C'est encroyable…

Yup I'm talking about Paris - What a wonderful place it is.

I have just returned after spending several enchanting days in that magical city with my wife, my mother and my mother in law.

I had my fears before going, my mother nearing seventy and not walking too well after a knee operation and a dislocated shoulder was worried about the metro and the trains that she remembered as a ferocious hustle and bustle of people trying desperately to get in and out and being stuffed in like herrings in a barrel.

Luckily those fears were put to shame and newer before have I experienced such respect for the elderly, the Parisians were jumping from their seats as if they were sitting on springs to allow my mother an opportunity to sit down to rest her legs. People assisted on nearly every station in getting in and out of the trains, a complete contradiction to the young look at my iPhone glaring girl pushing into the seat in front of my mother that we were walking towards me supporting her, her with a walking cane in hand as we got on the train back from the airport in Denmark… But that's another story.

We arrived in France on Bastille day 14'th of July - A word of causion - It is not too smart not checking dates properly when travelling but that too turned out well.

Upon arrival at Charles de Gualle, Easy Jet had personnel waiting at the gate to assist us to either train or taxi holding area.

With short time to spare before check in closing (or rather thinking there was spare time but not too much) we opted for the taxi ride to Bry sur Marne.

Slim our taxi driver both from and to Charles de Gaulle was a pleasant fellow and actually living in the vicinity of our destination got us there with ease and we were able to exchange worldviews with a driver speaking impeccable English.

We arrived at City Residence Bry sur Marne, 80 Avenue Georges Clemenceau, Bry-sur-Marne, Val-de-marne 94360, France - It was beginning to rain. The reception was closed, there was no way to get in, what a bummer… Was this a nightmare brewing in the beginning rain ?

At that moment a young guy opened the door - He probably took pity on us standing with two elderly women looking absolutely lost.

Once inside I started investigating how to get in touch with the hotel, after all check in should be open till 20… There was an answering machine.

Then it dawned, Bastille day… public holiday… like sunday. This meant check in had closed already early afternoon - Noooooooo!

Luckily there was an emergency number (my highschool french to the rescue) - After a little parlez vous English and a little je parle en peu Francaise we got the details in place.

Had I booked directly with the Hotel appartment site/personnel, instead of through Expedia I would have gotten a gate code, a door code and a safe code that would have let me get the room key no sweat - However the nice receptionist taking our “emergency” call was able to help us overcome that hurdle. (Thanks Kirsten Gram my High School French Teacher, I could not have done it without you!).

So we got the key and to our pleasant surprise we had gotten a relatively big holiday apartment here are a few shots taken with the mobile.

They don't do it credit - We found it to be a really cozy place, sure a little paint could probably have earned it another star in the hotel guide, but the price is really fair and the staff is absolutely exceptional - They are so nice and helpful. I would not hesitate to go back.

The city Bry sur Marne, is a small suburb of Paris, a really quiet place except for that one night when a young couple seemed taken aback by the feeling of l'amour that Paris instils in people, but c'est la vie.

The location is really nice, you are about 20 minutes from most central places in Paris and yet far enough out to be free of any traffic noise, and upon leaving we found that you can actually stroll along the river bank, we need more time to explore the town that has the sweetest couple working in the butcher store INSERT INFO HERE- 10 minutes walk from the apartments, a big supermarket is situated right across from the butcher, a baker making the nicest baguettes INSERT INFO HERE, I particularly fell for a dark variant rich in fibre, and if you wondered, yes croissants just taste better in Paris. The town also boast delicatesse store, pharmacy, doctors, you name it, and it comes complete with a park where boccia is the game.

Bry sur Marne is situated in zone 4 - I recommend studying the metro/RER/bus charts as it is invaluable to have an idea of how to get around as the metro/train/bus system is vast and one can find oneself a bit lost at times until you get the hang of it.

All modes of transportation we tried, RER/Bus/taxi worked out perfectly - You'll need to pay in the vicinity of 78 Euro for the cab ride to the Hotel door, trains would be considerably cheaper, but beware tickets have a 90 minute time limit so don't mess too much around, but it is enough to get around.

There is something I believe is called Paris Visite Pass that gives you access to Unlimited use of Metro & Bus network, I believe RER as well, check at the station. The price is fair and you can choose from different zones to be covered

We went out to get some groceries and found an ethnic store being open as the only one that night, bought bread, fruits milk and some eggs and then back home to make an evening meal for the four weary travelers.

After dinner it was nearly nine, we figured that we'd skip going to Champs de Mars to see the spectacular fireworks display and save that for another day and instead go for a stroll to see if we could localize any of the described shops we had seen online. We found nothing after walking around in the dusk that turned into dark night and returned to the hotel to get a good nights rest.

We got up early - Our target destination was the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Métro

Ligne 4 Station Cité or Saint-Michel Ligne 1, 11 Station Hôtel de Ville Ligne 10 Station Maubert-Mutualité or Cluny – La Sorbonne Lignes 7, 11 et 14 Station Châtelet

RER

Ligne B Station Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame Ligne C Station Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame

Messe célébrée à l’autel principal 09:30 - 10:00 Office des Laudes célébré à l’autel principal 10:00 - 11:10 Messe grégorienne célébrée à l’autel principal 11:30 - 12:40 Messe internationale célébrée à l’autel principal 12:45 - 13:45 Messe célébrée à l’autel principal 17:45 - 18:15 Office des Vêpres célébré à l’autel principal 18:30 - 19:45 Messe diffusée en direct sur Radio Notre-Dame et KTO, Télévision Catholique

On the way back we snapped an image of the town map with the mobile and found that we'd been walking in a circle rather than more or less straight which would have lead us down town

Museum with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works by Claude Monet

By metro Line 9 stop: La Muette

By bus Line 22 stop: La Muette – Boulainvillier

               Line 32 stop: Louis Boilly
               Line 52 stop: La Muette – Boulainvillier
               Line 63 stop: Porte de la Muette

By RER Line C stop: Boulainvillier

The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tuʁ ɛfɛl], nickname La dame de fer, the iron lady) is a puddled iron[10] lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend, by stairs or lift (elevator), to the first and second levels. The walk from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by lift - stairs exist but they are not usually open for public use. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.

Be aware of potentially long waiting time to be allowed to enter, notice if you arrive with a disabled family member or friend / or someone that has a hard time walking, do yourself a favour and contact one of the officials before getting into the waiting line, as the French are very courteous to assist and will lead you to the lift instead skipping the line.

The Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Luxembourg Gardens, is the second largest public park in Paris[1] (224,500 m² (22.5 hectares) located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The park is the garden of the French Senate, which is itself housed in the Luxembourg Palace.

Onsdag Morgen Kanal tour ?

9:30am DepartureCode: EN0930 9:30am departure from Musee D' Orsay. The closest metro is Solferino. Simply walk along the Seine River and down the spiral staircase and look for the Paris Canal Cruise sign.Language Options - you might have to order online in advance during crowded hours

Huge collection of art - the Mona Lisa among others.

http://www.louvre.fr/en

http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/english/

A church in Romano-Byzantine architecture

Montmartre district - A look into French nightlife entertainment made famous among the younger generations by the movie Moulin Rouge http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/

You should be able to book tickets here

https://www.moulinrouge.fr/reservations

Oh and beware any big city has pickpockets :)

One of the oldest café's in Paris - A nice place to have a rest in the bustling french café atmosphere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_de_Flore

Possibly one of the best known French royal Palaces

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

Arch of triumph a monument not to be missed - Commissioned by Emperor Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe

Library, Museum of Modern Art, Research institute for music and acoustics and culture hub.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou

ma mère est de 70 ans je crois que elle a besoin d'un fauteuil roulant nous arrivons à dix-huit heures numéro du vol