The itinerary for this day began with the Rick Steves tour of Historic Paris. Heading for Notre Dame we came across a small flower and plant market. We wandered through it enjoying the beauty and peace of plants. There were several olive trees with fruit hanging. I suppose they must grow in the Paris climate.

Notre Dame was interesting despite being under construction. Many windows have been removed for restoration. It is expected to be completed next year – an amazing accomplishment. It has only been 4 years since the fire! There is wonderful detail about the construction but – for our group – the technical information was much less interesting than the souvenir shops along the side streets. The fire does not seem to have caused any damage to their business. Several grandchildren in the US will have a tray or shirt from this place.

Walking past the cathedral to the tip of the island there is a memorial to the people who were departed from Vichy France to Nazi concentration camps. Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation is on the site of a former morgue. There is a light for each person deported, images and stories of them, and the inscription which means “Forgive but Don’t Forget”.

Crossing a bridge from Ile de la Cité we went to the left bank and the second hand booksellers. It was a long and extremely crowded walk before finding the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Although this was of particular interest to George Ann we did not go inside. The line was very long and we were hungry. Lunch was the next stop. Once again we tried to catch a bus and experienced delays. The traffic is terrible!

Finally we got a bus traveling along the left bank of the Seine to the Musée d’Orsay. Luckily we were able to get a table right away and have a seat and food in that beautiful space.

Unfortunately we were running behind and had little time to tour the museum. Some highlights and then off for our apartment to prepare for the evening at the chateux out of town.

This painting by Edouard Manet tied in with a theme we were seeing. Comments on nudity in paintings over time. This one “Luncheon on the Grass” or “Bathing” or “The Square Part” caused a scandal because traditionally only mythological creatures were shown in the nude. It was rejected by the Salon jury of 1863. But it was exhibited in the 1863 Salon des Refusés!

We Uber-ed home and packed up for the evening. We would be outside until midnight so warmer clothing was needed. There is a shuttle bus from Paris to the château but it was fully booked by the time we were in Paris. So we took a metro to Gare du Nord to catch a train to Melun – the nearest to our destination. But, continuing our transportation problems, we were unable to buy train tickets for the trip. It seemed that there were multiple rail companies passing through the station and each had its own ticket machines. We tried them all and could never by tickets. It was very frustrating. Some kind people tried to help us but nothing worked. We went outside and called an Uber to take us. $25 each for the trip! But, the driver did take us straight to the castle gate.

Vaux le Vicomte was designed (château and garden) by the same people who designed Versailles. None of us had ever been there so it was very appealing – and candlelit on summer Saturday evenings. We ate a casual cafeteria dinner there and toured the gift shop before our 8 pm entry to the castle itself. Personally, the idea of a candlelight tour was more romantic than the reality. Maybe because it was so much trouble to get there it was disappointing. A day trip might be better when you could tour the extensive gardens in little golf carts! But, it was definitely something new and different than the rest of the week in the city. A shuttle bus took us back to town at 12 and then we got a cab to our apartment. Long, busy day.