Monday, October 9, 2023
Other than Berlin, today was our longest shore excursion day. We docked in Le Havre, but we were going to Paris. Since Paris is not on the coast, we had a long bus ride to and from the city. We ordered a very early room service breakfast. We had to take our passports off the ship again.
The name of the HAL tour: LANDMARKS OF PARIS & VIEWS FROM THE SEINE
The tour description: It is a three-hour escorted motorcoach ride from Le Havre to the timeless city of Paris via the autoroute Normandie.
Upon arrival in Paris, meet your city guide and set out to explore Paris. You will stop at the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero area for a photo opportunity, and then view the outside of the Notre Dame Basilica. Transferring to the Trocadero Dock, you will board a bateau mouche-style riverboat and cruise through Paris along the River Seine.
Enjoy lunch along the way. Continuing with your tour in the afternoon, take a panoramic drive past many of Paris’ famous landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysées and l’Opéra. On the way back to Normandy, you can simply relax and take in the rural scenery.
Notes: Travel time to Paris is approximately three hours each way. Due to traffic congestion in Paris, it may not be possible to stop at certain sights. Rest stops will be made en route to and from Paris.
The tour bus was comfortable, but we chose seats on the driver’s side. Mistake. It was a sunny day and I wanted to see the countryside, so I kept the shades open. The sun was blinding. Chuck wasn’t aware. He slept almost the entire way there.
Our guide’s name was Giselle. She was easy to understand. She gave us a lot of interesting information about the Normandy region and Paris itself.
We had one bathroom break enroute to Paris. We bought Pim’s cookies and some peach tea. I had heard Pim’s cookies were delicious, and they were.
It was exciting to come into Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. Our first photo stop. It was a gorgeous day – sunny and in the 70’s.
Then we rode through Paris.
I was excited to hear that it was “Fashion Week”. I saw several photographers and models all around the city. I had hoped to see some celebrities, but I never saw anyone I recognized.
Lunch was provided on the River Seine. It was a very fancy lunch. We had an appetizer, Beef Borgnine, and an ice cream dessert all served with very good wine.
The river ride gave us an interesting perspective of the city and the Louve. However, you could not raise the windows and the air conditioning was struggling so it was very warm on our side.
Once the boat turned around to come back to the dock, we were finally on the shady side. It was not until the very end that we realized there was a small outside deck on either side that we could have stood for a while.
Once we were back on the bus, we drove past the Obelisk and Parliament, and down the Champs-Elysees gawking at the famous stores.
Our destination was the Arc de Triomphe. Despite the traffic, we were able to make several passes around it.
I really enjoyed the tour even though it was a long day. I had people ask me why would I spend all that time just to have basically a drive-by in Paris? I don’t know that we’ll ever pass that way again and I wanted to see the famous sites. I was happy we went.
Once we got back, Chuck was not hungry, so I went to the Lido. Tonight’s entertainment was a movie on the World Stage. We decided to skip it and call it an early night.
Travel Trivia
France
France is slightly smaller than the state of Texas. But France is the biggest country in the European Union. For a little more perspective, France is twice as big as the United Kingdom and eight times the size of Ireland.
On average, a resident of France eats approximately 500 snails per year. The most common ways to eat snails in France is cooked in butter and garlic.
France ranks in the top ten countries for their amount of cheese consumption. More than 95% of the French population eats cheese.
Some of the most popular cheeses found in France:
- Camembert de Normandie
- Brie de Meaux
- Reblochen
- Fromage Blanc
- Roqefort
- Munster
The French invented camouflage during World War I in 1915. They hired artists to paint both their vehicles and their guns so that they would blend in with the environment around them. They did this by painting lines that would distract from the shape of the object.
The Tour De France is more than 100 years old. The famous cycling race has been running since 1903.
The French drink over 11 million glasses of wine each year. It is also known for creating the most expensive wine in the world. This bottle of wine costs around $21,000.
France has more Nobel Prize winners in Literature than any other country.
Until the nineteen-hundreds, women rarely bought a special wedding dress and opted for their best outfit instead. The tradition of wearing a white dress originated in France with the marriage of Anne of Brittany and Louis XII of France in 1499. She wore a white dress to the wedding, marking the start of the popular Western custom. However, it wasn’t until 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, that the white dress really took off in popularity and the tradition was cemented.
Paris, France
The Louvre in Paris is the world’s largest art gallery and museum, it has over 38,000 pieces of art within its walls, including the Mona Lisa.
There is one dog for every 7 Parisians.
The most popular way that locals get around Paris is by their underground train system. After Moscow, it’s the busiest underground network in Europe. Count your stations when using their metro as Paris Metro system doesn’t announce their stops like most major cities.
The famous “Bloody Mary” cocktail was invented in Paris at the Ritz Hotel. Legend says that this popular cocktail was made for the famous novelist Ernest Hemingway! Hemingway requested for a drink that didn’t smell like alcohol, so he was given vodka mixed with tomato juice.
The Eiffel Tower was only meant to be a temporary monument. It was France’s way of demonstrating its superior technological and construction skills. When it was constructed in 1889, it was extremely unpopular. Residents and senior figures protested against it, and the media called it a ‘useless monstrosity’.
To officially be a Parisian baguette, the bread must have a specific dough consistency and be of a certain size. The law also says that baguettes must get sold on the premise that they are made. So, bakeries cannot ship baguettes from elsewhere. Lastly, the bread must include just four ingredients: wheat flour, yeast, water, and salt.