Goodbye Paris!

My final Paris post. The last two days and a bit of a recap. I said goodbye to the sweet wonderful little hotel I stayed at in Strasbourg - The Hotel Suisse. If you’re ever planning to be there you won’t find a better bargain or a better location. Right in the center of the old town but still provides privacy and a warm welcome. The rooms aren’t fancy but very clean and comfortable. I loved the front terrace where you could sit and have a glass of wine, beer, coffee or the most delicious dessert you would want. In just the couple of days I was there it felt like home.

My train back to Paris was right on time. Just a bit of advice if you’re ever taking the trains in Europe. They are wonderful as I’ve mentioned on this blog repeatedly, but it’s best if you’re traveling with luggage to arrive at the train station 30 minutes in advance. Each car probably seats 40 to 50 people, but there’s only a luggage area to accommodate about 8 suitcases. First come first serve and the rest of the people are just stuck having no where to put there bags. Often the correct train platform for each train isn’t listed until 15 minutes before departure time, but if you’re there ahead of time the goal is to be one of the first on to your car. The train to Paris was full and it was painful to see people getting on with huge suitcases and no where to put them. Two women had a duffel that possibly had the body of a large man inside, and to see the two of them struggling to get it not only on the train but up the stairs to the second level was like a Laurel and Hardy routine - only not really funny.

After getting to Paris and taking the metro from the train station to my hotel my goal was to visit the Carnavalet Museum. It’s one of the few museums in Paris I hadn’t been to - Paris history inside a 16th century mansion. And actually free. It was quite a bit larger than I expected, with lots of high tech interactive displays. It starts in the basement going as far back as prehistoric, ancient Roman through Louis XIV period rooms, Napoleon, the French Revolution and the 19th century. A lot to take in, and especially when the temperature inside and out felt like 1000 degrees. I usually deal with heat pretty well but yesterday I actually felt like I might faint. Here’s a picture of the entrance.

I really loved the architecture of the huge mansion. The fireplaces in almost every room were so massive you could actually get inside of them. Then seeing the elaborate period rooms and furniture were fun too.

Sometime when it’s cooler I would love to go back and spend more time. What I enjoyed the most was the wonderful courtyard where you could sit in the shade and drink tall cool beverages. Lovely! I did that and thought about what it would have been like to actually live there.

This has been a fabulous trip, and I’m so fortunate to have had the chance to do it. I’ve been gone 27 days, visited 4 countries, walked 150+ miles (I know because I tracked it😂), stayed in 10 hotels, and met lovely warm friendly helpful people in every one of those places. This was my first big trip post Covid and I was a bit nervous at first. Every day I got more confident and it felt so good to be back out there doing something that makes me happy. One thing that has changed and maybe it is due to Covid, but you literally never need cash for anything. In fact the first three countries I was in - Denmark, Sweden and Norway, don’t use the Euro and each have their own form of currency - what a pain! Well I never got one single coin in any of those countries and just used my credit card for everything - even if it was for an apple! Not kidding! Here in France they use the Euro and I went to an ATM once when I got here and got 120 Euros and still have some left. I could totally have used my credit card for everything.

A credit card and a smart phone and you can go anywhere in the world I believe. I felt safe by myself in every country as violent crime is quite low - the biggest concern is pickpockets. And one thing they love to grab and run with are smart phones. I purchased on Amazon a phone lanyard and it was fantastic. Your phone has to be in a case in order to attach it to - but then I secured it to my ultra safe travel purse and didn’t feel nervous pulling my phone out to take pictures or use my GPS to direct me to where I was headed. If they tried to grab my phone they were taking me with them. And since they are looking for the easy prey I never felt in the least nervous.

I’m also so happy I traveled light - just a carryon and a personal item. That definitely was helpful maneuvering between planes, trains, subways, buses, boats and automobiles. I did laundry 3 times and it’s time for me to go home. I have basically nothing left that’s clean but I feel good that I had what I needed when I needed it - and that includes going from 40 degrees to almost 100! I was never the best dressed person anywhere - but then again I never am😊

Today thankfully has been cooler, so I just took some time to wander and see once more some of the places that are my favorite - probably number one being the Jardin du Luxembourg. Just sat in one of their famous green chairs and enjoyed reflecting on my time in France. I couldn’t think of a better place to do it.

Au revoir Paris! It’s been awesome💕