Today is our last day in Paris before we pick up our hire car and head off to parts unknown, well not quite unknown but you get my drift.
This morning was the first time when the news was not only about what happened in Paris on the weekend or it's aftermath. It appears that the place is returning to some sort of normalcy. Although we haven't noticed any apprehension or fear amongst the people here. No one is walking around looking over their shoulder, or looking at other people with suspicion. Parisians are going about their daily lives as they always have - with a certain joie de la vie.
Today we are rounding off our Paris sojourn with a visit to Place de la Bastille and the Pompidou Center.
Bastille is an area where the Bastille once stood. Such was the feeling about the place in the 1700's it was razed to the ground during the revolution. Now it's a commercial hub of Paris full of cafes and bars, and markets. Found a nice little cafe where we sat and watched the world go by whilst downing some coffee and croissants. Then we spent an hour so perusing the market. Everything was available there, from clothing and footwear, to fresh food. You could do all your shopping for the week here with fruit, veges, cheeses, meat, seafood and small goods being plentiful.
After the markets it was a short metro ride up to the Pompidou Center. This is a massive complex housing a museum of modern art, a library, conference centers, and galleries used for special exhibitions. It's a very industrial looking building, not at all like you would expect in Paris.
The Museum of Modern Art is quite large, housing a large number of works by Picasso, Braque and others of the modern era. You could spend a few days wandering through the exhibition. There is just so much to see and take in.
Finished with the Pompidou, now it's time for a spot of lunch as we make our way back to the hotel. And wouldn't you know it - it's raining. The first bit of inclement weather we have had. A quick look at google maps plots our way back, about a 20min walk. Along the way we are keeping an eye out for somewhere for lunch when we spot a long line of people out the door of a bakery. "Must be good" we thought if there are so many people waiting to be served. And good it was. We purchased a chicken & egg salad baguette and a fruit tart slice. Subway could take some lessons. Simply superb.
Still raining when we finished lunch. Not too heavy so decided to continue anyway. No data connection so we couldn't check google to see if we were heading in the right direction. "No matter" we thought, "We'll just keep walking until we recognise something". I once saw an article in which someone was asked "What should I do and see in Paris?" The reply was "Just get lost. Walk out your door and keep going until you are lost, then go some more. This is the best way to experience Paris". And they were right. If you are just wandering the streets with no particular place to go you tend to see and experience more of the "real" Paris.
After about an hour we finally made it back, first stopping off at a bar for some wine and coffee - for restorative purposes of course.
We have really enjoyed our time in Paris. Discovered a whole new neighbourhood we hadn't been to before (the Marais district), finally got to go up the Eiffel Tower, experienced some wonderful cafes and bars, discovered a wonderful hotel (one which we are sure to return to). It will be sad to say goodbye. But say goodbye we must. Tomorrow we are heading off to a small city south of Paris, Clermont-Ferrand which promises to be interesting.