Part two, Paris |
Dear Shelley, Mews and purrs. Thanks so much for suggesting this wonderful world cruise for us. We are enjoying it so much. Of course, when I see "we", I mean my handsome wink-wink, Prince Buddee. Our stop for today is Paris, France, the beautiful City of Lights. We sailed in just at sunset, and by the time we docked the lights in the city were twinkling from one end of the city to the other along the banks of the Seine. Buddee says the lights do not compare to those twinkling in my eyes. We disembarked and walked paw in paw along the Rive Gauche, or the Left Bank of the river drinking in the sights with our eyes. We found a little bistro with a band, and stopped for coffee. Then we danced beneath the stars. Buddee bought a lovely pink rose from a flower vendor and presented it to me with a flourish. He is so cute and funny at times. Tomorrow we will take an official tour, but for tonight, it was enough just to be with Buddee and to dance beneath the stars in this romantic city. I thought the Bateaux Mouche boats would have been fun. They are quite famous, and give you a leisurely cruise down the Seine, but as we have been on board the cruise ship for so long, we decided to take a walking tour of the City, in which you can see many sites in just a short time. The first stop was the Ile de la Cite, which is actually an island in the middle of the Seine. It is here that we saw the famous cathedral of Notre Dame. Looking through the Southern Rose Window was like looking at a bit of heaven. But it was funny, Shelley. I actually found myself homesick for my own little rose garden. Buddee laughed and said “Isn’t that just like a girlcat. Bring her halfway around the world to see the beautiful and famous, and she wants to go home.” Buddee is such a tease at times. We passed by the Musee Picasso, which houses many of the famous works of this fascinating artist, and the Musee de la Poupee, where they many beautiful antique dolls. There are so many museums in Paris, one could never see them all. But we did have to stop at the Louvre, where we saw the famous ‘Mona Lisa.’ Buddee says my smile is just as enigmatic as hers, and that my green eyes are far lovlier. Then he kissed me. I love the way his whiskers tickle when we kiss. We got lost on our way to the Arc du Triomphe, and wandered down many little cobbled side streets. On the one we found a tiny sidewalk café where we stopped for lunch. The food was very traditional, and very “French”, the waiter assured us. I had a delightful lapin a la moutarde, or rabbit in mustard sauce, and Buddee chose a cold plate of ham, sausage and pate, with some of the famous French cheeses. It was all served with a wonderful Beaujolais. We finished the meal with fruit tarts, and a delightful custard and coffee. I highly recommend the food in Paris. You will love it, Shelley, my dear. Afterwards, we just wandered the streets on our own, having long since lost the tour group. But it was ever so much more romantic to just walk paw in paw with my sweet Buddee. We wandered through a number of little shops, and Buddee bought me the cutest little snowglobe you have ever seen. The globe part has a scene of two cats sitting side by side under the Eiffel Tower. The base is worked in metal, and has the Arc, Notre Dame, and the Bateaux Mouche boats. Oh, I know I shall treasure it forever. I bought Buddee a lovely dark gold beret, which just matches his eyes. He looks so dashing with the hat rakishly covering one ear. As we walked about, Buddee suddenly noticed the two mysterious strangers who have dogged out pawprints the whole trip. He took my paw, and we hurried back to the ship. It was none too soon. We had lost track of time, and the ship was just ready to sail. Well, Shelley, I will close for now, as we sail off into the sunset. I do hope you will get to see Paris yourself one day. As always, your friend, BabyCat |