17 August: How Good Is Paris ?

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How good is Paris?

Well, if the assessment is linked to rainfall, today was excellent.

After a long uneventful flight from Hong Kong to Paris, we arrived weary, sore, but ready to make the most of a 3 day break in Paris, with a wish list of stuff to do.

Hopefully we can cram plenty into 2 days now, because after queuing for what seemed forever in a line of people who treated the train ticket office at the airport as a tourist information office - I’m definitely becoming less tolerant as I get older - we rose from the bowels of the Paris Metro, only to be greeted with cool, wet conditions.

No matter, we are wet, but we are wet in Paris.

Our hotel is only a short walk from the station, and I was surprised to be greeted with “ Yes Mr Sherry, your room is ready for you now”, at 10am. We didn’t even have to give our name. Either Google has enlightened the world with facial recognition, or this guy has a good memory. We’ve stayed here a few times and the last time for me was 10 months ago. I know I’ve occasionally left a lasting impression at places, but this time it must have been a good one. We even have the same room as the last visit. It’s one of the rooms in the roof space on the sixth floor, complete with smooth, amber oak beams cutting the room in half, and a dormer window overlooking the Boulevard Saint- Michel. You have to climb the stairs from the fifth floor, because the lift stops there, but it oozes what we imagine to be French charm ( unlike the French couple sitting in front of us on the plane from HK with their seats fully extended back - Bastards !!), and we love it.

After turning a freshly cleaned room into a bomb site, with bits and bobs scattered everywhere, we had to leave the mess behind, put on our rain gear, and go in search of lunch.

On a hectic intersection in the Montparnasse district we found Le Bullier, a dark stained hotel with crushed crimson and green trim, softly backlit with period etched glass lighting, creating ‘Frenchness’. No apologies for that. That’s the style of the menu. The linguine arrabiatta was delicious even though the arrabiatta bit was missing, and the dish also featured my culinary pet hate; a sauce or condiment drizzled around the edge of the plate, making no contact with the food. It’s art apparently. That, and food stacked so high on itself, you have to deconstruct the dish before eating it, may be a casualty of the intolerance I mentioned earlier. This concept of fine dining has a lot to answer for, and I think it’s an unnecessary attempt at flair, in order to garner ( not garnish ! ) more points for the meal.

Anyway, our pasta was delish, the two coffees nice and strong, but I did make the mistake of ordering a cappuccino first and, not only is it nothing like a cappuccino, they seem to cost a fortune in Europe. I’m not going to say what we paid, but it’s about the equivalent of 2 days on Newstart, Australia’s woeful support for the unemployed.

On our way back to our hotel, we noticed an interesting domed building wedged in between a lane lined with old rendered stone cafes and appartments and, like the girls in Picnic at Hanging Rock, we were soon lost, heading further away from our destination, and only Mr Google’s son, Maps, got us out of that one.

I find everywhere is the same. Wander from the well worn paths and you will usually find the true essence of a place. I’m not downgrading the main attractions, they’re all important ( except Disneyworld), but you’re only skimming the surface if that’s all you see, plus most of the local, authentic cheap eats can be found this way*.

Back at the room, we had a shower, freshened up, and fell asleep for a few hours.

The plans tomorrow revolve around indoor activities; museums, Pompidou Centre, a trip to Victor Hugo’s house, located in an exclusive enclave of buildings surrounding a lovely , tree lined park.

Well that’s about it today. We’ve arrived, I’ve caught some head congestion thing, maybe on the plane, but its all good. Ciao for now .

*Le Bullier was definitely on a main road.

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Photos

A familiar head.
Looking into the public bar of El Bullier.

Cappuccino?
You wouldn’t get away with that in Melbourne.

Mmmmm....
The sauce was balsamic but it could have been chocolate for all it mattered. To be fair, it had plenty of veg and it was certainly the best meal over the last 36 hours.

The Bait
Walk to the end , turn right, get lost, repeat.

High Risk Art
Wasn’t there last time and considering how very few people would see it, it’s a very high risk job; seven floor up.

Comments

[Marcelle]

Hello from Melton
Hi Steve Looking forward to reading all about your travels. Best wishes to you both Enjoy and stay safe Marcelle

[sherrys]

Thanks Marcelle
And we WILL catch up after this trip. I promise. Ha.