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After a day of recovery from Glastonbury festival and saying our goodbyes to London, we boarded the Eurostar to Paris and hurtled along at speeds close to 300km/h under the English Channel. As Paris doesn't really do hostels (well it kind of does but you have to part with many euros) we had organised an apartment on airbnb in the 12th arrondissement, Canal St Martin. We met our apartment owner at the metro station and he showed us around our very own one bedroom apartment for the next 5 nights. Taking advantage of the non-broken washing machine we did about six loads (it was a tiny front loader) of catch up washing, first night in Paris, how romantic.
Our first full day in Paris and we woke to cloudy skies and a threat of rain, so we decided to hit the Louvre museum. However, first we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and wandered down the super touristy Champs-Élysées. Did the must stop at Laduree where I goggled at all the colourful macarons and cakes. I spent about 10 minutes choosing 6 flavours of macarons to takeaway, with much eye-rolling from the shop assistant, grimaced at the price and we went on our merry way. We finally reached the Louvre at about midday and the line for entry snaked its way right around the square. Estimating the waiting time to be in hours rather than minutes we decided to abandon our plan and hit up another of Paris many museums the Musee D'Orsay. Although it also had a line we waited only 10 minutes for entry, which was much preferable. The highlight of the Musee D'Orsay was the impressionist and neo-impressions painting displays, along with some van Gogh's. As we were in the area we then ambled along the river Seine to Notre Dame, another impressive gothic cathedral. Entry was happily free and the many stained glass windows and the beautiful altar keep us enthralled and in awe of what human kind is capable of. The really knew how to build a church in the 12th century. I left feeling vaguely short-changed as I hadn't sighted a single hunchback. Back in Canal St Martin for dinner we visited a local Vietnamese place, as you do when your in Paris (?!).
The next day we decided to be more organised and be at the Lourve at just before opening time to avoid major lines. This plan worked well and I advise anyone who wants to visit the Louvre to be there at 8.30am, unless you like lining up and then just do what you want. We ummmed and aaahed and decided we would purchase the 5€ audio guides, due to the fact neither of us know much about art. Theses audioguides turned out to be a nintendo 3DS with headphones, very schmancy. For some reason the thing to do when you first arrive at the Louvre is to madly rush to the Mona Lisa, Leonardo De Vinci's strangely underwhelming masterpiece, so we thought "when in Rome" and joined the masses. After getting the required photo (very blurry can hardly tell what it is) we became more civilised and started to look around the Louvre's endless exhibits in a more ordered fashion. Wandering around the halls with our audio guides nattering looking at masterpiece after masterpiece it is easy to forget to just take in the Louvre building itself, once a royal palace, it is a spectacle just on its own. Part of the Louvre has been set up so you can view Napoleon's rooms as they would have been when he was roaming the halls. Opulence doesn't even come close to describing it, that man knew how to live. My feet began to ache after four hours of grand masterpieces, Ancient Greek sculptures, ancient Egyptian sphinxes, endless cherubs and marble. So even though we had barely scratched the surface it was enough for one visit and after getting the necessary photos with various glass pyramids we stepped back out into the sunshine. Don't think that was our sightseeing done for one day, oh no. Next was the ever touristy area of Montmartre, situated on a hill that provides great views over the city. Stand still too long in Montmartre and someone will have sketched you and be wanting some euros for their troubles, Dan seemed surprised that I didn't want a sketch of myself which I found confusing. We partook in a crepe and a sandwich and went and sat on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and soaked up the views. It was decided that for dinner tonight we would find a French bistro and try some local cuisine. Back to the canal we went and found a cute wee place and sat down at a street table. Now this is why I love street tables, both seats sit facing the street not each other, meaning that the main form of entertainment is people watching not making inane conversation. Brilliant. Dan decided he would try an aperitif but it was not to his liking, which was not a surprise as he chose an aniseed flavoured one (and was aware of this choice) and he doesn't like aniseed. I choose beef tartar as my main, raw beef and raw egg with condiments and French fries, doesn't sound particularly appetising but it was quite delicious. Although, I'll admit it was a bit disconcerting when a plate with a pile of raw meat was put down in front of me. Dan, even though he was the one who wanted to go to a French bistro, was safe and got risotto. It was pretty damn good. After all that, plus wine, we were too full for dessert which broke my heart as it was basically chocolate everything. It doesn't matter what night of the week it is, Canal St Martin will be lit up and people will be lining the edges and drinking and eating. So we went for a stroll to take in our arrondissement's atmosphere and to paparazzi with Dan's Nikon D-SLR.
The next day we thought we would give Paris' velib system a go. Basically they are bikes with stations every 300m on average that you can use for a small fee. They are free (with a deposit in case you don't return the bike) if you dock the bike in a station within 30 minutes of taking it out. Otherwise it was something like 1€ an hour or so. Our destination was the beautiful Marais area, so we looked at google maps to get an idea of the direction and off we set, yes without a map. Seems like a bad idea being sans map? I also thought so but Dan was confident and with only minor delays we arrived in the Marais. We docked our bikes and walked down Rue des Francs Bourgeois to the Place des Vosges. Lining the streets were the most beautiful boutique clothing stores I've seen and as I pressed my face to the glass with longing I had a fleeting crazy thought to spend all my money and go home early. Four months of travel around the UK and Europe doesn't have a budget that stretches to clothes shopping in Paris. Dan had to drag me along the road as I stopped often to stare in windows like a dogs stops to pee on lamp posts. The 500m walk to the Place des Vosges took a lot longer than it needed to. Originally known as the Place Royale, the Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris. Victor Hugo's house sits in one corner. It is a picturesque square with green grass that any Dad would be proud of and was a lovely area to sit and plan our next move. Our next move was sampling one of Breizh Cafe's valhrona chocolate crepes, I came to love the Marais even more. Paris' Jewish quarter is also found in the Maris based around Rue des Rosiers, an excellent area to wander around and consume a delicious falafel pita. We hopped back on a bike and meandered back along the cycle ways to our apartment. It's pretty safe cycling around Paris as there are designated cycle ways everywhere and the motorists are tolerant of cyclists, NZ could learn a lot! Our plan for the evening was a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, so we headed to a market and purchased some bread, cheese, cured meats and wine. We still had some laduree macarons left over so they ticked the sweet treat box. A picnic on a grass area right by the Eiffel Tower sipping on some vin rouge, life doesn't get much better. If your not jealous reading this I worry about you. As the sky darkened, lights came on to illuminate the iron lattice tower and Dan went into paparazzi mode again, happily snapping all over the place. By the time we finished our wine and food the top level viewing platform had closed so we had to settle for level 2. The views of the city were spectacular and photos just couldn't do it justice.
Day four in Paris involved a visit to the Jardin du Luxemborg (beautiful gardens), wandering through the Latin quarter and eating a savoury crepe. Mine was potato, pancetta and cheese and it was mouth wateringly good, I could see Dan eyeing it up once he finished his but I stubbornly ate it all. More drinks along the canal and in the evening pizza from the Pink Flamingo. This pizza joint allows you to order and then gives you a pink helium balloon, you then go sit by the canal and they come and deliver it to you. Genius. The pizza was really good as well.
Our final morning in Paris before our early afternoon train to Bordeaux was very relaxed. Visited a street market for a breakfast pastry and then had an espresso at a canal-side cafe. Paris, you were wonderful, my expectations were high and you met them. To the many clothing stores with my fingerprints on your windows...... I'll be back.
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