Chapter 2- Paris

A quiet morning for us - need to recharge after all the walking, get on with the blog, etc!

Thoughts re Paris
Navigating the underground is an experience, lots of stairs and tunnels to get to a platform.
The lifts in the underground are the largest we've ever been in!
Nothing a visitor to the city would want to see is too far away from where we are staying.
The Number 42 bus is our friend ( and Google Maps)!
In Paris, the coffee, as described by our host " ... is s..t". We think he's enjoyed coffee in Italy, perhaps?

Yesterday we joined a walking tour in the city. Paul was very entertaining, giving us relevant history in a creative and honest way, making it interesting and enjoyable!

Weeks before we left home I looked up things to do in Paris. The #1 thing according to Tripadvisor was to go on a "We Go Walking " tour. We booked before we left home. All we had to do was to get to the meeting place outside Notre Dame cathedral by 9 AM. Sounded easy. A ten minute walk, two metro trains then a five minute walk. What could possibly go wrong. We got there about five minutes late because our ability didn't match our confidence. (We weren't last though - some other South Aussies were later than us.)
After a truncated version of the talk about the history of the cathedral, we were off. As we walked towards then along the river, we were entertained by Paul's stories of kings, palaces and churches, and the ways the buildings are used now.
We eventually ended up at the Pont des Artes, now commonly known as the "lock bridge", which led us to the Louvre. Paul told stories about how parts of the building were designed for various kings to suit their vanities. As we were about to enter the Tuilleries gardens, we were told how to avoid the (often vey long) queues to get into the Louvre. We tried it the next day and it worked. (As an aside, we mentioned it to Helene, and she didn't know about the easy way in.)
Next stop was the Place de la Concorde which was the site of the beheadings of noblemen during the French Revolution. An obelisk stolen from Luxor in Egypt by the Ottoman Empire now holds pride of place. When the French were asked for it back they said (according to Paul) "Mmmmm, no I don't think so". (This seemed to be the answer the French gave to any country that wanted their art or

artefacts back.)
Next along the Champs Elysees and then past two "temporary" museums built for the 1900 exhibition.
Going over the Russian bridge let Paul expand on the nature of relations between France and Russia, including the fact that even though they were diplomatically at loggerheads about Russia and the Ukraine, the Russians sent a very large Xmas tree last year because Notre Dame said they couldn't afford one.
We then went past the naval museum and the infirmary (where we were once again told of France's glory days and her heroes and villains.)
Eventally we arrived at the Eiffel tower. Obligatory pictures were taken and we parted company with Paul and the rest of the group.
We enjoyed pizza and wine for lunch, sitting at on of the innumerable cafes that seem to line virtually every street and lane. Very Parisian!

Last night I enjoyed a performance of "Manon" at the Opera-Garnier. An amazingly ornate theatre, gold features everywhere and a ceiling painted by Chagall. Laetitia Pujol in the title role of Manon gave an amazing performance. Someone to find out more about!

This afternoon we revisited the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysses and the cafe across the road. Great spot to wind down at the end of the day, especially as it is light until almost 9pm!

A real French meal tonight, organised for us by Stanislaus at one of his favourite French restaurants. This is a restaurant that has two sittings and a small range of seasonal dishes on the menu. The food was so different and so tasty! The service was quick - a bit like being at home, where extra cutlery lands in front of you, courtesy of a harried "Mum"!
We found out later that the restaurant was in one of these supposedly no-go zones announced by an American politician a couple of months ago. We didn't know and weren't bothered - it seemed perfectly safe to us.