The girls meet in Paris June 14-21, 2009

Steph had just written her Step 1 exam in New Orleans and had a week off. With no "home" to go to in her part of the world, Pat suggested she pick somewhere in Europe where she could meet me for a holiday. After some deliberation (Croatia, Greece...), she settled on Paris as it was relatively easy to get to and not too expensive! A phone call to Jen brought her into the planning and a three-way G-chat conversation at Easter had us settle on a hotel downtown for three nights then a train trip to Lausanne to my old haunting ground from 1968-69. It was a go! We stayed at the very nice and central Hotel Duquesne-Eiffel near the Ecole Militaire Metro stop and within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides. We found good restaurants for dinner and wonderful patisseries nearby for our morning croissants. Check out their website: http://www.duquesneeiffel-paris-hotel.com/en_hotel1.htm

Arrival day Sunday June 14th: lunching in a cafe near the hotel and watching the locals. We decided that on Sundays, all Parisien Dads walk the babies in the strollers/carriages. Maman walks behind with the older children!















A visit to Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides.















We marvelled at the Eiffel Tower and rode the elevator to the top that evening after dinner. The girls literally had to prop me up to keep me from falling asleep on my feet (jet-lag, not wine!).




















Day 2 (Monday, June 15th): Rain didn't stop us from taking the Metro to Montmartre and exploring Eglise Sacre Coeur as well as the neighbourhood. Jen and Kathie below.




















Always take time to smell the bags of roses, especially in Paris!















Try not to order quite so much for your first lunch...although the deli items were divine!















Jen and Steph by the Louvre...although we didn't line up to go in.















Day 3 (June 16th): Jen did a day-trip by train to visit the Cathedral at Chartres while Steph and I stayed in the city to do more sight-seeing. We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for some wonderful views of the city, then we strolled down the Champs-Elysees.


































Below we had lunch at Cafe Marie-Stuart near Les Halles.




















Across the street a beautiful fruit market with seasonal strawberries and cherries from Provence!















A brief visit to Musee d'Orsay late in the afternoon (price reduction after 4 p.m.) but the Water Lily pictures we'd wanted to see were out on display elsewhere!




















Day 4 (June 17th): Late morning coffee before taking the train to Lausanne, Switzerland.















Lunch in the TGV train Paris to Lausanne: On to La Suisse!