The imecs Arrive in Paris - (Part 7 of imec in Fra
Aug 17, 2009 19:21:04 GMT
Post by imec on Aug 17, 2009 19:21:04 GMT
We set out for Paris at about 10:00AM (only 2 hours after the scheduled departure time :
. I set the destination on the car's GPS system and was surprised (pleasantly) to find that the route took us through a rural area and several very old villages before reaching the motorway.
Once we did reach the motorway, I was surprised at the lightness of the traffic overall but in particular, the almost complete lack of large trucks.Travel on Canadian highways is plagued with truck traffic - we just do NOT make adequate use of our railways. This made for a very pleasant drive until we got to about an hour from Paris when the traffic became heavy but not unexpectedly so (having said this, at one point, traffic going in the other direction was backed up and barely moving for literally dozens of miles - nightmarish by comparison).
Excitement built as we approached Paris and reached a fever pitch as we competed for the first sighting of the Eiffel Tower. Having the best seat in the house and the best understaning of the geography, I spotted it first but is was young Mr. imec that had the good sense to snap a photo of the memorable (to us) scene.
Having really enjoyed driving in France for the previous week, I was nonetheless delighted to dispose of my rental car shortly after checking into our hotel (the Hilton, Arc de Triomphe) - the insane giant game of chicken I got into as we circled the Etoile roundabout made the decision very simple. So, we cleaned up, changed, savored the delights of the executive lounge (complimentary Champagne anyone? Nah, well, maybe just a few glasses) and headed off to meet Paris.
The Arc was about a 10 minute walk from the hotel so we started our stroll down the Champs Elysees from here.
After fighting the Saturday night crowds for a bit we boarded the metro for the Eiffel Tower to catch it just in time to see it light up.
We then headed wandered off to look for a place to eat and stumbled on this place which was packed with locals sitting to having dinner or standing around drinking beer while leaning on a trash can - Au Dernier Metro was exactly what we were looking for. I had a beer and Mrs. imec had a glass of wine while we leaned on the trash can - within a few minutes we were seated by the old, pony-tailed proprietor. Bavettes for me and the kids, a really nice seafood salad for Mrs. I, a bottle of Beaujolais - life is good - life in Paris is very good indeed!
The kids wanted 7-Up but ended up with this Pschitt... ;D.
The kids were delighted that the young locals seated next to us were very friendly and even generously gave us a Bailey's on the rocks which became surplus to their requirements after mistakenly ordering and extra - we gave young Mr. imec a sip and he is now hoping to get on the fast track to the age of majority. Paris was working out just fine for him too!
. I set the destination on the car's GPS system and was surprised (pleasantly) to find that the route took us through a rural area and several very old villages before reaching the motorway. Once we did reach the motorway, I was surprised at the lightness of the traffic overall but in particular, the almost complete lack of large trucks.Travel on Canadian highways is plagued with truck traffic - we just do NOT make adequate use of our railways. This made for a very pleasant drive until we got to about an hour from Paris when the traffic became heavy but not unexpectedly so (having said this, at one point, traffic going in the other direction was backed up and barely moving for literally dozens of miles - nightmarish by comparison).
Excitement built as we approached Paris and reached a fever pitch as we competed for the first sighting of the Eiffel Tower. Having the best seat in the house and the best understaning of the geography, I spotted it first but is was young Mr. imec that had the good sense to snap a photo of the memorable (to us) scene.
Having really enjoyed driving in France for the previous week, I was nonetheless delighted to dispose of my rental car shortly after checking into our hotel (the Hilton, Arc de Triomphe) - the insane giant game of chicken I got into as we circled the Etoile roundabout made the decision very simple. So, we cleaned up, changed, savored the delights of the executive lounge (complimentary Champagne anyone? Nah, well, maybe just a few glasses) and headed off to meet Paris.
The Arc was about a 10 minute walk from the hotel so we started our stroll down the Champs Elysees from here.
After fighting the Saturday night crowds for a bit we boarded the metro for the Eiffel Tower to catch it just in time to see it light up.
We then headed wandered off to look for a place to eat and stumbled on this place which was packed with locals sitting to having dinner or standing around drinking beer while leaning on a trash can - Au Dernier Metro was exactly what we were looking for. I had a beer and Mrs. imec had a glass of wine while we leaned on the trash can - within a few minutes we were seated by the old, pony-tailed proprietor. Bavettes for me and the kids, a really nice seafood salad for Mrs. I, a bottle of Beaujolais - life is good - life in Paris is very good indeed!
The kids wanted 7-Up but ended up with this Pschitt... ;D.
The kids were delighted that the young locals seated next to us were very friendly and even generously gave us a Bailey's on the rocks which became surplus to their requirements after mistakenly ordering and extra - we gave young Mr. imec a sip and he is now hoping to get on the fast track to the age of majority. Paris was working out just fine for him too!
