Paris FR 3-5 August 2022 For my birthday we cruised into Paris with friends. When I studied for my MBA at Stanford Unversity over 30 years ago, I shared a house with 3 other women. To our surprise, 3 of us had birthdays on 3 consecutive days in August so this year we decided to meet up in Paris for our birthdays. The trip was organised with the 4 house-mates and our 2 other close friends who have all kept in close touch via zoom during the pandemic. Of course there were a few husbands and a couple of adult children also enjoying the time in Paris. So on my birthday, the other birthday women, Hilary and Keiko, joined us, as well as Donna and her husband Ceasar. It was a glorious sunny day - although a little hot. The 4 guests caught an uber together to the boat and after a tour, coffee and pastries, we got underway at about 11am. After the first lock we had lunch on board. The trip into Paris was magical for me. Howard had offerred to do nearly all of the driving, so I could enjoy the trip and the company of my friends. La Defense In the "Passage through Paris"there are 36 bridges, many quite ornate. Once you pass the Eiffel tower there are also a lot of tour boats around, and there are some one way signs, so there is a lot to watch out for. Our friends were interested in the many signs adorning the bridges. Here is one bridge. Signs from left - No entry; Keep to the right of this sign; Don't make wash; Keep 10 metres from the port bank; One way your way (2 double yellow diamonds); Attention work; Keep to the left of this sign; Do not enter. While travelling through the city I made a time lapse video of the right bank. And a short video of some of the traffic on the river. Watch out for the commercial behind and the police boat near the end. Finally we got to the lock at the marina at about 3:30 and found our mooring alongside another boat - Tom Pouce. Karen and her kids Audrey and George, and Hope and husband Jay soon joined us on board. After pouring out some bubbly (but luckily not drinking it yet), our neighbour asked us to turn around so that we wouldn't have our deck right next to theirs. This we did, so everyone got a cruise even if quite short. It was great to see everyone in person. As they live in the USA and Japan I hadn't seen them since 2016. We had a BBQ dinner with everyone pitching in to prepare salads or cook, and then Karen brough out some lovely tarts as my birthday cake. Just a wonderful day. From our mooring we have a lovely view of the Place de la Bastille, and tour boats go past us quite regularly as the marina is at the start of the Canal Saint-Martin. The next morning the 6 "Global Ladies" met on Moondance for breakfast and an in person catch-up for a change. It was great to be able to speak at length in person. Hilary, Me, Karen, Keiko, Donna and Hope After that we met up with the significant others for a visit to the Musee D'Orsay. Howard and I went down on our bikes and found the bike paths excellent. Because of my sore foot, Howard and I only had a look around the top floor of the museum, where there were the impressionist and post-impressionist works. For us it was great to see them, after visiting some of the sites where they had painted. There were so many amazing masterpieces, that we plan to visit again some day. The museum is also built into a former railway station so is interesting in itself. After a rest we all met up for dinner to celebrate Hilary's birthday, at a great fish restaurant. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed the evening immensely. Photo from Hilary Howard and Me Hope and Jay on their last night with us The next day Hilary and Keiko had planned to go to the Loire Valley to visit a couple of chateaux. George decided to join them. Howard and I had a quiet day, and then we met up with everyone (except for Hope and Jay who had left that morning). In the end we had a drink at a bar and took a photo of the 4 housemates... The housemates - Hilary, Me, Karen, Keiko ... before returning to Moodance for a baguette, cheese, salad and leftovers meal. A great way to finish up the 3 days of birthdays. Back - Donna, Hilary, Keiko
Front - Ceasar, Karen, George, Audrey, Keiko, Howard, Me
4 Comments
Gerri & George
16/8/2022 03:28:16 am
How exciting travelling the Seine into Paris. Great vids and pics. Sounds like a great time was had with old friends.
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Cheryl
16/8/2022 10:32:54 am
Sound and looks a wonderful Birthday in the best of company!
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Richard Switzky
16/8/2022 01:16:54 pm
What a wonderful way to catch up with friends and celebrate. I very much enjoyed the pictures.
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Anne Graves
16/8/2022 08:14:29 pm
Hi Deb
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