Thursday, January 11th was our fourth sea day. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a sore throat and swollen glands. I was not happy knowing I was sick once again. But, fortunately, my lungs were still clear--a huge blessing that had not gone unnoticed throughout the vacation.
That whole day I had chills and could not get warm. It was another blessing that I was on the ship dealing with the chills rather than out on an excursion in the cold weather.
I took a nap that day and also slept all the way through the evening entertainment of Broadway hits put on by the ship's performers. I was so sad I missed it, but I just could not keep my eyes open.
My only photo for the day was our daily hors d'ouevres plate.
Thursday, January 12th was the day we disembarked the cruise ship, headed to the airport, and caught a flight from Barcelona to Paris, France.
We were sitting in tight jump seats next to the exit and Glen's legs could not even fit in front of him.
The weather report had been right when it said the temperature in Paris would never get above freezing. It was SOOOOO COLD!!!!
We found our hotel in Paris. Our room was six flights up, which meant we had to either jam into a two-person elevator or climb up a steep spiral staircase.
The door opened with an old-fashioned skeleton key which we had to drop off at the desk whenever we went out and pick back up when we got back to the hotel.
Patricia had brought all kinds of warm-weather gear. She wore a heated vest, snow pants and snow boots. Smart girl!!
Patricia loves going inside cathedrals. We barely got any relief from the cold whenever we went inside a building because they had no heat.
We saw the Seine River.
Our next stop was the famous Louvre Museum, the world's largest art museum.
I was not a fan of the glass pyramids in the courtyard of the Louvre buildings. They look out of place against the grand structure that was built many centuries ago.
Steven and Patricia wanted to make sure we saw the Mona Lisa. It was surprising how small that painting is compared to so many of the other artwork in the museum.
Do we look cold?? It is because we were FREEEEEZING!!! And we walked everywhere in that bitter, bitter coldness.
Even inside the museum, the temperature was not very warm. It must be hard to heat those huge old buildings.
I thought it was so funny to see this sight when the Mona Lisa came into view.
This is a case for a royal crown.
I laughed at this painting entitled "tax collectors."
We got on the train and took a 40-minute ride to Versailles. We took a tour of the Palace of Versailles.
The bedrooms were gigantic and then had short beds. There were curtains that could be pulled around the bed to keep in the heat. Great idea since it was absolutely drafty and downright cold inside the palace buildings.
There are over 200 sculptures decorating the gardens. Not only do humans not tolerate below-freezing temperature for days on end, but the sculptures cannot tolerate the freezing temperature either. Each one of them was wrapped for protection against the cold.
More architecture to enjoy as we were leaving the palace.
We went to a nearby KFC to get some "finger lickin' good" chicken for lunch.
We walked back to the Palace to the Great Stables to see the Gallery of Coaches.
This is what Google says about the Gallery of Coaches.
We all had to take our turn pushing our way to the front of the crowd to get a closer glimpse of the famous painting.
This past week there was an incident at the Louvre where two women sprayed soup all over the Mona Lisa in protest for healthy, sustainable food.
Thankfully the artwork is encased in glass and the painting was unharmed. Unbelievable what some people think is acceptable behavior. CRAZINESS!!!!
For dinner, we stopped at a pastry shop and got a little something to hold us through the night. Yet again, we were in another indoor location and still very cold from lack of heat. We never warmed up once during that day.
Keep in mind how I was not feeling well with my head all clogged up, some coughing, and some nose running going on. But, the miraculous thing was I was not having trouble with my breathing. Hallelujah!!
There was one warm spot at our hotel--and NO, it was NOT our hotel room. It was the small hotel lobby, which still had Christmas decor on display.
On the other side of the two-way fireplace was a small eating area where we were served breakfast on Saturday, January 13th.
Eggs were cooked to our liking and we picked our choice of fruit and bread to go with it. The croissants were fabulous!! These three were happy to get some hot chocolate before heading out on another below-freezing day of sight-seeing.
We went to the train station where we bought tickets to Versailles.
This is a replica of all the palace buildings. Beyond the buildings are massive lawns and gardens that go on forever.
This is called the room of mirrors. I prefer to call it the chandelier room.
This is a painting of the palace and the surrounding grounds.
This is how the grounds look today.
We walked all the way down to almost the end of the grounds. Looking back at the Palace, I kept thinking what goes down must go back up...
"Majestic coaches and small carriages for Marie-Antoinette's children, sedan chairs and sleds make up a strange and wonderful collection. The exhibition of these creations is an amazing testimony to the pomp and splendour of court life."
Google again:
"The collection of coaches in Versailles is not composed of travel vehicles but consists of grand ceremonial Berlin Coaches. Each carriage tells a piece of French history through a dynastic or political event such as marriage, baptism, coronation or funeral."
Off we went on another adventure. We walked to the Paris Temple which was nearly two miles away.
On the grounds behind the temple was a fountain, a nativity scene still set up, and also a Christus statue.
We went inside the visitors' center located right next door to the temple. Inside was a replica of the temple.
We enjoyed spending time there visiting with the missionaries, resting, and trying to warm up a little before going back out in the cold. This was one building that actually had heat!!
Steven and I chose the elevator at the hotel. This shows how tiny the elevator was. I didn't want to push my luck with my lungs by trying to hike up all the stairs.
We had a couple of hours to rest at the hotel before we needed to head out again. Steven said the only appointment time he could get for us to go up into the Eiffel Tower was at 9:30 that evening.
I was dying because I was exhausted and not feeling well at all. I had told Glen several times during the day that I felt so weak. But I kept plugging along, doing my best to keep up with the others.
When Steven suggested I might want to stay at the hotel and rest, I told him there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity of seeing the Eiffel Tower while being in Paris.
So off we went at the appointed time taking a train and walking the rest of the way to our destination of the Eiffel Tower.
The world-famous historical landmark did not disappoint. It was impressive.
We took the elevator up near the top of the tower and got a good look all around the city from that vantage point.
Once back at our hotel, I could say I was happy I had made the effort to do all we had done that day--including our late-night excursion to the Eiffel Tower.
I was getting sicker by the minute. By the time I got to bed and was trying to sleep, I could feel myself wheezing now accompanying my coughing. YIKES!!! That is never a good sign.
It had been a blessing for me to be able to have my lungs working well for all the walking we had been doing and everything we had done thus far on our trip.
But, knowing me like I know me--I knew it was time to call it quits and seek medical help before I got super bad. I was sad to do it, but I asked Glen to call and change our flight to go home the next morning.
Glen worked his magic as we got very little sleep that night. We had to get up early to get packed and get a taxi to the airport. I also was dealing with a bloody nose that morning. No idea why that happened, but it took a while to get that problem resolved.
Sunday, January 14th it was a relief to get through security and know we would soon be on our way on a nonstop flight home. So long Eiffel Tower! So long Paris! So long Steven and Patricia.
We texted our friends the news of our departure in the morning. We were sad about ditching out on them, but not sad to leave the frigid weather.
Once at home, we unpacked and then headed straight to Urgent Care where my diagnosis was COVID!!
Ha!! I KNEW I was sick!!
So happy to be back in the comfort of my own (warm) home to endure the next 10 days of coughing, wheezing, taking prednisone, and getting through all those long, sleepless nights.
