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Published: August 9th 2015
Cachan
The aquaduct bringing water to Paris.Sunday 9 August 2015
Our final day in Europe had arrived. What a journey. But it was not over yet. We still had one more visit into Paris. The day dawned a little cloudy and while we indulged in a delicious in-room breakfast of fruit and cereal it rained. When the rain cleared it felt cooler than we have felt for a few days. Great sightseeing weather.
We headed off for our day of sightseeing. We have passed an interesting structure on each trip into the city centre. We had noticed it four years ago. So today we took the opportunity of getting off the train and to find out what it was. It turned out to be an aquaduct started by Henri IV (1613-1623) and finished by his wife, Marie de Medici. Henri wanted water for Paris, Marie wanted water for her fountains at Luxembourg Palace. Today we have solved a puzzle.
Our major visit today is the Musee d'Orsay. To get there we wandered through the Jardin des Tuileries. Once through the vast array of fair ground entertainment activities we got the chance to admire the carefully trimmed trees all lined up like regimental soldiers. As
The Tuileries
Looking through an Avenue of trees towards the Louvre. we approached the museum we noticed the long zig zag queue. Looks like yesterday's Notre Dame queue had moved to Musee d'Orsay. Missing were the beggars. Once in we made our way to the Impressionist Exhibition. Amazing to be surrounded by so many Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissario, Dega and Sisley. One piece of work, "Haystacks at the End of Summer" by Monet, we had seen in Dunedin some years ago. This visit was a highlight of the day.
Time for lunch. With a few euros still in our pocket we took the metro to Champs Elysees. As we emerged from the underground there we were in the middle of an early afternoon hustle and bustle that is Sunday on the Champs Elysees under the gaze of the Arc de Triomphe. We chose a footpath cafe and indulged. A pity about the bill, but then again we can't spend euros in NZ. (We hear someone say, "Yes you can, just exchange them.") Our second highlight of the day, dining on the grand Champs Elysees. We visited the Peugeot showroom displaying all the latest machinery. The new Quartz looks fabulous, perhaps our car next time. It would go well on the
Paris
The Seine near the Tuileries. German autobahn. We had to settle for a 2008 that we will bring home with us. A snip at 4.50€.
As we need to head off early in the morning we returned to our lovely accommodation and prepared our bags for the long haul flight to Singapore leaving Paris at 12 noon. We leave taking with us some wonderful memories and no regrets about wanting to come home. Our list of "what to see next time" has continued to grow and so we look forward to returning one day soon.
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Enny and Jolyon Manning
non-member comment
Wellcome Back
Thank you Marllyn and Chris for your travelogue for 3 mnths Sorry ithat the last day in Paris has been and gone Great however that you are on your way back to NZ Jolyon and I with Pene and Lionel Sinnamon would like to wellcome you both back to NZ with a 12.30 lunch on Wed. 19th August at Oliver's in Clyde Hope you will be settled back by then and over the jetlag Love Enny and Jolyon