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Day 577, 10 Jan '16, Early stroll across town and the Seine via the Saint Eustache food market (complete accident), Paris Walking Tour, Eiffel Picnic, Art Deco Exhibition, Champs Elysees until we got soaked, coffee & cake , Sushi Galore.
We first visited Paris 3 years ago and thought it would be grand to revisit the Sandeman's Free Walking tour we did that very first cold, wet day. Aside from anything else the day dawned cold and we AND we love free tours and not having to keep an eye on the map. We considered taking the metro cross town from Grand Boulevards to Place Saint-Michel... but it was a fine morning and was going to take 30 minutes whether we walked or metro'd - So walk it was. A Sunday morning, it was incredibly peaceful. Almost no traffic at all. We came across a local street market near the church of Saint Eustache - completely non-tourist market. Pretty sure we were the only tourists there. Loads of oysters, seafood, meats, cheese, African and Moroccan food and of course massive bunches of flowers... gloriously colourful under the gray skies. We made it to the fountain in Place Saint-Michel (pictured) with a minute to spare then enjoyed a 2.5 hour walk. Less walking, more standing and more history - so completely different from the first tour 3 years ago. We ended up near the Louvre then ventured off cross-country to the residential area near the Eiffel Tower - picked up a ham & cheese baguette, a quiche and a coffee and sat as the Parisians do in the shadow of the tower for our picnic lunch. From there we decided to follow our noses to the Shangri-La Hotel to check out an exhibition of Art Deco furniture and figurines (free of course... the exhibition not the figurines that is). Wow. The Shangri-La is most definitely "NOH" - "Not Our Hotel". From there it was off to the Arc de Triomphe and a leisurely stroll down the Champs Elysees - lots of Christmas lights and decorations still up and people everywhere. All was going well, even after it started raining... but once it started pouring we decided discretion was the better part of valour and we headed underground for a direct metro run back to the hotel. Our hotel is doing something pretty cool in the afternoons..."The Yummy Corner" - posh pod coffees and cakes. This afternoon we were the only folks around - so it actually felt like we were sitting in our own cosy, private cafe for two. Quick freshen up and eventually off to Hitomi. We found this place last Christmas and as sushi is diabolically expensive in most places, we committed it to memory. Only €15.90/head for "all you can order" sushi. Wow. We went to town and enjoyed a slow walk home afterwards... Tomorrow we head to the deep, dark depths of South West France. That's it on the bright lights, big city and buckets of sushi until 19 March when we head to Paris again for a couple of nights prior to heading on to Amsterdam and a stunning apartment on the Singel Canal - right opposite the flower market. Yes. We know. It's a hard life.
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