Arrived Sunday morning,11:15 am, Charles de Gaulle
We're got here this morning, and the airport was very busy. Of course it was, the August mass exodus out of Paris, most of which was bound to take place at the airport.
We finally found The RER B train - Train to Paris - all signs said. We kept walking, and walking, stopped and asked, then kept walking, following the signs. Finally the RER B train! Down 2 flights of stairs, but an escalator.
That got us to Notre Dame station, where we were to catch the RER C train (which we now understand is a lovely way to travel to the airport). The RER C is closed from there to another station until Aug 20 (if you're going to shut down a train route in Paris, why not in August, no one is here?!?!!!?) , so we had to take alternative rail, which was up 2 flights of stairs, down 2 flights of stairs, then a train which stopped everywhere.
Then up 3 more flights of stairs, across the street to the RER C,which was a very nice train. Then Viroflay, where no one knew where rud Raidherbe was ...a policeman looked it up on his map, then promptly gave us the wrong directions. Finally, we actually saw the front of the house we recognized from the homeforexchange.com website!
We had the 3 sets of keys, and had memorized what I thought was the security code. Plus we had used the SAME security code for our key on the lock box on our front porch. Thinking using the same code would help both families.
Having been awake since Friday morning at 7:30, and it was now 3:00 pm (or 15:00) Sunday, we were not all thinking clearly. I said $#%#. Paul keyed in $$#%##. The next thing we hear is....BLAST, BLAST, BLAST, BLAST. Security alarm went off. It might have been a scary situation, the police, killer German Shepherds, cannons etc, HAD IT NOT BEEN AUGUST!!!! The alarm blasted, anyone home ignored us, and daughter Miss V, put her hands to her ears and made a alarming face. About it.
Finally, Paul got the proper code in and we disarmed the system.
Allons a Versailles!
Our french friends are not kidding about Viroflay being dead in August/Sunday. But from the look of the place, cute as it is, it is not the happening place that Versailles is, probably at any time of the year. We looked for one of the recommended restaurants tonight, and apparently walked right by it. Le Potager du Roy it was closed. Upon returning from our meal, we did notice the Le Potager, and had a glance at the menu. Our french friends said it was VERY good, and hopefully, we will try it.
We ended up at a street closed to cars (not motorcycles, bicycles or people walking dogs, and had a lovely meal at a brasserie on rue Marechal Joffre. Very fun experience, lovely food and wine.
The waiter was so gregarious. He would solicit customers, seeming to know which ones would become customers, and which he could ignore. He was very good at that!
He quickly figured out we don't speak much French (Paul speaks enough French to get answered back in French, then looks like he would like the English version, which happens soon thereafter).
Paul had typical French food, braised pig knockles and pomme frite, while Victoria and I had pasta. At last, we had a bottle of Bordeaux, and Paul had a delicious Chardonney from the Loire Valley. The Waiter broke a cork screw on our bottle of Bordeaux, which the French couple next to us found quite amusing.
For desert, creme broulee. Victoria had borrowed my sweater for this outing. While realizing that we were all very tired, I did not expect to find my sweater with red sauce and broulee on it, so Sunday night we washed a load of clothes. Another experience, suffice it to say the washer and dryer were in french.
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