economics, civics, and dialogue with people with whom you disagree. While positive feedback can cause a lack of charity on both sides, I see it most often from the left. I believe it occurs because of something I see as unique to the left.

I see the political left not just failing to seek negative feedback, which is common to both sides, but demanding the silencing of negative feedback. Demanding political opponents be silenced. I've observed successful attempts to silence by shouting their opponents into silence, most recently in Chicago (http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-trump-protesters-20160312-story.html) and demanding Christians be removed from political discourse. Instead of seeking to understand a political opponent, which could temper their lack of charity by understanding, they demand their removal.

While I see posts on my Facebook page that I disagree with from the left and the right, I see four times the level of pure hate and intolerance from the left. I believe this hate comes from a total lack of desire for understanding (negative feedback).

Anniversary Vacation March 26, 2016

We were out the door at 5:50 for our Château Tour out of the town of Tours. It only took us 40 minutes to get to Gare Montparnasse because just as we arrived at the bus stop, bus 96 arrived. Went first class on the 07:16 train to Tours. On the train, we sat near a dad with his baby. We watched the baby play several rounds of 'watch daddy pick up what I throw on the floor.' Babies are the same everywhere.

Stephen, Shawn, Regina, Bobby, Cyril, Domonic and his wife

The tour minivan arrived on time at 09:15 with our guide Cyril. We were joined by Shawn, his wife Regina, and her son Bobby from Long Island, and Dominic and his wife from Hong Kong.

Our first stop was Château de Chenonceau. It has both a 17th-century history and a World War Two history. It acts as a bridge across the river which divided free France from Nazi-occupied France.

Our next stop was Les Caves Duhard near Amboise. They buy very fresh wine, bottle and age it. They only have white wine. What surprised us is we have always been told by American wineries that white wine can not be ages. Well, it can. We were served three white wines of the same grape and location, bottled in 2014, 1985, and 1976. Each bottle had more flavor as it got older. Each cheese was a little stronger than the previous one. Very interesting how they went together. We learned a lot. Then we had lunch at La Cave Aux Fouées, which was awesome.

Château Amboise

Château Amboise

Château Amboise

Next stop was Château Amboise. It was just fraction of its former self. 

We ended our tour at Clos Luce where Leonardo DeVinci spent his last years and died there.

It was a very long and educational day.

We had a light dinner at the train station and caught the 19:47 train back to Paris where we found bus 96 waiting for us to take us back to the apartment.

Anniversary Vacation

Today the plan was to visit the Chartres and its Cathedral. We woke up to rain, so we shared an umbrella to the bus stop on Rue de Rivioli near Saint Paul Church. We took bus #96 to the train station (Gare Montparnasse). We bought tickets to Chartres and 75 minutes later we were there.





It was still raining, so we shared the umbrella again to the Cathedral. It was dark with many beautiful stain glass windows and they were singing gregorian chants while we were there. We walked around town. It had a very medieval feel about the place with very narrow and stone covered streets. We had a café crème so we could use the restroom. After about an hour, we got back on the train to return to Paris.

We decided to walk around the Latin quarter starting with the Arènes de Lutèce, a Roman amphitheater built in the first century. It was kind of neat. 

The Panthéon

Then we walked to the Pantheon, it was a church but is now a mausoleum. We're not into the whole mausoleum thing, so we took pictures of the outside and didn't bother to go in. We walked to the Cluny museum. It had ancient medieval architecture and art to about 1500. We saw Roman baths, and The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry made in the late 15th century.

The Cluny Museum

The Lady and the Unicorn

Because it is Good Friday and we had not really had anything to eat, we decided to call it a day.

Anniversary Vacation, March 24, 2016

Today, we were off the Palace of Versailles.

We walked to the local metro station at Saint- Michel Notre Dame. We got on the RER C train then realized there were five different destinations for the C train, so we got off two stations later. We waited for the correct C train to Versailles-Rive Gauche, and got on it. Not the one to Potoise, or Argenteuil, or Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, or the one that stops short at Chaville-Vélizy, but Versailles-Rive Gauche. With tickets in hand, that we bought yesterday at the tabac shop, we got in the ticket holder line and almost went right in. The place was huge and beautiful with even more amazing gardens. Being here in March, we didn't get to see them in bloom.


As we left, just like the Louvre the day before, the lines were now huge. Getting to places just as they open is key.

We returned to Paris and had crêpes at Le Sarrasin et Le Froment on the island. They speak English and were very helpful, and the food was great.

After lunch, we were off to the Arc de Triomphe. We took the metro to Charles de Gaulle-Êtoile. We took a few picture when we noticed a car wreck in the middle of the round-about and the chaos it was causing. The Paris traffic is crazy.

We took the metro to Sacré-Coeur. It is a church in the Montmartre area of Paris. It is the old beatnik artist part of town. We found the area littered with sidewalk sellers of all kinds, and several shell games going on, which I had not seen since the 1970's in Times Square. As we walked up the hill to the Church, we saw the youth of the world hanging out while being entertained by a girl singer with amp and guitar player. We toured the Church, which was beautiful inside with stain glass and mosaics.



We walked down the hill through Place du Tertre, the man walking through wall statue, the Radet Windmill, and the Moulin Rouge. Then it was off to the bus stop and back to the apartment.

Anniversary Vacation

First thing today, we went to the Louvre. We walked to the Sulley metro station and rode #7 to the Louvre metro station. We followed to signs to train #1 and exit (sortie) #6. This took us to the Carousel shopping center under the Louvre. I went to the Tabac Shop and bought tickets to the Louvre. Then we were told by the people at the Carousel Louvre Entrance to go up the pyramid entrance to use them, so we did. After being shown the line for customers with pre-purchased tickets, we got in it. After going through security, we realized that the lines were different security lines and went to the same areas under the pyramid. This area is where you purchase tickets or just enter the Louvre if you already have them. Strange. We spent 3.5 hours there looking for our short list of must-see art then just looked at whatever happened along.

Then we took the metro to the catacombs. We waited in line for an hour and half talked with a family from Dublin, Ireland. It was Dad (Michael) youngest son (Timothy) and oldest daughter (Louise). He said his wife and middle son were at the Louvre. About 30 minutes before we got to the head of the line, Timothy was bugging Michael the point that they left to wonder around, so we went through the catacombs with Louise. It was pretty cool. We took the audio guide which told us the story and why we were looking a ton of bones in Paris.

After spending about 20 minutes lost, we made it to Jardin du Luxembourg, a park in Paris. There we ran into Michael, his wife, and three kids. We chatted a couple of minutes and went on our way to walk around and take some picture of the Luxembourg Palace. 



Then we walked home but did some shopping along the what. We stopped at the local bread and pastry shop to get some bread for dinner and croissants for breakfast. Then we stopped at the wine shop to get a some wine.

We made dinner and then it was off the Eiffel Tower. It was an easy trip, bus 87 to us right there from our apartments. It was beautiful at night.

Anniversary Vacation (March 22, 2016)

We arrived in Paris a 11:15 a few minutes late. We walked to the apartment via the place of the Bastille. We arrived at the apartment a little early, so we saw the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The Cathedral is open while mass is taking place, so if you go to mass there you are part of the tourist attraction. It was completed in 1345. We returned to the apartment at 23 Quai d' Anjou, île de St. Louis to see what we needed to buy for food, and made a shopping list. On the way to the store we went Sainte-Chapelle, which had the most beautiful stained glass. We walked across Ponte Nuef, the oldest bridge in Paris, then on to the Marais, one of the most medieval areas in Paris. We walk by a 15th century Archbishops house, and King Henry II's Wall which is a two block long piece of the 13th century wall that protected Paris.

Anniversary Vacation

Saturday and Sunday mornings we went to the local bar for a cappuccino and croissant. Monday morning we walked into the bar and the guy asked, "two cappuccini, and two croissants?" We felt like locals.

We checked out of the hotel and stored out luggage with the lady in lobby. Now we had 8 hours to kill before getting on the train to Paris. We walked around a bit until I remembered there were two more 'art' churches to see. We arrived at St. Stephen's just as a funeral was letting out. We saw the casket on a rolling platform in the middle of the campo. We waited a few minutes until we knew everyone has exited the church then we went in. The art was beautiful and it was free. Then we walked to St. Sebastian and saw the work of Paolo Caliari (Paolo Veronese), he did the whole place. 

Saint Sebastian Church

The Baptism of Jesus

From there we bought cheese and bread to add to the wine we had bought for the train to Paris. We picked up our luggage and took the boat on a 30-minute ride to the railway station. Near the station a restaurant found us, so we had dinner. At 19:00, we got on the train. 

In our stateroom on the night train to Paris

Our car wasn't labeled, so that took awhile to figure out. After we left the station at exactly 19:20, the porter came around to check our tickets and take our passports. The speaker in our  room was making a ticking noise, so I told the porter. That was a mistake. It started a comedy of a series of clueless employees trying to act like they were going to fix the noise which also kept us awake until 23:30. They never did fix it. If I had not said anything we would have been in bed two hours earlier.

At 5:00, the police came to our door to give us our passports. The people in the next room freaked out thinking they were being violated. By 6:00, the sun was up, so we got up, got our free breakfast, and watched the French scenery go by.

Anniversary Vacation

Today is Palm Sunday, so we started the day with 8:00 Mass at the Basilica San Marco. As we enter the church we followed the line of people getting olive branches, so we picked up one. We didn't do any processing with them, but it is what they do. We saw families around town carrying their branches.  I brought a copy of the readings and responses with us, so we could try and follow along. It was impossible to actually respond without knowing the language. We did pick up the Prayer of the Faith response, "Ascoltaci, o Signore," for, "Lord, hear our prayer." As we left Mass we noticed on a table were copies of the readings, in German, English, French, and Spanish. 

After Mass we went to Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. It is a church built as thanks for the city surviving the plague of 1630.

Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute

Then we went to see the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of art. We saw works my Dali, Picasso, and Pollack.

Developable Surface by Antoine Pevsner 1938

The last few day were starting to wear us down, so we stopped in the Camp San Polo, found a table in the sun, and ate a late but very slow lunch
.