In the morning we got started a little on the early side, mainly because we weren’t sure exactly how many transfers we would have to manage today. I also wanted to spend some serious shower time, since the shower we had here was about four times bigger than the tiny one back in London.
The morning was a little cloudy and it looked like it had rained during the night. Instead of eating breakfast somewhere we walked around the abbey, going up and down the steps for exercise. We went outside for a recon mission, and inspected the shuttle bus system. Already there were buses full of tourists coming in, but we could see how easy it was to get back to where we wanted to go, so we walked back into the main island to finally go and see the abbey at the top. We found ourselves on the same pathways, becoming more and more congested with tourists as time went on. Luckily we knew a shortcut that we discovered the night before. There was a tiny crack between two shops, almost impossible to notice – we had come down the hill last night and found ourselves emerging from that place, so it made sense to use it backwards and bypass the crowds. It worked very well, and we made it to the top much more quickly. We lined up and were admitted quite rapidly into the abbey itself.
We’ve been in one or two churches around Europe before, so we kind of felt like we’d seen it all. We were therefore quite pleased with the understated and simple abbey. Most of the stained glass windows used only light colors, and the predominant theme was shades of gray. The interior was much larger than I expected, and the visitor’s path took us all over the abbey, popping out on ledges and balconies now and then. It was one of the better visits that we’ve made, especially combined with the lack of tourists. Once again, it pays to start early! A couple of things surprised me – about half the tourists that we did meet were Japanese, which was a higher ratio than any other destination on this trip. The other interesting point was that there was a gift shop right next to the main cathedral inside the abbey. I’m used to a gift shop somewhere on the grounds, usually near the exit, but this one was literally in the next room from where people prayed. A little too blatant for my tastes. We spent about 45 minutes going through it all, and then went out the exit (which was under construction so that it was a little unclear how to get out).
We took a brief break in our room, and then rolled our big suitcases out of the room, down the cobblestones, and out to the shuttle buses. The suitcases got a lot of looks, but I’m used to not caring what people think. The shuttle took us to the main bus pickup area, and we were first at the bus stop with about 40 minutes to kill before our bus to Rennes arrived. Kuniko waited by the luggage and I went over to a supermarket that we had passed earlier. Unfortunately it was not really a supermarket – more of a convenience store combined with a gift shop. I was able to find some small pastries to take back to share with Kuniko, but unfortunately no coffee.
When I came back to the bus stop, there was now a sizable line of people waiting also, predominantly Japanese. The bus to Rennes finally showed up, and it parked a little ways from the bus stop, so suddenly we were not exactly in a good position. I took our suitcases over and got them all loaded up underneath the bus, just like everyone else. Once they were in I turned around nobody had boarded the bus yet. All the Japanese people had realized that we were there first, and everyone was patiently waiting to make sure that we could also get on first. Kuniko waved them on board – the bus wasn’t even going to be a quarter full, but I was really struck by the cultural differences. I’m not sure if that would have happened if they had been a mix of other cultures and countries. One of the nice things about Japanese manners, I guess.
The bus ride back to Rennes was pretty uneventful, and Kuniko caught up on some sleep. We passed through rain and sun the whole trip back, so it was anybody’s guess as to the weather in Rennes and Paris. Once we arrived at the station we bought some pastries – I had a cheese pizza that was mainly made of cheese, and Kuniko had a quiche that was pretty good too. Both were delicious and reasonably priced. We found some public seating in the middle of the station to settle down and eat our lunch. Kuniko held down the fort and I went into a bar nearby to see if I could talk them into letting me buy some beers to eat outside of their establishment. The bartender spoke zero English, but I did my best with sign language and a few choice French words, and she supplied me with two cold bottles of beer. They were really good – maybe the best beer of the whole trip (and that includes London!)
After lunch we still had almost an hour to kill, so we decided to go into the bar since the bartender had been so patient and kind with us. She was happy to serve us a big carafe of Bordeaux, and after we polished that off she suggested a Cote du Rhone. She gave us some free hard salami, but we ordered a mixed cheese platter to go with our wine as well. The salad that came with it was really good – walnuts, raisins, lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette, and maybe peanut oil? The simple things are so much better in France.
Despite all the alcohol, we caught the TGV on time, and then we were headed back to Paris. As we were boarding the ticket checker outside the train said that our ticket was for the wrong day, but it was indeed correct. She was a little confused I guess, but she let us on anyway, and it made me wonder what exactly her job is for. We found our seats, and once again we sat next to a passenger with a small dog. This dog was pretty lonely, so I had a lot of chances to pet the dog and be friendly. So cute! The owner was neither friendly nor cute, however. I could see why the dog was starved for attention.
We got a little bit of sleep on the train, and so we were well rested upon arrival at Montparnasse station. We decided to spring for a taxi to take us to the hotel, since we were still dragging our bags around. The taxi driver was a little strange – he ignored us completely, talking on his Bluetooth headset to someone in a Middle Eastern language, and clicking and unclicking his ballpoint pen. He got us where we needed to go, however, and we found ourselves out front of the Hotel Malar soon enough.
The hotel design was quite nice, with a modern lobby and an artistic feel to it. We checked in and the guy told us that our room was on the 3rd floor (which in Europe means the 4th), and then he gave us the bad news – no elevator. We had to carry our bags up a lot of narrow steps, but I didn’t really mind. It was much tougher for Kuniko, but in the end we made it to our room. The room was also pretty small, but from the top floor we had a nice view of the rooftops across the street. Again, we’re good in small spaces, so no worries. This hotel was just for one night.
Once we had sorted out our stuff we decided to go out for a walk and try to find a nearby supermarket where we could get some supplies. We found a small Carrefour market a few blocks away, and had a lot of fun shopping there. We found plenty of cassoulet, pate, and other yummy stuff, but unfortunately no canned foie gras. When we were checking out the clerks were giggling to each other about something to do with Kuniko and me, and so our clerk wasn’t paying attention and dropped one of the coins from my change. It slid under the cash register and desk in some way as to be pretty inaccessible. The cashier seemed to get angry at me, maybe because she was hoping that I’d say “don’t worry about it” and let her off the hook. But I don’t know how to say “don’t worry about it” in French, and even if I did, I’m on vacation and this is entertainment for me. So get that coin! Eventually she gave up and called a manager and they opened the register and got the replacement coin out for me, and I gave them a big smile and “Merci!”
We walked around the neighborhood of the Eiffel Tower, and found a little farmer’s market. One of the booths there was selling cognac spiked with grape juice, and canned foie gras. We were able to taste several kinds and then buy some to take back to Japan. Mission accomplished! I took some pictures of the Tower, and then we went back to the hotel to do a little research on restaurants for dinner. Unfortunately, the ones I wanted to try were either booked up or closed. The hotel clerk called one for us, but they were booked up as well. I was starting to feel stressed – Friday night in Paris and I didn’t want to settle for some fast food! We decided to just hit the road and find a place at random, and choosing the place caused a little more friction between me and Kuniko. Luckily we calmed down and avoided a fight. Usually about once a trip we either have a fight or get dangerously close – hopefully this was the only time this trip…
Finally we settled on a corner restaurant that looked just upscale enough to have a memorable dinner. We sat at first outside and then realized there were heavy smokers and both sides of our table, so we moved inside. Dinner was quite good actually – better than I expected. We shared an appetizer billed as tepid lentils with truffle sauce and a crisped poached egg. I had a sirloin steak with béarnaise sauce and frites, and Kuniko had seared sea bream with basil gnocchi and vegetables. I ordered an expensive (for us) bottle of wine off the wine list, and we had a great meal. It was hard to believe, but outside the two smokers seemed to be trying to compete with each other to make the biggest cloud of smoke. One of them, an old lady, broke out a cigar and we were even smelling it inside the restaurant. We were glad we weren’t out there dealing with it.
During the evening rain would start to fall off and on. We were luckily inside the restaurant during the heaviest part, so no problem. There is something about rain in Paris that didn’t seem to bother us that much. Maybe because it was summer and a little warmer than usual, but it was actually quite refreshing.
Once we finished dinner, we walked out to the Eiffel Tower, and we arrived just a few minutes before the top of the hour. I had heard that the tower was illuminated with a sparkling effect every hour at night, so we had perfect timing to see it. We stood in a secluded park on the western side of the tower with very few people around, held each other, and enjoyed a quiet romantic moment. It made up for the earlier fight, and also was a moment of quiet to put in the bank, because I had a feeling that the next time we were here with my family quiet romantic moments would be hard to find.
We wandered back to our hotel, bought some bottled water at the local convenience store, climbed up the stairs, and crashed out right away.
