France 2023 - Day 12 / Chantilly & Paris

Steps today : 29 624 / 19.53 km

My poor mom, after days of delayed breakfasts, put her foot down this morning and insisted we have breakfast near the hotel before doing anything else - fair enough!  We had a nice window-perch watching the city wake up from inside. It was around 7:30.

The plan for today was to go visit the Chateau Chantilly - just under an hour away by train.

We got to Gare du Nord around 8, the train was at 8:30. It was a good thing we had breakfast near the hotel because the restaurant I remembered that was in the train station was closed. Not just "not open yet" but actually shut down.

I was feeling as good as new, but my mom was still fading, her throat was getting worse so we went to the pharmacy for some lozenges.

Our train was delayed due to mechanical issues, then cancelled! ARGH - we were shuffled into another train (with way less comfortable seats) on another track and eventually we were on our way less than an hour late.

The chateau is about a 30-minute walk from the station and it's a nice path through the woods and then you emerge into a huge open plain next to a hippodrome

The first thing you come across are the stables - but I only took a picture of a donkey! LOL Why??

We started with a walk around the Chateau, but not the gardens

This guy cracked me up! I love his expression...

When we had enough of the outside, we decided to have lunch before visiting the inside. The last time I was here, they had a restaurant with table service and wine. Now, it's just pre-made sandwiches and bottled drinks. Too bad. Not picture worthy.

A few images of the inside:

After about 45 minutes, we decided we were done, and if we left right away we could catch the train back to Paris at 2 instead of 3:30. No brainer.

The walk back to the train station was murder! On the way over, we were saying how nice that big open field was, but it would be terrible in the sun with not a drop of shade, well, we were right! The sun was beating down on us and we were miserable! My mom was beyond unhappy, her cold was taking hold and she was a dead woman walking. At the train station, she almost fell asleep on the bench.

She decided she had had enough and tapped out for the rest of the day to sleep it off and conserve energy for the next day. By the time I dropped her at the hotel it was just after 3PM.

On my own for the rest of the day, and feeling totally fine, I set off to cross items off my "too-see" list.

Botanical Gardens, I never tire of flower-pictures.

Modern architecture

Pont Bercy. It was a long wait to get a shot with the metro crossing over it!

A few random sights from my walk:

Then I wanted to walk up to the Promenade Plantée / Coulée Verte, but like last time I tried, it took me FOREVER to find the way up so I walked along it for quite some time looking for stairs.  They are well hidden!

I eventually made my way up, and found the building I was looking for with the Atlantean statues which is best viewed from the promenade.

I had forgotten that this garden is FULL of midges and gnats. They don't bite, but they are extremely annoying and I was getting tired of holding my breath so many times when walking through the swarms!

It was about 5PM by then, so I made my way to the Bastille for a drink.

This place caught my eye and I sat down a table on the terrace under the awning and ordered (you guessed it) a Kir Pêches.

Then, the table next to me lit up their cigarettes. ARGH. I moved to another seat not under the awing and told the waitress I was switching spots. "But you know it's raining" she said, to which I replied "It's better than the cigarettes!" 

It wasn't even really raining, it barely drizzled for less than 5 minutes - you can tell from the drops on my table.

I sat there enjoying my drink wondering what to do next. What was on my list, but not on my mom's? Then it hit me like a bold of lightening, I can't believe I didn't think of it the minute my mom said she was tapping out for the rest of the day! Supper at Le Relais de l'Entrecote!  My mom is not a red meat eater and there are no other options on the menu, steak frittes is the only choice. She might have gone for just salad and dessert, but at that place it's just not done. 

It was about 5:30 by then, I finished my drink and headed straight to the metro. I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture of the July column, which was my reason for picking a location near the Bastille for a drink in the first place!

This restaurant chain is one of my favourites in Paris, they have 3 locations and I have been to all 3. I decided to go to the one that was closest to the hotel. I got there just before 6PM and they were closed! crap. The sign said they open at 6:45 so I decided to go for a walk and come back.

Random sights from my walk

I made it back to the restaurant just after 6:30 and my eye almost fell out of my head when I saw the line up! I was so upset, it was so long! I am rarely willing to line up for things, but this meal meant a lot to me, so, I sucked it up and got in line....  praying I would eat before 8PM.

It wasn't so bad, I was seated by 7PM.

Dinner was great, it met all my expectations and it was a lot of fun eavesdropping on the tables next to me. Before you think that's rude, remember it's France, where the tables are so close to each other that they have to slide the table out for you to get to your seat. Not listening-in is actually impossible, especially if you are not engrossed in your own conversation!

I went through 4 "shows".

To my left at first was a table of 4 - unremarkable chat about travel in England. They were eventually replaced by 3 young women - I think American but not sure, one of them lived in Paris and spoke French with a heavy English accent so she took care of ordering for her table. I think her 2 friends were visiting her and they were talking a lot about their travel plans all over France. Sounded fun!

To my right at first was a table of 2 young people on a date. He looked to me like a little boy dressing up to look like a man. They barely spoke, they ate their meal and left - no wine. I doubted there would be a second date! They were eventually replaced by 2 definitely  American girls who spoke not a word of French and I had to help them and the waitress by informing them that "Bien cuit" is "Well done". One of the two didn't even have a bite of her salad, she just accepted it from the waitress and put it off to the side and let it die there. Why not just refuse it when then waitress brought it over?

Like I said before, there is no choice for meals - the only item on the menu is steak frittes (and a salad to start) the menu is for wine and dessert. 

As usual, it was deeeeeelicious!

I was done by about 8:30, and look at the line up still there when I left! I wonder if it moved as fast as the line up when it opens?

Right next door to this location is the Café de Flore, and like a moth to a flame I was drawn to the available tables on the terrace.  Not stopping for a night cap would have been a crime. Best of all: No smokers!

I made it back to the hotel by about 9:30PM. Late night, but the sky was still a little lit.

My mom said she was feeling a little better and had slept the entire afternoon, she felt confident that after a night's sleep she would be better for tomorrow.

I however had suddenly developed the WORST ringing in my ears that night that I have ever had!  It's not unusual after a loud night and a few drinks to "hear my head" but this was so unusually loud that it made me wonder if I didn't bust my eardrums! Very strange, I hoped to sleep it off, but it was hard to get to sleep with all that interior noise, plus the amplified sound of my heart beating in my head.

Still, minus that last 10 minutes, I had a great night!