June 12-16 Paris

We started this year's trip with a stay in Paris with Joan's sister Julie and her boyfriend Bill. We rented an Air B&B in the Belleville area of Paris and attempted to see as many of the sights as we could. We certainly were able to get a feel for what it would be like to live in this city. We got around on the Metro (Paris subway system) and RER rail. We shopped in the neighborhood store for a few of our meals and were able to experience a bit of the Belleville Market, that went on for many blocks.

This was the first time Joan and I had been to Paris during high tourist season, and will certainly be our last. The sights were still amazing, but for us, the crowds were too much.

In our five days we were able to see a few of the major attractions.

Monday - The Louvre. Probably not the best time to go. We had just moved into our Air B&B and were fully jet lagged. Amazing architecture and displays, would like to give it another try in the off season.

The entrance to the courtyard of our Air B&B

Capital on one of the columns in what used to be an indoor riding arena

Crowd working its way to the lineup to see the
Mona Lisa. I think there were some pictures on the walls.

The Mona Lisa
Shot over the heads of those in front of us

Tuesday - A bus tour of Paris to get an overview of what there was to see. The Arc de Triomphe, a little bit of a concert put on by a brass band and dinner at the restaurant we were supposed to have been at for our anniversary the year covid hit.

The Arc de Triomphe

It's a long climb to the top.

View from the top

Walking around the neighborhood where Google thought our dinner
reservation was located we came across a free brass band
concert. Too bad we couldn't stay for the entire performance,
but we'd waited 3 years for this dinner.

Dinner at A la Biche au Bois. Recommended to us by our niece-in-law.
The food and service were fantastic, the location is top secret. Not even 
Google Maps knows where it is.

Wednesday - Eiffel Tower, Napolean's tomb and les Invalids Military Museum

We are really here, and we're really going to
the top on a spectacular, beautiful day.

A glass of champagne at the top.

The view from the top

The view from the bottom

Thursday - Versailles, then dinner with Julie, Bill and our boat partners Karen and Bill near the Notre Dame.

A portion of the palace

The famous hall of mirrors

Friday - Rodin's sculpture garden and a walk along the Seine before catching an evening train to Auxerre to move aboard Juniper for our two month stay.

The Musée Rodin

The Thinker

Michael had been fantasizing about a cafe au lait in the garden
from reading novels that talked about how restorative the
setting could be. It lived up to the expectations.

Back in Auxerre aboard Juniper. We're tied up on the right bank of the Yonne River looking across
at Saint Etienne Cathedral and Saint Germain Abbey. A very peaceful beginning of this season's cruising.