We arrived at our apartment in the Marais district in the 11th arrondissement at midday where we were met by Bruno. I would describe the decor of this quirky apartment where we were to stay for the next 3 nights as "warehouse chic with zebra embellishments". The toilet was bright red and in a cupboard beside the front door, the shower was in the bedroom and the front door was 15 cm thick with 10 locks. There were 2 security doors with different codes to get into the apartment complex. I was not sure with all this security whether I felt safe or nervous. The streets surrounding the apartment were full of wholesale clothes boutiques and boulangeries, charcuteries and patisseries. We stocked up on breakfast supplies, had a baguette and pastry for lunch, and then set off to explore Paris!A 40 minute walk had us in the vicinity of Notre Dame where we purchased a "Hop On, Hop Off" bus ticket and headed off on the 'classic' route. It was like being at a tennis match - Lourve on the right, palace on the left, museum on the right, ..........
So much to see, so much history, so much traffic, so many people!
Our plan was to head towards Sacré Coeur for mass. We walked up the steep hill and steps (there are always steps!) of Montmartre. Our path took us up the hill slightly past the church and then it was a short downhill walk to the front of the cathedral. It was a little disconcerting having noisy crowds circling and viewing the cathedral while mass was on. Equally as off-putting were the crowds of tourists sitting on the front steps drinking Heineken much to the delight of the street vendors selling it, and the other vendors who grabbed your wrist (as happened to me) to put a braided bracelet on your arm then demand money. This made me feel very uneasy and not what I was expecting from Paris!
Dinner that evening at the Eiffel Tower, however, was amazing. It was an early birthday present for me and a late one for David from Mum and Bruce. The lift took us to the first level where we were seated and given a glass of champagne. It was hard to make a choice from the selection of food on the menu and it was all so beautifully presented. A photographer roamed amongst the diners and took photos - gazing into each others eyes, holding hands, resting your chin on your hands looking pensive, together, individually etc etc. We made a deal with the table next to us.."you take our photo and we'll take yours". The result was just as good. The evening saw one proposal and three birthdays where the staff clapped their approval at each event. After dinner, we strolled back through the Trocadero where we watched the couples ballroom dancing in the glow of the evening. We also watched the tower twinkle like stars on the hour and late into the evening made our way back to the apartment. It was a wonderful evening and memory of Paris!
The next morning saw us back at the Eiffel Tower. Our only option, given the queue, was to climb the 669 steps to the 2nd floor viewing level. We overtook the man walking his toddler up the stairs and were amazed by the people pushing prams around. We managed the compulsory selfies and took in the fantastic view from each side of the tower before descending to the crowds below.
We once again used the "hop on, hop off" bus to get ourselves around this huge city. We were wanting to head back to Montmartre for lunch. We got off at the closest stop to our lunch destination and walked up the steep hill again past cafes and boutiques. The square at Place de Tertre was surrounded by artists painting scenes of Paris and was alive with people lunching at the footpath cafes so we found a cafe in the centre of Montmartre a few streets away. We happily ate our lunch while watching the passing crowds and the roaming artists trying to convince tourists to have their portraits sketched, as well as taking in the quaint scene of the narrow streets and old buildings. Finally we headed off back towards the bus, past signs describing the history of many of the famous artists like Van Gogh who have at some time made Montmartre their home.
Our dinner that night was at a little restaurant called "Le Petit Prince de Paris". This restaurant, in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank, was originally a tavern in 1450. It had a decor of wild and bright colours with low lighting and tables arranged close enough to hear the conversations of everyone around you. We actually had a lovely meal but the night was full of dramas for the new young waiter who was trying to find his feet in this busy restaurant. After taking our order, we had nearly consumed a bottle of wine before any food arrived, the people next to us received our bill and the American lady behind us, who loudly voiced her opinion on everything, disagreed with their bill and disputed their order. The poor young waiter! He ran up and down the stairs at a great pace with dishes precariously balanced and looked like he was unlikely to finish the week!
On our final day in Paris, David was to meet Les Dutton, a colleague from Philadelphia University, who is in Paris on 12 months sabbatical. We met Les at Notre Dame, where David left me to spend a few hours wandering the cathedral and taking a river cruise while he went to Les' office at the Sorbonne.Notre Dame, one of the largest and most famous cathedrals on the River Seine was lovely with its rose stained-glass windows. The gardens surrounding it were equally as beautiful and contained a statue of St John Paul II in a garden with flowers in all shades of blue. The square in front of the cathedral was full of people, including armed guards, patrolling and watching the crowd.
I enjoyed the peace of the river cruise, away from the crowds and getting the perspective of the city from the top deck. The cruise did a loop from Notre Dame along one side of the Ile de la Cite, the island Notre Dame is on, to the Eiffel Tower and back along the other side, passing under numerous bridges and past many boats moored along the river banks.
When David returned from his meeting, we headed off to see Sainte Chapelle, the Gothic chapel behind Notre Dame only to be greeted by a very long queue. So we then decided to go to the Musée d'Orsay, one of the best Impressionist galleries in the world. Once again we were faced with a huge queue, we decided to change our plan and head off on the Metro to the Champs Elysee for some window shopping.
While I was never brave enough to tackle the Metro system on my own, I enjoyed riding the train network. Buskers would regularly roam the carriages and entertain the commuters. There were also people walking the length of the carriages preaching; at least that was what we presumed that they were doing. It was interesting watching the body language of the people on the train when this happened, as they tried to immerse themselves in their book or read their phones so not to make eye contact.As we walked towards the Metro from the Musée d'Orsay, we saw a pedicab, one of those three wheeled tourist bikes with a poor rider who pedals like crazy to get you where you want to go. Although this is something we would normally avoid, for some reason, without a moments hesitation we climbed on board and with lots of laughter were taken around the Place de la Concorde, amongst buses, police cars with sirens blaring and crazy traffic up the Champs Elysee towards L'Arc de Triomphe. It sure beat the Metro!
Dinner that night, our final night in Paris, was at a restaurant in the Bastille area, with Les and his wife Julia. We ate oysters, the largest I have ever seen, fish perfectly cooked, and a selection of mouth-watering deserts from a tasting plate, and drank a lovely crisp French Chablis. It was a great night with great company and a perfect way to end our Paris sojourn.
Only one day back in Dublin before we are off to explore Northern Ireland. Au revoir!!
Only one day back in Dublin before we are off to explore Northern Ireland. Au revoir!!
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