Our time in Paris was almost up.... just Monday and part of Tues to fill in.... Monday was a bit cool and cloudy - the perfect day to visit the Louvre. It was really busy as the other museums in town close on a Monday.... but the queue went quickly and we were inside within half an hour. Boy is this one HUGE museum... so much to see, all the wonderful statues, sculptures and the paintings.... so soooo big... and some quite small... like the Mona Lisa. It was much smaller than I expected. There were heaps of people looking at her.... but manage to take a photo... albeit that the reflection of the glass spoilt it.... We stayed about 4 1/2 hours and probably only saw about 1/4 of it....
Such an amazing place. On my list to go back and see at some stage.
The next day was our last in Paris as we were booked on the overnight train from Paris to Venice... so we spend the day just strolling round the Left Bank,visited the Pantheon, and walked around Ille St-Louis - the other island in the Seine... it is just a little island and very quaint. We stopped for a drink in a little cafe on a corner and watched the traffic and people for a while
Now I mentioned earlier we were booked to go by train from Paris to Venice, paid premium prices to get a twin sleeper....- but I didn't mention that on Tuesday there was a major strike in Paris.... many metro trains and buses were not working, rubbish collectors, teachers.... and when we got to the Gard du Bercy ( the railway station) we found that the international train drivers were not working either!!!!!!!!!! So instead of a comfortable sleeper we ended up stuck on a bus..... for 12 hours!!!!!!!!! what a nightmare..... bus seats are even smaller than airline seats and you can't get up and move around..... we made 3 stops on the way to Milan for toilet breaks and meals.... but boy oh boy.... not much sleep was had I can tell you..... Once we got to Milan we got onto the train to Venice.... we just jumped onto the first carriage we saw.... First Class... but after the bus, I think we deserved it. So we finally arrived in Venice 3 hours late......to a bit of an adventure.
but that's the next episode....
Thanks for stopping by.
