Adam Turtle, Freelance Web Design in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Since1986
My Trip to Paris – Part 3
- 12th August, 2009
- filed under: France, Mini Series, Travel
- 3 comments
This is the third and final part of my mini-series covering my trip to Paris.
- Part One: The first three days in Paris
BBQ, getting ripped off and a giant beer.
- Part Two: Days Four to Six
Finding the elusive Georges Pompidou, world’s most energetic dog and meeting the French Mr Bean.
- Part Three: Final Days
Versailles Castle, destroying my hands playing Tarzan around the forest and the nicest house I’ve ever seen. Also, smuggling drugs through Belfast International.
The last few days in France were packed and there’s lots to write about. Today, I’ll be covering the last 5 days of the trip so prepare for a long one!
Friday
On Friday we were back in Paris to meet Valerie’s cousin Didier. He’s a dermatologist from the Loire Valley in France, and we met him at the train station as he had travelled into the city via TGV.
He’s a very charming guy, typically French wearing a pinstripe shirt and a pair of chinos with the jacket. Quite tall and with curly, greying hair. He speaks English as well as I do French, which means limited to bad grammar and lots of awkward pauses in between words.
Mr Bean
Shame I never managed a photo of him, but he’s a quirky guy. Some of his mannerisms are quite funny, which reminded me of Mr Bean’s Holiday, a particularly awful movie I saw a year or two ago.
Boat Trip
We took one of the boat tours down the Seine while the sun baked down for the first hour of the day. The guide on board was a young girl whose accent when she translated into English was so difficult to understand I couldn’t make the difference between the two languages.
Despite this, it was a great tour and the sights were great.
I managed to spoil part of the trip as the guide informed us that we were passing below Paris’ most romantic bridge and that you should close your eyes and kiss the one you love. Unfortunately, I understood that it was Paris’ most haunted bridge and I closed my eyes as advised when we passed under it. Valerie made an attempt at being romantic which I misinterpreted as a joke ghost attack or something and, shamefully, resisted.
Personally, I blame the guide. As we left, she had a tip jar. Didier tipped a spare button he found in his coat.
Notre Dame
Afterwards, we took a walk to Notre Dame and stopped for a photo or two.
We walked on towards our lunch spot.
Jardin des Plantes
I was promised an animal park. This much is true, but you have to pay for it so no animals. Instead we took a tour of the museum inside (if you’re over 26 it’s €9 which isn’t really worth it, otherwise free).
We grabbed a quick bite at the cafe and looked round the museum. It’s basically a small natural history museum.
Afterwards we took a walk back through the city, past a little band playing Prince songs (really well) and then back to the train station so Didier could get home.
When we got home again we took the dog for a walk and just messed around all night.
Saturday
Valerie’s sister picked us up in the morning for a day at an outdoor activity park close to the house.
We arrived and played minigolf and table tennis before heading to the big outdoor pool with the wave machine. We spent a good few hours there before heading to the luge (awesome!!) and then back home. I didn’t take my camera that day, so no photos 
Dinner at the neighbours
In the evening we got invited to the neighbours for dinner. They’re a retired couple, very nice and both very into gardening. Gerrard’s favourite plant is the cactus and he has a huge collection. In fact, he collects loads of things. He collects matchboxes, the kind you pick up at bars and hotels. His collection contains over 50,000 matchboxes which he has stored in his basement. He showed us some of the rarer ones.
Dinner was pretty good – tomatoes from the garden, chicken and lots of other treats. There was good banter around the table and Valerie’s parents came to join us, just back from Egypt. Both of them were really, reeeally tanned.
Sunday
We met up with the neighbours again for lunch, this time Valerie’s Dad’s treat. We went to a really posh castle about half an hour from the house for lunch.
The food was interesting, not my favourite and there was a lot of French cuisine that I knew I wouldn’t stomach well but what I did order, I enjoyed. Got these fish and ham roll things. Hard to describe, but good. Main course was beef (phew!) and desert was a sponge cake thing, not bad.
The grounds of the castle were beautiful. We walked off the lunch afterwards, round the lake and through the gardens and forecourt.
Trivial Persuit
We spent the evening playing Trivial Persuit, Disney edition. Took me an hour or two to realise that Picsou is actually Scrooge McDuck. Had I known that, I possibly would have won.
Played with the dog, too. It was his last day with us.
Monday
Up early and off to Versailles to visit the famous Palace of Versailles. It’s closed on Mondays, so we couldn’t actually go inside, but it has beautiful gardens which we walked around.
We even took a little row boat across the lake. Valerie’s dad opted out so it was just me, Valerie and her mum…and me rowing.
Tired and hungry at the end of it we went for lunch at the nearby cafe. Crepe. Mmmm.
Headed back home, had dinner with Valerie’s sister and fiancee and other relatives.
Tuesday
This was great. It was the day I left (no, that part’s not great) so we just had time to do something in the morning until about 3pm. We went to an outdoor activity park with obstacles to climb in the forest. You had to manoeuvre your way around the obstacles in the trees, from pretty high up. Great fun!
It was difficult in places, but worth it. I’m not as fit as I used to be, but I managed one of the more difficult courses, albeit with a lot of effort!
Returned home to grab lunch and off to the airport. €22 charge for my bag that I didn’t declare at time of booking. Ridiculous.
Had a bad experience with customs on arrival in Belfast. They searched my bags (random check) and apparently my bag contained traces of cocaine. After a few other tests, they were “satisfied” that I was no criminal and let me go. Phew!
End of a great 10 days. Started a new job on Monday too, so a good return too! Check all the photos on Flickr here.
Was looking forward to part 3 – that was a great holiday – life wouldn’t be half as interesting if it wasn’t for the Tower of Babel! Laughed heartily at the Seine river trip, you twit:) and poor Valerie:) Take care x