What a wonderful 4 days in Paris. Really feel like we have a great feel for the city. So so so many beautiful buildings and monuments. Staying in Le Marais was a great choice and hotel Emile a funky little hotel well located to the metro and easy walking distance to everything. Our morning runs either took us along the river past the louvre or onto the island and past the Notre Dame. Love it when your exercise takes in major sights like this. We signed in to a cycle sharing system Velib which in theory should have been perfect. Great weather and very easy cycling around the city. However it seems changes in who is running velib have created some problems meaning you could turn up at a stand and there might be 10 bikes there but you could only get one out. This meant when we did get bikes we were reluctant to “dock” them after the free half hour for fear we wouldn’t get them back. You pay to use after the first half hour(which wasn’t a problem as it was cheap). First day we cycled from Le Marais past hotel de ville along the seine to the Louvre then around place de republic and up the champs élysées to the arch de triumph. Pretty spectacular and lots of fun. Walked from there (because we couldn’t find any bikes that worked) to the Eiffel Tower where we had s picnic lunch, and then via Les Invalides to st Germaine and back to our hotel. The evening was spent having drinks and dinner in the Bastille area. Day two we biked from our hotel to Montmartre. Then walked back via the canals which are a sort of trendy up and coming area of Paris. Some interesting sights st the markets where most of the immigrants seemed to shop. Then yummy baguette and jam on and cheese lunch in some dodgy park mike had dissed out which was supposed to offer amazing views of the city. It really didn’t and felt like it was full of school kids bunking school and smoking and drinking.
Day three was market day. We biked to the Latin quarter via jardin de Luxembourg some gorgeous gardens virtually on the way. The sights and smells of the market were divine. Best one was the guy selling rotisserie chickens. We reckon when we arrived he had about 50 chickens cooking and waiting to be sold and by the time we left probably not much more than an hour later he had about ten. What’s more all the fat and castings from his rotisserie dropped down into a trap of potatoes cooking in the bottom. The chickens and potatoes were bought by the kilo. Yummo. Another picnic lunch in the botanical gardens overlooking the Seine before returning to our hotel and out for dinner in Le Marais. A very vibrant gay scene in Le Marais on Saturday nights it would seem. Lots of hilarious sights to see!!!! After dinner we decided to relocate some working bikes to where we wanted them for the morning. Then decided to do a tiki tour of the city as it was getting dark. The city of light really is gorgeous at night. Biked back along the seine to the louvre then back via the Notre dame. Mike was keen to take on the champs élysées and arch de triumphe but sadly I was busting to go to the loo so we abandoned and returned to our hotel.
Sunday was free day at the museums and so once we had our bikes we headed off to the musee d’orsay to join the hoardes. Couldn’t believe the huge number of people waiting to get in. Queue moves really fast tho and before too long we were in. What a gorgeous museum set in an old train station which is equally as stunning. Saw a few familiar works of art and lots of unfamiliar.
Our luck was good with the bikes so deciding to make the most of it we headed off up the champs élysées again aiming to have a crack at the arch de triumph. Not sure whether it is just pedestrian on Sunday or not. There was a heavy police presence blocking the street and not even the dumb kiwis could bluff their way through. Detoured through what looked like Paris’ most expensive shopping street with all the big brands and plenty of fancy cars to boot. One car was so fancy it had a cover on it!!!! Quick detour to the grand palace then back past the Eiffel Tower via the entrance to the tunnel where Diana was killed. Still people laying flowers and notes. Mike has sniffed out yet another market where in our very bad French we secured lunch which we ate at a small table there. This one was very Parisienne. Didn’t seem to be any foreigners and lots of money. An afternoon of shopping before returning to our hotel to pack for an early morning start.
It seems Air France aren’t as reliable as we had hoped. Checked into our flight only to discover there had been problems in Germany yesterday and we’ve been bumped. Now flying 4.45 (was supposed to be 8.15) so a few hours at the airport.
What would I take home from Paris- the florists. So diving.
Worst experience- the horse sized dog s*** I accidentally stepped in on my morning run. So so thankful I brought my old running shoes. Not even good enough to give to beggars on the street.
Saddest thing about Paris- the dogs and puppies with the beggars on the streets. So so sad.