Paris Playtime

We were up to have an early breakfast before leaving for Paris. We got on the train to Frankfurt just before 8 and had a quiet trip reading in between watching the scenery. In Frankfurt we only had ten minutes to run over to catch the train for Paris settling in our seats just as the train pulled out. We had lunch on the train from the dining car. I had a meatball with potato salad and Diane had a baked potato. I finished my book during the afternoon – ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – and thoroughly enjoyed it. We arrived at Paris L’Est just before five and made our way out to the street to look for somewhere to book in. It was not a nice area at all so we went back in to the station where we got tickets on the metro for Gallieni – it was where Hubby and I had stayed before at Mr Bed City. This place was full so we booked into The Campanile( new since we were last there) which was a really super place right next to a mall. After booking in we went into the mall where we ate supper at an Asian restaurant. The food was really tasty! After walking around the mall we went back to the hotel to shower and relax in front of the TV for the evening.
Friday morning we were up for an early breakfast before catching the metro to St.Lazarus for our trip to Le Havre. The train only left just before 11 so we wandered around outside the station and sat for a while in a park close by. We arrived in Le Havre just before 1 and wandered around and down to the dock area before looking for somewhere to eat. It was quite sad to see how many places had closed – sign of the effects of recession. Eventually we found a little restaurant that was quite busy so we went in and placed our order. Diane asked for a vegetarian salad and I had chicken and chips with a fruit juice each. When the food arrived we were not impressed – Diane’s salad was smothered in shrimps and my chips were old and greasy. The waitress took the shrimps off but Diane was not able to eat much as the salad dressing was not very nice at all. My chicken was tasty but the chips were a definite no. After our disgusting meal we wandered around some more before making our way back to the station to have a piece of chocolate cake and tea/coffee. The trip there and back was the best part of our day as we found Le Havre disappointing with no catering for tourists. We were back at our room by about 8, getting a call from Ros to say that Mom was not good at all, which made us very worried. We went to the Asian restaurant again as we knew they made good food and then after an early shower relaxed while watching TV.
Saturday morning we were woken about half six with a call from Ros to say Mom had gone about five in the morning. We were very shocked and just couldn’t believe it. After trying to absorb the news we got ready and went for breakfast. We decided to carry on with our plans for sightseeing to take our minds off the sad news and got on the bus for our tour around all the historical spots taking plenty of pics. Once the tour was over we made our way back to the Seine and walked around enjoying the vibe. We found a little pub about a block up from the river and went in. The woman behind the counter was very friendly and able to speak some English. I ordered the meal of the day which was lemon fish and vegetables while Diane had pasta with vegetables. The food was absolutely delicious. We had a glass of Rose to toast Mom and the happy times she had had in Scotland. We enjoyed the food so much we decided to go for dessert as well and ordered ourselves a brownie with tea/coffee. Well that brownie was the best we had ever eaten and we were really pleased we had found the place especially after the awful meal in Le Havre. After that we went souvenir shopping before walking down to have our cruise down the Seine. The cruise finished at half five and we then walked down to the Eiffel Tower to take pics. We decided we were getting rather footsore now so decided to make our way back to Madeleine to find somewhere to eat and get the metro back to the hotel. What a walk – we couldn’t believe how far we had actually walked. In Madeleine we walked around looking at all the eating places before settling on a sidewalk café. We ordered a walnut salad with toasted cheese rounds and tea/cappuccino. Another good choice as the food was very tasty. It was also great sitting watching everything going on around us – all the traffic and people flowing through the square – and enjoying the vibe of the place. By this time both of us had aching feet from all the walking and were glad to get back to the hotel to shower and put our feet up while watching TV. Sunday morning we were up fairly early to go for breakfast before packing to go back to Dresden. We spent some time wandering around the area before leaving the hotel for Paris L’Est. We caught the train, which was packed, at 1 and got into Frankfurt at about five. The train to Dresden was just as packed and people who hadn’t reserved seats were sitting in the passageway at the end of the carriages. It was just gone ten thirty when we arrived in Dresden and we went up to the hostel to get a room for the night. After having a hot chocolate we showered and went to bed. Monday morning after breakfast we left for the station and after some last minute shopping caught the bus back to Prague.
Our time in Prague has been spent relaxing and clearing all washing ready to go on to Scotland. We leave tonight – Wednesday and arrive in Kirkcaldy tomorrow morning to join Ros for the very sad helping to clear up the flat and have the funeral on Monday the 23rd. We still can’t believe it and every now and again when the news hits again waves of sadness hit us. It is a very difficult time and so sad that we were not able to spend time with her as planned. Everything just happened so quickly and was so unexpected when we originally booked our time in Scotland.