London Wednesday

We were up and ready with time to pack and clean the apartment a little. It was warm and very humid when we left and the metro was quite oppressive. Fortunately the 2^nd train, that got us to Gare du Nord, was airconditioned which helped a bit. We wound our way around the passages and got to the Eurostar check in and border control (for both France and UK) an hour early. We had to be out of the apartment by 11am and there was nowhere else to go with the time we had and our luggage. On to the train for a fast and uneventful trip to London.

The weather deteriorated more and more and we went from a humid 23 degrees in Paris to a wet 14 degrees in London. We had a 15 min walk from St Pancras station to our serviced apartment, where we will be for the next 4 nights. The whole studio apartment is smaller than most of the hotel rooms we have been in, one of the problems of booking without seeing what you are getting, but it will do. Interesting  kitchen cupboard, that is the “kitchen” in a cupboard, or 2 in our case.

We’ve bought our Oyster card for public transport, been to Sainsbury’s for some wine and basic provisions (wine is not basic) and sussed out which Indian restaurant we intend eating at tonight.

Looking forward to seeing Debbie tomorrow night.

Paris Tuesday

We spent a few hours this morning and early afternoon at the Musee de Montmartre. The buildings, which are 3 centuries old, were workshops and studios of numerous artists such as Auguste Renoir, Emile Bernard, Suzanne Valadon and Maurice Utrillo, to name a few. The museum is spread over a few buildings and has a very good “Montmartre – a film set” temporary exhibition, showing clips of some of the many films set in Montmartre, many featuring the long flights of steps. Of course there is a café where we had lunch and coffee, in a very peaceful garden. It is so quiet and peaceful that it is hard to imagine that there is anything going on outside the walls.

There is also a building devoted to their permanent collection of paintings, sketches and lithographs. They are all related to Montmartre and the activities there. There are a number of lithographs related to the night club, Le Chat Noir. Most people have probably seen one of the typical posters.

Rick needed a “high up” fix for the day, so the next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. Although we’ve  been up it previously, the air was clear and there are spectacular views of the layout of the roads and buildings around the Place Charles de Gaulle. Unfortunately it’s not as much fun watching the traffic around the Arc de Triomphe as it used to be. There are traffic lights and the traffic flow is reasonably ordered. Click on this link if you want to see a very short video from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. https://youtu.be/JebAlVpOgfw

We went to buy a couple of bottles of water from a street hawker, but we think he was trading illegally, because there were police around him and when I tried to pay, he said the water was free. One of the policemen gave me a second bottle. Don’t think the Hawker made any money today after having the water confiscated/given away.

We made good use of the Metro today, it is a very efficient system and trains on most lines seem to come every 3-5 minutes. There is a lot of walking inside the stations though, up, down and along, to access the other platforms/other lines and entrances/exits. Sadly, we only get one more trip, tomorrow we leave this great little apartment and fun city to catch the Eurostar to London.

Paris Monday

Last night on the way back home, we saw this great, high tower with, guess what, people on top. Well, it’s been a while since Rick climbed a tower, so this morning he walked the 10 mins to the tower in time to book the first guided tour for the day at 10am. Unfortunately the tour was in French, so information understood was just a little limited. The Saint Jacques tower is all that remains of the Church of Saint-Jacques-le Majeur, the starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In 1501, it was decided to replace the old tower with this new one and the new tower was finished in 1522. During the revolution, the church became a national asset and was sold for its stone in 1797. Fortunately there was a clause in the deed of sale that prohibited demolition of the bell tower. By the beginning of the 19^th century, the tower was in very poor condition. In 1836, the City of Paris repurchased the tower and a few years later, restoration work was initiated by Napoleon III. In 2001, restoration of the facades of the tower was undertaken and the tower was opened to the public in 2013.

There are 300 steps to get to the top and the views of Paris are stunning, with all of the low level buildings, interesting roof tops, the Seine etc. Well worth the visit.

We then walked the 2 kms or so to where the canal boat trip left from, near the Place de la Bastille. It was a 2 1/2 hour trip up the Canal St Martin, going through a number of double locks, past 2 swing bridges and a lift bridge, as well as under many attractive pedestrian bridges. With the temperature up around 30 degrees, it was comfortable on the canal with a slight breeze and spray from the locks filling. The canal was constructed in the early 1800s and the section we were on rose almost 30 metres. We started off by motoring through a tunnel under the Place de la Bastille and followed Boulevard Richard Lenoir before seeing light again.

Used the Metro to get back home, changing once and picked up a bottle of wine and dinner from the small supermarket around the corner.

Paris Sunday

Had a big thunderstorm during the night with heavy rain. Fortunately it was all over by the time we got up, but it was very humid. First stop was the Pompidou Centre and up the escalators, inside a Perspex tube, to see Paris from high. It was quite hazy and there are cranes all over the place which spoil the view.

Another very expensive coffee stop outside the Pompidou Centre. Seems the more you pay for coffee, the worse it is. Hate to say it, but the 2 McDonalds (1 McCafe and 1 ordinary) coffees we’ve had were much better than the expensive coffees we had today and yesterday.

We then walked on to the Jardin du Palais Royal which was surrounded by very classic Parisian buildings (maybe they are either classic or not, no degrees of classic).

From there we walked to the Tourist info office and on to the Jardin des Tuileries. Stunning views one way to the Louvre and the other way down the Jardin des Tuileries. We joined many others in the shade for a while and just looked and people watched. Such a beautiful park and being enjoyed by so many people.

By now, were not far from the Seine, so we walked back home most of the way along the river. 

We walked about 5 kms today.

Paris Saturday

The apartment is very quiet, on the 2nd floor with a lift that supposedly holds 3 people. Our building is off an attractive courtyard and the entry from the street is through a security gate. Had windows open for the night, good air flow, good bed and being tired meant that woke up later than usual. We had a slow breakfast and then set out to explore the neighbourhood.

The National Archives complex has some very grand buildings and a small public park with shady trees and lots of seating, a serene place in the middle of Paris.

We walked to the Place des Vosges, a beautiful, symmetrical park about 2 kms from our apartment, paid 11 euros for pretty ordinary coffee, but with a great view across the park and of people relaxing. 

We walked on to Canal St Martin, booked a canal trip for Monday, then walked along the canal to where it joins the Seine. There were many people sitting along the river, reading, talking, relaxing, eating, drinking and even a group of casual salsa dancers. 

We left the Seine and went on past the over the top Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), 

past the Pompidou Centre to the small supermarket just near the apartment. 2 icecreams cost more than the bottle of nice wine we bought. Then only 200 metres to the front gate of our apartment. We walked about 6 kms, the furthest Gill has been able to manage since hurting her back. Good to get back “home” and relax with our icecreams.