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France
“I travel not to cross countries off a list, but to ignite passionate affairs with destinations.”—Nyssa P. Chopra
Day 18 - July 20th, Beaune
We say “Goodbye” to Switzerland and “Hello” to France. This is the final leg of our adventure. First, we make a quick one-night stop in the Burgundy
region and the city of Beaune.
“Like all great travelers,
I have seen more than
I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”
—Benjamin Disraeli
We arrive in Beaune and check into Hotel des Tonneliers. Another hotel with great character and a room with a bathtub. With a bit of a rest, we
meet for our orientation walk
of the town as we make our way to Hospices De Beaune– Hôtel-Dieu. Beaune is one of the major wine centers in France. It hosts the primary annual wine auction in France.
“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.”
—Paula Bendfelt
Our orientation walk leads us to Hospices De Beaune –Hôtel-Dieu. Built to house the needy, it saw its first patient in 1452 and had patients until 1971. The famous roof is made up of four different colored glazed tiles to
form intricate designs. The large Room of the Poor is lined on both sides with beds. Each of the beds would hold two patients.
After time to explore on our own, a few us make our way back to the hotel. As we stroll back, the sky decided to open up on us. By the time we got
back and figured out how to get into the hotel we were soaked. It actually created a fun memory. After squishing up to my room I decided I just wanted to get something simple to eat. I quickly toweled off and, still a little wet, I went out to a local supermarket for ingredients for a room picnic. Once back I took advantage of the bathtub (I love how deep these European tubs are) and took a wonderful bath.
Day 19 —July 21st, Paris–Louvre Museum
Bonjour Paris! We are off to Paris. First, we celebrate Peter, for his wonderful company and smooth ride. This will be our last ride with him as we will say
au revoir in Paris. As we make are way into the city, we say a final, sad goodbye to Peter and check into our last hotel, Hotel Muguet.
“He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic. Nothing is more sublime.”
—Victor Hugo
After a couple hours to get some rest, get lunch, or get a quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower we
museum is busy but with a little patience you can navigate and see those important pieces on
“We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.”
—Ray Bradbury
a few key pieces I wanted to see,
The Valpincon Bather by Ingres,
The Lacemaker by Vermeer, and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I was happy to find all, plus more.
Using the information and tips given to us by Andy, I navigate my way back by underground to our hotel. I take a few minutes before walking over to the magnificent Eiffel Tower. Along with other adventurers and
locals, both young and old, we wait for the tower to start its show. It was a good day in the city of light.
meet outside the hotel. Andy gives us a lesson on using the Paris Metro as we travel to the iconic Louvre Museum. The
your list. I suggest, know what you want to see and make a game plan. I had
Day 20—July 22nd, Ile de la Cité &Latin Quarter
With both excitement and sadness, I get up and get ready for our last day of exploring with this wonderful group. I am excited for our walking and river cruise, but also sad that we are at the end of this adventure. After a quick breakfast, our group meets outside the hotel and head out to meet our local guide.
“Breathe Paris in. It nourishes the soul.”
—Victor Hugo
“Travel doesn’t become an adventure until you leave yourself behind.”
—Marty Rubin
We meet another wonderful guide at one of the many Paris bridges. Our first stop is the stunning Sainte-Chapelle. After making
the upper chapel. The stain glass is jaw dropping. The chapel gave me the same feeling of awe as The Library of Trinity College in Dublin. It leaves you speechless.
After we have time to finish exploring both the upper and lower chapel, we continue onto the Église Saint-Séverin (Church of Saint-Séverin) with its soaring rib vaulting and twisting
central pillar. Our tour continues through this
your way up a narrow stairway we enter
magnificent city. We see one of the iconic art
nouveau metro entrances and pass by the famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop. We end our tour
near Notre-Dame de Paris. We are only able to view the cathedral from the outside as restoration is underway after the devastating fire in April 2019.
After a quick hour to get some lunch we meet up for our cruise on the
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters,
in the end.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin
Seine. After a slight rain we board the boat for our relaxing cruise. We see the city from a
different view, passing under beautiful bridges and by notably sites, including the Eiffel Tower. We depart our cruise with the rest of the day to ourselves before we meet for our final dinner together.
We meet for the last time for dinner at La Terrasse du 7eme. The restaurant is perfectly located in walking distance, halfway between our hotel and the
Eiffel Tower. It is fitting to have one last fabulous and adventurous meal with this wonderful group of adventurers. Yes…I had escargot, and they were delicious. We
finish with some final words and little gift from Andy, and a surprise facetime call from the man himself…Rick Steves! With final goodbyes, some of us stroll over to the Eiffel Tower for one last site together and for one of my favorite photos of this grand adventure…a quick selfie by Andy. You can see the pure joy of this group. This has been an absolutely fantastic adventure. I do not think I would have seen as much as I saw, enjoyed the delicious
food that I ate, stayed at the accommodations I stayed in, our had such a stress-free adventure if I tried this on my own. Rick Steves allowed me to safely stretch my wings. This tour gave me the security of knowing someone was there but also allowed me to try new things on my own.
After our final meal, Eiffel Tower visit, and final, final, goodbyes, I return to the hotel to pack. I am staying a couple extra days and am fortunate to be able to stay in an historic apartment on Ile Saint-Louis. With the help of the hotel staff, I get a taxi. I transfer tonight so I can get an early start in the morning. Tomorrow is Versailles!
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Day 18 Bonjour from France. Today we visited Hotel-Dieu Des Hospice Civils De Beaune. Mom says it wasn’t a Hotel but a hospital for the poor. It was vey beautiful. It started raining on the way back to the hotel. Mom got soaked but she made sure I was okay. She shoved me into her backpack and zipped it. It was a little uncomfortable but I stayed dry. My mom loves me.
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Day 19 We made it to Paris!! I’m totally dressed for this. We visited the Louvre Museum. We tried to get a good picture of this little painting but it was nuts. Why do people like this painting? She doesn’t even have eyebrows. We then went and saw this big tower and while we were waiting it lit up and was all sparkly. I liked it! I could do a lot of swinging off of that tower.
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Day 20 Today we explored the Latin Quarter and the Île de la Cité. We saw amazing stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle. It gave me ideas for coloring in my coloring book. We also saw Notre Dame from a distance. It was sad to see the devastation from the fire. But it looks like repairs are well underway. We than took a cruise on the Seine River followed by our tour’s final dinner. Mom actually ate escargot. I wonder if mom realizes those are snails!
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