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| The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
I WON'T get this exactly right, but they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and not learning from your mistakes. Once again, we found ourselves planning a cruise stop at an inland location. Just like London, there is no seaport in Paris! Far from it. In fact the closest port is probably LeHavre, on the English Channel; well over 100 miles away. Of course, we had made all of our shore plans months before the cruise. And this one was different in a way that actually made sense. I would do it again if the circumstances were repeated.
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| Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
THIS CRUISE was different than any I had ever been on (or have been on since), in terms of port and port times. I have griped on here frequently about what I see as disingenuous advertising by the cruise lines about where you are really stopping in a Port. Paris, London, Rome, Florence, and Berlin, among many others are all a sustantial distance from the port stops. Yet it is clearly the plan (and the hype) that cruisers will plan to visit these places in lieu of what are otherwise essentially little know places for tourism. A few months back, I suggested here, that cruise lines approach their port stops differently, planning perhaps a smaller number of stops, but with more time in at least a few more of them than they already do. Perhaps more overnight stops. Perhaps even longer than overnight. I recently read some evidence that some of the Celebrity Cruise itineraries may be leaning that way.
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| Looking down the block where our Paris Hotel was located - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
THE PORT stop here was different because it was the longest overnight stop we have ever had. And it did give us enough time in port to overnight in Paris and see a substantial amount of the city. We arrived quite early in LeHavre the next morning (from Dover). LaHavre was an overnight stop, with the ship docked until midnight the following day, giving us two complete days. I think that is enough time to justify the train rides to and from Paris (unlike the perhaps ill-advised train time for the round trip between Dover and London on the previous stop). We booked (ahead, of course) a motel in the heart of Paris, and a couple tours, including some walking tours. We were originally scheduled to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, among other things. Tragically, just 2 months before our arrival in Paris, fire raged through the old building, destroying many of the wooden parts, of the building and rendering unusable. They were well into the re-building process when we were there in June, but it wouldn't be until July of 2024 that it would be reopened again to the public. It is still on my bucket list to see both a more pristine exterior and surely the interior one day.
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| Construction and remnants of the April, 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral Fire - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
I STILL think you are going to need to stay more than one overnight to really see all a city as huge of Paris. But our 2 days got us an awful lot of it. We arrived at our hotel right around noon (so really, 1 1/2 days). That afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to get a kind of "lay of the land." Because it wasn't hugely crowded, we were able to get off and back on a couple times this trip. On of the stops was the Place du Trocadéro (Trocadéro Square), which is probably the most accessible and dramatic view of the Eiffel Tower. I was able to make several nice photographs of the tower from the square.
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| Eiffel Tower from Place du Trocadero - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
WE EVENTUALLY got around to the famed Champs-Elysee. The next day we made our way back over there, walked the avenue, and ended up at the Arc di Triomphe. But for this afternoon, we needed to get back over near the base of the Eiffel Tower, to be ready for our evening appointment. There is an elevator up most of the way. Access to the top requires climbing just a few stairs, and also requires that you pay for some type of "VIP" access. We had done that. Well, in fairness, my wife - the expert tour "arranger," did. For those who may be interested, there is a restaurant at the top of the elevator that is famous and said to be a very romantic dinner experience. We didn't do the restaurant. But we did get to watch a fabulous sunset over the city.
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| Sunset over Paris from the Top of the Eiffel Tower - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
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| The "Blue Hour" from the top of the Eiffel Tower - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
ONCE WE were back at street level, we walked around the grounds and I had an opportunity to make a few pictures of the Tower from a more close-up perspective. When lit at night, the tower glows a beautiful gold. There is also a periodic, sparkling light show. While I made some still images of that, they didn't really do it justice. I rarely do video (and so rarely think about it). But this is one where a video would be more impressive than a still image during that light show. However, be aware. French law (copyright) protects the light show, and it is - technically - illegal to post, publish or otherwise use the images of the show. In reality, this is restricted to commercial use, and the operators have made clear that there is no problem photgraphing or videoing for personal use (including posting on your own social media for non-commercial purposes). I didn't give it a thought while I was walking around the grounds. But it is probably worth a "google" for photographers.
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| Eiffel Tower - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
THE FOLLOWING morning, after breakfast in a charming little streetfront restaurant near (and associated with) our hotel, we headed back over to The Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the Seine River in the center of Paris. The island is the historic birthplace of the city. Our tour was actually just across the Seine to the west in the historical district that is known as The Latin Quarter. One of the main treasures there is the early 13th Century St. Severin Catholic Church.
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| St. Severin Catholic Church - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
BUILT IN what Wikipedia terms "flamboyant Gothic Style," the church, including flying buttresses, is a wonder to see, both inside and out.
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| St. Severin Church - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
THE LATIN quarter is quite beauful and peaceful in its own right, with quiet, tree-lined streets and Gothic architecture. As we walked along, I noticed a sign depicting the residence of famous medieval philosopher, Heloise - the place where the tragically ended romance of Abelard and Heloise - for those who are students of European history (and especially the Medieval period and the Enlightenment as the world came out of the so-called "Dark Ages."
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| Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
WHEN OUR tour came to an end, we spent some time again over on Île de la Cité, where we walked around the Notre Dame Cathedral, and eventually ended up in a small, quintessential Parisian sidewalk restaurant, in full view of the bell towers of the Cathedral. Our (very) French waiter who had only a halting command of English, small, skinny, and bald on top and probably well into his 60's, looked and acted (to me) as if he were right out of "central casting." It was a pretty cool experience and the food was decent. As the early image of the Cathedral draped in re-construction and repair scaffolding shows, it was very difficult to get a "beautiful" image of Notre Dame. But by some selective composition, I was able to get the iconic front. The blooming flowers added a little something to the shot.
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| Entrance Plaza to The Louv're Museum - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
WE HAD seen The Louv're, ever so briefly, as we passed it on the Hop-on Hop-off bus earlier in our visit. We would see it again from a different viewpoint this afternoon, taking a riverboat "cruise" up and down the Seine within the City of Paris. Alas these were the closest we got to the Louv're, but it will remain on our "bucket list" to spend at least half a day there on a future visit to Paris. In the meantime, if you do visit I highly recommend that purchase tickets to the sightseeing "waterbus" boats. It is a really great way to see the center of Paris.
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| The Louv're - viewed from the Seine - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
FOLLOWING THE river cruise, we headed back over to the Legendary Champs-Elysees, the showcase street of Paris and the avenue of the rich and famous, which ends at its western terminus at the Arc de Triomphe, yet another preeminent world monument. Called by some the most beautiful avenue in the world (I might disagree, but it is certainly right up there), the just over 1 mile boulevarded avenue is lined on both sides with theatres, restaurants, and luxury shopping stores.
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| Champs-Elysees - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
CIRCLING THE arch, of course is also the world-known roundabout, today called Place Charles de Gaulle ( but formerly Place de l'Étoile). 12 lanes across, the roundabout is famously known for its chaotic flow of traffic and has been used both for comedic and dramatic cinema often in more recent history. I learned while writing this the vehicles entering the roundabout have the right of way. Whatever the rules, it was pretty amazing to watch the essentially collision-free flow of the traffic, moving at speed, in, out and around the circle. I never really go a vantage point where I could photograph it. It is possible to go to the top of the arch, but some event had it closed to the public that day. The arch, itself, though is impressive.
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| Arc de Triomphe - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
NEARING THE end of another day, and the conclusion of our Paris Visit, our group of 4 split up for the afternoon, and were on our own for a late lunch/early supper, before meeting back up at the train station. My wife and I, not particularly hungry (we do a lot of eating on these trips 😋) headed back toward our hotel to collect our bags and make the short walk to the train station. We stopped for a "light" bit, splitting a Monte Cristo sandwich before departing for the station. The Monte Cristo seemed fitting for Paris, somehow.
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| Cruising the Seine - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
WE HAD two more stops in front of us; the lovely Bruges, Belgium and our termination of the cruise at Amsterdam, where we would spend just part of one day. More on those coming up. Since I couldn't be in two places at once, and we were up in the top of the probable "symbol of France" - the Eiffel Tower - I could only image what a sunset might look like from the viewing plaza across the Seine. So I put my imagination to work with Photoshop. It was "goodbye for now," to Paris. As Arnold said (sort of): "we will be back!"
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| Eiffel Tower Reflection - Paris, France Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved |
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