Paris

A bit about the ship. The River Baroness is very nice, very elegant, apparently the owner’s wife got involved with the latest – 2 weeks ago – refitting. Er um, how shall I describe her taste: the Hapsburg Archduchess of Castle Niersteindomtalkielwasser von und zu meets Leona Helmsley. But seriously, it is very comfortable, but the décor is a bit over the top. The cabins are, as I said, compact, but we manage. Everything is brand new; the boat has just been refitted and the carpets on the sundeck have not yet been fitted. The bed linens are beautiful quality and the towels are the fluffiest I have seen – only problem is that there is very little space for them to be hung. Shower is larger and nicer than on Cunard – it has two doors, so you can’t fall out! Hahahaha. The service is impeccable. As for the food, it is wonderful. The best I’ve experienced so far. The chefs are very clever. The selection of cheeses is endless. We have not had the same kind of dinner rolls twice; we’ve had different wines every night (included in the cost). The cruise director is my best friend and is going with us on the Rhone! The excursions are wonderful, both the ones that are included and the optional ones. Uniworld has its own buses and drivers – exceptional. And the local guides everywhere – just wonderful. I cannot say enough good things about this line.

Now for Paris. Connie and I took off on our own and headed straight for the Sainte Chapelle which Connie had not seen. For me, it is the most beautiful gothic church in the world – it is breathtaking – red, gold, green, blue statues, ceiling, tiles, frescoes, enamels, arches; the tallest stained glass windows with blue dominating; the rose window has more green than any other rose window I have seen. Built in the 13th century for Louis VII or Saint Louis as a chapel for him (upstairs) and his servants (ground floor) when the royal residence was next door at the Conciergerie. It is an example of gothique flamboyant! It was wonderful to see it again. Then we crossed the Seine over the Pont Neuf and walked the quais – flower stalls, pet stores – ending near the Forum des Halles where we had lunch at the Pied de Cochon where Connie had bee so many times over 45 years ago when the area was still les Halles – the wholesale markets of Paris, which were moved around 1970 to Rungis near Orly airport. The new Forum de Halles is a semi-underground Mall. I think it’s very ugly. It was highly criticized when it was built and they are currently renovating it for the second time. The Pied de Cochon is now an elegant restaurant – but the original zinc bar is still there. Connie had their famous onion soup, which was about all you could there, in addition to alcoholic beverages when it was surrounded by markets, and I had plump juicy escargots. Connie had the escargots as a main and I had stuffed pig’s feet. Yum! At the next table, there was an adorable little girl and her mother and we struck up a conversation. She is 4 years old and she sang for us an English song she had learned in school – “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”. And then we sang “Au Clair de la Lune”. This serendipitous encounter just made the day for us. We parted the best of friends and she kissed us!!!! Just delightful.

After lunch, we walked to the Palais Royal, only to find it was draped in scaffolding cloth, as are so many buildings in the spring. It was very, very warm today, so we called it a day and took a taxi back to the boat.

We’ve had a lot of sick people – probably 75% which would be about 70 people. 24-28 hr. bug it seems, but they are dropping like flies. The ship has been taking all sorts of precautions. Connie and I are trying very hard to pickle ourselves in alcohol so the bug won’t get us! Hahahahahah. One poor gentleman is still in hospital in LeHavre!

Oops! Connie became ill just after dinner tonight. Poor thing...I hope she'll recover in 24 hrs. I the meantime, it's flat coke for her!