Jerry and I have long had a theory that there is always a day during a vacation that is a real low point. We are hoping we just had it. We went to the train office to make our TGV reservation for next Tuesday, when we leave Paris and head for the Dordogne region. After taking a number and waiting 45 minutes, we found out that there were no seats available on any of the 16 trains going to Bordeaux except one: one that would have us arrive at 10pm, way past any possibility to make a connection to Sarlat where we have a prepaid lodging for the night and where we have to connect with our Road Scholar tour the next morning. The news was just as grim if we tried traveling a day earlier or later. This left us pretty deflated. Certainly deflated the value of our France Railpass, this being one of our primary uses of the thing. After several misfires, we were able to reserve a car to drive the 750km to Sarlat next Tuesday. Major shift in plans. Not happy about the added expense. But the problem is essentially resolved and the trip moves on.
Now to the "best of times" part. Another beautiful day in Paris. In between wrestling with train hiccups and rental cars (in French, I might add), today we visited the Luxembourg Garden. We love the Medici Fountain and looked forward to sharing it with Kathe.
We also mingled with the thousands of people visiting Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. Loud, bustling, and full of energy.
We ventured into the 7th Arrondisement for dinner tonight. Once again, a perfect setting and an enjoyable meal.
After dinner we walked (and walked) to the foot of the Eiffel Tower and got to see the nightly light show--a first for us all. Quite spectacular.
A marvelous finish to a challenging day.
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