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Published: July 13th 2015
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Finally, we made it to Paris. The flight from Hong Kong was around 12 hours and I had seen most of the English speaking movies on the flight, so it's Chinese cinema for me.
On arrival at Charles de Gaulle, the queues were slow, however we finally made it to the RER (train system) and into Gare du Nord where we transferred to the Paris Metro. On the train, I strike up a conversation with a nice young Algerian man, who tells me he's here without papers and can't leave. He has a rather jaundiced view of the French, but let's face it he is an illegal immigrant and sentiment across Europe is anti immigration. Our home for the next 28 nights is in Montparnasse, directly opposite Vaugirard metro station. The apartment is spacious by Paris standards and is equipped with everything we need. The supermarket is next door, so we are able to stock upon pate de campagne, cheese, baguettes, smoked salmon and everything one needs to survive.
The first stop is the shopping center at the Montparnasse tower, and the first few hours in Paris
An evening wandering around Lexembourg Gardens
Locals out talking, reading and eating on the lawns. is taken up with getting sim cards for Caroline's Ipad and my phone. Success, so on to our next our next quest, to purchase one month Navigo passes for the metro. This is a deal to get if you ever decide to spend a month in the City of Light from the 1
st day of the month onwards. 75 Euros and you can go anywhere on the metro within zones 1 and 2, hop on, hop off and wait there's more, as a special in July the whole of zones 1 thru 5 open up on July 15 til the end of the month. Most of our travel is within the peripherique (the road that rings Paris). Anyway, this and perusing and partaking of Paris sales takes up our first 4 days in the city. And believe me we need to stay in as many air conditioned stores as possible, because the temperatures across Europe are between 36-40C.
Food, being a Groupon groupie, I have purchased several coupons to restaurants to eat in the evenings and these have been very successful, however we really must stop eating three courses at every meal.
Friday, July 3, off to England on Eurostar for a wedding in Gt Yarmouth. A young couple I had met while in Fiji. I'm so pleased we have been invited and able to attend; I wish our young friends Mike and Ellis a long, happy and prosperous life together. A fantastic day with wonderful people and a most gorgeous setting in a corn field. Wow!
Caroline and I spend our final night in England with old friends, Jane and Mike (they will show up later in Greece) and as always it's an evening filled with laughter and memories. Then, it's stress time, driving into London to return our hire car to Euston before returning to Paris. And we have to pay the congestion charge of 11.50 pounds.
Back in Paris, the temperature has dropped. We are able to do touristy things, even though we have done many of them before. A stroll through Luxembourg gardens, a beer by the Seine, and more food, lots more food. Thankfully, we are walking between 6-10km per day, so the weight isn't quite piling
on as yet. Otherwise, Caroline would be rolling me around the city like a ball.
I have passed this imposing building many times, but never entered the Conciergeree, so we pay approximately 16 Euro each to enter and this includes a visit to Saint Chapelle. The buildings are maintained beautifully, so you know the fee is going to a good cause. I must make mention that the Conciergeree, was originally a palace, but it's notoriety comes following the French Revolution and the “Terror”, this is the final place Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were imprisoned prior to being guillotined, along with nobles and common folk who turned up on revolutionary lists. Ironically, one of the architects of the revolution, Robespierre, went one step beyond, and was also imprisoned and lost his head. My thoughts are, the English monarchy were probably shaking on their thrones and probably planning an exit strategy, just in case revolutionary principles spread across the channel.
The following day, the Louvre beckons, Caroline hasn't been in about 40 years, however I have had several trips in the last ten years. We are not
ready for the crowds and especially with groups of tourists following an umbrella or large flower, some even wearing the same colored t-shirts so they couldn't get lost. The noise is incessant and after the requisite visits to Moaning Lisa, Venus de Milo, Napoleon III apartments, a rather large painting of a Napoleon victory, and, my favorite, fifteen desperate men on a raft ( The raft of the Medusa, by Garrault). We decide to leave the Louvre and find somewhere to eat; my first steak tartare of the trip!
We devote Thursday to street markets and visit three, however none come close to the famous “marche au puce”, still everything can't be fabulous! Steak tartare two, the followup, pretty mediocre!
Friday, a down day with a single visit to the Lascaux exhibit at the convention center at Porte Versailles. Yes, copies of 20,000 year old cave art. A fascinating exhibit, telling of the discovery of the cave by 4 young boys, the closure of the cave in 1963 because the drawings were deteriorating from visitors, humidity and mold. They, then build Lascaux II where all the
drawings are reproduced in another cave system next to the original and finally opened to the public in early 1980's. Only dignitaries and “special” people can now visit the original. And finally, Lascaux III the traveling exhibit that reproduces several pieces of never before seen cave art from the original cave. Fascinating and worth a look if it ever arrives at an auditorium near you.
A couple of observations about Paris, bookstores are thriving, technology is not the center of the universe, smoking still continues especially among women, and people actually spend time outside enjoying the ambiance of the city.
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Dave M
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Gay Paree
(I think that's right!) Looks like you're having a good time. We had snow in Southern Queensland today, but it's only cool here in Wide Bay, still warm enough for some of the younger ones to dip in the Ocean. Another cold front on it's way, I believe. So, no sympathy for those high temperatures. Try not to embaress yourselves! No need to reply to this (Why change the habit of a lifetime?) xx