Travelogue: Paris, Part 1

August 2022
Where We Stayed: Kimpton St. Honore Paris

We traveled to Paris from Amsterdam by train… or should I say, we tried to.  We almost didn’t make it because of a train ticket fiasco.  The high speed trains require that you reserve your seat in advance, which we had our travel agent do.  When the conductor scanned our tickets he frowed and said, “these tickets have been canceled.” OMG wut. Someone else was rightly entitled to our seats and we were shit out of luck.  We had to “sit” (I used that term loosely) in the little area between train cars and hope that the conductors would take mercy upon us.

And herein lies a valuable life lesson: be a nice person.  We were nice and tried to do everything we could to right this wrong, and the conductors helped us out.  They let us stay on the train, we just had to buy new tickets (and double the normal fare, but no problem here is my money, thank you very much!). If they hadn’t been so kind, we would have been kicked off the train in Belgium… and then what? It was truly our only travel snafoo, and for that we are grateful.

But we made it to Paris and we made it to our hotel! Our activity for the day was a dinner cruise on the Bateaux Mouches!  2.5 hours cruising the Seine was a delightful way to be introduced to Paris and spend a summer evening. And I finally saw the Eiffel Tower – in all its sparkling glory. It was just as magical and beautiful as I hoped it would be.

The next day was a little rough.  We went to Versailles… in 97 degree heat.  Versailles… a very crowded and NOT AT ALL airconditioned palace.  If you know me, you know that I don’t do heat well.  I’m basically a chubby potato.

I nearly melted but we survived (as did our relationship LOL).  Versailles was gorgeous, the French history and drama was juicy, and hey, I got to see Marie Antoinette’s bed.  Mike and I both just wished it wasn’t so damn hot so that we could have seen more of the gardens.

We had a delightful train ride back, in a colorful and WELL AIR-CONDITIONED car. We had a few hours to cool off and chill at the hotel, then off to Moulin Rouge! It was Mike’s idea to go to Moulin Rogue (I’m not much of a musical number/show person), but I will be the first to say that it was ridiculously fun and over the top and kitschy and colorful and sparky — basically, I loved it.  It’s kind of like the Rockettes but with less Christmas and more boobs.

I loved the 80s/90s vibe and the vending machine that sells waffles in Amsterdam Centraal.
Mid-train drama!
Sigh, but we made it.
Chill time. Ahh.
Coke Zero, front and center!
We had a table right at the front of the boat.  Great views!
How do we get on that rainbow party boat??
OMGGGGGG
The cruise was such a wonderful experience!
Breakfast at our hotel the next day. The charcuterie for breakfast takes some getting used to.
Would have been a perfect photo of the Opera House if the dang bus wasn’t sitting there!
welcome to Versailles
Everything is just so subtle and understated! ;)
Hall of Mirrors
I was unwell LOL
Marie’s digs
Look, I’m not going to lie, the fountains at the Bellagio are way cooler than this. ;)
The most delightful and colorful and COOL train ride of my life.
We somehow ended up in a mall. But yay rainbow basketballs!
Coke Zero by the Moulin Rouge!
Dinner
Photos are strictly prohibited during the show but it was so fun!
Goodnight, Paris.