Good bye Paris, hello London

Good bye Paris, hello London. We left Paris this morning and took the Eurostar through the Chunnel to London, England. We had to take the tube ( subway) to our hotel and I got stuck in the doors. Got quite a whack on my left side and will probably have a nice bruise. We are staying at the Tavistock Hotel and have a nice room with a view of the street after we complained about the first room that looked out over dirty machinery. We are off to see Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.




Peggy

Ham & cheese, ham & cheese

People on Paris eat only ham and cheese. Tomorrow we leave for London and hopefully no more ham and cheese. The baguettes are really good though.


Peggy

Vimy ridge war memorial

Up early today and took the train to Arras and from there we took a taxi to Vimy Ridge the sight of the first world war monument. A large monument that sits on the ridge that the Canadians took from the Germans. We were able to walk in the tunnels 8 metres underground and in the trenches that the soldiers used almost 100 years ago. This battle distinguished the Canadians as the Canadian Army and not just a branch of the British Army. Very moving experience.


After taking the train back to Paris we walked around looking for dinner but couldn't decide so we came back to the hotel and walked down the street to the Novatel Hotel. Inside the courtyard was a market and 3 restaurants. We chose one and had more than enough. We often share lunch and we should have shared dinner also tonight. Oh well, c'est la vie.


Peggy

The quilt shop was open, The Rouvary

Quiet day today. We slept in and had fresh croissants with cheese for brunch. We then went to the left bank again and the quilt shop was open. I bought 2 fat quarters of her fabric line " romance of Paris" for 5 euros each, that is $7.50 each. I will have to be sure make something with it, maybe a cushion. When we were leaving she kept handing us rolled up pieces of fabric. Some were fat eights and others smaller, it made up for the expense of the fat quarters. The fabric was very expensive but I think worth it. Then we took a free tour of the left bank by a student from the university. A good day.


I will post pictures of all the fabric when I get home.


When we got back to the hotel we spotted a laundromat so now we have clean clothes for another week.
Tomorrow we are taking the train to Vimy Ridge the sight of the Canadian war memorial from the first world war.


Peggy

The Eiffel Tower

Home late tonight as we had 7:30 pm tickets to the Eiffel tower. We found a small restaurant near the tower and had dinner before we went up. They lit the tower at 9pm so we had to stay for that. It was awesome!!! Had a long walk to the metro station but the weather has been so nice we didn't mind. We have found a few stations with escalators & one with an elevator but they are very few and far between. My Schombergs is back. It seems I am allergic to Europe. It is worse this time, as it is right up to my knees on both legs.


Tomorrow is a free day meaning we have nothing booked so maybe we will take a free walking tour of the Latin Quarter.


Peggy

Paris, the city of stairs

Just finished visiting montparnesse tower. We took the elevator to the 56th floor and walked up 75 stairs to the 59th floor. It is Paris' top of the rock . Temp is very warm here today. We also visited a street market with vendors selling everything from clothes to food and fresh fish. Paris is the city of stairs. Every metro has millions of stairs. We have tickets to the Eiffel tower tonight at 7:30pm so we will see the city lit up.


Having a rest where we could find free wi-fi which is called wee-fee here in Paris, at a pub. So of course we had to have a petit draft.


Peggy
Still can't post pictures.

Tuesday in Paris

Had a great day today. We took the RER train to Versailles and spent most of the day just looking at the ornate furnishings. Palace overload. Lunch at McDonald 's haha. Found the quilt shop again but now she is closed till September . So went to Sacre Cour basilica.
A beautiful church high on a hill where you can see the whole city from the grounds. We found another fabric store called Marche St Pierre . They had 7 floors of fabric but only a small corner of quilting cotton. In France it is called "Patchwork". If you say quilting they don't know what you mean.


I picked up some fabric for a class I am taking in September called Fabulous Fractures. I bought a metre of large print and 2 - 1/2 meters of contrast.


I got Luci's email last night and it was perfect timing for shopping in Paris.


We haven't found an Internet cafe yet so I using my iPod and can't figure out how to upload pictures.
I will put some on when I get back home to a computer.
Peggy

Day 2 in Paris

We started out today for the louvre.
The line up was very long to get in
But we found another entrance and walked right in.
Found the Mona Lisa and took some pictures, got
turned around and walked forever to get out.
Went to Notre Dame and then the pantheon.
Saw Foucault pendulum. The Pendulum doesn't move, the earth does.  The quilt shop was closed
so will try again tomorrow.


Peggy

Hello from Paris

We arrived here fine, had a nap and then took the
Metro to the Champs Elysee and walked to the
Arc de Triumphe. Tired, so we will have an early
night and go to Notre Dame tomorrow.


Peggy