Scott’s European Bucket List: Paris

Since we left Unforgettable in June, life on land has been a whirlwind. At first it took a little time to adjust to the ease of life on land such as going to the grocery store any time and using all the water that we want! July was spent visiting family in Springfield and Macon, MO, in Seattle and Narrowsburg, NY. Daughter Cassandra and Scott planned a delicious surprise birthday celebration for me. Filling out our days were hours upon hours finishing our plans for Europe. 

While in Seattle we took granddaughter Juniper on a mini-trip to the Bavarian-styled village of Leavenworth, WA. The roomy seats and great views from the Amtrak made for a great ride through the Cascade mountains. We visited the Reindeer Farm where Juniper might have been happier feeding the chickens rather than the imposing reindeer. With over 9000 nutcrackers in the Nutcracker Museum we were happy to help Juniper complete the scavenge hunt. A visit to one of the many bakeries/ice creams shops was a just reward for the hard work of finding the unusual nutcrackers. A dip in the hotel pool followed by some authentic German food were other highlights. Granddaughter Sylvia also had a special grandparents day but in downtown Seattle. 

The planning of the Europe trip began last February while anchored in the Ragged Islands. At the top of Scott’s bucket list was a 6 month driving trip across Europe. It didn’t take long before we realized that the cost would be prohibitive, driving in the major cities and in the mountains of Switzerland is crazy, and with the Schengen visa we couldn’t stay longer than 90 days even if we wanted to. And so the planning started to take shape by first determining which countries, then which towns, then what to do in each town, then how long would be needed in each town, and finally, in what part of town to book lodging. Oh, and how to get to and from Europe and how to travel from place to place. I was in charge of everything but the travel within Europe so I spent literally hours a day for weeks planning every detail. 

What to pack? How to pack? What to pack it in? These 3 questions produced great consternation. Clothing had to be light weight, wrinkle-free, quick dry, and versatile for summer and fall. Basically Scott needed a whole new wardrobe. I needed all stretchy clothes because I knew the pounds would come on quickly, which they did! We even needed new lightweight luggage as the weight limit on French Bee airlines was quite small as were the dimensions. In the end we were several pounds under weight for which we were so grateful every time we had lug our bags up and down several flights of stairs or toss them onto upper racks on trains. Packing cubes were the easiest way for us to organize our selves as we packed up and moved 29 times over the course of 109 days. Somehow we managed with only 3 pairs of shoes each. I’m quite proud of our packing and organization skills but boy was I sick of wearing the same things over and over and over. 

We wanted a mixture of famous big cities, small-out of the way towns, and some nature areas. We finally settled on Paris (France), Lucerne, Mürren, Zermatt, St. Moritz (Switzerland), Tirano, Venice, Florence, Castelmuzio, Rome, Vernazza (Italy), Villefranche Sur Mer, Ménerbes, Uzès, Carcassone (southern France), Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Granada (Spain) , Tavira Lagos, Monsaraz, Obidos, Porto, Lisbon (Portugal). I had heard of repositioning cruises and learned that a12 day cruise back to NYC was only slightly more expensive than a long, uncomfortable flight and included 12 nights lodging, food, fun, and drink. We knew we would never have enough guts to cruise across the ocean in Unforgettable and Scott had never been on a cruise before so why not? The cruise ended up being a much needed relaxing vacation after rushing through the somewhat grueling schedule of the previous 87 days. 

For lodging I mostly chose AirBnB’s so that we could have a healthy breakfast live like the locals, often in places where there were no hotels. Top priority for Scott was his coffee which was a constant challenge for him. In an AirBnB kitchen he could at least have his first cup at home the way he liked it. He doesn’t want it too strong and there’s no way it could ever be too hot. He likes a weak version of an Americano with warm milk or cream on the side and plain sugar in a huge mug. Now if you have ever been to Europe you know that is absolutely not how they drink their coffee. It’s very dark and about the size of a large thimble so he had to figure out how to place his order in 5 languages and then hope for the best! 

Paris was exhausting. We walked for miles upon miles throughout the city but enjoyed every experience on the streets. Our apartment in Paris was near the Eiffel Tower and the nearby fabulous farmers market was where we ate the wonderful Reine Claude plums then the even more delicious Mirabelle plums. Unfortunately, true Mirabelle plums can only be grown in France or I would eat them every day. It was nearly impossible to eat plant based especially when meats, specifically tartares and patés were highlights of the menus. I did enjoy the escargot, bouillabaisse, and quiche but was unimpressed with the macarons and pain du chocolat which was superior in the chocolate croissants in Switzerland and the cornetti in Italy. We attempted to consume all our meals at the cozy, tiny tables of sidewalk cafés.

We were overwhelmed by the size and collections in the Louvre. Generally we joined guided tours for museums but for some odd reason we did not here and it was a mistake. We attempted to use the self-guided tours from the Louvre on their devices that seem to be created for gaming. After asking 7 employees how to utilize them we finally gave up because they couldn’t figure them out either. My favorite work was Psyche Revived By Cupid’s Kiss, a marble sculpture from 1787 by Antonio Canova. It was the first of many times when I was overwhelmed by the skills of sculptors. The ability to show light layers of fabric, locks of hair, tender expressions, movement and space within a piece of stone truly have to be seen to be appreciated. 

My favorite Parisian museum was the Musée de L’Orangerie. Here I was filled with peace in the two quiet oval rooms lined with Monet’s Water Lilies. The collection of other impressionistic and post-impressionistic works was notable as well. The 1113 stained glass windows dazzled me in Sainte-Chappelle. This petit masterpiece in high gothic style is gorgeous despite it’s declining condition. My third favorite experience in Paris was watching the sunset from the top of the Arc du Triomphe. Upon watching the crazy traffic on the Champs Élysées and the 10 other grand avenues were were thankful we had passed on driving in Paris. What a magnificent view of the City of Light (whose nickname comes from the Age of Enlightenment). 

After 7 days in Paris we took our first train ride to Switzerland. Watch for our upcoming blog to see the majesty of the mountains.