Marge in Paris Part 2

   

Arc de Triomphe

   My good friend Marge Bradley went to Paris this spring. I asked her if I could interview her about her trip and she graciously said yes. She gave me so many photos that I could not have possibly have posted them in one post. I did my first post about her trip before I left for North Carolina in June. I planned on doing Part 2 when I got home but am just getting to it now. Below is the transcript of our "interview" I posted this in Part 1 also, but it is all great info so it deserves to go along with these photos. 

   Marge sent me close to one hundred photos. She worked harder on this project than I did. This post is long overdue by at least two months. Yet Marge never once asked me if/when I would do Part 2. I want to thank her for that. Looking at all of her photos and itinerary, I learned a lot. There are a few things I wouldn't do that she did. On the other hand, she gave me so much info on the places I want to go that my experience will be much easier due to her knowledge.  Thank you again Marge. 

 1. What was your itinerary for each day you were there. This can obviously be short answers because it is the longest answer.

1.  Itinerary:  Friday  Day 1 ---  airport to hotel, naps, food.  Take Batobus (water taxi) on Seine down to Eiffel Tower (8:00) admission tickets - wander around tower - take kids to buy souvenirs and ride carousel across the street.  McDonald's for supper at 11pm
2. 
   
3. Day 2 -- I spent 2 hours at Montparness cemetery, birding.  breakfast at 1:00 (our systems didn't  know what time it was) ... shopped local little places for picnic - cheese, bread, fruit, pastry, wine.  Subway to Jardinne des Plants - walk about, eat.  Walking tour Marais neighborhood, stop in very old church - Museum Pompidou (modern art), late dinner, back to hotel
4. 
   
5. Day 3 -- Early breakfast with Em & Greg, walk to St. Suplice for mass, took subway to Atelier des Lumiere's (an interactive, laser art show .  another subway to Muse Montmarte for Easter egg hunt for kids - walk around outside of Sacre Couer (too crowded to go in), walking tour of neighborhood, found tiny French restaurant for dinner, back to hotel
6. 
   

7. 

   Joan of Arc statue

   
   Day 4 -- Breakfast in hotel - subway to Louvre (very crowded) only stayed about 3 hours - quick shopping at mall attached to Louvre.  Walk through Tulliereis - park with statues and giant trees --- another Batobus ride down to Notre Dame - dinner
8. 
   
9. Day 5 -- Versailles - subway to train then 1/2 mile walk to palace.  Toured palace, grounds, leisurely lunch, bike rides and kids took rowboats out -- train back dinner at Gladines (very French)
10. 
    
11. Day 6 -- Covid tests (took too much time) shop local shops for souverniers  Museum d'Orsay - 4 hours ( my favorite museum.  Galleria Lafayette and Printemps (giant stores), subway to Arc d"Triumph - back to hotel - take out dinner, pack
12. 
    
Day 7 -- 5:30 check out - Uber to airport -- home

2.Where did you fly out of?

 

   Flew out of Boston 

3. Was there a layover?

 No layover

4. How long was the flight from leaving home to landing at Paris?

    6 hours (time change messes with you though..... left around 8pm got there at 8am!

5. How did you get from airport to Paris, bus, subway, taxi, etc? How much did it cost?

   Uber from airport to hotel -- $80 for regular car - $100 for van - 4+ passengers

6. Did you stay in downtown? Where did you stay, a motel, airbnb, etc?

    Stayed in neighborhood called Montparnesse outside downtown area - small Hotel Raspail

7. Did you use public transportation to get around the city?

2. Public transportion only,.  Subway, bus, boat & train to Versailles

 

8. If yes, was it easy, what issues did you have? Was it overwhelming?

    Easy to manage - app for phone - maps in all the subway stops - not overwhelming. 

9. Was signage in English ar all or just French?

 

   Some signage in English - especially at the vending machines to buy tickets...   all major attractions clearly marked at appropriate stops.

10. How long were you gone for? 

       in Paris Friday - Thurs - 6 days

11. What was the weather like? Did it rain often?

2. no rain - sunny, 50 to 70....  very nice

12. What did you bring for outer layers? Did you need a winter coat?

2. work denim jacket, others fleece --- guys wore shorts and shirts 2 days

Question Part 2 

. 

1. Did you eat at any of the extravagant restaurants? If so, what did you eat?

 we didn't do any really fancy restaurants.  Small, local spots only.   I had a shepherd's pie type dish with duck, coq and vin (chicken with wine sauce and 3rd French restaurant i had escargot in a creamy sauce and a casserole with white beans, chicken and sausage.  Other meals,  2 Italian and McDonald's 

2. I looked at your itinerary, you didn't go to Rodin Museum?

   no, sadly, didn't get to Ridin.  just not enough time

3. Did you use cash or credit card to use subway?

credit card

4. Could you use card at most attractions or did you use Euros?

   mostly used cards, euros for small meals and misc small stuff, tops

5. Did you ever see any pick pocket crime? 

   saw no crime.  always felt safe

6. What was your favorite food that wasn't sweet? 

   Bread was unbelievable 

7. What was your favorite food that was sweet?

   toss.... best strawberries ever or a small slice of cake called a Royal from local bakery.  almost flavored cake with strawberry cream

A couple paintings 
from the Orsay Museum
The top is a Van Goh
self portait

8. Did you ever feel unsafe?

 

never.  French military (heavily armed) outside all attractions  

9. How high up did you go in Eiffel Tower?

Eiffel, 2nd floor only.  none of us live heights

10. Did you buy tickets in advance?

bought tickets ahead

   

11. Cost of Eiffel ticket for level you went to? 

     17 Euros

12. If someone were to go to Eiffel Tower from getting there until leaving, how much time do you think is appropriate? 

     I think a minimum of two hours

13. Did you buy tickets in advance for Versailles?

     Bought Versailles tickets ahead also..  timed entry is great..

14. How long was train ride?

      20 minutes

15. I assume you toured most of the grounds, did you rent bikes? 

      did tour grounds, rented bikes.  I don't know cost, Emily paid

 

16. How long did you stay there?

we stayed at Versailles almost 6 hours, including lunch at Cafe M

17. Any advice for Versailles or Eiffel Tower?

 

  Go to Eiffel Tower after dark or at sunset.  Tower lit up is pretty impressive and at the top of every hour the lights twinkle.  All the souvenir vendors sell the same stuff at about the same price, don't bother hunting for something for less or something different.   Versailles,  take a history refresher before you go.  Spend more time outside that indoors, gardens are amazing.  And lunch on the grounds was worth the price and the time.

Below are some more photos she sent me. I grouped them as best I could by attraction.

               

 

                                                Outdoors at Versailles 

                                                           Inside Versailles 

The photo below is of Napoleon Bonaparte being crowned Emperor. It is tradition for the pope to crown then Emperor. However, Napoleon was so arrogant he put the crown on his own head. You can even see the expression on the Pope's face that he isn't too happy about it. 

King Louis XIV the Sun King

Other Photos Marge sent me-

The Entrance to the Louvre

Cezannne painting

Statue of Liberty inside the Orsay Museum which
is a former train station

I would love these cheese shops

Seine River from Eiffel 

Marge did some birding. 
Mandarin Duck

A good way to end this post.
Good night

A Few Dollars More

   A few years ago, a guy I know from work went to see the Rolling Stones at Gillette. It just so happened that very same night I saw the Beach Boys at Bold Point. Obviously, both bands play oldies music. I know I had a great time at Bold Point and I sang along to all the Beach Boys songs.  I can only assume that the Stones put on a great show and the guy from work was equally pleased. 

  The differences of our two experiences was price. Laurie and I got the tickets for $25 each and we probably bought an over priced soda for seven bucks. For a grand total of $57 for a night out. On the other hand, my friend bought tix for himself and wife. After buying the tickets, parking, a few beers he told me we dropped about a GRAND!

   This guy is a hard working middle class guy. He is not rich or made of money. And here is the other thing, I don't think he made the wrong decision to spend a thousand dollars on a concert if it was worth it to him. He didn't just look at the Stones concert as a night out, he looked at it as a once in a lifetime experience. When you put something as once in a lifetime, whether the Stones, a trip to Disney, or a Super Bowl, then the money shouldn't matter. You only live once (YOLO). 

   Obviously, there is no way I would pay a grand to go to any concert. Paying hundreds of dollars for tickets to see millionaires, I just can't justify. I also find it hard to justify going to Gillette Stadium anyway, mostly because I hate it. The place is huge so unless you do pay the hundreds of dollars, you're watching the concert on the jumbo-tron anyway. Parking is $60. To top it all off, its going to take three hours to get out of the parking lot. To me, its just not an enjoyable experience. I haven't gone to a Patriots game or a concert there in years. 

    I seem to put a value on everything, because I have so many hobbies, I am interested in going to everything from most sporting events to Civil War battlefields. Also, many of my favorite things to do are free anyway. Hiking, birding, snorkeling, photography, fishing, and quahogging only cost me the gas to get to them. So if I want to spend money on anything else, I weigh if I actually want to take away the day doing those other things anyway. 

   This does not mean I won't spend money. Obviously, I do go to concerts and musicals. My one vice that costs me money is boats. I love going on whale watches and pelagic trips to see birds. Though a whale watch might cost me $75 while I'm on the boat I never think about the price. I just love being on the open sea. The irony is I do get seasick about half the time despite taking medicine and doing as much preventive maintenance as I can.

   The one place I am finding that spending the extra money is worth it is at small venues. I am finally getting to the point of this post. While the difference in price from the great seats to the nose bleeds at a Kenny Chesney concert at Gillette may be hundreds of dollars, at smaller venues it may only be ten to twenty dollars. 

I have realized I do enjoy going to a concert or musical more if I have good seats. When Laurie and I go to the Stadium Theater every year to see A Christmas Carol, we get the same seats. Third row Center, end seats on the left. This is standard for Stadium Theater for us if those seats are available for any show. These seats are about ten dollars more than the lowest price level but to me they are worth it and still a good value for a night out.

   Last month Laurie and I had a fun Saturday. We went on a whale watch out of Cape Ann. After the whale watch we went to see the Buddy Holly Story at the North Shore Music Theater (side note, my back is still killing me and it was an expensive day, so I self medicated to enjoy the day!) The tickets to the venue are pretty pricy ranging from $63-$78. We figured if we were going to pay that much anyway, we may as well get the good seats. We ended up with third row seats. They were great. When the musicians came to the edge of the stage, we were making eye contact with them. They were interacting with members of the audience. 

   Sitting where we did was much more fun than if we would have gotten the next price level down. I actually know this from seeing the Buddy Holly Story a few years back (2016) at the Hanover Theater. We had mid-priced seats and they weren't bad.  You could watch the action and listen to the music but even at mid level, you couldn't really see the expressions or the faces that well. Comparing the same musical up close, there is no comparison. So, so  much better. 

East of the Mississippi Bucket List

 I've spent a lot of vacation time and driving time hitting up as many things on my "East of the Mississippi Bucket List" as I possibly could afford in both time and money. It's not much of a secret that if I could spend a year traveling in the American west I would do it in a heartbeat. I make many financial decisions knowing that will be my ultimate goal. I would very much like to pack up and visit everything from the desert southwest to the Seward Peninsular in Alaska. I have a six foot bookshelf dedicated to hiking, fishing, bird ID, and national parks to prove it. Someday

   However, in the meantime, I have tried to see everything I have wanted close enough to do so. Since I got vaccinated in May 2021 I have planned vacations and getaways based on priority on what I most want to see and do than say price or convenience. Even when I've gone to places I've already been I've made it a point to include bucket list items. For example, when we went to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms (which in itself was something I've wanted to do for 30 years). We also included daytrips to Civil War battlefields and Blackwater NWR. I've wrote about all of my journeys on my blog so I won't relive them here. 

   Since I've really put in this effort, I spent a little while this week really coming up with what is left of my list and try to figure out if or when I can do them. I try not to put down every native fish on my list. There are a few fish species I really want to catch. 

   Same with birds, I try not to have a hundred different birds on my list. What I usually do is have a most wanted bird. Once I see it, then I'll figure out a next most wanted. When I first got serious about birding, I most wanted to see a Painted Bunting which happened in Florida 2019. After that I wanted to see Roseate Spoonbill, which I missed on that 2019 Florida trip. I saw my first one at Brigantine NJ in 2021. Then my next most wanted bird wasn't even a lifer. I wanted to Black Necked  Stilts. I'd seen one roughly twenty years ago. I only saw the one but didn't get a photo. I saw them at Pea Island this year and got decent photos at Bombay Hook on our way home from DC. The new bird on my list is Elegant Trogan which only lives in a small area of southeast AZ. As for birds east of Big Muddy, I haven't picked a new most wanted yet.

    Anyway, here is what I have left. Admittedly, this is a personal list for me, and may possibly be nothing the reader wants to do, but maybe it will get you thinking about accomplishing things on your own list.

Florida- When I say east of the Mississippi, I should also write north of Florida. Since FL is so much different than anywhere else, it has special animals and places like nowhere else in the lower 48. I want to catch a Peacock Bass and a Tarpon. I do not need a two hundred pound tarpon. I'd like a 25-40 pounder(s). I'd rather catch a few than fight the same one for two hours. There are also two places I want to bird/hike/ wildlife watch Merritt Island and Myakka River. I didn't get to these two places on my Florida trips. I'd also like to go shelling either to an island and/or Bowman Beach at Sanibel Island. 

  Of course there are many things I want to do again like snorkeling. Two places I want to snorkel are Looe Key and Sombrero Reef. I'd absolutely swim with manatees again. I'd stay at Bahia Honda and snorkel there again. Basically everything I've ever done in Florida from looking at Alligators to  eating Key Lime Pie in Key West I'd do again. I have so many memories from my Florida trips.

Fish- Besides Peacock Bass and Tarpon, there are a few species of fish I really want to catch.

   Chinook Salmon. I'd love to catch a Chinook Salmon from a Great Lakes tributary. Either the Oswego  River or the Salmon River. This may be the most exciting thing left on my list

   Northern Pike- I tried for a full day at Moore Reservoir, NH last year. I had one follow and caught a few Smallmouth. I will try again this fall.

   Catfish- I want to catch a big catfish. It doesn't matter to me if it is a Channel, Flathead, or Blue Cat. And size is irrelevant. Both the Blue and Flathead can reach up near one hundred pounds. I will be happy with any over ten pounds. Ten pounds is still a decent fish. I'll be happy with bigger, but anything over ten will make me happy.

Get a photo of a bull elk after it shed its velvet off its antlers. This may seem easier in the western part of the country, and you are probably right. But there are plenty of eastern states that elk have been introduced. They are famous enough in PA to have a county named after them. Elk can also be found in large numbers in eastern Kentucky and the Great Smokey Mountains. I have a friend that moved to western PA and said I could crash at his house if I wanted to go there. This would be a late Sept through early winter thing

See the AC/DC tribute band Dirty Deeds again. Seeing them has been something I've wanted to do for years, I saw them on Wednesday, but I missed the first twenty minutes. They sound and look just like the real AC/DC. 

Gunpowder Falls, MD Gunpowder Fall is one of the premier tailwater fisheries in the east. I tried to go there on my NC trip, but it was too far out of the way. I just want to catch one wild trout, species is irrelevant.

Cape May Birding- I'd prefer to go there during spring migration, but fall migration with thousands of hawks might be better. I just want to go there.

Conowingo Dam- is where dozens if not hundreds of Bald Eagles winter. The photo ops are endless of them fishing and trying to steal each others fish. Of everything on the list, including individual fish species and seeing a tribute band, this is the least important to me. But if the opportunity arose, I'd go. 

Two things very close to home are on my to do list this fall if possible:

Fish the Mashpee and Qhashnet River in Falmouth and catch a sea run brook trout. They are wild fish

See a Copperhead. There are Copperheads in Connecticut and someone told me where to look. I hope to make it there to see them.

   That's pretty much it. I could do everything north of Florida in a two week trip in September and early October. A Florida trip just focused on my bucket list would only take a few days, but there is so much to see and do in Florida, I'd spend a lot longer than that. Especially since I love to snorkel so much, I'd want to do that as much as possible. Still, this list was a whole lot longer a couple of years, some puffins, and many species ago!

Barely Anything

  I haven't done much this summer. Been nursing a sore back since the end of June. Still, if you barely do anything, that is more than doing absolutely nothing. So over the last six weeks I have accumulated a couple of memories despite spending most of my time lying on the couch. 

   By far the most important thing that happened over the last few weeks was seeing my son. After three years of living in Cambodia, he visited home. He was home for about ten days. Obviously, we didn't do a lot because of my back. Add to that, it was ninety five degrees almost the whole time he was home, there was a lot time spent by his mother's pool. We did get out twice. Once we looked for snakes, having a very memorable encounter with a huge Black Racer. The other time we went birding. The highlight was seeing a Peregrine Falcon on the mudflats at Charlestown.

    This weekend Laurie and I went to a skating competition in Norwood, MA. Unlike last year, there were very few former Olympians at this event. The field was not deep and there were a lot of falls. My back was hurting so the quality of the competition was only adding to my agony.  The best two people there were an American named Amber Glenn and a Canadian named Maddy Schizas. Neither performed to their potential. Though Amber bounced back the second day. 

Maddy Schizas

Other than seeing my son, the highlight for the last few weeks was a life bird I saw on Monday. My friend Patrick Felker found a  Red Pharalope in Newport in the morning. All day people were deciding if it was a  Red Pharalope or a Red Necked  Pharalope. Later in the day, my friend Sue Palmer refound the bird and confirmed it was a Red Pharalope. So I ran down at 7 pm and got it. I only know of one other in RI since I got serious about birding.

Today I went for a walk looking for Red Bellied Cooters. I didn't find any. I really didn't see much but I came across a Red Squirrel that did some really cool poses.

Local #10 and 11 A Water Snake and a Black Swallowtail

   Not only are gas prices keeping me local but so is the heat and my back. The heat is self evident. It is hot. My lower back has been messed up for almost a month now. I've had very little desire to take long drives to see birds. Last week I did go to Francis Carter but other than that my rides have ben short.

   A few days ago I went to Stony Brook Wildlife Refuge in Norfork, MA. It was a quiet day there. I saw a hummingbird, Purple Martins, and a big Snapping Turtle but not much else. I didn't write about it because, frankly, there wasn't much to write about.

   After a late morning I went back to Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary today. For the second time this year I saw a Northern Water Snake eat a meal. Today's unlucky contestant was a small frog. The light was bad and I was too close for good photos but it was fun to watch. After it's meal, the snake moved into a little opening where I could at least get a photo of it.

   Before I left, I ran into two Black Swallowtail Butterflies. Since I'm "collecting" photos of butterflies I've seen this year I was happy to get some photos of them. 

Black Swallowtail

The snake trying to turn the frog for consumption

Local #9 Red Admiral at Attleboro Springs

Red Admiral Butterfly

   On my way home from work I stopped at Attleboro Springs Audubon Sanctuary. This place sits behind La Salette Shrine. This local spot didn't cost me anything for gas because it sits on my route home from our Rehoboth store. I'd been to this place once or twice in the winter but never really explored it. 

   The best part of the refuge is Brothers Pond. There I saw multiple Bull Frogs, Green Frogs, tadpoles and a Water Snake. So far in my herping experience, I have seen more Northern Water Snakes than all other species combined.

   The highlight of the day was probably a Red Admiral Butterfly that was on the ground right near the water. I couldn't get the right angle for photos due to the brush, but it was still pretty to see. 

I walked all the trails of the property for a couple hours. I checked out the pond's shoreline multiple times. It was a pleasant afternoon

Butterflies and Local #8

Aphrodite Flitillary

    I've been asked if I gave up birding since I've spent so much time looking for snakes, frogs, and turtles. The answer is no. I still look for birds. This is a slow time of year for birding, so bad that I purposely take my vacation in June. The shorebirds will be back soon and there will be birds to look at again.

  When I go to Francis Carter, I'm looking for everything. I look for the grassland birds, snakes, and butterflies. Anything worth a photo makes me happy. Today, I went to Carter and all I saw were butterflies and a few birds. No reptiles at all. The highlight birds were an Indigo Bunting posing on a dead tree and three Orchard Orioles. 

  Butterflies were awesome. The highlight was an Aphrodite Fritillary. It was only the second I've seen. I also saw Monarchs, Eastern Wood Nymphs (everywhere), Juvenal's Duskywing.

  I also went to the Breachway mudflats today. The only good sighting was seeing my friend Carlos Pedro. There were a couple Piping Plovers but for the most part, it was dead. 

   

Huge Fowler's Toad

So I decided to head towards home and go local. Uxbridge may not be next door for me, but it is an easy ride, and I've been spending a lot of time there. Today I found a huge Fowler's Toad and I caught a Pickerel Frog in my net. This ha taken me repeated tries. I did manage to see two snakes today. I saw the back end of a Garter slithering away and part of a Northern Water Snake thar was obstructed by vegetation.  All in all, not a bad July day.

My defeated quarry not realizing he would be free
with one hop. Pickerel Frog