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Published: August 1st 2014
Paris 10 - 14 July 2014 10 July 2014 Thursday Tooting Bec, St Pancreas, Paris
Sally had done some washing for us, which was fantastic, so a quick repack and off to St Pancreas Station. Easy check in for Eurail to Paris via the Chunnel, 3 hour train ride. Dave pushed out some zzzzs and Pam pushed out some travel blog.
We caught a taxi to our hotel, after the learnings from our somewhat taxing Metro underground experience when we last travelled to Paris. We had no need to queue for the taxi and the driver took us on a fairly direct route to Hotel de Lille in the Invalides District near Musee D'Orsay. As we have experienced once before, but in Madrid, the hotel elevator was so tiny, that only one person and suitcase could be accommodated per trip. Since we were on the fifth floor, it was necessary to wait. Our room was tiny as we have come to expect in Paris, when the location is good inner city. Once again the sloping attic type roof which Dave continually tested with his forehead. Nevertheless the room was fine, just large enough to
swing a cat, but the bathroom left something to be desired. It had a bath with no curtain, and a shower hose that was fixed at bath level, i.e. It wouldn't reach to head level when you were standing. If you did manage to use it on the rest of your body while standing, then it was a case of lathering then washing down, with water going everywhere over the floor, the toilet, the hand basin ..... Dave solved this by sitting in the bath to shower, but he still designated it as his worst shower ever. Next challenge was that the bathroom exhaust fan would not switch off with lights off or door closed, so there was a continual buzz all night. Probably the biggest catastrophe was Dave breaking his bottle opener later in the evening when trying to de-cork the wine bottle. Yes, most wine bottles still have corks in Europe. Anyway, if this is all that one has to worry about in life, time to stop complaining and get on with it.
We went for a late afternoon walk along the River Seine to Pont Neuf, to revisit the Henry IV bar/cafe and to enjoy a
meat, pate and cheese platter and a glass of local vin rouge. The pate, or terrine as we would call it, was delicious and we didn't find another one as good anywhere else. Something I had forgotten about Paris, similar to the small hotel rooms, they also have quite small restaurants and bars, with as many tables as possible squeezed into them. You literally sit centimetres away from the next table, and have to manoeuvre yourself to sit down.
After a slow wander back to the hotel, that was enough activity for the day. Pam was in sleep catch up mode and didn't wake until the following morning.
11 July 2014 Friday Paris
We had a late start, again! We meandered through the streets of St Germaine choosing to get away from the main drag of Rue de Buci, and had lunch at Cafe Citreon on a side street which turned out to be a good choice. We had 3 courses for 12.9 euros. The french onion soup was delicious and could have been a meal on its own. Dave had an onion tart as a starter. Mains were boeuf bourgingon and liver
scaloppine. And for dessert, cheese and creme caramel. We ate way too much and needed to walk it off. The rain dampened things somewhat, so Pam escaped into a Geoxx shoe shop. They had exactly what I had been looking for back in Peebles, so one new pair of shoes purchased. I still can't bear to throw out the old ones though.
We went back to the hotel to get Dave's raincoat. Only one of us was a girl guide in our earlier life it appears. We opted to stay out of the rain for a couple of hours, although perhaps we were just slowed down by our heavy stomachs.
We had an early evening Champagne River cruise booked at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily the weather had cleared but was still cool, so we opted to walk the 3 kms or so to the wharf. It was a pleasant walk with lots of unusual sights along the river's edge. There were the eco garden beds to improve the Seine water quality, the oversized games of chess and draughts, the mini athletics tracks, and numerous bars and cafes. None of which we had seen on previous
trips to Paris, and which we had no time to stop to enjoy on this occasion.
We reached the very busy boat wharfs near the base of the Eiffel Tower. There were so many companies and boats we had no idea where ours was located, and now we had only 5 minutes to spare before boarding time. We trudged on enquiring at various stations only to get blank looks and suggestions to keep walking further. Eventually we found it, tried to board but got sent back to change our voucher to a ticket. One other couple had the same dilemma and they literally closed the boarding gate behind us. The boat was much larger than what Dave thought he had booked. He imagined a cruise similar to that at Loch Lomond, but this was a large boat holding about 100 people. However, we were ushered to a cordoned off area at the front of the boat where there were less than 20 people. As soon as the cruise commenced, so did our champagne sommelier, Carl, who explained that we were going to work our way through three different types of champagne, and so we did. The cruise was a
combination of sight seeing and champagne tasting. The tastes were generous so I was glad we had had a substantial brunch to absorb some of the alcohol. After an hour, the pleasurable cruise came to an end.
We braved the crowds to walk to the base of the Tour de Eiffel. Given the champagne and long walk we had already done, the crowds were just an added excuse not to walk or ride up the Eiffel steps. Instead we admired the surrounding gardens and headed back towards our hotel. We came across an office building with external walls covered in a garden of many different plants. We learnt later in Amsterdam, where we saw similar, that this is another environmental attempt to purify the air surrounding tall buildings.
Steve had just arrived from London, so we ducked home to freshen up before meeting him for dinner. He was two Metro lines away from us. We met at our hotel then backtracked somewhat to Rue de Bac, where we once again tried the quieter side streets. We found a table outside a cafe, Le Petit Saint Benoit. We enjoyed several courses of food, including duck pate, bone marrow, cassoulet
of fish, confit duck and other delicacies. An annoying thing in Europe is that smoking is still prevalent in restaurants, admittedly outside. With the closeness of the tables, this is quite off putting when eating your meal accompanied by the exhaled smoke from the customer alongside.
Dave was keen to try out the Jazz Club over the road, but he didn't convince us. We stopped for a nightcap at La Fregate before Steve returned to his hotel via the Metro.
12 July Saturday Paris
We had arranged to meet Steve at Sacre Coeur at 10.30, near the base where the funicular is. We worked out how to buy Metro tickets, and traverse the lines to get to our destination. On the way, we were entertained by a saxophonist who was moving from carriage to carriage playing then begging. Upon arrival since we had not had time for breakfast, we bought a baguette with egg and lettuce.
Steve was on time, if not early, and found us easily. He opted out of riding the funicular and mounted the steps reaching the summit before us. Sacre Coeur was very crowded. We milled around outside
for photo opportunities, then Dave and I did a quick look inside the church where a service was in progress. The nuns who were singing were excellent. Coming back to the crowds and photo opportunities, I have never seen so many people taking selfies with scenic spots in the background. People even have extension arms for their cameras to achieve this.
We wandered around the surrounding streets which were very picturesque especially the sweeping views down the many steps. We looked for Dave's previous photo spot from many years ago, but not sure we found the same place. We happened across a lovely pink cafe called the Rose Cafe and stopped for beers and coffee. Also the best way to take a toilet stop and be assured of reasonable cleanliness.
The Montmartre Markets and surrounding shops were really interesting, especially the multitude of artists looking for customers to sign up for portraits, but also producing art in situ and selling it. We saw some great works. One which captured my attention was a scene of the Eiffel Tower or similar and somehow a pair of wide cats eyes were blended into the picture. Too large and too expensive
to purchase at this point in the trip. Will have to get Dave onto it!
Next we caught the train to the Pompidou Centre, a large art gallery. We opted not to go in, but spent some time in the courtyard outside admiring the street performers and enjoying the sun. This was the first warm day all day that we had had for what seemed like two weeks. We had shorts and shorts on instead of jumpers and rain jackets.
Just around the corner, our tour guide Steve led us to an unusual water pond which had many bright sculptures and water features in it. It was also surrounded by buildings with graffiti like art on the walls. Definitely worth the visit.
The hunger pangs were setting in, so we stopped on a street side cafe which turned out to be in the gay area. We had a great Croque Monsieur and melted goats cheese on toast both with salads. The smokers weren't as prevalent, but the dogs were at our feet.
We then walked for what seemed like miles, looking for the Musee Picasso. We eventually found it only to discover that it was closed
for renovations. This is beginning to become a theme for the places Dave is interested in seeing.
We walked back through the shopping area looking for the elusive Chinese collared shirt that Dave is after. We didn't try too many places as we figured tomorrow could be a shopping day. There was this little voice from Steve several times saying that the shops might not be open tomorrow, but hey we thought, this is Paris. It turns out the little voice was right, not only were the shops closed on Sunday, but also on the Monday which was the Bastille Day holiday!
It was now late afternoon, so we walked back to Pont Neuf and had snacks at Henry IV.
Steve then returned to his hotel, and after a freshen up, we also caught the Metro to his area for dinner. Spoke too soon about the weather, it was now raining. We therefore didn't venture too far from the Metro station, and in any case Steve had spotted some cafes that looked good in the main square. We sat outside under shelter and enjoyed two courses at Virmoux Gastron, although Steve's risotto was a bit disappointing. Because
there were so many smokers, we moved onto a different cafe for coffee and dessert and opted to sit inside. This didn't really work as it was quite an open type cafe and the outside smoke still drifted in. I really appreciate the change in smoking laws in Australia! It was the night of the World Soccer play off between three and four, Brazil and Netherlands. It was being broadcast on large TV screens in all the cafes, crowded with spectators, so we did like the locals!
After the game, we bid Steve farewell and took the Metro home, this time being entertained by a piano accordion player. He wasn't making much money. A late night or should I say morning of 1am.
13 July Sunday Paris
Our plans for going to Gallerie Lafayette were thwarted as it was not open, and nor was any other shop. We had a late breakfast of omelettes at Cafe Royal, just down the corner from our hotel.
Plan B was Musee D'Orsay, but given it was raining persistently, this was obviously plan B for everyone else as well. The snake queue was so long, the
people had continued their own snake queue onto the pavement. We sheltered for a few minutes to wait for Steve and to formulate plan C.
Even though it was still drizzling, we decided to walk through the Latin Quarter to Luxembourg Gardens. We took a few wrong turns, in fact walked a big circle, but saw some views of the Invalides dome, then stopped for coffee which was a lovely quiet shop with a friendly waiter. It was also a bandaid stop as with the rain, Pam's croc sandals were slipping and causing a blister.
We passed St Sulpice on the way to the gardens. A beautiful fountain in the square provided a great reflection on the wet pavement.
We eventually arrived at the gardens which are quite picturesque, probably more so if the sun had been shining. It was not crowded, also because the sun wasn't shining. There were about twenty people sitting under a patio playing chess. A little further along, we came across a small art show, with three different styles of art - Asian, African and abstract. Unfortunately the palace was not open for viewing. We continued to wander through the gardens, looking
at the sculptures, pond and flowers. The queen atop a cone of cones was interesting. At the opposite end to the palace, a ceremony was taking place with several troops of gendarmes. We stopped to watch for a while. May have been related to Bastille Day?
On we walked, back to Rue de Bac where we stopped for beers and soup at a cafe in St Germaine. It was time to say au revoir to Steve who was travelling back to London by train, after which we went back to our hotel to rest our weary feet.
Later in the evening, it was still raining, so we only ventured a short way to a cafe called Le Terminus. We squeezed into a table inside. The small child at the table next to us was literally closer to Dave and me than we were to each other. He was leaning over the back of his chair, chewing gum and watching the World Cup Soccer Final on the screen beyond us. We had an average meal that was budget priced. One thing about Paris is that there is no shortage of cafes to choose from, basically two on every corner.
Quiet night as it is goodbye to Paris, and on to Brussels tomorrow morning.
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