We got up early and decided we would go to Versailles. We had a Seine dinner cruise planned for the evening and we thought a nice day among gorgeous grounds and massive opulence would put us in the right mood to be wined and dined and cruised.
We left the Hotel and headed towards the closest metro. My plan was to grab a quick croissant and a cafe and head on our way also possibly buying a picnic lunch.
We went into a patisserie to make our purchases but spotted a very yummy looking cafe across the street so we decided on a sit down breakfast and a picnic lunch.
The food was GORGEOUS! I have an omelet with potatoes, gruyere and tomatoes. Of course it came with a salade and the obligatory cafe creme.
After our food we headed to the metro, got off to make our RER connection and made a terrible discovery. It was Monday. Versailles is closed on Monday. MERDE! Back to the metro it was but... wait... our stop is closed for repairs? MERDE!
We were quite far from our hotel so we did what any sensible girl would do... we hailed a cab (which took a VERY long time...)
Instead of Versailles we decided to do Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle.
Notre Dame was stunning as always. Grandma was very happy to be there.
The line for the bell tower was mad so I did not go up.
Instead we had a nice relaxing lunch in the shadow of Notre Dame. It's this little cafe/creperie I went to with Katie. I had a salade (with too much fromgae! I had to take some of it off) and a 1664.
Next, we walked along the seine to get to Saint Chappele. To my shock and total delight waiting right on the corner was Bertillon! The worlds best ice cream which I somehow managed to miss last time I was in Paris. I was surprised to find it open because my guidebook so it was closed for August. But they were wrong! I had a double order of nougat and caramel. mmmm heaven....
Saint Chappele was not a disappointment. The top floor (which is really what you want to see) was closed for renovations when I was here two years ago. It is totally stunning. The books of The Bible are on the stained glass windows and there is this balcony at the end.
So stunning. The chapel is also heavily decorated with fleurs des lis. They had this lovely pair of silver fleur des lis earrings so I got a pair.
After all of this we went back to the hotel and got all glammed out for our night on the seine.
The cruise was lovely.
In my opinion the food left a bit to be desired but in these cases you are paying for the experience more than anything.
Granny and I got a prime table right at the very front corner of the boat.
The views were superb and so was the wine. We almost finished a bottle of Rose which is a big feat since Grandma rarely drinks at all!
The views were superb and so was the wine. We almost finished a bottle of Rose which is a big feat since Grandma rarely drinks at all!
My favorite part of the night was when I said "you know, there is a smaller version of the statue of liberty somewhere on the seine, I have never seen it though. I wonder where it is?" Not 1 minute later "New York, New York" starts playing on the sound system and I look up to see Lady Liberty staring me in the face with The Eiffel Tour in the background! I nearly cried :-)
Our night ended with packing and then the next morning we headed to the airport for Nice!
I love it here. The air, the light, the food.
It is so wonderful.
We arrived at The Hotel Suisse and discovered that we have a gorgeous room with an amazing view of the bai de anglaise. I think I have a knack for booking hotels with great views!
We unwound for a few minutes and walked down about 100 m to the private Opera Plage. We had lounge chairs and an umbrella and waiter service. It was a perfect day at the beach in my opinion. I think Grandma enjoyed herself a lot as well although due to the treacherous and rocky entrance and exit into the water she only went in once. I think I must have gone in and out 6 or 7 times :-)
We got back to the hotel, showered and ate dinner at cafe Bliss. It is just across from the port.
It was a cute little family run place that specialized in pizza.
The owners sister was born in Australia but has lived in Nice for the past 40 years. She had this very charming accent. A combination of Aussie and Nicoise. And, she spoke a form of Franglish (what I call the oh so effective combination of French and English words to convey some sort of message to someone) that puts mine to utter shame.
I had a salad of lettuce, tomato, love, warm brie and some little savory chevre pastry followed by a massive and impossible to finish pizza du jardin. it had herbs de provence on it and I was happy.
We took a walk along the boulevard de anglias and went to bed.
We were very tired and accidentally slept until 10:30. Whoops!
Our plan is to go into Vielle Ville and then head out to Monaco and Cannes. We'll see what happens...
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