Following a fabulous five days in Paris, on Sunday, May 2 we flew from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Athens International Airport for an overnight stay at the Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel (www.intercontinental.com/athens) prior to joining the Azamara Quest’s Holy Land/ Med cruise to Rome. Cruise details were posted earlier and are available in the Lifestyle blogs archives. Thirty-nine year prior to the day — we had another eventful journey – a trip down the center aisle of St. Agatha’s church in Milton which was the official start of our adventurous life together.
We couldn’t have chosen a more supremely elegant location to celebrate our anniversary than the cosmopolitan grandeur of the Athenaeum InterContinental. It has been named the nation’s leading hotel time and again. The hotel is within a few kilometers of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Temple of Apollo and many more attractions.

The Executive Club Level designed by French architect, Pierre Yves Rochon, offers a club lounge with outside balcony seating that has stunning views of the Acropolis ruins high above the city center. The Acropolis photo here was taken from the club’s balcony. There is also a picture of “blue man” a fun piece of art that greets the lobby visitor.

Metro and tram stations are also nearby. The Metro system from the airport and around Athens is amazing clean and attractive with large pale gray tile on the walls and floor. The stations all have elevators as well as escalators along with wide stairways. We especially appreciated the elevators when we were toting our luggage. The one exception to bright and beautiful is the oldest section, the line that runs from the city center, Syntagma Square, to the seaport of Piraeus. That line is presently under renovation.

We had our celebratory diner in Cafezoe the hotel’s contemporary ground level restaurant which features Modern Greek and International cuisine. The roof top Premiere Restaurant unfortunately is closed on Sundays as well as the recently refurnished spa. Cafezoe’s Greek Mediterranean menu changes every three months to take advantage of the season’s freshest produce and we took full advantage of all the Greek dishes especially the desserts. Our handsome Grecian waiter helped us navigate the extensive menu. We happily waddled out of there with full tummies.
Since we hadn’t been to a gym since leaving home, we had every intention of visiting the hotel’s 24-hour fitness center for a workout before dinner which somehow didn’t happen. We told ourselves that we would just walk a few miles on a treadmill after dinner but that didn’t happen either. After our delicious dinner, we two slackers retired to our room and that big comfortable oversized bed. However, we couldn’t bring ourselves to close the drapes during the night since we had a perfect view of the Acropolis and distant monastery atop Lykavitos Hill which is located at the highest point in the city. Both were ablaze with light through the night. Wow.
Fortunately for Jim, Ginny did not have time to visit the plaka, a picturesque shopping district not too far from the Intercontinental that contains many shops that specialize in fine gold jewelry. The workmanship is renowned and the prices are far less than in most other European countries. Greece is one of the best values in Europe. Another bonus is the friendly people who fortunately enjoy American tourists. Right now, the nation is struggling economically. The rate of exchange, dollar to euro, has also recently improved, yet another factor making European travel more appealing.
Over the years, we have spent many fun-filled days in this fascinating city. We are sorry to have so little time here on this adventure to take a walking tour of the city, visit the many museums and archaeological sites. Climbing up, down and all around the Acropolis is a far better workout than a Stairmaster and much more fun. Word to the wise, don’t forget the sunscreen!

Our original pre-trip plans had us taking a day outside the city to visit the Palace of Versaille, the royal chateau in the Paris suburb 20 kilometers southwest of the French capital; however to our surprise the day we scheduled our visit was France’s Labor Day, May 1. It along with Jan.1 is the only two days on the year that most everything shuts down. So instead of a trip to the famous Palace, Olivier at the Paris Tourism Office suggested we visit the Château Malmaison, the private home of Josephine and Consulate Napoleon Bonaparte. Olivier graciously offered to call and verify the mansion was open on the holiday. He provided us with explicit, detailed instructions on how to get there via RER train and the local bus. All told, the trip took about one hour. The train and bus stations are located beneath the very contemporary Arche de le Defense plaza. This area is dominated by glass towers, a far cry from the historic city center.
The Château de Malmaison (www.chateau-malmaison.fr/) is a country house in the city of  Rueil-Malmaison seven miles from Paris. Napoleon’s bride Josephine bought the manor house in April 1799 for herself and her General husband while he was away fighting the Egyptian Campaign. Malmaison encompassed nearly 150 acres of woods and meadows. The house, for which she had paid well over 300,000 francs, needed extensive renovations, and she spent a fortune doing so. From 1800 to 1802, when Napoleon was Consulate their home was the headquarters of the French government. He was crowned emperor in 1804.
Widowed with two children at the time of their marriage, Josephine was six years older than her husband. Unable to bear him an heir, their marriage of 13 years ended in 1809. After her divorce from Napoleon, Josephine was given Malmaison along with a pension of 5 million francs a year, and remained there until her death in 1814. A second renovation of the property began at the time of the divorce and was unfinished when Josephine died suddenly in 1814. Napoleon returned and took residence in the house after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, before his exile to the island of Saint Helena.
The Malmaison was restored and opened as a museum in 1906. The pristine mansion is elegant. The rooms are bright with magnificent furnishings and art. The second level in what was Josephine’s private apartment contains several of her gowns and many pieces of porcelain. There is a long table encased in glass set with the Empress’s regal golden dinner service. Another fascinating room is her elaborate red bedroom which looks exactly as it did on the day of her death. Our audio guide said that her death was the result of a cold.
We spend several hours touring the mansion and carriage house. The property is truly a treasure trove of Bonaparte possessions. Although not as spectacular as the palaces at Versailles or Fontainebleau, it is a very worthwhile excursion that we would highly recommend.

With time running out, we were able to fulfill another of our pre-trip wishes — a cruise on the Seine, a Paris Illuminations tour and dinner at a restaurant in the shadow of the Champs-Elysees.  Through Viator.com ($99.89 per person), we were able to satisfy all three wishes in one evening.
We boarded our cruise boat at sunset, a wonderful time of the day to relax and take a few photographs. Though we had spent lots of time onboard our hop-on, hop-off bus traveling around the city, gently moving down the Seine gave us a completely different and calmer perspective. Instead of looking straight at the buildings and monuments we gazed up at them. Many of the bridges along the river are truly beautiful which is just about impossible to see from the upper deck of a fast moving bus or even briskly walking from one tourist venue to another.
The trip began at the tour office not far from the Louvre. From there, we were taken by bus to the cruise terminal where we boarded our open top riverboat. It was huge so we were easily able to get the seat of our choice. Commentary available in a variety of languages was provided by a hand held device. We plied the Seine waters for about an hour or a little more before getting off at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. What a sight! The tower seen at street level was a blaze of yellow light. The monuments, squares and museums take on a different appearance from different angles and times of day. The Paris by Night bus trip was truly spectacular. The streets were far calmer with fewer vehicles. The bus took us into little squares we had not previously visited. Once again, commentary was via a headset in a variety of languages. People from all parts of the world were with us on our various tours throughout the trip. Some were American but most were not.
We enjoyed our delicious three-course dinner seated in a window alcove at Chez Clement located along the most beautiful boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Elysees. We gazed at the Arc de Triomphe as we sipped our red wine. We met another American couple at the tour office at the beginning of our evening adventure with whom we had dinner. We all agreed that Paris is truly the City of Lights. Fortunately for them, our new friends told us they were spending several months in Europe visiting family and friends. We were green with envy. Europeans eat late so it was after midnight before we returned to our wonderful Hotel Cervantes. We were on our own to make our way back to our hotel. Once again we used public transportation. The Metro was busy so we felt very comfortable both in the subway and as we walked along the street back to our hotel. We made good use of our Metro passes. Not only is it more cost efficient but it’s a lot easier than digging out euros each time we entered a Metro station or bus. With so much to see and do in Paris and a limited amount of time and energy, we were pleased that we had taken the nocturnal tour. Each evening we fall into bed completely spent.

We made sure to avail ourselves of plenty of nourishment at the Hotel Cervantes’ hardy breakfast buffet before we set off to visit two of the world’s most recognized tourist attractions, the Arc de Triomphe, located on the right bank of the Seine River, at the western end of the Champs-Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, the 1889 iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars.
The Arc de Triomphe, (www.arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr) conceived in 1806, by Napoleon I and patterned after the triumphal arches of ancient Rome, stands in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, in honor of those who fought for France particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc are engraved the names of generals and the wars they fought and since 1920, the tomb of France’s Unknown Soldier has been sheltered underneath the arch. The tomb’s eternal flame commemorates the dead of the two world wars, and is rekindled every evening at 6:30.
The monument stands 160 feet in height, 148 feet wide and 72 feet deep. The largest vault/arch is 95.8 feet high and 48 feet wide. The small arch is 61.3 feet high and 27.7 feet wide. The Arc has one elevator, to the level underneath the exterior observation level. Visitors can either climb 284 steps to reach the top (or attic) of the Arc which contains information and large models of the Arc as well as a gift shop. Visitors can also take the elevator or walk up 46 more steps to the roof. From the top level there is a panoramic view of Paris, and the 12 major avenues leading to the Place de l’Étoile rotary/roundabout in which the Arc stands. Looking eastwards, down the Champs Elysées, toward the Louvre, there is the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens, and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. In the opposite direction - westwards - in the distance is its larger and newer cousin, La Grande Arche de la Défense (built in 1982).
We have been blown away not only by the beauty of Paris, its museums, monuments, its sidewalk cafes/brasseries, neighborhood pastry/bake shops but most of all the friendliness of its people especially those in the service and tourism industries. We couldn’t feel more welcome. Our visit to the Arc was one prime example. We were waiting in line at the base of one of the arches with our Paris Museum Pass in hand, waiting to make yet another monumental climb when the guard quietly asked if we would like to use the elevator rather than use the stairs. Now maybe all this touring had started to show on our faces or maybe he was afraid these slow pace seniors would take forever going up the stairs in either case we were delighted to take advantage of this kind gesture of hospitality. The elevator, located on the opposite side of the arch is typically reserved for the handicapped, not available to the general public. We received the friendly greeting and advice about how to best see and tour the Arc from the elevator operator. He made sure to tell us to ring for him for our trip back down the base. Needless to say we were very impressed with their kindness.
The Eiffel Tower, (www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/) which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair. It stands 1,063 feet high (when you include the TV antennas), it was the tallest man-made structure in the world until the New York’s Chrysler Building was built in 1930. The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or elevator to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by elevator. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants. The Eiffel Tower has two restaurants, the 58 Tour Eiffel on the first level and the Jules Vernes restaurant on the second. We had hoped to spurge on dinner in the Jules Vernes but were unable to get a reservation.
The structure consists of two visibly distinct parts: a base composed of a platform resting on four separate supports (pylons) and, above this, a slender tower created as the pylons taper upward, rising above the second platform to merge as a unified column.
After all the climbing we had done in prior days, we were very happy to take the elevator from the first to the second level where we stood in a another line to get from the second level to the top of the tower. On the way down, we got off the elevator at level two and descended the 600 steps. We ate well during our stay in France but did plenty of walking to burn off the fine Parisian calories.
The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 by 300 workers who joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a pure form of wrought iron), using two and a half million rivets.  Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tons of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the color of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889.
In the basements of the eastern and western pillars, one can see the 1899 machinery which powers the elevators. From the Tower’s three platforms — especially the top — the view of Paris is superb. We took the advice of guide books and friends alike and arrived one hour before sunset, when the panorama of the City of Light is its absolute best. The dazzling sunset on the Seine is breathtaking. When we left nightfall had set in and the tower was ablaze with lights yet another sight no words can truly described. No matter when we were at the tower hundreds of people were coming and going but everyone seemed to be in a festive happy mood.

When we travel it is serious stuff, it isn’t a vacation, nor is it usually leisurely. We (read Ginny) are of the mindset that we may never have the opportunity to get back to that area again so we have to see it all. We tour and sightsee with a definite purpose, even if we have to push ourselves to the edge and often have come back home exhausted but with great memories and photographs.
There are more than 150 museums in and around Paris, a staggering number considering we were only going to be in the city for five days. With that many museums to choose from it was difficult deciding which art collections and monuments we would visit.
Thanks to the advice of the folks at the Paris Office of Tourism, www.parisinfo.com we obtained a two day Paris Museum Pass (32 Euros per person), www.parismuseumpass.com that offered direct and unlimited access to over 60 museums (permanent collections only) and monuments in the region. With this pass, there are no admissions to pay, no waiting in ticket lines, and no limit to the number of times one can visit the participating sites such as the Louvre, Orsay, Arch de Triumph, Tower and Crypt of Notre Dame de Paris, and even the Versailles Castle out side of the city. For two days, we concentrated on visiting museums and other venues covered by the pass.
Among our museum stops were: The Musée du Louvre, the largest museum in the world, containing more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in its eight curatorial departments with more than 652,000 square feet dedicated to the permanent collection.
It was established in 1793, and is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Its collections span from the birth of great civilizations up to the 19th century and its most popular piece is Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Six million people visit the museum each year. Be it a first visit to the Louvre, (Jim) or a return (Ginny when she was still in college), most people wants to see the museum’s three great ladies - the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, and Mona Lisa.  The museum’s web site (www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en) offers a guide to finding its most popular exhibits.
If your heart is set on using the museum’s main entrance, the Pyramid, (designed in 1981 by famous architect I. M. Pei,) you can count on waiting in a long line. You can avoid the line by entering the museum via entrances that most tourists have no idea exist. The Museum Pass entrance is not located near the main entrance. Also used as the group entrance, it’s in the Passageway Richelieu between the Pyramid and the rue de Rivoli. We breezed in easily with no wait.
The Musee d’Orsay (www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html) may not be the massive size of Louvre, but its Impressionist collection is among the best in the world. The museum is housed in a former rail station, and has the atmosphere and personality to match. The d’Orsay attracts more than 2 million visitors annually.
The conversion of this abandoned train station, the Gare d’Orsay, into the Musee d’Orsay marked a major advance in the reorganization of the different collections. The museum is devoted to all art forms from the second half of the 19th century (painting, sculpture, architecture, music and items from everyday life). Significant Impressionist and neo-impressionist works are on display. The giant, 102-foot high and 450-foot long main hall of the station is artfully surrounded by a delicate iron construction enabling the abundant use of glass.

The collection is made up mostly from the late works of the Louvre and the Impressionist paintings from the nearby museum Jeu de Paume. You can also find works from the mid-19th  century to the early 20th, chronologically bridging the Louvre and the Pompidou Center. Since we are not modern art fans and because of our time limitations, we did not visit the Pompidou collection. Displayed on the ground floor of the d’Orsay are earlier works devoted to sculpture with dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms on either side which are filled with works by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, and Corot. In the last room, you can find works by Courbet and a huge area dedicated to Monet. Bazille, Delacroix, Puvis de Chavanne, Degas and Gustave Moreau. The Orsay’s Impressionists art is highlighted by some of the world’s most iconic works including: Vincent van Gogh’s – “Bedroom in Arles” and “Starry Night;” Claude Monet’s – “The Rue Montorgueil in Paris;” and Edgar Degas’ – “The Ballet Class.”

The Musée de l’Orangerie (www.musee-orangerie.fr) — Monet’s Water Lilies museum — is an impressionist and post-impressionist museum located in the Jardin des Tulleries near the Place de la Concorde. It contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Chaim Soutine, Alfred Sisley and Maurice Utrillo among others but the museum was mainly created to house and display Monet’s the Nymphéas (Water Lilies) paintings.

Between the 1890s and 1920s, Monet painted the Nymphéas (water lilies) that he had planted in the pond of his gardens at Giverny, Normandy. His obsession of painting these flowers in different light conditions produced nearly 250 works. In 1922, he donated eight giant (6 x 18 foot) panels of Nymphéas to the French state with the stipulation that a suitable venue be found for their display. The paintings were installed in the museum following his death in 1927. A small museum by Paris standards it generally takes no more than a few hours to view the Orangerie’s small collection. However, because of its size the number of guests allowed into the museum at one time is closely controlled. We arrived at just the right time. We were allowed in immediately but noticed a long line of tourist waiting to enter as we were leaving.
Naturally, the Louvre is massive and would take weeks to see all the works on display properly so we, in fact, saw very little of what it had to offer. The buildings that make up the museum are a work of art themselves. The d’Orsay another magnificent building was a little more manageable but we rushed through there in half a day. The Orangerie, though small, turned out to be our favorite. Monet’s giant water lily murals were lovely beyond words.