Wayfaring Day 54 Paris

August 23, 2025 Saturday

Sadly we had to say our goodbyes to our friends and the good town of Kandern. Of course our sadness was quelled by the knowledge that we would be in Paris this evening. We were up pretty early and packed for our friend to drive us to Basel for us to catch our train. The border crossing was no problem but immediately after we crossed into Switzerland there was a traffic stoppage. And even though we only had to make a couple of miles to our exit we were still unable to make our train. Our friend went with us to the ticket agent in order to help us navigate this situation without having to work through the language issues. The agent was very nice to us and had us on a train leaving immediately but it was showing delayed. We hurried to the platform in time to watch train number two pull out and leave us behind. We returned to the agent who again was empathetic and helpful and she helped us get everything set up to catch the next ICE train. This was actually better than catching the second train since it was a regional type train which meant a little less comfort and probably a lot more stops. We had to connect in Karlsruhe for our train to Paris but we had such a long connection time that we were still going to be there with 45 minutes to spare. We said our final goodbyes to our friend and waited for our train to arrive. The train was on time and we had a nice ride to Karlsruhe. This was our second time in Karlsruhe so we were much more comfortable making our connection there. The leg of our trip to Paris was also on an ICE train with only a couple of stops. This train routinely traveled at speeds of right at 200 mph. We had a ham and cheese baguette and some drinks along the way while we enjoyed flying through the French countryside.

Our arrival at Paris Gare de l´est station was right on time and we were navigating our way through the terminal with not too many issues with being confused or lost. It wasn´t too long before we found our way to the RER B train that would take us to Saint-Michel. The apartment we booked through Booking.com was not far from the station but we still had a little trouble finding our way to Rue de la Huchette. As is often the case when you ride underground transport, you are disoriented when coming up to street level. After a couple of wrong turns and directional issues we found our street and made our way to the doorway that would lead to our apartment. The door for entering the building and the apartments therein was in the middle of many businesses along this busy alley of a street. Our code worked for opening the door and we entered the somewhat dark and narrow hallway to the stairs. We walked up to the first floor (2nd floor in US terms) and opened the lock box to retrieve our key. The apartment was large and well appointed. We had a full kitchen, living room, bedroom and a large bathroom with shower. There were four windows that open to the street below and you hear the nonstop bustle from the pedestrians as they walk and talk along the stone pavement. We enjoyed the sounds and the air flowing through the apartment. It was a little warm and the apartment did not have air conditioning but compared to home the temps here were pleasant enough. Now, we were not upset by the fact that the sounds from the street go on far in to the night but we did shut the street side windows in order to have more quiet for sleep. One contributing factor to the ¨noise¨ was that we were a few doors down from the relatively famous Caveau de la Huchette, a Jazz club that has multiple sets every night of the year. They are open until 2:00 am Sunday through Thursday and then until 4:00 am Friday and Saturday. The issue is not the club itself: we never heard anything from the club. The sound is created by the long lines to get into the club or people outside the club in the street talking and making merry. We did not think of this as an inconvenience but rather we viewed it as part of the immersive experience. After all, we can see Notre Dame from the end of our street which is about a 50 foot walk.

This evening we walked the 50 feet to the end of the street to eat at a little Parisian cafe called Restaurant Jardin Notre-Dame. We decided to do all the cliche items all at once. We had French Onion Soup, Escargots de Bourgogne, Quiche du jour and bread. Everything was tasty and the service was attentive. I did have the feeling that to the wait staff we were just another pair of Americans looking for a place to have some French food while facing the street and viewing Notre Dame lit up in the darkness. And, that would be accurate. Still, an overall good experience other than having a really hard time with those clampy things you are supposed to use to hold those shells.

We walked over to Notre Dame and sat in the stands across the courtyard with other people who are there relaxing or just taking in the awesome view. We found Notre Dame to be a very impressive piece of architecture. The closer you get to the doors the more you realize what a massive structure this is and how amazing this place is as a work or art. It really is one of those things you have to see in person to really fully appreciate. After soaking up some atmosphere we walked back to our apartment only stopping for a moment to watch people taking pictures and videos of the rats running all around in the landscaping. It reminded me of a prairie dog town but with an unnatural and almost comical uneasiness. It had been a long day and if we managed to not have any dreams that included hoards of rats or if we couldn´t handle the noise level outside, we were sure to sleep well tonight.