Sometimes you get lucky.
Sometimes you don’t!
The train from Toulouse to Paris was 45 minutes late. Which was lucky because SNCF, the
French railroad, had no record of the ticket we bought online from Rail Europe,
even though the cost had been deducted from our account. We just had time to buy new tickets but
our Visa debit card wouldn’t work with SNCF.
The train pulled into Paris around seven. Luckily, Gare Austerlitz is near the Latin Quarter but our
first choice, Hotel de l’Esperance, had a room for Sunday but not
Saturday. So I left Connie with
the luggage and found a hotel with a room for one night only, so we booked
both. On Sunday morning we moved
to l’Esperance and learned they had a cancellation so we could stay until
Tuesday.
Have you ever heard of the Paris Air Show? Evidently 138,000 visitors have and it is this week. Think of showing up in New Orleans
without reservations on Super Bowl weekend. We are lucky we didn’t end up sleeping under a bridge.
After more searching for non-existent rooms and a bowl of Vietnamese
pho we took the Metro to Sacre Coeur.
We somehow missed Sacre Coeur on our 911-interrupted visit in 2001. As famous as it is I didn’t realize
Sacre Coeur was basically new – only 125 years old – and in need of major work.
There are collection boxes inside
to repair the organ, vending machines that dispense medallions, and votive
candles sell for ten euros. Sunday
afternoon probably isn’t the best time to visit and the crowds were even larger
because of the mountain bike race that ended on the steps. So much for being sacred!
