Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
PARIS August 7-12
We left a very rainy, windswept Dublin very early and after the. Now familiar, delay (they always blame air traffic control) we arrived at Paris CDG about 10.30. First job is to get a travel pass. They have some quirky ways in Paris, with one pass (Orange) they try to keep for locals and is very cheap. Unfortunately, it runs from Mon-Sun and stops being sold for the current week on Wednesday midnight. Today was Thursday, the Orange was out so we bought a 5 day Visite pass giving unlimited travel on the Metro, buses and trains.
We found our train to a station described by the flat owner as 10 minutes walk. Yeah right! maybe for an Olympic walker but for two oldies hauling 60 kg of luggage, a bit longer, especially as the day was very warm and humid. The flat has all sorts of codes to enter before you get in but otherwise it's a great pied a terre (excuse the French), being close to shops, metro and buses, it's small but totally adequate and is a good pick.
As soon as we'd had a cuppa and a rest we were on the road again; for lunch, back across Paris to get our tickets for the train trip to Frankfurt and do some shopping for essentials (wine, cheese, pate and bread). Ros suggested we have a light meal and head off for some nightlife. There was an enormous thunder storm with torrential rain, huge thunder claps and vivid lightening and we put off going out for a while. However, once we'd sat down and had a glass of Cotes de Rhone, we realised we weren't up to it and had an early night. Romantic Paris????
Next day started with a shower so we decided to have a day inside, namely, the Louvre. At only 9 Euro entrance fee, that's the cost of 2 pints of real ale. The beer could be finished in 30 minutes, not so the Louvre. The place is magnificent beyond words. Even if there was no art it would still be great. The paintings, statues, glasswork, ceramics and ancient artefacts make this one of the highlights of any holiday.
We made our way around the museum at a good pace but, even though we took 7 hours, we never came close to seeing everything. The Italian collection of paintings is mind-blowing but, being an aesthesis at heart, just how many Madonna and child or passions of Christ do you need. Some of these guys could paint but they need to branch out a bit if they want to make a name for themselves. One of the more noted things about the painters in the Louvre is that few of them got past their late 40's. Too many virgins can't be good for your health.
I really liked the Dutch paintings. They seem to really have figured out how to paint better than anyone else, yet they don't get the credit in the general public. There are so many good painters and pictures it's hard to remember them all but we both liked the Dutch/Flemish school.
There is this huge Italian painting in the same room as Mona Lisa. It's the "Wedding at Cana" by Veronese. At 7 x 10 metres, it won't fit over your fireplace. OK, it's a bit religious but there is so much action going on it could keep you occupied just imagining all the plots.
Sat
As a beast of burden, Ros does pretty well. She's cheap to run, apart from the occasional, unexpectedly high service charge, tolerates most fuels, unlike some cars we've met, a bit slow to warm up in the morning but keeps going well after dark. She does need the odd break but can keep going for hours with only the odd creak and groan. However today we went to the Eiffel Tower and had to queue for hours. Standing in a slow-moving queue is definitely Ros's strong point, mine neither to be honest. We were both knackered when we'd finished - a quick beer and ham sandwich (only 24 Euro - NZ$45) and we set off for the Arc De Triumphe. Now this is a driving nightmare with about 12/20 lanes, some cutting across all the lanes. We saw 3 pedestrians who decided they'd seen enough of Paris and life, and attempted to cross the traffic, rather than the underpass. They got several loud, threatening blasts from irate motorists who had to stop for them when a couple of cops on scooters saw them and ordered them to the nearest footpath. They were really scared, you could see the fear in their faces. They were dead lucky to meet a cop before they'd got even half way.
Talking of cops, Paris seems to have about 10 different sorts ranging from scary looking guys in a blue uniform to some military-like thugs who just needed the slightest excuse to whip out their truncheons and give someone a good thrashing for starters or to empty a few magazines of their machine guns into a deserving crowd. I was too chicken to photograph ANY of these guys. I'd really like them to be on the same side as me. If mean and threatening is the look they like to convey, then they achieve that with ease.
Needless to say we got home late and very tired. Hint - if you want to go to the Eiffel Tower get there very early. By late afternoon, the queues were way smaller than at 11.30.
Sunday
Showery today so we had a "hop on a bus" day. Got any bus heading into town and got off when we saw something interesting. There's always something interesting so we had lots of stops, like the Opera house, Comedie Francais (national theatre) and Notre Dame. Now we got to Notre Dame cathedral as a service was taking place and they tolerate hordes of sightseers walking around the inside of the church as the service is in progress. The service is an impressive piece of theatre with a great choir and female soloist, another priest dispensing the incense. We even got the sermon in several languages. All very tolerant of the tourists and a great free treat.
We had to have a Sunday lunch and indeed we did at the Cafe d'Enfer, which is close to home. An excellent meal for 70 Euro and home for a snooze.
T
- comments