Venice and Paris

Our last post! How sad! But after two weeks of travel, I think we're ready to come home.

Well, we missed our train to Paris. It wasn't so much as we were running for the train and couldn't catch it - it was more that we're procrastinators, and tried to make reservations for the train pretty much the day of, and it was fully booked. Our plan was to take the day train to Paris (it would have been a long day on the train, but in our opinion, better than a long night). Left with no choice, we booked the overnight train to Paris and decided to head to Venice for the day. Dan and I have both been to Venice before, but it was nice to go back and wander along the narrow streets and explore the little town. We vaguely recalled that it was a pretty small place, so we didn't think it would be necessary to buy a map. After about half an hour of wandering around, we were utterly lost and couldn't figure out how to get back to the main tourist area. Getting lost in Venice, in my opinion, was like getting lost in Whistler village. How lost can you get in such a small place? It turns out very lost. It took us a half hour to get lost and about an hour and half to get unlost. Not like we were in any hurry though - every few steps was another picture, another small alley to be discovered, another little shop, another stop for gelato. It was fun to wander where the locals lived - no tourists (except us). After stopping in a square near the university for a pizza and and some water, we finally caved and bought a map and found our way back to the main tourist area. We had only enough time to walk over the Ponte Rialto, take a few pictures of the gondolas, and head back to the train station to catch the train back to Florence. We both very much enjoyed our day in Venice, and also the train ride to and from (we were on one of those really nice high speed trains, where you are served coffee, wine and snacks in your seat).

Upon arriving in Florence, we had an hour and half to get back to our hotel to pick up our luggage, do a quick change, grab a bite to eat and head back to the station to take the 8pm to Milan. At Milan, we had a two hour lay-over from 10 to midnight while we waited to board the overnight train.

When we booked our reservation to Paris, Dan was quite disappointed that there were no first class sleepers left. We did spring for a first class rail pass, but it was our fault that we left the reservation so late. I didn't fully understand Dan's disappointment until I saw our accommodation for the night. I was pretty sure it was going to be the longest night ever. We were in a small compartment with 6 bunks (stacked 3 high on each side). There was only enough room down the middle for one person at a time, and there was not enough overhead room in each bunk to sit up. It was pretty much get in, get settled, and hope you don't have to move for the next nine hours. There was Dan and myself, an exchange student from Indonesia, two people from India, and one older Italian man who did not speak one word of English, but who was very confused as to which bunk was his. It took us all about half an hour to get settled in (there was only enough room for one person at a time to stand in the compartment and make their bed with the provided sheets and get in, while the rest waited their turn in the hallway). It was stifling hot, and I don't generally suffer from claustrophobia, but I certainly felt claustrophic that night. Luckily, thankfully, we fell asleep within the hour, and woke up in Paris! Not too shabby for what I thought was going to be one very long night! We did end up waiting on the train for half an hour after the train came to a stop. Once we were finally allowed out, we could tell that there was some sort of security issue. There was something that looked like a SWAT team, all with big guns, searching through luggage. Luckily, we were able to walk right by it.

While we were in Florence, we spent a few nights online trying to find a hotel in Paris, but to no avail. All the hotels we could find online (in our price range) were booked. So, in the usual Karen and Dan way, we decided to wing it. When we arrived in Paris, we walked a few blocks from the station in the direction of the main attractions, and then just started hitting hotels along the way. It was only on our second try that we found a hotel that could take us, and we ended up getting the last room! The lobby of the hotel was very nice, but our room is quite old, and the bathroom is pretty interesting. The nice thing is that we are on the fifth floor with french doors opening onto a little balcony. After we dropped our bags, had a nap, had a shower, it was time to get lost again, this time not in Venice, but in Paris! We decided to walk to our favourite place in Paris - Ile Saint Louis, which is the little island on the Seine, right behind Notre Dame. It has one of the best bakeries, our favourite restaurant (we ate there three time when were in Paris three years ago), and a bunch of cool little shops and galleries. Dan and I both agree that if we could live anywhere in Paris, it would probably be on that little island.

We stopped at the bakery and ordered a Tuna sandwich (on a baguette) and a chocolate mousse (thank you Mike!), and brought our lunch to the garden right behind Notre Dame. We sat on a bench overlooking the river and enjoyed our little pique-nique. We then decided to try to find the Luxembourg Gardens, which we knew were somewhere over the bridge in the Latin Quarter. So off we went, wandering through the Latin Quarter, taking pictures and not paying too much attention to where we were going. After much wandering around, we found a Starbucks near the Sorbonne, and craving a little piece of home, decided to stop for a coffee while we figured out where we were. Then we walked in circles, and after giving up and asking someone, we finally found our way to the Luxembourg Gardens. The Gardens were impressive, and I loved how they weren't just a tourist attraction. This is where parents bring their kids to play, where people jog, where people read, sunbathe, relax, play bocce. People don't have backyards in Paris, but they do have gardens like this one. By the time we reached the Gardens, it was naptime for Dan and I, so after spending some time wandering around and people-watching, we decided to head back to the hotel for our beloved siesta before heading out again for the evening. This took about another hour of getting lost before we emerged in some recognizable place from where we could find our way back to the hotel.

For dinner, we headed back to Ile Saint Louis to our favourite little restaurant, but unfortunately, all the tables were reserved for the rest of the night. So we made a reservation for tonight, then wandered a little further down on the street and found another restaurant, where we had very enjoyable dinner.

Today was our last day in Paris. Originally, we planned to go to Musee D'Orsay, the old train station that now houses the works of Monet and other famous artists of his era. It was the one major museum we didn't go to last time we were in Paris, and we had every intention of going there this time. But, our favourite thing to do in Paris is simply to walk the streets and soak up the atmosphere. We didn't want to spend our last day in a big museum, especially when it was such a beautiful day. So instead, we purchased an all-day pass for the "Batobus", which is the little boat that will ferry you from tourist attraction to tourist attraction along the Seine, and we jumped aboard and headed to the Champs Elysees. After walking down Champs Elysees, we jumped back on the boat and did the full tour along the Seine up to the Eiffel tower, and back down again to where we jumped off near our hotel, just in time for our afternoon nap.

This evening, after wandering the shops, we returned to our favourite restaurant, and it was every bit as good as we remembered it. It is a tiny place, perhaps only 12 feet wide, with a little loft overlooking the restaurant (the loft seats six, while the main floor only has tables for two). It is a piano bar on the weekends, but during the week, the owner plays whatever she's in the mood for. This is where we first heard Katie Melua's Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing song.

The food was incredible (by now, I'm seriously lacking creative adjectives for food). I had a sundried tomato and basil tart with melted camambert to start, and then salmon with roasted tomatoes and pine nuts. Dan had a green salad to start, and then, you guessed it - beef! We shared a warm chocolate cake for dessert, and each had a coffee (which in Paris, always come with a little chocolat on the side, which makes me think that I could live here).

By the time we finished dinner, it was already nine o'clock. We decided to wander back to our hotel. We took it very slowly, savouring the sites of Paris. Dan and I were saying that as much as we enjoyed travelling around and seeing other places, we both still love Paris. I think our next trip will be back to Paris and only Paris, rent an apartment for two weeks, drink wine, eat baguette and spend two weeks solid just wandering around and getting lost, which we do so well.

Tomorrow morning, we're off to the airport to catch our plane home. We're looking forward to the comforts of home (Fozzy and Bouk), and seeing our family and friends (we're looking forward to hearing "Dan! Aunty Dan!").

We were just saying today that as much as we love Europe, we're so happy and fortunate to call Vancouver home.

K&D