The Eiffel Tower and Giverney

On Tuesday we finally went into the Musee D'Orsay. We went last time and it was closed. We nearly didn't line up this time as the lines seemed so long but thankfully, they didn't take too long and it was well worth the wait. The immpressionist paintings were amazing. There were so many Monets!! You aren't allowed to take photos but here are a few of the building and the view.

 In the evening we had a wonderful meal up the Eiffel Tower. Great company, amazing views and good food!

 On Wednesday, we went on the Fat Tires tour to Giverney and Monet's House. We first went by train and then picked up the bikes and visited a little town near Giverney to get supplies for a picnic. Our guide, Kit, was very informative and told us so much about Monet and the Impressionists.

 We had our picnic in the very light rain near this gorgeous house over the river.

 We rode around the little town too.

 We then rode to Giverney in the drizzle. Thankfully it wasn't too far.

 Monet's garden and house was absolutely wonderful.

 We were lucky as the sun came out while we were at the gardens and we then rode back to catch the train back to Paris.

Here is proof that I did ride!

Paris - first few days

We are now in our cottage in Yorkshire and have had a nice first day exploring. But.... I had best blog some of Paris first. We had a very special week in Paris and it was great fun sharing the week with Annemarie and Garrick. Our apartment was really good and though it was in the 19th/20th arrondisement, it was very close to a Metro station so we headed off each day armed with our tickets and the Metro map. We walked a lot and saw so many different places this time. This was the view from our apartment.

On our first day we headed off to see a lovely garden called the Place de Vosges. We also wandered through the Marais.

 We saw this market and just had to check out the cheese etc.

 This stall was making delicious "gozleme" types of wraps. Just had to try one even though we had already had a "sandwich" for lunch. The rolls/sandwichs in France are so good!

 We walked past the Grand Mosque and then came across the Pantheon. It was an amazing building.

 We then walked to the Jardin de Luxembourg for a coffee.

 Lastly, we went to the Musee de Cluny. Sadly the tapestries we came to see are in Japan at the moment while the rooms are renovated but there were still lots of beautiful things from the Middle ages to see. The other tapestries on display were really amazing!

 On Monday we visited Belleville park which was quite close to our apartment.

 We then headed up to Montmatre to see the Sacre Coeur. We had never been up there before. The cathedral was wonderful as was the view of the city, even though it was a little hazy.

 In the afternoon, Annemarie and I spent a little time at the shops, which was fun. In the evening we went on the Fat Tires ride around Paris. It was a bit interesting and scary at times with the traffic though we did see some lovely sights. Stopped for an icecream and then went on a night cruise on the Seine, which was part of the tour. We didn't get home till after 1 am!!!

More on the bike and barge tour

Here are a few more images of the bike and barge tour.

 On the third day we went to Sancerre. As the town is up on a fairly high hill a few of us, including me,  chose to go up there in a taxi while the others rode.

 The view from the top was wonderful.

 We enjoyed going through a winery and having a taste of some of the Sancerre wine.

 The next day we rode again and visited this lovely castle.

 There were quite a few rooms open.

 I enjoyed seeing some of the needlework on display and the lovely tiled floors.

 These chairs, and there were a few, were amazingly embroidered with raised work.

 This display of bobbin lace work was beautiful.

 We also wandered around a gorgeous town and saw this amazing house. Out of the top window popped a lovely young woman called Emma, who said hello and then invited us in! What a treat. The original house was built 600 years ago and her father bought it when she was a baby and had renovated it all himself. It had been beautifully done and it was so lovely inside.

In the afternoon we met the boat and sailed across the Pont Canal.

 Here is the whole group on the barge on the Pont canal.

On the next day I had another day off while most of the group rode on. It was to be a hilly course so thought it would be better. It was fun to sail on the barge and watch as it went through quite a few locks.

The barge then stayed here near the old  historic 7 locks. The next day we did a cycling loop around and visited a lovely old church and saw more beautiful scenery as well as a lovely castle.

We saw so many beautiful sights and were so lucky with the weather. We leave Paris tomorrow (very rainy today) and will have to catch up on the last week when we are in England. We have had a lovely time here (though it hasn't been summery) and have seen and experienced so many great things.