First - update on daughter-in-law Amy whose brain tumor returned after 12.5 years. First time the grandkids were 18 mo and 4 years old now they are 14.5 and 17.5 years old! Surgery was Sept 30 and successful compared to the previous one where she could not walk or use any of the left side! The best and free way to keep up with Amy updates is either Facebook (mine) or Amy's caring bridge site https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amyjones2/journal . Radiation will be Nov 8-Dec 20 for 6 weeks 5 days a week and then same chemotherapy medication as last time.
So we got back from the family trip to Mission Beach/San Diego on Oct 22, left Oct 15 and I returned from Paris on Oct 13 and had the lost luggage incident! It was my luggage but the tag had my friend Fran's name on it - but the good news it got back the night before I had to repack for California!!!
A little bit of history on the Globetrotting Grannies as we are known. Started out as a "cooking" trip to Italy with 6 of us heading to the little city of Toffia in the Sabine Hills and then a few days in Rome, next one Portugal, next one Italy (Venice, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast) and this one Paris!
We left on Oct 3 and returned on Oct 13 and rented an apartment in the Latin Quarter right by the River Seine and Notre Dame for 9 nights. I'm from Minnesota, friend Fran from Washington State, Doreen from New Hampshire and Linda from South Carolina. A little history - We met Linda and her husband Bill on our Australia New Zealand trip in 2015 and had such a great time with them. Sad thing happened is that Bill age 65 in Wellington New Zealand hotel had a fatal heart attack and Linda and I have kept in touch and she has traveled with the Grannies for the 3rd trip now.
So Paris! Words will be coming!!!!
Not sure what this huge pillar post is in our apartment but at least it didn't cave in!!
3rd floor, 6th arrondisement/St. Germaine area 3rd floor apartment in a pretty darn old building but the apartment had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and was great - except for the 3 doors to get in and the 3 flights of stairs or take the "kinky" elevator!
On the way out the main entrance to the street and after a couple days we did see the sign in English saying "open the door" - woohoo!
And the door is open!
Of course a little picture of the four of us overlooking the Seine and my phone camera on this day was taking wierd pictures but the rest of the days just fine!
Notre Dame - big fire in 2019 took down the spire and the cranes are still there and it is still fenced off and not available to enter. Supposed to be done in 2024 so hope to get in there again!
We just happened to see this sign on the sidewalk along the Seine - BM - is that bowel movement????
Yes it's real and that is the famous Eiffel with my wierd phone camera on this day!
There were lots of military guards and giardineria (aka French Police) all around and maybe that is the new normal and it made us feel pretty darn safe as old ladies!
So - a new experience - this is a through the window picture of a medical emergency boat which got to our cheap Seine tourist boat after one of the Grannies tripped on the way in on a step down and banged her head and they had to call the emergency. Quite the experience as she is a nurse and I worked in a hospital and she did have a cut in her head and they recommended taking the arrived ambulance to the hospital and I would go with her as one person allowed. There just happened to be a doctor as a tourist on the boat who checked out the cut and our decision was not to get her to the hospital - it was the right decision but quite the 2 hour or more experience.
And off goes the emergency medical boat!!!
Yes - this is not jail but a prison in our apartment and one person and one small bag could fit in to go up the squeaky lift to the floor we needed - 3rd floor!
These are the steps and the one little extra step on the right is just the entrance to our door to the apartment and a very easy place to trip or fall so we always say "be careful - look down"!!!
Super cute guy who also happened to sell tickets to Seine river boat cruises and it was pretty darn cheap and a hop on hop off which we did.
And a day trip with a private driver in a mini van to Mont St. Michel and it is a most beautiful place even though I had been there over 10 years ago.
On the way - don't go past the fence for sure - very clear and what a beautiful countryside drive in France.
Yes this is the real Mont St. Michel post office and tourist office in the same building.
Indeed - lotta steps to the top of Mont St. Michel Abbey - 354 steps total as our guide told us.
Normandy Beach view from Mont St. Michel - there is still a little disagreement whether it belongs to Normandy or Brittany area of France. Will it get solved???
What a beautiful chapel in the abbey and well worth the climb.
A private cemetery view from a high window in the abbey - wow!
A view of another residence "down below" and we wondered if anyone has intentionally jumped out of any of these openings to their death by choice?????
Of course we had to get tickets for Versailles and had a certain time slot and it is indeed beautiful and not as packed as my previous visit in 2004 due to the COVID times.
Louis XIV certainly built quite the palace for himself as did many European kings, princes and whatever .
Louis XIV little salon with what else but a statue of his head which we saw quite a few times!!!
And a pretty darn nice bedroom and he did sleep with a few women here and there.
Yup - there is the head of Louis XIV one more time!
Palae of Versailles bridge view of the grounds - wow!
We couldn't help but giggle a little at this "final exit" = hmmmm yes we are of a certain age as Globetrotting Grannies and we can still do it!
We did pretty darn good on the steps this day and almost 8 miles and we are all in our late 70s!
And this is the bus stop to catch the bus to Pere LaChaise cemetery - very famous and huge!
Lots of old tombs here and yes you can look inside these - very interesting but thank goodness no bones and skulls.
This was in front of the tomb of Jim Morrison and I think it means that if you jump this fence to get closer you just might be electrocuted!
Edith Piaf is buried here and has a family and a female friend here also.
"Different" as we would say in Minnesota and it looks like certain body parts of this guy were rubbed a few times and it is brass!
Love links on the rail up to Sacre Coeur cathedral.
I was the only one of us who plundered up the steps to get into the Cathedral and I can now cross it off my bucket list and it was not packed and free to get in.
Dinner out at our favorite nearby restaurant and I had Beef Bourgignon and it was awesome!
Next up - day trip to Normandy Beaches and this is a map that shows the boat places to try and stop the WWII.
Don't worry we did not enter this and did not try to dive from the cliffs of Normandy!
A cannon on the grounds and I can't imagine what any war must be like but my Dad was in WWII but not in Normandy but he was in Pearl Harbor and other places.
Memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower and the French are very thankful for our help.
So one day it was just me and my friend Granny Franny and we walked to this nearby free underground museum and it was very interesting and quiet as it had stories and photos of many people that were deported to concentration camps in France, Auschwitz-Birkenau and all the other places.
This is some of the concentration camp photos of real people - this should never ever happen again!
Not sure what this instrument is but it had quite the sound and we were trying to figure out how this middle aged woman could sit that way for so long!
When you see a store with this name you gotta do a little shopping right - and I spent 50cents to bring home a store bag with "Normal" on it because we are normal!
We pretty much thought these were police officers in training and it was hard to miss seeing them from out hop-on hop-off bus tour.
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