France: Day 2: 11-21-24 Nous Somme Arrivès!
As the plane descended through the clouds, we saw the magic of the season. Snow! And the flakes were as big as confetti at a victory parade! In the Viking transport, we spent quite a few minutes taking photos out the window of the giant flakes of snow coming down on the freeway. It’s very cold, but so beautiful!
Viking had a big, comfortable van waiting to whisk us off through the snow to the ship. Once there, we had a lovely pasta and Rueben sandwich lunch, then donned our warmest gear for a walk. No holding this crew back. The snow was magical but also blowing sideways. It drifted on the street and melted into puddles that we jumped over, but we were all determined in our destination. With the cold wind blowing in our faces, we were eating snowflakes and hurrying forward. The trees were mostly bare with a few yellow leaves showing and a few scrubs still with bright flowers. Snow was balancing on leaves and creating frequent photo stops. Every time we took a picture, we took off our gloves, getting them both wet and cold. Quick click, then hands back in pockets.
And then, through the overcast sky and floating snow there it was. The Eiffel Tower. With the few leafless trees… we took lots of photos. Still, we walked until we were under it. Sadly, it was closed because of the weather, but we were able to walk around it. When I saw three local men hanging out, I gathered the family for a photo. The guys were very helpful with our family photo, which is both terrific and hysterical since I’m dressed like a big yellow tent—but very cozy inside all of that. In fact, everyone was perfectly dressed for the weather.
From there, we discussed walking to Les Invalides, the former army hospital, now a military museum and very interesting, but a little far away. And despite our best attempts, everyone was starting to get wet and cold. So, saving all good ideas for another day, we hiked the twenty minutes back to the ship and back to our cozy rooms to warm up and rest for the port talk and a gorgeous beef dinner…more coming soon.
