So my mom leaves on Tuesday morning to head back to the States so we are doing our best to fit in as many things/trips as possible before she goes. Unfortunately the weather and strikes are against us, cancelling trains and flooding tourist sites. So on Saturday after I finished work we had to head to the train station Paris-Montparnasse which is the southerly station for the fast trains (there are four: north, south, east and west for each direction). I had received an email the night before about our Sunday train to Bordeaux. There were about 20 sentences in French, then the translated portion in English had only 3 sentences. The French appeared to say that our train was cancelled but in English it only said there might be problems and to check online or call. My friend at work helped translate the French for me and my assumptions/fears were correct: the train was cancelled and supposedly all other lines were full that day. So we walked to the station to figure out what we should do (find a way to catch another train, move it to monday or just get a refund). Long story short, the lady said there wasn't a problem and so we assumed everything was for Sunday and decided to go about our day.
We were meeting up at my cousin's place in Chatou for dinner so we had a few hours to kill, and since we were already south-ish we decided to head to the Cité Florale, which is a tiny hidden place in the lower suburbs of Paris in the 13th arrondissement. It's not really its own city, just a little grouping of adorable row houses/apartments that are covered in flowers. It's part of the requirement to live there, that you will keep up with/cultivate flowers. And all the streets have flower names. I discovered it on a website recommending non-tourist things to do in/around Paris and it sounded like something my mom and I would enjoy. It was cute, and despite all our rain, there were a fair number of flowers already blooming.
So that last picture is this weird Asian lady that got on the train on our way back to the hotel. She had this weird oboe/recorder attached to a speaker on wheels and was performing for our train car. Fortunately this was only one stop away from where we were getting off so I snapped a quick picture on my way out of the train. We rested and changed and headed to a nice dinner with family in Chatou for the evening.
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Today we woke up early and took the metro BACK to the southern train station to find that, in fact, our train was cancelled. But the lady at the desk said it was no problem and we could take the train an hour later at 9:25am. So we agreed and got a croissant and drink while we waited the extra hour. Then we find out that the train is actually full and we don't have any assigned seats. So we have to wait until the doors close to see if there are any available and if not, we get to stand for the 3h20m train ride to Bordeaux. Luckily I found us seats across from each other in first class that were open, so we were quite comfy the whole time. The train ride went fairly quickly and we made it there without a hitch. And best news of all, it was sunny and warm! The first time my mom has seen blue skies since arriving in Paris on May 28th. The first picture shows the countryside leaving Paris, covered in foggy clouds. And then our arrival at the sunny train station in Bordeaux.
We caught a taxi from the train station to the Cité du Vin, a newly opened building/exhibit which provides a unique and interactive learning environment focused solely on wine. State-of-the-art technology, paired with scenic videos, entertaining clips and sensory displays really help you get into the various wines, grapes and regions all around the world. The architecture alone is incredible, both inside and out, but then they also have a 3D interactive map with touch screen capabilities where winemakers from different regions tell you about their wines, and silly cartoon videos that explain the transportation of wine and how fortified wines came from these long voyages. The smelling sensory area was the coolest, with little bell jars for each of the various aromas you can find when smelling wines, and little squeeze pumps to get each aroma. They even had a "dinner table" with interactive chefs, guests and servers explaining the process of ordering and serving wine at a restaurant table.
After this we went up to the panoramic 8th floor for our included glass of wine. My mom got a South African red (she had a red Bordeaux later but the lady recommended this), and I had a sparkling rosé from Bordeaux. We enjoyed those and the view of the city before heading downstairs to check out "The Cave" of wine where you can purchase bottles, ranging from regular prices all the way up to things WAY out of my price range.
After we left the Cité du Vin, we walked along the river and found a nice café to sit at for some salads, wine, and dessert of course! We caught our train back, with a similar seat problem to the first train, though we actually were booked on this one. But we managed to get two next to each other without a problem, passing lots of vineyards on the way back. I loved the sign on the door of the train car (the perfect example of how exact translations really don't work) warning you not to forget your luggage: "Forgot your luggage? Worries guaranteed!"
Though it was a quick trip we had a great time getting out to Bordeaux and out of the dreary rainy weather. I would definitely want to go back for an extended trip at some point and rent a car, touring the wineries and getting out to Provence to see the lavender fields too. Tomorrow we will not be doing Champagne. Bad weather and train cancellations are making it too difficult, and Giverny is closed because of flooding. So it sounds like we will be staying in Paris to do a bit more site-seeing. Maybe finally get into the Musee L'Orangerie, if it's open (most of those sites along the Seine have been closed since Thursday or Friday and some will stay closed till Tuesday). And then our plan is to visit the Sacre Coeur and walk around Montmartre. Bed time now. These long blogs take forever since the wifi is slow so uploading pictures is a lengthy process. Bonne nuit!
So that last picture is this weird Asian lady that got on the train on our way back to the hotel. She had this weird oboe/recorder attached to a speaker on wheels and was performing for our train car. Fortunately this was only one stop away from where we were getting off so I snapped a quick picture on my way out of the train. We rested and changed and headed to a nice dinner with family in Chatou for the evening.
...
Today we woke up early and took the metro BACK to the southern train station to find that, in fact, our train was cancelled. But the lady at the desk said it was no problem and we could take the train an hour later at 9:25am. So we agreed and got a croissant and drink while we waited the extra hour. Then we find out that the train is actually full and we don't have any assigned seats. So we have to wait until the doors close to see if there are any available and if not, we get to stand for the 3h20m train ride to Bordeaux. Luckily I found us seats across from each other in first class that were open, so we were quite comfy the whole time. The train ride went fairly quickly and we made it there without a hitch. And best news of all, it was sunny and warm! The first time my mom has seen blue skies since arriving in Paris on May 28th. The first picture shows the countryside leaving Paris, covered in foggy clouds. And then our arrival at the sunny train station in Bordeaux.
We caught a taxi from the train station to the Cité du Vin, a newly opened building/exhibit which provides a unique and interactive learning environment focused solely on wine. State-of-the-art technology, paired with scenic videos, entertaining clips and sensory displays really help you get into the various wines, grapes and regions all around the world. The architecture alone is incredible, both inside and out, but then they also have a 3D interactive map with touch screen capabilities where winemakers from different regions tell you about their wines, and silly cartoon videos that explain the transportation of wine and how fortified wines came from these long voyages. The smelling sensory area was the coolest, with little bell jars for each of the various aromas you can find when smelling wines, and little squeeze pumps to get each aroma. They even had a "dinner table" with interactive chefs, guests and servers explaining the process of ordering and serving wine at a restaurant table.
After this we went up to the panoramic 8th floor for our included glass of wine. My mom got a South African red (she had a red Bordeaux later but the lady recommended this), and I had a sparkling rosé from Bordeaux. We enjoyed those and the view of the city before heading downstairs to check out "The Cave" of wine where you can purchase bottles, ranging from regular prices all the way up to things WAY out of my price range.
After we left the Cité du Vin, we walked along the river and found a nice café to sit at for some salads, wine, and dessert of course! We caught our train back, with a similar seat problem to the first train, though we actually were booked on this one. But we managed to get two next to each other without a problem, passing lots of vineyards on the way back. I loved the sign on the door of the train car (the perfect example of how exact translations really don't work) warning you not to forget your luggage: "Forgot your luggage? Worries guaranteed!"
Though it was a quick trip we had a great time getting out to Bordeaux and out of the dreary rainy weather. I would definitely want to go back for an extended trip at some point and rent a car, touring the wineries and getting out to Provence to see the lavender fields too. Tomorrow we will not be doing Champagne. Bad weather and train cancellations are making it too difficult, and Giverny is closed because of flooding. So it sounds like we will be staying in Paris to do a bit more site-seeing. Maybe finally get into the Musee L'Orangerie, if it's open (most of those sites along the Seine have been closed since Thursday or Friday and some will stay closed till Tuesday). And then our plan is to visit the Sacre Coeur and walk around Montmartre. Bed time now. These long blogs take forever since the wifi is slow so uploading pictures is a lengthy process. Bonne nuit!
love the 'worries guaranteed' sign!
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