Aspects Of Paris: Part Two (Final)

Parisians desert their city in August leaving it to legions of tourists and the shopkeepers and restaurant owners who cash in on their needs. Every site of importance has long queues so you can't expect to see many things in the one day. Unfortunately we did find two places closed - one a recommended restaurant in the Marais, the other the French Cinema Museum (no mention of the closure on their website and we caught trains and then walked a good mile or more only to find a sign on the very closed door). So if you come to Paris at this time of the year be warned about closures as well as the crowds.

Still, we did act like tourists and saw both new and old sites. We began the day at St Chapelle, a church that we had not previously visited. It is a stunningly beautiful chapel with wondrous stained-glass windows rising high above. It's in the process of being restored for the 800th anniversary. Yes, 4 time older than white Australian civilisation!

And you exit via these wonderful gates at the Palace of Justice..

Nearby Notre Dame is shrouded in rain. Note the masses of padlocks that totally cover both railings of the bridge. These have been left there (and on many other bridges) by lovers who pledge their devotion to one another by adding a padlock and throwing away the key. You can almost hear the bridge groaning under the weight and there is little authorities can do to either remover them or stop them being added. But then Paris IS the city of romance and love, and this is a special expression of that feeling.

And across the road from Notre Dame (and almost impossible to locate tough once found you wonder how you missed seeing it so many times) is the famed Shakespeare and Company bookshop, possibly the most famous bookshop in Paris. This is mainly because of Alice B Toklas, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and other literati who made it their home whilst living and writing in Paris.

Not rain, nor sleet nor fear of the Fashion Police will stop families exploring this city...

Part of the crown waiting to see Notre Dame. It snakes around the forecourt to more that double what you can see in the photo. Patience is a virtue, as is a good umbrella and bladder.

Along sections of the Seine they establish little beach fronts for all of August. Unfortunately this week they remain deserted. However, when the sun shines they are extremely popular day and night. With a long twilight and the sun setting around 10pm the city remains lively and vibrant.

The handsome Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) was located very close to our hotel and close to the Metro we used most of the time.

Time to catch the Metro to

the Arch de Triumph. Again, huge crowds there and a long wait if you wanted to go to the top for a viewing. We skipped the idea.

Looking towards La Defence...

 and looking down the Champs Elysee

Time for the Eiffel Tower

More crowds waiting to take a viewing..

so we'll take a boat road and enjoy the sights from the river...

Musee D'Orsay...

One of scores of Japanese weddings, mostly with a famous site in the background of their wedding photos.  As they are sitting here back to back, my imagination has visions of a bedraggled bride being rescued form the river after an over-enthusiastic groom pushed back too far....

The end of the Louvre and the bridge the Tour de France crosses multiple times on its final assault on Paris.

My favourite bridge entry point..

It must be time for afternoon tea at "Doormouse in the Hole" in the Marais... Lemon Merangue pie and Apricot tart.

As this will probably be my last blog unless something happens on the way home to warrant it, we'd like to say thank you for sharing our journey and for your comments. We loved photographing and writing it, and we trust that it has added enjoyment to your day and to your travel plans.

Merci - and au revoir until next time.

Let's finish with a couple of signs that tickled my funny bone...

Whose home made the wine????

Yes, Kath, yes Kim, there really is such an establishment...

Aspects Of Paris: Part One

For our 4 full days in Paris we tended to do a lot of walking - and that is the only way to see this beautiful city. The superb Metro will take you anywhere easily, quickly and it's spotlessly clean. We had rain every day except our last, but that didn't stop us - or the tens of thousands of other tourists - from getting around and enjoying themselves.

In this and the following blog, I'll show you aspects of the city that captured my attention and on this my fourth visit, why my heart will always have a soft spot for Paris. If you haven't been to Paris, walked its cobblestoned streets and just sat at a cafe watching the world go by, then you owe it to yourself to do so. But if that is not possible, join me as we catch a little glimpse of the magic...

First stop, Place de Vosges, the most perfectly maintained square in all of Paris

And here at the corner of the square is the home of author, Victor Hugo. As shown above, the area is filled with art galleries, fine eating and an ambiance of gentility. I could live here!

And just up the street is the monument to the Bastille. Victor only had to step outside his door to be in the thick of the action and get ideas that could later be turned into Les Miserables....

and if he wanted some fresh fruit he could purchase from this local vendor...

Now  let's cross the city by the wonderfully efficient Metro system. On the modern lines the trains are all driverless and run every 4 minutes. On Saturdays that may stretch to every 5 minutes! Super efficient means of getting about the city.

We're going to Montmatre.

 And did I say it was still raining?

A decade ago as we walked around the artist's area Colin suggested that he would like to have my portrait done by one of the artists who ply their trade here day in and day out. Finally we decided to do that. In between showers I sat for over an hour as the artist we chose reproduced me in coloured crayons. It is a very interesting feeling to imagine how others see you. As you sit the passers-by all nod, or chat or otherwise offer advice to each other - but never to the artist. It's a bit like being a celebrity who is on approval by a doubting public.

And this is the artist along with the finished result. It will now be framed and become part of Benn history.

Descending down the mount, it's still raining...

Finally today, let's have a look at the city by night...

To end the day we had a meal at a restaurant on the Left Bank where we have eaten many times before. It's been another good day.

The next blog will show more of this lovely city. It will probably be the last as we are already on the way home as I write this.

Trains To and In Paris

Today we are leaving Amsterdam by the Thalys fast train to Paris. It leaves about 6 times a day and we have chosen the 10.20 departure that should get us in to Paris by 2.30.

And in case you are wondering, Peter does not travel lightly!!!!

Our carriage was the first-class one, and it was full of Australians. 

The scenery between Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris leaves a lot to be desired...

so best take advantage of the onboard snacks and then the lunchtime meal provided. It was a cold pasta salad, with watermelon for dessert.

Since my kidney stone episode in Zurich I've not touched coffee, so I was able to have green mint tea with my lunch. This tea seems to be available everywhere in Europe. I'm finding it very refreshing and haven't missed coffee at all over the last two weeks. 

One thing we did on the train was obtain a voucher for a priority taxi in Paris. As the terminus is Gare de Nord, this is also the terminus for the Chunnel trains and many others, hence we were told by friends in Amsterdam, here are frequently VERY long waits for a taxi. For us, we walked 50 feet from the train to the taxi service and obtained an immediate taxi. All went swimmingly until we discovered he was a Spaniard with very little English or French, his TWO GPS systems could not locate our hotel - and as a result we saw a great deal of Paris. Fortunately he was very apologetic when we finally arrived and he reduced the charges considerably. Just another little adventure to make the holiday more interesting. In fact you could say that we were living a French Farce!

We've been to Paris four times in 10 years and we always stay at the Hotel Britannique, 20 Avenue Victoria. It's so centrally placed that we can walk or train it to everywhere. Look it up on the map. It has 24 hour reception and about 40 rooms. Spotlessly clean, nice breakfast and friendly staff who speak both English and French very well.

The view from our balcony...

Having settled in overnight it's now morning and time to see our first site - the Orient Express Exhibition.  This has several renovated and new cars on display in the forecourt of the Arab Museum, just a short walk from Notre Dame. Don't forget your umbrella as it's raining and there is the promise of at least 3 more days of rain.

The Exhibition also has extensive memorabilia inside the Museum including posters, recreated rooms, tickets, etc...

Now it's back outside for a 30 minute wait in the rain for our scheduled viewing time...

Mata Hari's compartment...

Until last weekend you could actually dine here and have the authentic Orient Express evening meal. Unfortunately that offer finished last weekend as of course, everyone in France has now gone on holiday for a month. It would have been a wonderful experience - perhaps soon we'll get to do an actual train trip somewhere.

My next blog will begin to show how beautiful this lovely city of Paris really is. With a sturdy umbrella in one hand and a camera in the other we'll show you the Paris beyond the well-known landmarks. We've seen the best of the sites on previous visits so this holiday is about the backstreets and the quintessential heart of this city.