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Saturday 8 January - Well here we are - unexpectedly back in Paris for a week. Never a hardship. We found an absolutely outstanding apartment on AirBnB. Our pre-Christmas stay was out in the 19th and whilst a wonderful apartment - a fairly dire location. This time around we paid (a bit) more and stayed in the 8th. Much better pricing than usual, probably due to the soaring Omicron numbers.
We left Amsterdam with the sun rising over windmills on our left and arrived about lunchtime - there was a 30 minute wait in Antwerp or Brussels and the trip just dragged on and on. Funnily enough they had guards checking vax certs as we got off the train - not sure what they would have done with someone who didn't have one - send them back? S'pose so. We popped out the front of the Gare du Nord, got an Uber immediately (like wow! so good in Paris) and enjoyed the drive across to the 8th. The first thing we did on getting into the place (thank you elevator gods), was to check out the view and yep - the top half of the Eiffel Tower was clear as a bell out of the upstairs bedroom window and across the picturesque chimney potted roofline of Paris. We could not wait to see it by night when the sparkly lights kicked in at 7 pm. The bathroom is also incredible - in the loft, under the beams and with a skylight to stare at the night sky and moon whilst lying in the bath. Checking out is going to be a problem here - that is already apparent.
I wasn't 100% so we masked up and nipped out for groceries only because the alternative was starvation. Just enough for lunch and dinner and a chocolate fondant from the boulangerie next door to have with a coffee. Early night - after the obligatory viewing of the Eiffel lights of course.
Sunday 9 January - We ventured to the local Picard for some real food (cue the fish and scallop pie, the coquilles st jacques, the salmon and spinach lasagne and the rum and raisin gelato) then hit the deck for 24 hours of complete R&R, flu medication, painkillers, antihistamines and boiled lollies.
Monday 10 January - Just a little stroll for fresh air in the neighbourhood of L'Eglise Madeleine. We took a stroll through Le Village Royal and saw the big teddy bear. And trundled home after 30 minutes to keep resting.
Tuesday 11 January - We started out by trying (and succeeding) to find a small jeweller to repair James's silver ring. I'd seen one during our visit prior to Christmas and tucked the information away 'just in case'. I was pretty sure he was in Passage Choiseul - and yay! We found him. Ring dropped off and promised for Thursday. We motored on down through Rue Montorgueil and into the Marais to check out the thrift shop circuit for winter coats. We were scoping out treasures and considering whether we should get rid of James's shearling coat (somehow) and replace it with a new shearling jacket. There were so many super coats available prior to Christmas but the cold weather has perhaps seen a lot sold (or they've hidden the really good stuff away prior to the sales starting in the next couple of days). We did find one shearling possibility and hid it away at the back of a rack as we'd neglected to bring the scales with us and wanted to make sure it was actually lighter than his current one. We walked far further than I thought I'd manage today - just one step in front of the other. We made it home via Rue de Rivoli, Place Vendome, L'Eglise Madeleine and the last of the Christmas lights around town.
Wednesday 12 January - We made sure to grab our travel scales, got rugged up and headed out for a jaunt on the first day of the sales. It's an incredibly organised thing here - instead of a sale at some shop or another every second week, the whole country starts really good sales on a specific day, twice a year. And today was the start of the winter sales. So many people were lugging armloads of posh shopping bags and that was at 10 am. Visions of people putting all their Christmas/Birthday/Spending money in a jar and breaking it open on sale day. We figured there would be some good deals on jackets and we set out a plan to hit all the vintage shops from yesterday and a couple more in order to find 'el perfecto shearling'. And in the end, after lots of wonderful looking and dreaming, we ended up at the shop with the 'possible' from yesterday. Initially we couldn't find it again (oh! the anxiety) - as we really hadn't found any other viable options. Some that fit well but were even heavier. Some that just flat out looked like drug dealing pimp coats. But we found it! Woo hoo!! It only weights 200 grams less than his current one, but it fits him so much better and is physically smaller for packing purposes. We left his current shearling behind in return for 30% off the replacement. 'Never ever pay retail' is our motto - even for vintage shearlings in Paris. I also managed to pickup a drapey black cashmere cardigan for 5 euro in brand new condition - It didn't have a price tag and was out the back of a vintage shop. The writing on the tag was pretty small - no other excuse for the standard pricing that we could see - Parisians know how to mark up cashmere as a general rule. We trundled home, slow but sure, ecstatic with our purchases.
Thursday 13 January - All too soon it was packing day. Again. We're looking foward to our 90 days in Croatia for many reasons, not having to pack and unpack being the main one. With everything almost stowed, we rewarded ourselves with an outing and walked to the jewellers in Passage Choiseul to pick up James's newly mended silver ring. We didn't have plans per se but felt like being near water, so from there we headed under the arches near the Louvre, over the Seine, through the 6th and for a change, walked behind the Musee d'Orsay. We were checking out the Bourdelle sculptures tucked back there. Onwards past the posh antique shops, back to the river, over to Concorde, through the park and up the Champs to the Arc and down the avenue next door. That bit was new territory for us. We even happened upon a statue of Haussman - the man responsible for the buildings and beauty of Paris. Home eventually with a cheery bottle of wine to go with our fridge cleaning expedition and a Picard pizza. All good.
Friday 14 January - After a week of pointlessly wearing masks in the streets of Paris (us) and all the smokers doubling their fag intakes to avoid wearing masks at all… YAY!!! A French court has said it goes above and beyond common sense - so happy days indeed, even for only 24 hours. All set for an early start tomorrow, apartment tidied, packing 100% done and just have to take out the last of the rubbish in the morning.
We weren't sure how traffic would be to the airport on a Saturday morning - but we'll no doubt be up too early, exhausted and at the airport well before time, no matter what. It's what we do. It has been a wonderful stay, albeit too short, but such a treat to have a view of the tower and a central apartment.
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