London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 4: Bilbao

Hotel Marques de Riscal

Our next port was Bilbao, Spain.  I did not know much about the final three ports on our trip, and in hindsight, I am glad I didn't.  Bilbao is in the north west of Spain, in the Basque country.  I did not realize how regionalized Spain is.  There are different dialects and even different languages in certain areas of Spain.  In Bilbao, the Spanish language was a little different from the norm, but they also spoke Basque.  Signs were written in both Spanish and Basque.  Bilbao was a much larger city than I expected, with a large amount of activity in their port.  Bilbao was another over night port, so we had two days to tour the area.

Basque Wine Country

Our first day in Bilbao started with a coach ride outside of the city into the Basque country towards the wine country.  The terrain of this area was much different than either of the French ports.  La Havre and La Rochelle were very flat with leafy trees and a lot of agriculture.  Bilbao was almost mountainous, more hilly, but comparatively it was mountainous, with some pine type trees.  We drove through and over the hills (not to grandmother's house), and on the other side the terrain was very flat and almost arid.  It did not take long before we saw plots of grape vines everywhere.  It was gorgeous.  The ground was mostly tan and brown, so the green grape vines popped more so than in France.  Our first stop was a vineyard called Marques de Riscal in the town of Elciego.  The tour started in their shop, but then we walked across to the hotel.  Wait, they have a hotel.  As we are walking to it, Dave, the architect of the group, was in shock.  The hotel was the Hotel Marques De Riscal, which is a Frank Gehry designed building.  Frank Gehry is the architect that designed the Guggenheim.  This place was incredible.  It is part of the Starwood Luxury collection and only has 43 guest rooms  The flowing metal design represents the colors of the vineyards that surround it.  We watched a movie about the vineyard and hotel and then walked out to the vineyard.  We happened to be there at the perfect time:  harvest.  The grapes were plump, purple and ready to be picked.  As our tour guide, who was awesome, walked us through the vineyard, she explained that most of the grapes were tempranillo.  In Europe there are governing bodies that regulate what type of grapes can be grown in specific areas of the continent.  In this case, tempranillo is one of the few grapes that is allowed to be grown.  Interestingly enough, our tour guide showed us that they had several plots that were Cabernet Sauvignon.  Those grapes are not technically allowed in the region, but the vines were actually planted before the regulations were put in place so they were grandfathered in.

After walking through the vineyard, we went back to where the wine is produced.  This winery is much larger than the one we saw in Bordeaux.  They ship all over the world (we found some at Lukas liquor in Kansas City when we got back).  Their facility used a lot more technology than the French as well.  They had touch screens all over and their specs were on flat screen TVs.  After walking through the fermenting containers, we walked out to a courtyard and got to watch workers pick and sort the grapes.  This was really cool.  We got to eat some too.  They were really good.  This was a treat.  Lisa and I have been to several wineries both in California and locally in Missouri and Arkansas, and we have not been able to see this process.  It was awesome.

Hard at work picking the best grapes

Mmmm......Grapes!

After finishing the tour, we got to taste the wine.  They gave us a red Rioja and a white Verdejo.  They were delicious.  Fruity and easy to drink.  They were both great wines to sit on the deck with some snack and friends and just hang out.  They were both light and a little fruity, but not overly fruity.  They would be great with tapas.  After the tasting, we went into the gift shop and they had several other wines that we could pay per taste.  There was one called Baron de Chirel, which is 80% tempranillo and 20% "other".  I asked the tour guide about it and she said the other is cabernet.  Since they are not technically allowed to grow cabernet, they cannot put it on the label, so they call it "Other".  This was delicious.  We bought a bottle to bring home.

Enjoying a delicious beverage

Tempranillo and "Other"

We then loaded back up in our coach and headed to La Guardia, a town that dates back to the 12th century.  This place was great.  We couldn't drive into the town.  The coach parked outside the walls of the town and we walked through to the town.  The town was very quint and very quiet.  There were not many people here.  The attraction at La Guardia was the clock in the square.  On the hour, figures would come out of the clock and dance.  These are not people, they are mechanical figures.  It looked like a giant coo-coo clock.  We had lunch here, which was pretty tasty.  After walking around La Guardia after lunch, we loaded up and headed to Vitoria, the capital of the Basque region.  Vitoria was an interesting mix of urban and historic.  There were sections that we all new buildings and then others that were still historic and unchanged.  There were not many attractions per se, it was more of a walking tour of the city.  I thought it was a great experience to see a "typical" Basque city.

Streets of La Guardia

Clock in La Guardia

View of Wine Country leaving La Guardia

Plaza de la Virgen Blanca in Vitoria

After our tour of Vitoria, we headed back to the ship.  When we got there, a few of us hung out on the back of the ship and watched the sun go down behind the port.  Bilbao was a more scenic port than the first two (La Havre was secluded and La Rochelle was in an industrial area).  It was a beautiful, relaxing evening.

Next up, more fun in Bilbao......

London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 3: La Rochelle (Cont.)

Cognac, France

Our second day in La Rochelle took us to Cognac.  I know, I thought Cognac was a beverage.  Well, it is, but it is also a town in France.  Before our coach took us to Cognac, we got a bus tour of La Rochelle.  It is a nice small French port.  The highlight was the German U-boat pens, which were used in the movie Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The rest of the group had been to Normandy and we had been through areas like La Havre that had been extremely damaged in WWII, but this was one of the first remnants from World War II that Lisa and I had seen on the trip.  It was actually a little spooky.  La Rochelle is another historic city.  We drove by the picturesque Harbor Towers, which were constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries.  They were pretty impressive.

From La Rochelle, it was a little over an hour to Cognac.  When we got there, it was a little before lunch time so we walked around the town a bit.  Justin and I found a tobacco shop and we bought a few Cuban cigars.  We continued on, and guess what Lisa found?  A fabric shop, of course.  We travel  all the way to Cognac, and they have a fabric store.  She found some that she wanted and then waited to pay.  I waited outside and it took a long time.  She finally came out and said that the lady ahead of her was just chatting with the store clerk and they were in no hurry to check out.  No sooner than Lisa walked out of the store, they closed.  All of the shops around us closed.  we checked the time and of course, it was noon.  The French are serious about their break times.  Most shops were closed from noon to 2:00 for lunch.  We found a spot to eat that was nice.  We got to sit outside and enjoy the mild, clear weather.  Most of us got sandwiches, but I decided to get foie gras.  When in Rome, right?  Well, it was extremely rich, creamy and slightly warm with a ring of fat or something around it.  I am generally a fan of foie gras but this I did not like.  It actually upset my stomach.  Everyone else enjoyed their lunches.  This was also the lunch that I was reminded of the kleptos that I travel with.  Two members of our group snatched wine/beer glasses from the restaurant.  The glasses were really cool because they had the name of the restaurant on them.

Streets of Cognac

After lunch, we were on to a cognac tasting.  Our tour and tasting was at one of the most well-known producers of Cognac, Hennessy.  The facility was on the river and we got to take a boat ride around the river and across to the storage facilities where they had a very interactive tour.  Several people in our group mentioned how it was like Disney World with alcohol.  They showed us where the grapes come from and how they make cognac, which is a distilled wine (I didn't know that before).  As most of you know, I really enjoy wine and I have been known to drink a few distilled beverages as well.  At the end of the tour, we got a tasting of Hennessy.  I found that I do not like cognac.  Wow, that is some strong stuff.  They had different levels of tastings depending on the quality of cognac you wanted to taste.  Well, Lisa and I got the base level tasting, which was the entry level cognac.  Lisa couldn't drink it.  I barely did.  Justin got the step up, which was older cognac.  It was better, but to buy a bottle was very expensive and I didn't like it enough to consider buying any.

Back to the tour, the grapes are actually from the Champagne, which is close to the town of Cognac.  This is the same region where Champagne sparkling wine is made.  As we went on the tour, we got to an area where they had vintage barrels of Hennessy.  They had barrels that were over 100 years old.  The oldest barrel was from 1800.  The barrels were very interesting because over the years they had to add metal hoops to keep them sealed.  Overall, Hennessy was very interesting, but I did not enjoy the product as much as other places on the trip.

Really old barrels of Cognac

This barrel is almost as old as the USA

After Cognac, we headed back to the ship.  We left the port at 6:00pm and Lisa, Justin and I had reservations at one of the specialty restaurants on the cruise ship, Qsine.  This was a quirky modern restaurant, very different from the more traditional main dining room.  There was an extra charge, but it was well worth it.  When you walk in, there are lamps on the ceiling that are hanging upside down.  They served wine glasses that depending on the amount of wine in the glass, it was stand up on its side.  The menu was all on iPads, and you could order as much as you wanted (so we did).  The waiter, who was awesome, walked us through the menu and directed us to start with 5-6 and see how it goes.  The menu items were different takes on common items.  For instance, we got Sushi Lollipops.  They were just sushi rolls on lollipop sticks stuck into a tray so they were displayed in a playful manner.  The other items we ordered were:  Treseviche, 3 types of ceviche; Meat Ball Trilogy, 3 kinds of meatballs; "Popcorn" Fish N Chips, Lava Crab, and Lobster Escargot.  Our favorites were the ceviches, lobster escargot and the Lava Crab.  The Lava Crab was one of the most interesting things I have eaten.  It looked like a birds nest and there were 2 of them.  When you cut into it, it was like a bread bowl with a creamy crab sauce inside.  They were awesome, but very rich.  After eating those 5 items, we were stuffed.  Then we had dessert.  We got the Chocolate Tombstone, which was all kinds of chocolate items.  It was very good as well.  Then when we thought we were done, they brought out chocolate ganache balls that we got to pick one.  Now we were really full.  It was a great meal, and we almost did it a second time, but it never worked out.  I think it was actually the best meal on the ship.  After our report back, several people in our group tried it later in the trip and also enjoyed it.

Next stop:  Bilbao, Spain.......

London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 3: La Rochelle

The next port on our trip took us to La Rochelle, France.  This is the closest cruise port to the Bordeaux wine region.  This was our first excursion with the entire group together.  We met our private tour bus at the port and took off to Bordeaux.  This is a beautiful region.  There are quaint French wineries and farms everywhere.  It was a little over 2 hours to get to Bordeaux from the port.  Our first stop was a French winery called Chateau Haut-Bailly.  We called it "Haut du Bay Bay" after someone's dog.  This winery was gorgeous.  First of all, we couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was clear and sunny.  We got to walk around the grounds and were given a tour.  Lisa and I have been to several California wineries over the years, and understand their wine making methods.  The French do it a little different.  First off, they mix their vines within each plot of land.  So in one block of the vineyard they have have vines of cabernet, merlot, petit verdot and others.  That was very interesting.  California has the same varietal for an entire block.  After that, the grapes were brought into the barn to be sorted and then they are put in much smaller containers to start.  This is also different.  At this winery they may only pick one row at a time instead of an entire block.  Then put that row into a container.  Once several of these smaller containers are full, they put them into the large stainless containers to ferment further.  As you can tell, the blending process starts immediately.  As we talked to the tour guide, we found out that each winery creates their own blend each year and that is the wine that they release.  From year to year, their wine may be completely different depending on either what they put in it or how it is blended.  She said that is how a Bordeaux wine is created.  You will not find a pure cabernet wine from Bordeaux, it will be blended with something else.  She also stressed how important the "terroir" was to the French wine industry.  Terroir is the make-up of the soil and earth that is used to grow the grapes.  The terroir is different across the Bordeaux region and depending on the area of the region, the wine will taste a little different.  We tasted two wines from the vineyard.  They were tasty, but they didn't blow our socks off.  Lisa and I both decided we liked California wines better.

Next up was to lunch which was in the town of Bordeaux.  We drove through the old part of town and even the smaller town of Bordeaux has some very old buildings remaining.  This city is one of the main ports for shipping in France.  We were dropped off at a fair ground and walked to the main part of town.  This was a very quaint pretty town.  It was not very big, but it was pretty busy.  We were looking for a restaurant and lost a few people at a McDonald's we walked by.  They needed some home cooking.  We stopped at a cafe and took over the back part of the restaurant.  Most of our group go pasta or something safe.  I decided to go for the entree sized beef tar tare.  I was not sure what this consisted of, but it sounded good.  They also had small bottles of wine on the table, so we had a couple of those as well.  When she brought out the tar tare it looked like someone had just made a raw hamburger patty and slapped it on my plate.  It was a little rougher chop than ground beef though.  It was actually very good.  I couldn't eat it all, it was a lot of raw beef.  The seasoning was great though.
After lunch we headed back to the bus and on to our next stop.  The next stop for the day was St. Emilion.  I did not know what to expect at this stop.  I actually thought we were going to another wine tasting, but that was not the case.  St. Emilion is quite a bit different than any of our other stops.  It felt more medieval, with everything built from rock and most of it built into the hills.  It is a World Heritage site and it's history goes back to prehistoric times. The main attractions here were a Romanesque church and a monolithic church.  The Romanesque church was very interesting as it was very old and created when the Romans inhabited France.  After we saw the Romanesque church we went to the monolithic church.  This was very interesting.  It was actually built from and into the hillside.  All of it was built with the limestone in this area.  We went into the church through underground opening and through the catacombs of the church.  It was built in the 8th century.  They actually had added modern reinforcements to some of the pillars because the moisture was causing problems with the structure.  This church was like nothing I had seen before.  It was very primitive.  The rest of the town was very charming.  A little difficult to walk around as they rocky, wet roads were a little tricky.  It was also quite hilly, which made it interesting when we wanted to back up the road to get macaroons at one of shops.  They were delicious.  Quite a bit different than the macaroons in Paris.  These were more traditional almond cookies than the fancy cookie sandwiches we had in Paris.

St. Emilion

After St. Emilion, it was time to go back to the ship.  We made it back in time for dinner and then a little bit of gambling after.  Since it was a full day and another early morning, we made it an early night.

Next up, Cognac.....

London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 2: Paris (Cont.)

Our second day in Paris started at the Louvre.  Since the line was so long the first day, we decided to get there early.  The Louvre opened at 9:00 so we hailed a cab close to our hotel and got there at about 8:45.  The line was already almost as long as it was the day before.  The good thing about this time of day is there is no one inside so we would be part of the first wave.  We got in line and got some great pictures of the Louvre just after sunrise and with fewer people around.  Once we were in we got our tickets and map and decided to head to the Italian gallery, which included the Mona Lisa.  We worked our way through the Denon gallery and I was in awe.  Not only are all of the paintings impressive, but the building itself is gorgeous.  It was built as a fortress and later converted into a museum.  This place is unbelievable and overwhelming.  There are so many amazing pieces of art that I just felt like I was looking right-left-right-left constantly trying to see as much as possible.  Once we got to the first hall of the Italian paintings I couldn't believe the size of some of some of these paintings.  Some were enormous.  We made our way to the Mona Lisa and it was really cool to see.  We got there early enough that the crowds weren't there and we got pretty close to the painting.  It is behind a rail that is several feet in front and then several panes of glass covering it.  I had heard it is not very big, and it isn't.  Ironically though, directly across from the Mona Lisa is one of the largest paintings in the museum.  It was huge.  It was called "The Wedding at Cana".  We continued through the Italian paintings.  There were some amazing pieces, and so many of them.  We also saw Ancient art, including Egypt and Greek.  We then went through the re-creation of the original moat.of the Louvre.  We then went back to the main lobby and stopped at the gift shops and took a little break.  This place is huge.  We had already been there 1.5 hours and only covered about 1/3 of the museum.  We then headed out to the other European galleries.  We stopped in a courtyard that had some amazing sculptures.  The detail was incredible.  Then we went to see Napoleon's apartment.  Apparently he did not use it but it was designed for him.  It was pretty incredible.  The detail and ornateness was unreal.  We then moved through the European paintings.  We saw Renoir, Rembrandt, Rubens, Degas and Monet, among others.  It was unreal to see all of these masters together.

My Lisa and Mona Lisa

Look how massive these paintings are.  That is Lisa in the middle.

The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault (1819)

The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David (1807)

Marie de Medici cycle by Peter Paul Rubens (1621)

We made our way out of the Louvre because we had to head back to the hotel and then to the train station.  We took the Metro back to the train station and met the rest of our group there.  The weather in Paris was great.  Around 60 degrees and sunny the entire time we were there.  Once the train was about half way to La Havre, it started raining.  The other 15 members of our group went to Normandy and Mont St Michel while we were in Paris and they said it rained the entire time.  We tried not to feel too bad for them.

Au revoir hotel

We spent that night on the ship and the next day was at sea.  It was nice to have a break.  We slept in and spent some time at the hot tub.  The boat was rocking a little and the pool water was more like a wave pool.  We took it easy this day to catch up with the pace we had been going.  That night we went to a show in one of the lounges and they had a game show that was officers against the passengers.  Our friend Justin got selected to participate and won his event.  It was entertaining.

Next up, Bordeaux......

London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 2: Paris

Ah, Paris!

Our next day took us to Paris.  We had booked train tickets before the cruise that left La Havre (the port) at 8:05.  The ship was scheduled to let us disembark at 7:00.  We set our alarm clock for 6:00 so we could have breakfast and then head out.  I was up at 4:30 because I couldn't sleep and I was worried about Paris.  Since the Paris excursion was mostly planned by me, it put some pressure on me which I"m not used to on vacation.  I got Lisa up around 6:00 and we got ready, had breakfast and headed down to the Grand Foyer of the ship where we were supposed to depart.  We were meeting 4 others from our group and we were all on the same train to Paris.  We were there a little before 7:00, but they didn't open the doors.  The crew member helping the passengers off the ship told everyone the last time they were in La Havre the ship was not allowed to let passengers off until 7:45.  That worried me because that would have only allowed 15-20 minutes to get a cab and get to the train station.  Thankfully we were only about 15 minutes late getting off the ship so then we had to get a cab.  There were 0 cabs at the port.  When one showed up, the line of people waiting for a cab turned into an aggressive mob to get in the cab.  After a few minutes there were enough cabs and everyone in line got a cab.  We made it to the station, walked into the main boarding area and were a little confused.  First off, we realized it was another country because nothing was in English; only French.  Next there were not signs or instructions telling us what to do.  Four of us had tickets so the other two went in to get tickets.  I went to look for a restroom and could not find one.  Once all six of us had tickets, we went to board the train.  We were supposed to be in class 2, car 12, seats 23 & 24.  None of the cars had numbers.  They did say class 1 and class 2, but no car numbers.  We finally found someone to ask and he pointed to the train.  Nothing specific.  We got on the train and tried to tell some people they were in our seats because that is what we were told.  One of the people in the group, which I'm assuming was a teacher, spoke perfect English and told us that they were all in the right seats and that we were supposed to be in the next car.  So we moved back a car and just picked 6 seats.  No one bothered us.  Everyone seemed to just pick a place to sit and didn't worry about their ticket.  After we got our seats, I decided to look for the restroom again.  I found one, but it was locked.  I went back to my seat and the train started shortly after.  As we headed out, a lady that worked on the train walked through our car and as she made it to the end I noticed she unlocked the toilet.  I headed back and began to do my business.  As I did, the train stopped.  I finished and went to flush and it would not flush.  I waited for the train to start again and it still didn't flush.  I decided to maybe use some water from the sink to make it flush, which kind of worked, but then the faucet would not stop running water.  It also said not to drink the water, which was a little concerning.  I was going to wash my hands, but there was no soap and no paper towels.  I finally gave up and left.  When I got back to my seat, I first asked Lisa for hand sanitizer and then told her about my experience.  She laughed hysterically.  This was not a great start to the trip.

The train ride was a little over 2 hours and was fine.  The website we bought our tickets on said it was non-stop, but we stopped twice to pick up more people..  Again, no one seemed to care where their ticket was assigned so they just sat any where.  The ride was mostly through countryside which was pretty, but the closer we got to Paris, the more run down the areas became.  When we were about 1 hour and 45 minutes in to the ride, the architecture changed to more of the Parisian architecture I have seem in movies and other places.  We arrived on time and our frist stop was the toilets for the ladies.  They quickly found that they had to pay to use the toilet.  I did not have any Euros at the time, which I tried to find an ATM and could not.  We gave up and headed downstairs to find transportation.  Now I kind of assumed we would take a cab to the hotel.  Two of the people in our group had been to Paris in the recent past and enjoyed using the Metro.  That is fine, but we did not really discuss it.  We went to get tickets, but when we went to use our debit/credit cards, they did not work.  This became a theme through the rest of the trip.  The European cards have a chip in them and the US ones do not.  Without a chip, their readers will occassionally accpet our cards, but not always.  I ended up borrowing Euros to buy 2 two-day passes (which we only used to and from the train station), whcih was 43 Euros.  Yikes!  Don't do this unless you are going to use the Metro.  The girls still had to use the toilet so we asked where to find one and it was back up at the top where we started.  We went back up and we did have some change so they were able to use it.  I did not go, but apparently the attentdant in the women's room was very rude.  There was talk of a hand gesture, but again, I wasn't there.  While they were using the toilet, I did find an ATM and got some Euros (another common theme of the trip).  We went back downstairs and used our passes to get to the Metro.  We had to change trains once, but it was no big deal.  The Paris Metro is similar, but very different from the London Underground.  The Metro was much dirtier and seemed to have significantly longer walks between trains and exits.  The trains of the Underground seemed nicer, quieter and newer than the Metro as well.  We made it to our destination and when we made it to street level, we were in Paris.  It was gorgeous.  There was a cafe right on the corner, the trees and architecture were amazing.  It was actually a great spot to reveal Paris.  I had an idea of where we were because I had used Google maps to find the hotel before the trip.  There were some buildings to the left that looked familiar and after looking at a map we headed south.  Now again, having an idea of where we were, as we walked I looked back where we started and the Eiffel Tower was visible just over the tops of the buildings.  Wow!  That was pretty cool.  We made our way to the hotel and walked in.  It was a very quint, boutiquey hotel and the lady that worked the front desk, Latiesha, was very helpful.  She spoke great English and helped us check in and even found a dinner reservation for us.  Two of the rooms were ready, not ours again, so we waited in the lobby for the other 4 to drop off their stuff.  While waiting, Latisha started signing "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and within minutes she had it playing on the hotel stereo.  Next was George Michael "Faith".  It was really pretty comical and comforting.  The others met us in the lobby and we headed out.  They wanted to find a place for lunch, which Lisa and I were not very hungry.  Latiesha had instructed us to head back to the Metro station, turn right and then take our first left.  The street was called Rue Cler.  This place was awesome.  It was just a street with open and outdoor shops, florists, patiseries, fromageries, wine shops, cafes, and others.  Very cool.  Apparently Sunday mornings this street becomes more of a market and traffic is blocked off.  It was really pretty busy.  The rest of our group could not decide on somewhere to eat.  We decided to go out on our own.  We left the rest of the group and headed toward the Eiffel Tower.

Rue Cler

The Eiffel Tower was about 3 blocks west of where we were.  The smells of Paris (other than the smoking) were great.  All of the cheeses, pasteries, roast chicken and others.  Mmmmm......  We made our way to the park in front of the Eiffel Tower and walked out in the middle to see it.  It is really pretty amazing.  I was skeptical because one, it is in my nature, but it is just a big tower of metal.  It is actually very impressive.  You can see it from most parts of the city as well.  We walked closer and closer to get different pictures and views.  The closer we got, the more we were harrassed.  There are what I'm going to call pick pocket gangs all over this area.  They wanted to talk, or have you fill out a survey or anything to get you to stop so they could distract you and steal your stuff.  This was really annoying.  We made our way through them and all of the other tourists, to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.  I wanted to get over to the Trocadero, but found that the street behind the Eiffel Tower was closed because a marathon was going on.  It took a little while, but we made our way around the marathon and walked toward the bridge to the Trocadero.  Before crossing we stopped and got a crepe.  It was filled with cheese and was really pretty good.  The guy making the crepes was a little rude, but all in all it was fine.

Me and a Crepe in front of the Eiffel Tower

We walked over to the Trocadero and there were even more pick pocket gangs.  We did find a few cops walking up the hill so we stayed close to them.  It was interesting how the pick pocketers stayed clear of the cops.  I watched a couple vear clear of the policemen because they didn't want to get in trouble.  Once at the Trocadero we had a great view of the Eiffel Tower.  It is gorgeous up there.  We also had a great weather day.  It was sunny and about 65 degrees.  Really great.

Bridge going to Trocadero

Looking back at the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero

After the Trocadero, we headed towards the Champs Elysees.  I had added data on my iPhone so I could use the Maps app on the phone.  It worked great.  We headed toward the Arc de Triomphe and then went down the Champs Elysees.  The Arc de Triomphe was huge.  It was much more impressive than I expected.  The Champs Elysees was pretty cool too.  It is a very large main street.  There is plenty of room to walk on each side, which is what we did.  We found a cafe to stop and have a break and a snack.  Lisa wanted champagne and cheese, so that is what we had.  Wow! Their cheese puts our to shame.  They were great.  We had a roquefort, camembert, another stinky cheese and a harder cheese similar, but milder than cheddar.  Very good.  Our water was awesome as well.  He spoke what I called Frenglsih (the French version of Spanglish).  He was really good about mixing the French words in with the English so we could understand, but also learn.  

Arc de Triomphe

After our snack we decided to head to the bank of the Seine.  It was a little further than we wanted to go, so we decided to find a cab, which was not as easy to find as it was in other areas.  When we finally did find a cab, we were delayed due to a roller skating race.  that was pretty silly.  Kind of looked like cyclists except on roller skates.  The cab took us to the Louvre.  It was about 3:00pm at this point and we were not sure what to expect.  The Louvre is an amazing sight.  The pyramid actually looks great at the entrance.  The building used to be a palace, but has been converted to a museum.  There was one problem:  the line.  Wow, was that a line.  They closed around 6:00 so we didn't want to wait in line and waste the time in line and not get to see very much inside.  We decided to move on and walked down the right bank.  This is a great area.  There are little shops up and down the river.  We walked by Pont Neuf, which is a famous, beautiful bridge.  We made our way to Notre Dame Cathedral.  We thought maybe we could walk through it before the end of the day.  Nope.  That was incorrect.  When we got there, they had just started mass at 4:00pm.  Then there was a concert going on at 6:30.  That area was really busy.  The cathedral though is spectacular.  It is very different from the ornate Westminster Abbey.  Notre Dame has the flying buttresses and gargoyles.  It is much darker than Westminster.  We walked around the outside of the cathedral and took a bunch of pictures.  

Le Louvre

Pont Neuf with the Eiffel Tower behind

Notre Dame Cathedral

Before we left for Paris we were told to take the Batobus, a river cruise boat, back to the other end.  We found the port close to Notre Dame, and tried to read information about it.  We were confronted by 2 different people trying to sell their tickets.  Now, we just got here and have already dealt with the pick pocket people at the Eiffel Tower.  We declined both offers and then decided not to take the boat.  It was 15 Euros per person for a day pass.  We were only taking it back to the Eiffel Tower and then walking over to our hotel.  We decided to take a cab instead.  While trying to find a cab, we stumbled upon Shakespeare and Company, which in my research before the trip I found that this was a bookstore that an English author started and he let penniless writers stay while traveling.  Ernest Hemingway spent some time here.  It was interesting that we happened to pass it.  We found a cab (which was our second Mercedes cab, pretty nice) and headed back to our hotel.  Parisian cabs are similar to Vegas cabs.  At one point he cut off 4 lanes of traffic to make a left turn.  It was crazy.  We got close to the hotel and we had him drop us at Rue Cler where we started.  We wanted some pastries and champagne.  At the wine shop, we met another American couple about our age.  They were from Chicago on their honeymoon and were near the end of a 20 day European trip.  They looked exhausted.  The shop clerk was confused when we told him that we were not together.  He was also very helpful picking out a bottle for us and explaining a little about the wine and the region.  We went back to the hotel and our room was ready.  It was almost 6:00 and dinner was schedule d for 7:30.  When we got to the room, we put our stuff down and looked outside.  I was in awe.  The view from our room was unbelievable.  It looked right at the Eiffel Tower which about half of it stood about the tree line.  We were on the 4th floor of the building and it was a great view.  Lisa and I just took pictures and looked out the window while we waited for dinner.  Oh, we also had a macaroon or two.  Yummy.

View from our hotel

This is sitting in bed.  I still can't believe it.

Dinner was at a French restaurant that apparently catered toward the English speaking crowd.  I don't think it was a touristy place, but they definitely aimed toward the English and Americans.  It was amazing.  Very small place, probably only sat 30 people, but it was great.  We started wtih the waiter bringing us a glass of sauvignon blanc with black currant liquor.  So good.  We then got a bottle of Bordeaux for the table to share.  Lisa started with escargot and I got oysters.  The oysters were very good, a little different from their American cousins.  Maybe a little sweeter.  The escargot came in the shells and was a little tricky to get out.  Once you did, holy cow.  They were worth it.  They were head and shoulders better than the cruise's escargot.  For the entrees, Lisa got a filet with mushroom sauce and frites, and I got roast chicken.  Oh my god!  The sauces that were on these plates were unbelievable.  Lisa's steak was cooked perfectly and the mushroom sauce could have been eaten with a spoon.  It was rich, creamy, with a hint of red wine.  My chicken was awesome.  It was a thyme, cream sauce with mashed potatoes and green beans.  The chicken was extremely tender and had a great flavor.  The mashed potatoes more than likely had more butter than potato in them.  Oh, and French butter?  Yea, it puts any other butter to shame.  They had it on the ship too and I asked for it every night.  Salty, creamy, with a hint of sweet.  So good.  We ended the meal with a creme brulee.  The sugary crust was not as good as others, but the custard part of very good.  Overall, it was a great meal.

Our Dinner Spot

After dinner, we went back to the hotel.  Lisa and I watched the hourly "sparkle" of the Eiffel Tower and drank our champagne.  All in all, this was one of the best days ever.  Spending a day in the romantic city of Paris with my wife and enjoying a great meal, then ending it with the Eiffel Tower and champagne.  Amazing....

Again, from our hotel room

Next up, more Paris, then cruising..........

(Post trip note:  The rest of our group went to Normandy this day.  Not only was it cold and raining the entire day, but the American Cemetery was closed due to the government shut down.  They still had a great time, but it was a very different day than what we experienced.

We also checked the Fitbit at the end of Paris Day 1, and she and I walked around 22,500 steps.  I couldn't believe it.  The thing of it is, I could have gone more.  There was so much to see that I didn't feel tired until we stopped.)

London/Paris Cruise Oct 2013 - Part 1: London (Cont.)

Port of Harwich, England

Our next day took us to the cruise ship.  To start with, we had breakfast.  The night before, Justin had told us that he got upgraded to a room that allowed access to a lounge that serves breakfast.  He gave us his extra key and we went up to have breakfast with him.  It was really nice.  They had a spread of baked goods, pastries, fruits, cheeses, cereals and more  It was a nice area that had been renovated recently.  I got a bagel with lox and fixins and some cheese.  Lisa got the same.  They had the same croissants from the coffee shop so I had to have one of those as well.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and loaded up into our vans to take us to the port, Harwich, England.  It was about an hour drive from London and a very pleasant one.  We got to see the east side of London and then the English countryside.  At one point someone noticed that we were going fairly fast.  I looked at the speedometer of the van and it was showing between 80-100.  I assumed it was kmph, but when we asked, the driver said it was actually mph.  She was booking it.

The port was pretty small and easy to get in to.  We dropped off our luggage, which was sent directly to our room.  We then went through the check in process, where we were given the wrong packet with keys and information, so we had to go back and switch it.  We went through security and then showed our Sea Pass cards half a dozen times to get on the ship.  Once on the ship, we went to our rooms to drop off our small carryons.  Our room was connected to Justin's on deck 2.  There are 11 decks with 2 being the lowest passenger deck.  We were on the port side as far back as possible.  We joked that our rooms were in "steerage" and probably would have been locked behind the gates in the Titanic.  

Next stop: Find a bar.  Our cruise included Celebrity's classic drink package.  For the most part, this was a great deal.  There will be more later about the issues.  When we found a bar we asked how it worked, and the bartender told us that we had a select list of drinks that are on the package and when we order one we just give them our card, swipe it and it is included.  From that aspect the drink package was great.  We really saved a lot of money by not having to pay for drinks.  Once we had our drinks, we decided to check out the ship.  It is a very nice ship.  Not huge, but a good size.  It has a casino, several bars, outside and inside swim areas, theater, buffet, main dining room, and a couple of specialty dining options.  There was also a spa and fitness area, but we did not use them.  We did walk through the spa while checking out the ship and as they gave us information about their treatments, ironically we were standing there with a cocktail.  We found a gelato shop, which was giving out free samples.  It was good, but not Paciugo.  After checking out the ship, we met up with our group on the top deck for the departure party.  It is always exciting to stand up on deck and watch the ship leave the port.  There was a really pretty sunset as we were leaving as well.  Next was dinner.  We found our seats at dinner and we had two big tables, one sat 11 and the other 10.  Our waiter was Hamballi and his assistant Oliver.  The first night was prime rib.  It was pretty good.  We also got escargot, which was available every night.  Escargot was a running theme of the trip.  After dinner we went to the casino to play craps for a bit.  This is my dad's friend Dale's favorite game.  He taught me how to play on a Mexican Riviera cruise and my taught brother how to play on a carribbean cruise.  Our group really enjoys craps.  After we played for a bit, Lisa and I went to bed because we had to get up early to head to Paris.  Our train was leaving at 8:00 and the ship would let us off at 7:00 so we had to get up around 6:00.  We packed what we needed for Paris and went to bed.

Goodbye England.  Thanks for the hospitality.

Next up, Paris...........