Dockside Goes To Europe: Walking Walking Walking

Kathy

Karen

Leisurely start to our day. Dan and I cook breakfast and Dan fully approves of the bacon and eggs we prepare. Not quite the Dockside, but as close as we can get. We have been challenged by the appliances provided here. 9 hours to do a load of laundry, Dan suggests we use the towel warmer in the bathroom to dry our clothes. It works like a charm. 2 days for the fridge to get cold, at least the coffee machine and the toaster work to our expectations. OK we're ready for the day ahead. Terry and Dan have a 1:30 date with the top of the Eiffel Tower.

The four of us catch the metro and make our way to the ET. We enjoy the surroundings at the base of the tower, all the tourists make for great people watching. Karen and Kathy have other plans. We have chosen to go to the top of the 2nd tallest building in Paris, the Montparnasse.

It's about a 40 minute walk so we set off with plans to meet the boys in a few hours. This is an entirely different part of Paris, perhaps the equivalent to 5th Ave. in NY. The views from the 56th floor are beautiful.

We have a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower and a panorama of the entire city. We spend about a half an hour taking in the sights, identifying land marks and marveling at the beauty of the city. I'm sure Dan & Terry are doing the same thing across town. When we are done we find the elevator and 38 seconds later we are on the ground floor. After a cold beer we look for the nearest metro station to meet up with D & T. We somehow miss the metro station and we make an unintentional side trip to the Bon Marche. The nicely dressed security guards at the store entrance should have given us a clue. This store houses all the high end designers. Karen checks out a scarf which looks very similar to one she owns and is stung by the price tag. We are definitely not in Kansas anymore. We make a hasty retreat and continue on our long walk back to the ET. Finally after a few miscalculations, we arrive at the appointed meeting place. The four of us begin to make our way to another metro station and get

Flash Flood

caught in a passing thunder storm. The rain comes down in torrents. It lasts for only 10-15 minutes and we were lucky enough to find a construction site that gave us shelter from the storm. After the storm passes, we continue to walk and walk and walk. Where the hell is the metro? Ahhh 20 minutes later we find it around a hidden corner. We enter the station and still have to walk another 10 minutes to actually get to our train. Back to the neighborhood we go. We find a nice café, have a great meal, stop at the market and finally after logging about 8-10 miles today, arrive home. Day is done.