GOOD TIMES IN PARIS ,…

Notre Dame

Arc de Triomphe

A week ago I spent four days in my all-time favourite European capital Paris. (Yes,... paris AGAIN!)

I organized and coordinated a bus trip for colleagues, relatives, friends and partners. In fact,.. anyone who wanted to join. Got together quite a mixed group of 37 people that really enjoyed themselves.
So did I!!

Even though I was busy sort of playing the role of tour-guide these four days I had a great time there. But that’s not unusual. I ALWAYS have a good time in Paris.

Took the group by most of the best-known tourist sites. Quite a few had either never been to Paris or only once or twice and in that case it was ages ago.

I had put together a programme for the trip, but everyone was free to participate or choose their own things to see and visit.

We were lucky that it was “Nuit des Musées” on Saturday. Most of the museums were open to the public throughout the evening. Even better… it was free admission. Personally I went to Musée d’Orsay, one of my favourites. Luckily the long line (about 600 people in front of us waiting to get in) moved rapidly, and within 10 to 15 minutes I was inside enjoying some of the world’s finest masterpieces. Especially liked the temporary exhibition on the history of photography, showing pictures taken a century and a half ago! Also like the area of the museum that features the Impressionists! The Van Gogh room was particularly crowded.

I thought we’d have time to include a second museum that same night, so we headed to the Musée Rodin, which would be open till 1 AM. Unfortunately the line was really long, and not really moving. The Dôme des Invalides was about to close, so we just walked around the building.

At the Place du Tertre (close to where our hotel was situated) I even ran into a Chinese artist who drew our (my colleague Jurrie and myself) faces two years ago. That was a good laugh. I might write about this story from two years ago in another post. Quite a story!

I really enjoy these trips and also organizing them. I have coordinated trips to Paris for the last 18 years or so, since we take our students there every year in July. Yes… I will be going there again this July! Can’t get enough ey?

But as far as this last trip is concerned,… it will definitely get a follow-up next year. I’ll see where we’ll go next. Berlin perhaps, or Milan…

I will add a few more pictures of Paris here in the next couple of posts.

Enjoy,

HK