Category: Europe Spring 2025

Today is May 1st, May Day or Labor Day. It’s a holiday in France so most museums were closed. In fact at least one of the museums I looked at is open every day of the year except January 1, December 25 and May 1.

Not only were many museums closed but also, this part of Europe is having a heat wave. The high temperature in Paris was 83. So we wanted to sightsee in some place shady.

So today we took the Metro to the Père Lachaise Cemetery and did the Rick Steves walking tour. The cemetery was created in 1804 by Napoleon for hygienic reasons to bury people outside the city center. It is an enormous, fascinating cemetery.

In one corner of the cemetery is a wall where in 1871 the last hold outs against the Prussian invasion, the Paris Commune were shot and buried in a mass grave. According to Rick Steves, “ever since it has been a rallying point for workers and unions fighting for workers rights.” Today, for May Day, there was a big rally going on.

We saw several interesting tombs. Rick Steves’ narrative makes them more interesting

From the cemetery we went back to our hotel and rested and then about 7:30 we went back into the center. Notre Dame is open late on Thursday nights and the line wasn’t too long. The cathedral was reopened earlier this year and the renovated interior was light and beautiful. What surprised me about it was how colorful it was.

Next we tried to go to another live music club. There was a long line, it was hot and crowded and we couldn’t see the band so we decided to leave. We found a nice side walk cafe and shared a pizza.

The view of Notre Dame as we walked back to the metro was pretty special.

Wednesday was a long day, but a very successful day. We left Mas Tulipe de Soie a little after 8:00. It is too bad we didn’t have more time in northern Provence. It’s a beautiful area and there seems to be lots to see and do. I would definitely stay at Mas Tulipe de Soie again.

Our drive north to Lyon took us about 4 hours. We stopped to buy croissants and to fill the car with gas before we returned it in Lyon.

We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get to the rental car return place, but eventually we found it and returned the car.

Our train for Paris was supposed to leave at 1:00 but was delayed about 40 minutes. It was a bit comical. The train platform has video displays telling you where to stand on the platform for your train car. We were in car number 11 so we were at position Z on the platform. Then there was an announcement that the train configuration had changed and we needed to be at the other end of the platform. So everyone switched their position on the platform. Then about 15 minutes later they announced that the train was back to the original configuration and we needed to change places again.

Eventually the train arrived, we got on, found our seats and 2 hours later we were in Paris. I love high speed trains! And then we got an email telling us how to apply for compensation for the delay and now we have a coupon for 29.50 € towards our next train trip.

From Gare de Lyon in Paris we took the Metro directly to La Defense where we are staying in the Hotel Mélia. We have stayed here twice before. Duke always books us a room with a panoramic view of the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, and Montmartre. And the Mélia has quick and easy access to Metro line 1.

We rested for a few hours and had complimentary tapas for dinner in The Level Lounge which is an added benefit with our room. Later we took the metro into the center and went to a 10:30 show at Le Duc Des Lombards jazz club. We saw JustKing Jones and his band. It was wonderful.