Paris-Scope: Sisters in Paris and Cannes

I have two sisters, Cindy and Wendy, who have never been to Europe before. What a better time to visit than when you have a sister living in Paris? I finally convinced them to take the opportunity, and Cindy's daughter Dana , who worked 30 days in a row (she is a nurse) to save up for the trip, joined us too.

Wendy arrived first on a drizzly day, taking the Roissy bus from the airport, with instructions that I would meet her bus in the heart of Paris. Well, I arrived in plenty of time to meet the bus, which for some reason did not stop where it usually stops. So, we both waited for each other for over an hour, across the street from each other. Being without a cell phone, she found someone who would lend one to her, called me and we finally found each other. Not a great welcome to Paris!

We visited the Orsay museum and did a little shopping at Galleries Lafayette (well, we window-shopped mostly!).....

A few days later, we arrived at the same bus stop to meet Cindy and Dana, arriving Saturday afternoon via Iceland. Needing to keep them up, Lyle and four women went out to dinner at a cozy French restaurant near the Seine. Do we look French all in black? We even had some fois gras, which I think did not agree with their stomachs.

One thing on their list "to visit" was Jim Morrison's grave at the Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise, the most prestigious cemetery in Paris, owned at one time by Louis XIV and bought by order of Napoleon in 1803. Besides Jim Morrison, we looked for the graves of Oscar Wilde, Sara Bernhardt, and Chopin. A rainy day added to the ambiance.

The next day was a beautiful, sunny day....perfect for going up the Eiffel Tower. Cindy wasn't feeling well, though, (not used to Paris food?), so three of us braved the two hour wait and went to the top. I have decided going up twice is now enough for me, unless I go up to eat at the Jules Verne restaurant at the top (terribly expensive)!

Besides seeing Paris, I wanted them to experience a little more of France (and some sunny, warm weather). We hopped on the high-speed TGV on Tuesday morning, and headed for southern France. It was a 5-hour trip, but we all enjoyed the quiet ride through the French countryside and decided that riding a train is the way to go!

What a time to visit the French Riviera! The Cannes Film Festival and the Monte Carlo Grand Prix were both going on at the time. We shoved our bags into a train locker after arriving in Cannes and headed to the festival area along the harbor, keeping a look out for stars. Of course, we didn't see any...and the only big "event" that happened was I was either pickpocketed or somehow left my coin purse at the tourist office while buying a hat. I discovered it a few hours later and am still wondering how it happened. Bye-bye credit card.

We rented a car in Cannes and were surprised to find out that they had upgraded us from a VW Golf to a Mercedes...with navigation! I told my sisters ahead of time that I was not going to drive, being out of practice for the past year (or maybe just scared of French traffic?) and Wendy signed on to the job. Maneuvering between weaving motorcycles and fast, tiny cars made me cringe as we drove up into the hills above Cannes to our B&B in Grasse, a town known as the "perfume capital of the world". The B&B was a mansion built in the 19th century in the foothills of the Alpes Maritimes, and the view overlooking Grasse to the sea was breathtaking!