Barbara J. Hamby

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Travel - Le Havre/Paris August 23, 2005

Monday night the Golden Princess, according to the Captain’s Log, passed through the Dover Straits, one of the busiest waterways in the world, and entered the English Channel. It continued on westerly courses through the early hours of Tuesday morning before altering onto a Southerly course towards the Bay Of Seine, arriving at Le Havre around 8:00 a.m.

We boarded a coach there for the drive into Paris. Our French guide was a girl who spoke English rapidly and with a heavy accent. We were not the only ones who had difficulty understanding her. Other passengers asked her several times to slow down. She replied that she thought she was speaking slowly. She recited a lot of local and national history, most of which we could not comprehend. As a native Parisian, (I understood that item she shared) she was very excited about showing off her city, which contributed to our comprehension problems.

She had the bus driver take us through downtown Paris several different ways, great for picture taking. We saw the Eiffel Tower and got off the bus briefly to take pictures there. We also saw the Louvre and took a self-guided tour of Notre Dame Cathedral. The stained glass windows, the elaborate artifacts, and the age of the building were all impressive. However, the presence of so many other tourists, many snapping pictures, and one even talking on a cell phone, destroyed what I thought the atmosphere of a cathedral should be.

While we waited to be picked up by the tour bus, Al and I found nearby restrooms. While he was inside, he felt a touch on a rear pants pocket. He reached around and slapped at the pocket. He saw a man hurrying away, and felt certain he had narrowly missed losing his wallet. Welcome to Paris!

Back on the bus, we went to a downtown cafe’ where a lovely lunch was served. We had no choice of menu, but the sliced tomatoes with mozzarella and the chicken breasts in a delightful sauce were delicious. I passed on the tiny, diced French fries. I tasted the very rich dessert and decided to skip the rest of it. I don’t like to tempt my stomach to misbehave on a trip. They served two different wines with the lunch (a sparkling Rose and probably a Merlot), both excellent.

The lunch hour crowd at the restaurant smoked anywhere and everywhere. Smokers who arrived after we came in closed windows that had been providing fresh air. On the way to Paris, we had been seated in the very back of the bus and the heavy diesel fumes made Al feel ill. He was given some barf bags and a bottle of water, and we were moved to a front seat. So we had a great view of the countryside on the drive back to Le Havre.

Back on the ship, after the full day’s excursion, we had dinner and Al slept while I took in Country Roads, a hoedown type of musical performance.

Shortly before 9:00 p.m. the Golden Princess maneuvered off her berth in Le Havre and proceeded out of the harbor. We spent the next day at sea.