Day 16... Paris!

Day 16 was a VERY long day of driving... probably a little too much but we were on a mission. We were going to make it from Grenoble, France into Paris and head to the Eiffel Tower! So, we left the hotel and drove, drove, drove.

We made a stop for lunch in Beaune which is a quaint little town. We just had enough time to walk around and look at the shops. We saw lots of little cafes with local delicacies, including escargot!

We found a small cafe with some yummy food and then jumped back on the bus. 

As we neared Paris, we could see glimpses of our next destination... the Eiffel Tower.

We were taken to the Eiffel Tower and we boarded a boat to cruise the River Seine. It was an overcast day but we were still able to see everything and enjoy the sights of Paris. It is a city was amazing architecture and history. 

 After cruising the river, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and got in line to head to the top!

The view of Paris from the Eiffel is unmatched. It was really incredible. 

We walked around and soaked it all in. We knew that we had a full day of sightseeing the next day, but we were also realizing that Paris was the last city of our tour. Our trip was nearing the end.

After hanging out around the Eiffel Tower for a while, we loaded up and checked into the hotel. We were on our own that night for dinner. Bogi had told us that there was an group of restaurants within walking distance. So we ventured out. We quickly realized that the language barrier was going to be more difficult than we expected. We also began to get a feel of some that French hospitality... or lack thereof. We had been warned that the attitude of some of the French would be less than favorable (even more so towards Americans). We walked around and couldn't understand any of the menus in the windows and didn't really find anyone willing to help. 

We ran into Phyllis and Jerrilyn, our Louisiana friends on the tour. Even though they had managed to eat, they were less than pleased. They did eat, they just didn't know what they had eaten!! We took that as a sign and ended up back at our hotel. We had some less than impressive pasta in the bar and then headed to bed. We had a LONG day ahead of us!

Day 15... Perfume and Detours

Our night out on Monaco had ended late so we were very tired when our day started. However, we were still packed, fed and on the bus ready to tackle another day! Since we were in Grasse, France- the capital of the French perfume industry, our first stop would be... a perfume factory!

We headed to the factory of Fragonard Perfumes. I was a bit skeptical about how much I would enjoy the excursion since I am not a big wearer of perfume. However, it ended up being very interesting! I will say, however, that the scent of perfume was VERY overpowering!

We were lead through the factory by this tiny little French woman that had a very high pitched, heavily accented voice. It was almost comical the way she animated everything so happily! I actually learned a few things from the tour including that the main reason perfumes lose their scent is because they are in glass bottles. The glass allows the light in which fades the fragrance. So, all of the bottles sold at Fragonard are metal. 

Flowers that are being dried and pressed for the fragrance.

After the tour, we went into the store and looked at the tons of things to buy... and we were sucked in! Brad got some cologne and they had gift sets that would allow me to get several scents so I went about the task of deciding and it wasn't easy! However, I can know happily say that I am the owner of 5 bottles of French perfume and I love them!! I still don't wear perfume everyday but it is fun having a little bit of France with me when I do.

After finally getting out of the haze of perfume and breathing some fresh air, we loaded into the bus for a long day of driving. In fact, the next couple of days would be heavy driving days as we made it to our final destination of Paris. Today we were supposed to travel on the Route de Napoleon which would take us from Grasse to Grenoble where we would spend the night. 

 

In 1815, Napoleon used this route as he made his way from the island where he had been banished to Waterloo where he would be defeated. Sounds interesting, right? Well, we didn't quite make it! As our driver Franco made our way from the perfume factory in Grasse, he went to turn onto the Route de Napoleon only to be greeted by a detour sign. Apparently part of the Route was under construction and therefore the entire thing was closed... apparently they didn't alert our tour company! Soon we would hear lots of frustrated Italian words spoken by Franco and Bogi made an announcement letting us know that they would need some time to figure out our new route. We drove and drove around and it really felt like circles. At one point, I heard Franco roll his window down and speak a little French... the only time on the whole trip I ever heard him say anything other than Italian! 

We drove and drove some more and eventually Bogi let us know that we had found a new route and we would be traveling along the Var River. Let me just say, I don't know what was so special about the Route de Napoleon but this new route was BEAUTIFUL. In fact, most of us commented about how it had been a "happy accident" that we went along the Var. It was simply beautiful. 

It was so pretty, we actually split up in the bus and sat separately so that we could each see everything.

Our bus wound around the hills and mountains and all the while we followed the Var. Every turn had a new scene of lush green surroundings, incredible old buildings and the river. The weather was quite rainy and overcast too. So, it if there were going to be a day just for driving- this one was perfect.

One things we hadn't thought about was lunch. There had been a pre-determined spot for lunch when we were supposed to be following Napoleon. However, we were in uncharted territory! Apparently thanks to Bogi and the good old GPS, she found a town we could stop. There were some issues with this impromptu stop... we were in the middle of France and not in an area accustomed to tour groups... or people who didn't speak ANY French! There were a couple of restaurants but none of them were equipped to handle 40 hungry tourists. So, we all split up and did our best on our own. Poor Bogi spent the entire time running back and forth between all of the restaurants helping us translate and order lunch.

Neil and Stephanie joined us in our restaurant of choice but after sitting at the table for a few minutes and not getting ANY service, we soon decided to try something else. We found our way to a little pizza place. After really struggling through the ordering process and hearing them say some potentially rude things about us in French, we were all set with French Fries and pizza! Strange combination but so yummy. 

After we ate, we got back on the bus and made our way to the hotel in Grenoble. We had dinner and then turned in, very weary from our long driving day. The hotel wasn't the greatest, but it had a really pretty view of the mountains. And as we admired our view, we looked over to see Neil, Stephanie, Jeri and Alex all doing the same!