France - week 1 in Paris

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This is the first ‘episode’ in another of 'our' travel experiences.

The collective ‘episodes’ describe our journey from our arrival in Paris, France (from the 2nd week of May) and our journey to Floriade (Holland), then the remainder journey through northern and western France. In this part ( #1), we briefly describe our journey to Paris, and our experience of the 'city of love'.

As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture, click it to enlarge.

We've attached a few pics that give you a flavour of our journey, and some 'flow over' past the dialogue.

In the beginning.

Sounds a bit churchy... but, there's some background.

We've been enjoying our sojourns from Australia via AirAsia (they fly from Gold Coast - which is better for us than Brisbane - to Kuala Lumpur . We then select where to go next. Compared to other options, their fares are truly 'low cost', but the service has been generally good. On this trip we'd booked to fly into Paris, largely because it is now cheaper than London; the British Gov't have raised the airport taxes to horrendous levels. But also because we wanted to explore more of Europe. For this 'trip', we couldn't get matching dates from KL to our arrival, so we chose to spend a few days in KL (no hardship at all).

A few months ago, we learned that AirAsia had decided to 'abandon' its flights to Europe from April 1. Fortunately, they honoured their ticket-holders, and transferred us to Malaysian Airlines. Going from a Low Cost to Full Fare Airline was quite OK for us.

Tuesday 8th May - to KL.

Autumn had finally arrived to the Gold Coast, and our early am departure inclined us to welcome the prospective warmth of our first destination - Kuala Lumpur. Mari & Sakura had been staying with us for a few days as they were to depart Coolangatta for Japan an hour after us. Normally, we'd depart the airport gate and not look back. This time we were blessed to have Sakura and Mari waving us goodbye. Those special little events live longer than the moment.

In tropical cities, the temperature tops the chart by mid morning. Our arrival in KL @ 3:45pm meant we 'tasted' the full force of the sun's energy. Years ago, when we first experienced the 'blast' of hot, moist air, we felt overwhelmed. Now we enjoy the 'blast' as we descend the steps from the plane.

The two principal touristy areas of KL are Chinatown and Bukit Bintang; the latter being more upmarket. To us, while both are intense concrete jungles, they each have a certain inescapable 'buzz' that is positively attractive. We'd stayed in various accommodations in each, and this time pre-booked a guesthouse (read B&B) in a quiet treelined backstreet of Bukit Bintang. While cheap'n'cheerful, it was really quiet and very clean. As it turned out, the place was wonderfully central for all we wanted to undertake.

After settling in, it was off to Jalan Alor for a barbequed kebab entre - some Sichuan (hot & spicy) and some Malaysian satay (peanuty / curry) - washed down with a cold beer. It was then off to a Nonya restaurant for some spicy curry and rice. Ahhhhh, KL!!!!

Wednesday 9th - KL.

We had some issues with flight details so had to sort these out at nearby Ramlee (just a short walk from our accommodation). Ramlee has wide treelined boulevards and so with the early morning 'coolth', we enjoyed our meandre to the location.

After completing our errands, we headed to Tun Samanthan (near Brickfields) to visit the Thean Hou Temple. We'd heard it was really good, but that's an understatement. We understand there are two dominant forms of Buddhism. We are no experts, but the form practiced in by Chinese in Eastern south Asia (ie not Thailand & Laos) and China not only venerate buddha, but also the concept of God. And, God takes two forms; male and female. Most temples focus on the male form, but some focus on the female form. We'd seen statues to the female form throughout China & Vietnam, but here was a temple devoted to the female form (there is a name ascribed, but we have forgotten). This temple is delightful. Unlike the 'typical' temple, this was exceptionally peaceful, and very clean (ie there was not much clutter lying around - typical of the male god temples).



We'd heard about a 'fine dining' traditional Malay restaurant near where we were staying, so gave it a burl. It was brilliant.


[h3 left]Thursday 10th - to Paris.

With a midnight departure, we knew we had long day before us. We decided to play it quiet. After a bit of shopping in the am, Judy mentioned she'd like to see a film called The Lady. The film depicts the political life of Aung San Suu Kyi. Having last year been in Burma, and having experienced a 'taste' of the heavy-handedness of the military while there, we were emotionally associated to much of the film. For us, it was hard to hold back the tears as we watched how the film producers contrasted the peaceful Myanmar people (including Suu Kyi) and the brutal military dictatorship. Suu Kyi's husband felt the term 'steel orchid' best described her. We wonder whether the commitment and determination displayed over the decades by Suu Kyi - at great personal cost - will advance the welfare of the Myanmar people.



By late afternoon, with a dark sky, high heat and humidity, we knew a tropical storm was close. Fortunately, we were close to a bar when the heavens opened. After a few 'tonics' to address the heat, the rain stopped and we were able to go get some dinner before making our way to the airport.



Friday 11th - Paris



We arrived at CDG Paris at about 6:30amm to a bleak sky, very dry air and an icily cold day. At that time, entry through customs was quick. That said, the Australian gov't could still learn much from the speedy entry procedure into Europe. After a short train ride, we found the apartment we'd earlier booked in Saint Germain des Pres.



We'd done a bit of research to find an apartment, and used google 'street view' to consider attributes (ie proximity to cafes etc). WOW, was this place much, much more than we anticipated! The apartment is cosy, but with all we need. It is within a few steps to an amazing collection of cafe's, restaurants and bars. But, better for us, there is no shortage of patisseries, boulangeries, charcuteries, boucheries, chocalatiers and even a small Carriefour supermarket; all within 250 metres. We recognised that with traffic etc., google 'street view' would have been taken early am on a Sunday - with many shopfronts shuttered. In 'real time' we were experiencing a totally different aspect. Given that we had cooking facilities, we decided we'd get some supplies; red wine, soft centred cheeses, baguette, etc. Being jetlagged, we didn't do much other than orient ourselves to the area, get supplies, and make ourselves comfortable. The nearby charcuterie has a rotisserie stand out front, so we got some hot food and vege's and had dinner 'in'. Post meal, we found the soft centred cheeses we'd bought were all really smelly and wonderfully delicious with the chewy baguette and red wine. Bliss.........!!!



Saturday 12th - icon seeking



While still very cold, the blue sky was welcome. We decided to go look at the major icons - at least we'd be keeping ourselves warm. A 10 minute walk had us at the banks of the river Seine facing the extensive Louvre building on the other side (right bank). Once over the river, we entered the courtyard of the Louvre building. Looking west is a wide avenue - maybe 1/2 km wide - and some 3 km's over a slight valley to the Arc de Triomphe situated on the crest of the next rise; an amazingly grand vista.



Heading west are the formal open space parks of Jardin du Carousel and Jardin des Tuileries; nice, but too austere. Heading further west one encounters the Place de la Concorde (where the revolutionaries set up the guillotine back in the late 18th century) which, if one hadn't read up on the history, is essentially a big road roundabout with a monument in the middle. On the other side is the Av des Champs-Elysees.



We were unprepared for our entry to the Champs-Elysees from the eastern end. Yes, as so many pictures show, it's a grand boulevard. But, for half the length from the eastern end to the Arc de Triomphe each side is flanked by a beautifully landscaped park. The park is almost a botanical garden with a variety of tree species, sculptured lawns and garden beds full of the most amazing array of spring flowers. In the now warming sun, we really enjoyed wandering westwards through the park. The park eventually gave way to the urban, with grand buildings flanking a very wide footpath. Here was the 'public' face of the Champs-Elysees, with all manner of upmarket retailing shopfronts; eg. a Mercedes showroom next to a huge Zara boutique!! And, being now a warm Saturday, here were the crowds.

Perhaps the only thing that can be said of the Arc de Triomphe is that it is monumental in all possible aspects; the size, the scale relative to the surroundings, the actual situation (with multiple roads converging) and the facade design.



We took our leave of the crowds and headed south along a wuiet street towards the Seine. After sighting the Flamme de Liberty, we headed west along the river bank. We were surprised to 'discover' the Musee d'rt Moderne - an appealing stark modernist building. Looking south, there in all it's glory was the Eiffel Tower. But, our attention was taken with the cast iron bridge crossing the Seine; for us it appears it may have been the template for the Sydney harbour bridge (or the frogs copied us).



While the Eiffel Tower dominates the landscape - and skyline - it is decidely unattractive. On the northern side of the Seine is a collection of large buildings (apartments/offices/public buildings) that collectively are visually delightful. But, the tower is the icon!!!



Being a sunny Saturday afternoonm,the queue to go up the tower at 2pm was some 3 1/2 hours 'long'!! We're glad we had no desire to go up. We were now getting exhausted from all the walking so decided to head back to the apartment via the Hotel des Invalides; so called as the structure was erected in the 1670's to house invalid's of French wars. Pretty fancy veterans' home!



Once back in the apartment, and after some time to rest our feet, we headed to phone shop to try and get a mobile internet 'stick' for the tablet. The shop was out of stock - too many tourists! It was time to find a cafe-bar for a few beers and supplies for a meal 'in'.



Sunday 13th - Mothers Day



Having learnt that Notre Dame cathedral has a Gregorian Mass at 10am, we braved the cold icy winds to attend. The service flooded Judy with tears. As well as Gregorian chanting, the mass was said in Latin - reminding Judy of her youth where as a child Mass was said in Latin. Despite not having been to a Latin mass for over 50 years, Judy had no trouble remembering the Latin prayers. She was so moved she also took communion; again, an event not undertaken for decades.



Deciding to pursue the mobile internet stick, we headed for the only store open on Sunday - on Champs-Elysees. No luck. We then meandered our way back to our apartment via more iconic buildings. When nearly back to our apartment, we stumbled upon Cafe de Flores - a Parisian icon cafe. We first learnt of this place via a wonderful CD of laid back jazz music we bought so many years ago. Of course we had to have a coffee. Feeling a bit peckish, were also ordered a mille-feuille. OMG!!! The choux pastry was so wafer thin and the filling an oh-so-light caramalised coffee flavoured custard cream mix. When asking of the patissier, we learnt it was a Pierre Hermes creation. We'd read that Pierre Hermes 'reinvented' the macaroon, and we were planning to visit his patisserie later that afternoon. We did, and the queue for the macaroons clearly identified the reputation. Interestingly, most customers were focussed on macaroons, yet there was a show case of excuisite creations being overlooked. We wished we could 'pig out', but exercised constraint. The macaroons were just heavenly. The cream centre so light and with intense flavours. The crust almost non-existant; merely a shell to contain the cream centre.



Most shops close on Sunday, and the food vendors are no exception. So, we enjoyed a meal at a 'traditionale' restaurant; good French fare and a cracker bottle of red. A brilliant end to a quite different (and for Judy a special) Mothers Day!



Monday 14th - Chartres



Though we were to pick up a rented car later in the week, we wanted to experience a bit of peri-urban Paris. So, off to Chartres we did go. Chartres is famous for its Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Chartres (Notre Dame is a very popular church name in France) not necessarily for the structure - though it is - but for the blue coloured stained glass windows. The cathedral is an exquisitely well preserved medieval cathedral. We learned it was built upon a fire ruined cathedral, and in the process the builders built around the remaining Romanesque spire and added another spire - an elaborate Gothic structure that matches the rest of the building.



The day had transformed into being wonderfully warm and without much breeze. In this ambience, the wonderful aroma's of the prolifically planted roses, wisteria and scented annual flowers made the day even more enjoyable. The city 'fathers' have reserved the old city, which is quite well preserved. It was enjoyable to wander through streets and lanes twisting all over the place, with buildings of such vintage and character.



The 'modern' city centre abutts the old city, and eventually we made our way there for a sandwich baguette (ie cut lengthwise and filled with typical sandwich fillings). Noting a series of telephone stores beside each other, we went searching for that elusive product. We learnt that while some companies had stock, none had the software for an Android tablet. Mmmmmm!!!! Seems like we'll just have to rely on wifi (most of which appears blocked).

We met a local who just wanted to have a chat. We didn't mind as we chose to chat at a bistro, but outside in the warmth of the sun in the treed mall. The beers in that location seemed all the more tasty. We learnt that though Chartres has a population of some 50,000, many commute the hour to Paris to work. The remainder service the largely farming locality. Before long, we bid our Au Revior, and returned to Paris. Given the enchanting and warm day, we were really warming to the Parisien way of life.



Tuesday 15th - Wet and miserable



The day opened up OK, but was quite a bit cooler and increasingly darker clouds skidded across the pale sky. We headed for a Starbucks to use the wifi so that Judy could call her dad. Upon starting the tablet, the screen would not 'open'. Just minutes before in the apartment, we had been recharging the battery while storing all our photo's to date and updating this blog. Fearing the worst, we made our way to a major electronics supply store. It appears the video card had 'gone'. We had just purchased it prior to our departure - the keyboard of the ASUS netbook we'd used for several years died the week before departure and we didn't have time to get it fixed. Mmmmmmm - we hope we can some day get the photo's off the hard drive!!!!! We made an on-the-spot decision and bought another netbook - at least we could get a mobile internet stick for that. The downer is that the keyboard is for the French language (ie not QWERTY), and Windows is also in French. C'est la vie!



Being a wet and miserable day, we returned to the apartment to 'sort out' the netbook. Later when the rain had eased, we strolled the backstreets and procured our evening drinks and food.



Wednesday 16th - Louvre ++



We'd reserved this day to visit the Louvre, largely because it opened late and had a lower entry price after 3pm. It wasn't the time or cost so much as the crowds were reported to diminish after about 3.

The weather still seemed 'iffy', so we headed for a starbucks so that Judy could call her dad, and Bruce could download some programs onto the netbook. Once done, with the weather looking somewhat better, we caught the subway to Montmartre. Lonely Planet has a walking trail, so we thought that may give us an insight. Not 5 minutes into the 'walk' when we came across Cafe des 2 Moulin, the centrepiece of that wonderfully quirky French comedy 'Amelie'. We had to have a coffee there!!! As we wandered the streets, the day began to shine - in the cold climate sunshine makes so much difference. The route took us past some wonderful character houses, and even past a very old vineyard - right in the centre of Paris!!! Eventually we made it to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Perched high on a hill overlooking Paris, not only are the views of the city stunning, the travertine stone makes for a stunning sight.



We made our way down the hill and into the adjacent area of Pigalle, for a bite to eat and a subway trip to the Musee du Louvre. Once entering, it's not hard to see why it has such a globally special reverence. While the glass pyramid covered underground central 'space' is huge - it needs to be for the crowds - it is also welcoming in a relaxed but efficient way. The central 'space' links the quadrangle of buildings displaying the various artifacts. While the museum holds several iconic objects - eg. Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, etc. - for us it was not these or anything in particular that took our imagination. Rather it was the depth of quality of the material on display coupled to the huge variety. Not only paintings, but statues, historical artefacts dating back to ancient Egypt (circa 2500BC), and royal suites. While the iconic objects gained the crowds - making appreciation of the beauty difficult - often there was a nearby artefact equally as appealing and quite overlooked.



After about 6 hours, and with very tired feet we told them it was only a short walk for another meal 'in'.



Thursday 17th - La Defense



We awoke latish to another cold bleak day. We toyed with another peri-urban tripm this time to Fontainbleau, with it's (reportedly) fabulous chateau and gardens and the nearby forest. We figured the weather would likely make the experience unpleasant, so opted to go look at La Defence then back to the Marais area.



The subway to La Defense runs along a quite straight corridor. Given this, the French have put in a higher speed train; and does it move quickly - it literally charges out of the platform and one HAS to hold on to something or fall over.



While some 30 years in the making, La Defense comprises the corporate high rise segment of Paris. Apparently, when a high rise was erected at Montparnassem Parisians were outraged. The 'solution' was to ban them from city centre, and give them a site outside the core. On an aesthetic measure it works well. The entire design focus is modernism, and the various architects have outcompeted each other to present their building as a visually interesting statement in it's own right. The centrepiece is a monumental arch, a glass, marble and steel cube structure some 110m on each side and some 80m on the internal sides - making a huge equisided arch.

We'd not known it till we arrived, but La Defense is perched on a hill overlooking the Arc de Triomphe in roughly a straight line with the Louvre building. And, the connecting road is Champs-Elysees. The 8km length is known as the Axe Historique.



As elsewhere in Paris, the buidings are separated by a wide boulevard - here pedestrianised and filled with modern artworks and scupltures. With all the land we have in Australia, our disposition to narrow road corridors is lamentable. Not only do the wide corridors set the buildings back so that one doesn't feel overpowered, it also provides scope for future road widening.



Whether it was the deflective aspect of the buildings or just the 'weather', the icy wind was not conducive to meandering the cityscape. After a wander through a huge shopping mall, we headed back to the subway to return the Paris centre and a look-see at the Marais area. As we'd read, we found this area has enjoyed a fashionable reputation over the years, with many large homes still intact. Given the reputation, we wandered to Centre Pompidou - a large cultural centre and museum opened some 30 years ago in a (then) quite radically designed building. It is still 'out there', but due to aapects copied elsewhere, not as jaw dropping. Everywhere around Paris we'd come across musicians busking; even a 12 piece band in one subway corridor. Perhaps the Marais area had more than elsewhere, but we were surprised when the police chased one goup away. We figured they were not 'approved' to busk.



Friday 18th - Departing Paris



We had pre-booked a hire car and during the week organised it to be like the one we drive at home and to pick it up at around 9-9:30. Bruce went to get it and return to the apartment to pick up Judy and our bags. The guy with whom we'd spoken with told us he'd be 'on' on Friday and would organise. Bruce learnt that though he'd 'organised', the car had been rented out late Thursday - "another is being sent on a truck, but the driver is delayed in a traffic jam - hopefully it'll be here within the hour". An hour later, the attendant agreed to lend a Fiat 500 to go get Judy. A while later we'd been 'upgraded' from a small car to a turbo diesel VW Golf. Writing this a few days on, we can say the car is quiet and comfortable but has amazing acceleration.



Our departure from Paris will begin our next blog.



Reflections



Within a short time, Judy said she had an affinity with Paris she'd not experienced elsewhere. On reflection, we think the appeal of Paris is that the city fathers have located the CBD away from the 'old' centre. And, rather than allow modern apartment blocks raze historic buildings, the 'burbs' spread out from beyond the centre core. While Paris is noted for it's iconic buildings, broad avenues and history, we would also include the evocative back streets and laneways. But, most of all the centre of Paris is a cultural precinct - one unlike any other city we've visited. The secret, it seems, is to protect the cultural precinct from competition with a CBD. Paris, then, is truly a cultural city.



Apparently there is a global economic crisis. You would'nt know it in Paris. On a balmy Sunday afternoon, we were sitting at an open-air table having a coffee at Cafe de Flores on Boulevarde St Germain. We were fascinated with the passing parade of well heeled in their designer clothes. We were also surprised at the number of expensive cars flowing past. We 'put' A$250,000 for every cabriolet (open topped) Masaratti, Bugatti, Ferrari, etc. and over half an hour counted some 23A$million. Add the hard topped examples, the 'ordinaire' Mercs, Porsche's etc, and it appears parts of Paris ain't suffering! Oh, well, next life!!!



Cheers



ps. The second (next segment) of this FRANCE journey can be found here .

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Photos

And, she said, let them eat cake
Louvre example of pre-revolutionary dining setting

La Defense structure
These are aircon outlets

Marais streetscape
Compared to St Germain, the buildings are larger, and streets wider in this precinct.