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Published: September 29th 2005
View from apartment
The neighbors are so quiet! - The flight from Singapore to London was marred by the bad attitude of the British Airways flight attendants. Did they ever smile? No. Do they have a chip on their shoulder because we think Qantas is better? Yes.
On arrival at Heathrow, we had to take separate flights to Paris. This was due to Lorenza having booked her passage some months later than Uncle Robert and I. So, Lorenza had a two hour wait at Heathrow, while Uncle Robert and I did the same at Charles de Gaul.
Uncle Robert and I passed the time tuning our ears and brains into French, talking with a guy from Senegal. He was waiting for a connecting flight to Algeria. He had a brother working as a chef in Sydney.
We also got to observe two guys who appeared to be pickpockets trying to work the area near the exit from the baggage pick up point. They would target a person and then one would approach them with a question, while the other would then bump into the target. In the time we watched them they had no luck at all and were obviously not very good at
Inside Grand Palais
Incredible structure and only 72m euro so far! their chosen profession. At one stage Uncle Robert and I took a walk past them toward a café and I noticed one of these guys was following us, so I turned around and gave him my most menacing smile and he scurried away into the crowd. We did not see them again.
Once the three of us were reunited, we found the shuttle bus we had booked and were then taken on a tour all over the Paris arrondissements, as he dropped other passengers off. We were the last stop and were deposited safely at the door of the Knoeri family address.
Once upstairs, we were greeted by Caroline and Juliette. It was mid-afternoon, but we looked and felt like it was 2am following a big night on the tiles. Anyone who still thinks international air travel is romantic must be taking some kind of mind altering drugs!
Unfortunately, Lorenza and I had to immediately rush off to meet the owner of the apartment we had leased, and were running a bit late. So, we used up what little energy we had remaining and half jogged down past the Place Trocedéro and found the address easily enough.
Our landlord, Claudine, was very pleasant and explained the basics of our studio in very rapid French. Luckily, she also pointed at the various appliances she was referring to because we only caught every tenth word.
We certainly cannot complain about our neighbours being noisy or nosey, as they are all residing in the Cimetiére de Passy, which we have a view of. Our neighbours include folks such as the composer, Claude Debussy and the guy that a peninsular in Tasmania is named after, Freycinet, plus the Renault family crypt.
After refreshing ourselves, we walked back to the Knoeri residence and had a wonderful dinner. It was great to reacquaint ourselves with Caroline and Juliette. Good food, pleasant wine, lovely company and easy conversation - it is so nice to have such lovely people to greet you on the other side of the world!
We had a great sleep, our neighbors obviously knew we were exhausted and did not make a sound!
25/9/05 Sunday - We had a lazy morning and then took a walk to the avenue Champs Elysée for a café crème. From there we went onto the Jardin Trocedéro, which is below the
Lorenza on Tour Eiffel
Lorenza is smiling and so is Rob, he has redeemed himself! Tour Eiffel. We watched the locals playing pétanque and cards.
We then headed in the direction of chez Knoeri and took a drink at a Lebanese café. Initially we ordered two glasses of arak, but once Lorenza realized it is an aniseed based drink she changed her mind and had wine. So, I had the two glasses of Arak, which changed the complexion of the sunset to a very rosy pink.
Once again, we dined with Caroline, Juliette and Uncle Robert. We discussed our vague plans and.
26/9/05 Monday - A relatively early start this morning, Uncle Robert, Rob and I arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower at 9.15am for a 9.30 opening. We found quite a long queue had already formed at one of the pillars. So rather than tagging onto the end of it we took our chances behind the four people at the other pillar. As the crowd got larger at the main queue I began to wonder if they knew something we didn’t.
The clock was ticking closer to the awaited opening, with every second more people arriving by the bus load. Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. It was now 9:28
Petanqué
A relaxing sport on a Sunday afternoon in the park and 20 seconds when there were first sightings of official staff making their way across the concourse. Tension was building. Would they open pillar A before pillar B? Was pillar B even going to be opened? With every step they took everyone watched for signs. Then we heard it. The shutter rolls up, the security guards take their places and I turn around in time to see a wall of people heading for our little queue.
Being one of the first people up to the top of the Eiffel enabled us to experience the full panorama of Paris in virtual solitude. This is what I had been waiting for and I was not disappointed. Rob has redeemed himself. Last year he had promised we would do this, but on the designated morning was suffering from a big time hangover after his birthday. I can never raise that again when he does something else wrong!
We casually strolled around the smaller less crowded streets of Paris before a well deserved lunch. We located a very reasonably priced café for lunch. The café had no views of famous avenues, nor could any fashionable folks see you sitting out the front
Ste Chapelle
The rose window. so the food prices were adjusted accordingly. It was however located near the tunnel that Lady Diana Spencer had died. We read some of the many poems and notes of remembrance. We then spared a thought for her and Mr. Fayed.
Following lunch we toured the Grand Palais, which has recently undergone major restoration to the value of 72 million euro for stage 1. This place was built in 1900 as the world trade centre. In entering the building you were greeted with not only the visual but also the acoustic effect that this structure has to offer. This is an amazing structure built for special exhibitions.
Our next stop was Ste Chapelle, formerly the Royal chapel. The ground floor Chapel was nice enough, but a let down, considering one wall was completely occupied by a souvenir stand. I had no idea there was a main chapel upstairs. Once we climbed the stairs the sight of the main chapel almost took my breath away. The walls were almost completely made of stained glass, with small supporting walls holding them up. It is a truly amazing building. We sat for some time taking in the atmosphere of the place.
We dined with Juliette at the Mosque de Paris. The waiter who served us was a complete smartarse, mistaking me for an American simply because she ordered a coke. We dined on couscous, with various stewed dishes. The ambience was fantastic, like being transported to North Africa. Unfortunately, the food was served with a big helping of bad attitude. Luckily, the company and conversation could not be spoilt by such behavior.
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anonymous
non-member comment
QF is the way to fly