And then we take Paris!

We left Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, arriving in CDG around 2PM and getting to our hotel before 3. Wine (a very decent sancerre for 14 euros!) was soon acquired at the local Carrefour which we sipped as we rested a bit before heading out for the 30 minute walk through the 1st and 4th to dinner at the wonderful Robert et Louise, a high end wood fired steak joint. 

A wonderful dinner of lamb chops (Christos) and rare steak (Lisa) accompanied by a cote de rhone wine was enjoyed before we embarked on a leisurely evening return stroll to our hotel on Rue des Pyramides. The remainder of the wine procured earlier was dispatched before retiring to bed.

The next day we first visited the Tuileries Gardens just down from the hotel for an after breakfast stroll before a deeper walk into the 4th and surroundings exploring new ground for us. 

We lunched at a popular falafel place that despite the 15 minute wait (which was filled with people watching anyway) was well worth it; the best shawarma we have ever had covered in fresh toppings!

Our wander through the 4th continued during the afternoon with a soap purchase as well as a bottle of white wine from a farmer's market! 

We made it back to the hotel with enough time for a little break before heading out across the Seine to the 6th and one of our favourite places in Paris, Huitrerie Regis , for a dinner of smoked scallop, oysters, bulot and shrimp! 

Dinner was accompanied by a lovely bottle of sancerre and over the next two hours chatted with both the owner, the waitress and the lovely Parisian lady behind us who treated us each to a glass of meursault wine! 

After dinner we wandered to Cafe Des Beaux Arts which to be blunt is not really worth it but is a bit of an institution for us as a place we would have a late night carafe of wine and call Mom from as we looked out at the bank of the Seine (and the traffic). 

The time difference (ie 11PM in Paris versus 6ish in Ontario or 3ish in BC) was ideal for calls and while we decided to bury the tradition, we did so in style by calling some of our closest family and friends and sharing with them the memory of this spot. Ah well, nothing lasts forever. 

After the 1/2 litre of wine and litre of water were done it was time for the 1/2 hour stroll back across the river to our hotel; it was particularly windy and chilly as we crossed the Seine but that did not detract from our enjoyment of such a fine night in Paris.

Thursday in Paris was a stroll north to the cemetery of Montmartre, where we visited the graves of Dalida, Berlioz and others including some unknowns (as pictured!). 

The tour continued along boulevard de Clichy past the Moulin Rouge to rue Des Martyrs and the surrounding area where we shopped for lunch and other goodies. 

We got back to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoyed a late lunch of the goodies we had bought earlier (with plenty left over for the next day) and then rested a bit before heading out for our lateish (9PM) dinner at La Bourse et La Vie  which served traditional Paris bistro food but upmarket. 

While the pate on artichoke heart appetizer was excellent and the mains were good (rib of veal and steak), the overall value for money was a bit lacking and the experience felt a bit rushed. Still an excellent dinner in Paris. 

Our final day in Paris was the most glorious from a weather perspective with sunny skies and temperatures in the high teens Celsius. We opted for a long stroll west through the Tuileries and then across the Alexander III bridge to arrive at Les Invalides. 

Here we visited the tomb of Napoleon with hardly anyone there unlike the time some twenty years previously when it had been swarming with tourists. 

We also toured the museum visiting the medieval arms and armour displays as well as the Napoleonic arms and armour displays. After a good tour of the museum (and the purchase of some Napoleon socks) we returned to the hotel for a rest before heading out for a long wander north and east through the 2nd, 10th, 3rd and 4th before stopping off for a pint of Guinness in the early evening. 

We had planned for dinner at Chez Michel this evening but were not feeling up to it after all the walking so we cancelled and instead enjoyed a cheap and cheerful dinner in our room from the decent place across the street from our hotel while we watched some shows on Lisa's laptop.

The next day is was a quick breakfast before hopping on the plane to Toronto and home!

First We Take Berlin!

Our dear friend Ferdinand in Berlin reached out to tell us that his lovely daughter Clara would be getting baptized and confirmed in March 2022 and that it would be wonderful if Christos, Clara's Godfather, could attend.  

With the pandemic having curtailed our travels for the last two years an opportunity to once more cross the pond was well received by both of us so we booked a flight for a four night stay in Berlin but decided to add a bit and booked the return flight another four days after that but from Paris! 

The flight over was great for Lisa who got upgraded but less so for Christos with his sciatic pain and reliance on pills to get through the flight. Ah well, the rigours of getting old!

We made it to Berlin on Friday morning and stayed at the same place as when we visited in 2019, the Sir Savigny Hotel. Christos had wisely booked the previous night so we could collapse into bed at 10AM (rather than 3PM) and get a nap in before meeting up with Ferdinand later that evening. 

Around 4PM we met up with Ferdinand and after reconnecting went out for a tour of short Charlottenburg as the sun was setting. With the tour done it was time for dinner at a local restaurant where we both had enormous schnitzels accompanied by several glasses of simple but delicious pilsner beer. 

We left Ferdinand after dinner but ended up at a local bar near our hotel called Dicke Wirtin where the Guinness is only euro 5.30! 

Several pints were enjoyed as we watched the nightlife unfold (it being Friday night) before stumbling back to the hotel for a solid sleep.

The next day started with a lovely breakfast at our hotel before meeting up with Clara for a walk to pick-up Ferdinand at the local coffee shop and, after a brief pitstop at his place, to enjoy a sunny albeit brisk forty-five minute walk to Charlottenburg Palace. 

At Charlottenburg Palace Ferd and Clara left us, as Clara had to be back at her mom's soon, and the two of us enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the Charlottenburg Palace Gardens and then along the Spree and through Berlin for the sunny afternoon. 

We met up with Ferd in the evening at his place and had a few drinks before the two of us set off for a lite night dinner at a local, and very popular, Taiwanese Noodle House. After dinner it was back to Dicke Wirtin for our evening ritual of Guinness and people watching. 

The next day was the main event, Clara's baptism and confirmation into the Anglican faith! All told six kids were being confirmed and only Clara baptized and an Anglican Bishop had been brought in for the service. 

We arrived at the Church dressed in our finest at 10:30AM and the service began fairly soon thereafter. Some hymns were sung, some preaching was spun and about an hour later it was done! The only disappointment is that the planned standing of the Godparents for Clara's baptism did not occur so the need to be there in person was theoretically diminished but it was good to be there nonetheless.

After a quick trip back to our hotel, the afternoon was spent with Ferd, Lilly and two of Ferd's relatives back at Ferd's apartment chatting until Clara arrived a little later and then more chatting over beef ragout that Dorte had made earlier. Sadly Dorte was out of sorts and could not attend the day's festivities.

After Ferd's relatives departed we idled some more until it was time for Ferd to take Lilly back to her place. While he was gone, Clara and the two of us played cards (Clara's choice of game was called "Dog") and it was great fun as Clara's charm and fun-loving nature were on full display. Clara was exhausted after a long day and when Ferd got back it was time for us to go (the next day also being a school day with tests for Clara!), although not quite time for us to go to bed! So off we went for another night at Dicke Wirtin although this one was much subdued given it being a Sunday evening.

Our final day (Monday) was a subdued affair. We met up with Ferd in the early afternoon and the three of us went antiquing in Charlottenburg (no purchases were made but many fine things were viewed!) before Lisa and Christos headed back to the hotel in the early evening. Dinner for three was at a nice Prussian place where we enjoyed traditional German food such as duck with dumplings and purple cabbage (Christos) and veal in a white sauce with spetzel (Lisa). Bidding good night to Ferd it was time for one last trip to Dicke Wirtin (yes that makes four evenings in a row) where we closed down the bar with the staff.

The next day ... of to Paris!