More trip diary, starting at Day 4-5

No photos this time, but a note on the last ones I posted: Starting at the top, the folks are: Melanie, Lisa, then Josh, Caitlin, and hidden a bit, Chris. Sorry Chris!

OK, day 4, Our hotel was the Hotel Avenir, which is a very nice older hotel in a great neighborhood. There is a french Supermarket right next door, a little produce and wine "7-11"-type store right around the corner, and across the street an excellent little cafe/bar/brassiere. On Sunday Morning, there is a farmer's market on the next block. the perfect way to visit Paris, instead of a Holiday Inn!

Dinner that night was at L Arlequin Cafe closer to downtown. Most of us went out to Montmarte after dinner, which is one of my favorite tourist areas. The Crepes are devine, you can go into to Sacre Coure, a lovely church, and you can by t-shirts, postcards, or get your portrait done up there. The views of Paris at night are almost as wonderful as from the top of Eiffel Tower.

Day 5- Sunday, 17 June, 07. Today we get a bus tour of Paris, but first I went thru the farmer's market on the nexy block. Our guide, Isabella Villog,and our bus took us all over Paris, seeing the usual things, Palaise le Invalides, the Trocadero (for a great view of the E.Tower), but also into places like Plaza de Voges, and the Plaza Royale for a look at Victgor Hugo's house.

In the afternoon, we went to Versailles, had lunch, then toured the palace, and some of the gardens. Rain shortened the gardens tour, drat! But the Chateau of Louis 14 thru 16 is still grand and beautiful. We headed back into town.

Our dinner was at a Thai/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant, Chez Chao. They had the greatest rice, and the world's smallest bathroom, a one-holer that you can barely turn around in! After dinner, we headed to the Seine R. cruise and the Eiffel Tower climb. We were lucky, because of the rain and it being Sunday, and though versailles was crowded, the wait for the Eiffel Tower was very short. Back to the hotel for an almost early evening. (I had an early evening, I understand someone went out to the KFC down the block! All the way to Paris to eat bad American fast food!

More later,

Howard