Hi, Everyone!
Our cruise ended with a bus trip to Paris. As soon as I saw the Eiffel tower, I got very excited. This is where Remy and Linguini live! I hoped Grandma and Grandpa would take me to their restaurant so I could eat ratatouille.Our first day, we took a tour to Versailles, a town outside of Paris where King Louis XIV built a huge palace. Did you know that Louis XIV turned his rivals into loyal followers by entertaining them at Versailles? He had about 3000 nobles living with him there. First, we visited the royal quarters, where Louis XIV and the kings who followed him lived. See how fancy the gates are? Our guide, Michelle, took us to see lots of rooms, including the king’s bedroom and the famous hall of mirrors. The royal apartments are very big and were full of visitors when we were there.
Next, Grandma and Grandpa took me for a walk in the royal gardens. They are so big it’s hard to see from one end to the other! I was glad to stop for a snack after our walk. Then we went on to another section of the palace grounds, where other members of the royal family lived. The palace grounds are so big we had to drive between sections! I liked the gardens at the Petit Trianon and made friends with a half-lion statue there. Then we went to the small village Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI, had built so she could pretend to be a country girl. It looks like a real village, but nobody ever lived in the cottages. This part of the palace is so far from the royal apartments that most tourists don’t take the time to see it. Grandma says it reminds her of Epcot at Disney World, but built for only one royal guest.
The next day was very busy. We stayed in Paris and took the Metro (subway) to get around. We got off at the City Hall stop, so I met some other lions guarding the doors. Then we went to Notre Dame cathedral, a very famous church. Here’s a picture of me standing by the statue of St. Denis near the main door of the cathedral. St. Denis is the one holding his head in his hands. The legend is that when some bad soldiers cut off St. Denis’ head, he picked it up and kept right on walking! Grandpa took me around to the side of the cathedral to see the flying buttresses. Those are the arches outside the walls designed to help bear the weight of these heavy stone walls and ceilings. They are very delicate looking to be doing such a big job.
Notre Dame cathedral is on an island in the Seine river. We walked along the Seine, just like Remy and Linguini when they first agreed to cook together. Then we went to the Louvre, a palace the kings built right in town that is now a famous museum. The glass pyramid is the new main entrance, connecting the various wings of the museum underground. I got to see it from the top and from the bottom!
The Louvre was VERY crowded with tourists. There was a two hour wait to buy admission tickets at the pyramid entrance, but Grandpa knew about another place to buy tickets in the shopping mall next door. We bought ours there and didn’t have any wait at all! The most famous pieces in the Louvre are the Mona Lisa painting and the statue of Winged Victory. I got to see them, but only because Grandma held me up over the crowd. Then we walked in the palace gardens (The Tuilleries) and I made friends with another lion. There are lots of lions in Paris!
We never found Remy and Linguini’s restaurant, but Grandma let me stay up late to have dinner at the same sort of neighborhood bistro. Did you know that the word “bistro” comes from the Russian word for “quick”? That’s what Russian soldiers said when they sat down and ordered something to drink. After dinner, we walked to the other island in the Seine, Ile Saint Louis, where we could see the sunset. It was as pretty as the ones at Sodus Bay. We had mango and chocolate gelato (Italian ice cream) for dessert. It was yummy! Then we walked back to Notre Dame to see it lit up for the night. Paris is called the City of Lights, and now I know why. The Eiffel tower even has special blinking lights that come on for five minutes every night.
Now it’s time for this adventure to end. I’ve had a very good time and seen a lot of interesting things. We’re going to fly back to New York on a big new kind of airplane, an Airbus A380. Grandpa says that will be a good way to end this trip.
Love,
Lion-san