30/10 Dubrovnik

Sunday 30 October

Late start not surprisingly. Brekky then J set to updating photos prior to uploading. C to gym.11.30 quiz, with 6 people.  I wanted to blend into 1 team but one team w2nted to compete and then another couple arrived. We came 2^nd by a point but Jess handed out 8 tickets anyway. And then another couple handed us theirs! Wow. Quick lunch then ashore. Discovered that they do sushi every day (and pizza etc).

We were moored and there were shuttle buses running to the old city. Really very striking. Beautiful and striking battlements walls moat gates etc and inside wide roads made of marble! Highly scuff/polished and quite slippery.

 Went for walk around the city which was really very pretty indeed. Out at the other end, where we saw a Costa boat and later MSC tied in front of that.

The ship’s notes refer to Dubrovnik being shelled during the 1990's war. Apparently constant shelling for 12 hours by the Yugoslav Army, focussed on the old city and particularly churches monasteries etc. The cultural heart of the3 community. Most of it was repaired but there are still  bullet/shrapnel pockmarks in the stone walls. Mindboggling bastardry. A thoroughly exquisite little gem of a city.

C sat and loaded the blog and skyped Steph Warren and Courtney. J got back from an hour’s walk around the top of the walls and loaded the pictures. We weren’t concerned about catching the afternoon quiz because they are so cutthroat. Made it anyway and assembled a 4some, sitting next to the resident geniuses (7 of them). We whupped them and everyone else and went off to dinner feeling very good. The 8pm quiz we had the same 4 plus two and again did well, 1 behind another team. Not very satisfying however. A bit chaotic with what was getting written down. Have to get J installed as scribe.

Sat in briefly at the show in a private box. The Sting tribute.  A really nice day all round. Corfu tomorrow.

Breakfast & lunch dining room view :oP

Split

Saturday 29 October . . . . Split

Up in the gym by 7.30 for stretch and abs at 8.00. Took a healthy appetite in to breakfast. Nice English couple wanted to hear ALL about grandchildren. She was elegant and refined and he had 3 top teeth. He spotted dolphins cavorting next to the ship.

Ashore by tender. Had a couple of hours wandering the old walled city of Split. Morning markets selling prime produce at really cheap prices. Banana grapes etc $1.50. Internet and fridge magnet *tick*. Back on board 2pm for a nap ahead of a very full programme until midnight. Quiz 4.15, 8.30, 11.45. Cocktails 5.15 dinner 6.00 9.45 some other game, 10.30 theatre production “Celtic Heartbeat”. In between the Grand Black and White Ball.

We partook of the champers and then some very smooth red at the cocktail party. Off to dinner and the waiter fetched the 2 of us wine glasses and then said excuse me, which I expected meant he had just realised that we hadn’t ordered any. No , it was a gift for us from the maître d’. Hmmm weird. Then I guessed it was related to our having mentioned our unhappy experience on night 1 when we didn’t get into dinner and found the person whom we took to be the maître d’ to be unhelpful. It was MORE champagne – Heidsieck no less! Just might have been a very posh drop. The real maître d’ introduced himself afterwards and said he had just come aboard and wanted to build goodwill or whatever. So we waddled off to the cruise feeling very well lubricated.  

It  was a very full evening and we were lucky enough to gain an hour extra sleep for some strange reason, since we are only advancing some 100 miles down the coast and w2ill still be in Croatia tomorrow (Dubrovnic). We had very enjoyable time with Harvey the American at the midnight music quiz having thought we did very well in the afternoon only to get gazumped by some poseurs who scored 20/20. The 8.30 quiz I managed to steer the 6 participants into one group for the quiz so that we all won!! So another 2 tickets. Met an interesting Kiwi . . he could easily be an overlooked sons

28/10 Still in Venice

Friday 28 October

Woke early and drifted up to breakfast. Salmon again! Gotta love this boat. Full brekky selection including English and American sausage and bacon (what’s the difference?).

J wandered ashore to suck the last drops out of her museum pass. Today’s excursion is to the National History Museum which I had seen directional signs to yesterday so found it very quickly, just the walk from the ship took longer.  Began by looking at fossilised dinosaur poo and ended with a whale skeleton.  Was very nicely set out and held a large variety of items including a mummy in a case with a mummified crocodile.  All signage in Italian, luckily the language has a few similarities to English.  I was the only person in there so had no trouble seeing the exhibits. 

The Ca’Pesaro; international gallery of modern art & oriental museum was close by but I had to ask locals the way as there was no signage and it was well hidden.  I found it amusing that this ‘modern’ art museum was all pre 1920’s with most of it 1800’s.  Some very nice works, including Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ (again? We saw this in Paris, which one is the copy?).  Again this collection is set in a very large building fronting the Grande Canal with some rooms having decorated ceilings. 

Made my way to St Marks Square hoping that it was flooded, but it had mostly receded, see, you should never leave home without your camera!  Ducked briefly into 2 more churches today.   Back to ship by 2pm.

 C up to the pub just in time for “Quizzical Corner” and won single handed! Another Gold Voucher. Not exactly sure what the game entailed because nobody else turned up. Ditto morning quiz. Quite prepared to sit here all day accumulating vouchers by default.

Discovered that there are 2 self service, soft serve ice cream machines next to the tea/coffee machines.  Gotta love the Queen Vic.

Set sail at 4.30pm tracking along the South of the main islands getting a bird’s eye view of the main city area as we cruised by St Mark’s square and close to ‘the Lido’ island. C went to the gym and was present to claim J’s $50 spa voucher. Finally made it into the dining room.  Met 2 pairs of Poms and now know all we need about servicing antique Daimlers and crime in Jamaica.

Evening quiz with a very nice English couple, came equal 1^st with 3 other teams, then ended up 3^rd because we didn’t know the weight of the spare anchor on this tub.  None of us were anywhere near the weight.

Watched a very good magician from our private box overlooking the stage.

27/10 No Baguettes No Regrets

Thursday 27 October . . . Cunard – Forget the Baguette

J shot through to knock off a couple more museums after we packed and vacated the room. I began at the furthest, the Ca’ Rezzonico, which is an 18^th Century Venice Museum with masterpieces by Tiepolo, Rosalba, Longhi, Canaletto & Guardi.  Found it reasonably easy.  Set inside a very grand old home with a delightful garden.  Decorated ceilings in most rooms.  Had 1 bedroom with dressing area set up as it would have been when this house was in use – very lovely.  Some lovely furniture on display that complimented the art works.  Kept myself on a tight schedule of just 1 hour here.  Then set off for the supposedly close by Carlo Goldoni’s House.  I knew I was close but could see no signs of it so asked a local hotel for directions, left, left again, over a bridge somewhere and some Italian sounding name of something or other.  Got into a square and took a couple of branches off that which were no good.  Then took a 3^rd alley, over another bridge and there it was.  Wow, I did it.  Flashed my museum pass again and stepped into the inner courtyard of the residence.  Stairs to the house itself of which only 3 rooms are available to view.  One containing some fabulous marionettes complete with stage, 1 was a theatre and the last had modern art sculpture in centre and some information about Goldoni who was a famous playwright.  Well that didn’t take long.  Set off back to C, took a wrong turn but was only lost for a very short time.  Arrived at the agreed meeting spot just before the final strike of the 12 noon bells.

We met at noon sharp to polish off the stale baguette and tidbits, bought a rail ticket for Rome, and headed off to board Queen Victoria. The direction to the boarding hall and luggage dropoff was a bit chaotic but the signin was very slick and we were soon aboard, with our vegetable knife and the contraband grog. We did spot the man with the much-vaunted white gloves but we found our own way to the cabin, which was very nice. Included a sofa and a WINDOW with view onto a lifeboat (as expected).  It was just nice to have natural light in the cabin.

We found our way up to the buffet, which apparently runs for 24 hours, and were delighted to find that it included smoked  salmon and seafood salad with octopus. Not to mention mousse and chocolate cake. They also had orange juice, lemonade, cranberry cocktail and ice tea on tap, which is a big plus.  By then our luggage had been brought in so we unpacked before it was straight into the welcome trivia quiz. Which we WON on a 3-way tiebreak! This earned us our first Golden Coupon which at this stage is redeemable for a Cunard leather bookmark. Cool. We chatted to a few people here and there and felt quite comfortable with the mix – not the Horse and Hounds mob at all.

The library was exceptional. Head and shoulders above anything we had seen before – afloat or ashore.  A classically designed and plushly finished double storey gem in leather and fine woodwork.

We set off to locate the gym above the bridge with commanding views of the Venetian coastline. We also enjoyed a guided tour of the Spa facilities which were absolutely mind-boggling. Every form of pampering and relaxation you could imagine and then some. Hot rocks, bamboo, slime, heated stone beds, water bed, poultice etc etc. Plus wrinkle removal, skin renewal and general facial magic.

J dealt with the laundry (free! They even supply the laundry powder) while C had a quick go at the gym. We hurried off to dinner, only to find that the first session was Full and the maître d’ was totally unconcerned and dismissive. We were quite happy to reprise the buffet and headed down to the pub for the evening quiz. We paired off with the Poms who had come 2^nd in the afternoon, and came 2^nd by one point, a couple ahead of 3^rd place.

We were a tad late for the production show in the theatre but we watched from the back and a TV lounge outside. It was very good – a notch above the other boats’ shows. Up to the top decks for a look at the lights of Venice and the adjoining boats (Celebrity Solstice) then down to the cabin with OJ to polish off the welcome champagne that had been on ice all this time.

26/10 Museum, museum, museum

Wednesday 26 October

Yes a baguette and snacky bits makes for an excellent picnic . . . but after a week you yearn for something hot . . preferably a steak. We have fended off temptation (unless you count the cheeseburgers ce soir) with the consolation that our luck will change big time tomorrow. We have just stocked up with our final croissants and baguette for the morning and after that it’s all Cunard.

The price of grog in Italy is amazing. We bought a 700ml bottle of Baileys in a supermarket for E11 and just added a 700ml Amaretto liqueur for less than E4 ($5). The same supermarket was clearing very quaffable 500ml Germania pilseners for 45c. Email me for the address.

Today “we” sorted some forward planning for Rome so we know what we are doing after the cruises. There is a hell of a lot to see and do there. Those Romans were a busy lot. We can leave the rest open until nearer the time.

J again set off for solo explorations of museums (not C’s favourite things).  Raining again, the locals wear gumboots because of the rain and flooded streets, some hotels provide them for guests, alas not ours.  Autumn is the worst time for high tide flooding.  The narrow streets are full of umbrellas which makes for a colourful parade, passing each other usually requires 1 umbrella to be lifted way into the air while the other ducks a bit, looks like a carousel ride in Mary Poppins.  I was very careful of puddles today. *nods*  I could see signs to San Marco today and followed them and people, it is the people following that gets you lost.  Some pathways were totally blocked with large volumes of water, an interesting sight, but not helpful in navigating.  Lots of backtracking until finally I came to the waters edge near the bridge of sighs, not sure how I got there but never mind that.  It is so totally underwater, so different to yesterday when it was only wet. Now I can see why they need the raised pathway and they are jam packed with queues of people.  Decide to head to the Museo Correr which is in the Napoleonic wing.  Buy ticket to this, Doge’s Palace and 9, yes 9 other museums.  All for 18 euros, bargain, now just have to rush around to see them all.  Correr is filled with paintings, sculptures and so much more.  It even has 2 Egyptian mummies in the natural history section.  The rooms in the first section are all very grand and lovely with Murano glass chandeliers but the icing on the cake is the Marciana Library.  Very impressive.  Huge canvasses on the walls and the most beautifully painted ceilings with each painting surrounded by gold.  Spectacularly grand.  Back into St Mark’s which is still flooded with water, took the raised walkway one way only to find that you needed wellies at the end of it as the water was still deep.  Only seagulls and people with welly boots are in the square itself, everyone else is crammed onto the verandahs trying to get through to the next place of interest.  It is quirky to see the café tables and chairs set up in the square with water up to the seats almost.  It is about 12 noon and water is still rushing up through the drainage grates bubbling the water’s surface.  Slowly worked my way to another raised walkway and got to the Ducal Palace, not sure what to expect here.  Waltzed past all the people in the queue and showed my ‘9 museum’ pass.  The far end of the courtyard is adjacent to St Mark’s and was the Droge’s  private entrance to the Basilica.   Upstairs and then into the golden staircase which has to be seen to be believed.  This level has all the rooms used for Doges residence and the state courts (government).  All magnificent, decorated by artists including; Titian, Veronese, Tiepolo and Tintoretto.  You learn about the Council of 10, who handed down terribly harsh judgements which included torture and death of many people for, in some cases, rather minor misdemeanours.  Over the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ into the prison complex, then back again.  Has rooms full of some quite amazing armoury.  The grand council chamber is said to be the largest hall in Europe, sumptuously painted and decorated once again, this room houses the world’s largest oil paintings, Tintoretto’s Paradise.  I am sure if you are interested you can google for more info and pics as cameras were not allowed in here.  I was quite blown away by this palace and have a crick in my neck from staring at all the ceilings.  

It is now after 2pm and the water has receded.  Into Basilica di San Marco (St Mark’s).  While it is absolutely covered in shimmering gold mosaic tiles it is really, really dark in here.  Best place to see the brilliance is in the entry area, maybe it looks better on a sunny day.  St Mark’s body was smuggled out of Alexandria in a pork barrel and brought here, he is interred in the altar area. 

Headed back to hotel and did really well until I took a wrong turn somewhere.  Finally came to a large expanse of water again.  Luckily the water taxi place had a map with a red dot showing me where I was, right at the north of the islands, so headed back until I finally found a familiar landmark and made my way back.

I have found it fascinating how people will be walking along the street and they just turn off into the skinniest of alleys as if they are going to magically disappear or something.  Quirky.

25/10 All paths lead to water

Tuesday 25 October

The key to European train travel lies in the eponymous website kept by The Man in Seat 61. He gives all the details of how to deal direct with French Rail (in English) and get the best prices. We had our tickets sent to Perth 3 months ago and each paid E30 for Paris-Milan. The key to walking round Venice when it’s raining is to wear a visor, because those same idiots who drive supermarket trolleys over your heels and wreak havoc on the roads will blind you with the edges of their umbrellas.

It was a very pleasant half hour stroll round to St Mark’s Square on the Grand Canal.  The whole area is a pedestrian precinct . . not even a scooter. The roads are often very narrow, poorly marked and frequently dead-end at canals. A good rule of thumb is “follow the crowd”, although that doesn’t hold true on the way back quite so well.

St Mark’s was dry but there were platforms and walkways stretching hundreds of metres all round there, about 50cm off the ground. I couldn’t find the Bridge of Sighs and I suspect it was under wraps being restored. It rained almost constantly and the canals were choppy – I was glad not to be in a gondola.

Here’s another cracking good tip. If you don’t eat all your jambon et fromage in one day, just pop it out of the window (assuming you have a balcony). You can thaw it out in the morning and eat the rest.

J had a solo exploration day in the rain.  Set off in the general direction of St Marks.  Just followed the crowd really.  But then there were little alleys that just had to be explored and an open door that led into a courtyard, others were going in there, so I went in and had a peek.  So many bridges, so many canals, so many gondolas.  I was expecting a brown dirty colour water, have been delighted at the cool clear greenish colour.  After being told Venice smells I only found one smelly place down a tiny little side street, other than that it has been lovely.  People dart here and there and I just had to follow some as they bustled along alleys, going who knows where.

Now you see him

Now you don't

  I followed for so long then turned back to the main drag.  I had no idea where I was,  just loving the adventure of it all.  Found a large stone bridge, reading a map later on I discovered that it was the Rialto.  Went back inland trying to locate San Marco, so many small squares (campos) churches, statues, wells, sculptures on bridges and churches -  just brilliant.  It really doesn’t matter where you are.  Came to another bridge, still lots of people moving along so went with them.  Could see a nice church ahead and water so peeled off and went that way.  Large water way with buildings on the other side.  Where am I?  Turned left for no particular reason, not many people down here.  Fisherman cleaning fish, water splashing onto pathway because it is high tide.  Few art galleries just opening up for the day in what looked like old storehouses. Had a wander through those, never would have found them if I wasn’t lost.  Still have no idea where I am, but I think I am at the South of the Islands.  Got caught by a wave and one shoe is thoroughly drowned, it already was a cold day, now my foot is freezing. *giggles*  My path along the water was getting narrower and the waves kept coming in over the edge, so I turned north? wards, more canals, bridges, churches and the cutest buildings.  Then a more steady stream of people, joined in with them over a bridge to the most amazing church, such beautiful artworks and sculptures. 

Angle only way to get this in frame

 Then came to a point of land with a very tall, very white, naked boy holding a bullfrog. 

 Not sure if this is a temporary or permanent art piece.  Where am I?  Now I check my map and see that I am indeed on the south part of the main islands.  The church was S. Maria d. Salute.  Now I can see St Marks across the canal.  Followed the crowd again past the Peggy Guggenheim Galleries (closed unfortunately) over the Accademia bridge.  There is a tiny 2 storey house in the grounds of a building here, I think displaying that you can live comfortably in less space if you use if wisely.  It looked like a skinny dollhouse. 

 Kept moving with the crowd, now knowing that I am going in pretty much the right direction.  Came to a Vivaldi Museum in another wonderful church.  Full of a variety of musical instruments, very interesting.  Onwards through narrow streets and over more bridges.  Still raining but who cares.  Finally St Marks square.  Had a look about and took photos.  Didn’t go inside any buildings today, it is already 2pm and today has just been an interesting reconnaissance day.  Found ‘Bridge of Sighs’ but unfortunately it is completely covered by scaffold and screens.  My foot is now numb and the sock is very squishy so it is time to head back.  I have been wandering for hours.  Actually can see signs to Rialto bridge so follow them knowing I can pick up my pathway from there.  So many shops selling beautiful Murano glass, venetian masks and all sorts of goodies.  Really like this place.

Chris not at hotel so decide to scope out the shipping docks to find the easiest pathway to get there in 2 days with luggage.  We are very close and just past the train station there is a monorail that goes directly to the port. Yay. It began pouring with rain while I was here and I got a little wet.  Warm shower and a rest after all that.

24/10 Train to Venice

Monday 24 October.

Up at 6.30, packed quickly and headed off over the road to the station. Hell we are good at this. We checked the Hostelbookers site and Google Maps last night so we know where to go in Venice.  Strangely they hadn’t decided which platform any of the trains should depart from so we all milled around until they made an announcement. We found our seats and stowed the baggage. Very comfortable. They have power points for laptops but no wifi. So now we just sit and wait to be whisked through the Alps, hopefully with some specky scenery. The sun came up at 8am and we broke out into rolling green open countryside within a few minutes. The bar is open (French drink more alcohol per head than any other nation).

Sooner than expected, we started weaving between hills and mountains. There was a very large and picturesque lake then our first stop at Chambery. There were small boats everywhere along the shore and nearby. It looked like one of those places that just invite ”Hey I could live there”. The scenery was consistently attractive.  The mountains got higher and more jagged and showed dustings of snow.

 After Modane, we entered a very long tunnel and emerged into Italy and falling snow. It was a non-event as far as formalities went – 3 armed Italian police filed through the train but seemed not to be checking anything. 

The French had confessed to being a few minutes late and kept us informed (in 3 languages) but we heard nothing from the Italians. I sought out the new conductor and asked. We had to converse in French and he said our connection would not wait for us in Milan but we could take a later train through to Venice. No real problem there.

There were two hysterically giggling girls behind us and it came as no surprise that they came from Victoria. They were going on to Rome. I wondered why they hadn’t stayed in Victoria with Brett and Geoff, whose SMS’s and photos kept them convulsed and preoccupied while we passed through the Alps. We passed through Turin about an hour before Milan as well as an Oulx and a Rho. This after the French names that tended to follow the pattern:  St Michel de Valloire etc. The French countryside had been consistently lush and green but as soon as we crossed the mountains it went brown. The farmers were assiduously harvesting grain crops.

The Italians have a definite style in regard to mountain roads. They select an altitude and build a road at that level. If there is a mountain in the way they tunnel through it. If the ground drops away, it’s viaduct time. We watched the road across the valley tracking dead level, as did our own path.

At Milan we found a rail officer who said there was no need to get the ticket stamped . . she would contact the Venice Conductor. We just needed to report to Platform 9. We had eaten our baguette rations by 11am and had faced the prospect of fasting until 5pm. Suddenly, we had the opportunity to grab HJs (Burger King) which went down stunningly well. Platform 9 was actually destined to take passengers to some lesser city but Platform 11 was quite happy to take us to Venice.  

Moments before the train left, a pair of suits came and shared our table. The French allocated the area between carriages for mobile phone calls but here we are effectively in Luigi’s office and privy to his endless telephone prattle. (The boring and censorious half of the editorial committee has deleted the amusing remark that was here)

The countryside continues to be flat and flatter. Farmland stretches for miles, but tending to be in little 2 acre lots. The tractors are small relatively simple devices – nothing like the massive specialised equipment they use in the Wheatbelt and the great North American prairies.

Venice hove into view at the end of a long but very pleasant and relaxing day. The ride across the long causeway out to the main island was very picturesque with lights reflecting off the water from all sides. There were several large cruise ships in port, excluding the Queen Victoria which we will be boarding in 3 days. The hostel was exactly where it is supposed to be and we took off for a short familiarisation stroll in the light rain before bed. Apparently the squares are flooding at the moment, as they tend to in autumn. St Mark’s is calf deep at high tide about 10am.

23/10 A day in Paris

Sunday 23 October

Sound sleeps all round and we were waiting for it to get light and getting the daily blogging done when Courtney (C's daughter) popped up on skype. She had pictures of her graduation, which was very good, although I would have preferred her to be wearing something more substantial than beachwear. There were also photos of my(Chris') son at an SES function, where I would have preferred that he wasn’t wearing a dress and a Monroe wig. Lovely to see her anyway.

We decided to recce out the station for tomorrow morning and then discovered there was only 1 ticket for the Milan-Venice leg.  The other one must have got lost at the airport at KL. PANIC!! It turned out that in fact the Italians only issue one ticket for both passengers so all was well. We should be able to catch the train with little trouble.

We carried the freezing weather gear just in case but it was somewhat warmer today. We headed off to Montmartre  to the Sacre Coeur. There was a communion service in progress (don’t they know it’s the prime day for tourists?) so there was little opportunity to have a look and the Inquisitor Nazi was ensuring that no photographic record left the premises.

Just loved this 2 storey carousel at Sacre Coeur

From there we wandered back down the steep hill to have a look at the Salvador Dali museum. Weird as expected with frequent examples of his trademark soft clocks dripping over the landscape.   The local area is full of cute cafés, artists and lovely cobbled streets.  Music playing and very jauntily dresses waiters.  Very French.

Artists at work

Cutest restaurant

 Back across the river to have another try at Musee d’Orsee, which was still closed. The 27 gallant public servants were selflessly bearing the burden of restraining the public from the dire hazards of venturing through a museum with insufficient clones to protect the guests and exhibits from one another.

Least we could enjoy the artworks outside the Musee

 Another long walk down to Invalides, site of the military museum and Napoleon’s tomb. We didn’t go in but enjoyed the long ramble through the parks which, like the Champs Elysees, form a major axis through the city. These open spaces are as much a statement as the grand and elegant buildings. Each complements the other.

Our destination was the Rodin museum, delightfully located in sprawling landscaped gardens. It is rightly one of the most popular tourist stops in Paris and, although it was well patronised on this lovely sunny day, there was plenty of opportunity to see the major works or copies thereof. Some of the better-known were The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and of course The Thinker.  J wandered through the chateau type building, which had works of many other major artists, while I sat and admired The Thinker.

We had just about done everything that was on our list and took a train back into the middle of the Champs Elysees to walk the other half down to the Louvre, particularly to see the gilded statue of Joan of Arc.

We knew the big supermarket would be closed but were a tad horrified to discover that the other one was as well. Interestingly, we were in time to see the resident beggar fold up her cardboard bed, roll off her voluminous rags, and then saunter off down the road as a 20 something man in jeans!

We bought  some baguettes from a local wine shop and stocked up on a couple more for the train trip tomorrow.

22/10 Freezing in Paris

Saturday 22^nd Oct

We had an early night last night and I slept pretty well.  Woke at decent time and waited and waited for the sun to come up.  Opening the window told us that it was foggy and pretty damn cold, so we put on layers and eventually set off about 9.30am. C had had a difficult night and was dosed up with glue and serious antibiotics.  J turned back pretty quickly and got more layers, scarf, hat & gloves.  It was freezing.  Walked to metro and headed to Eiffel Tower. As we emerged we could see it but the top was well clouded in so we changed tack and headed to Champs Elysees and walked to the Arc de Triomphe.  Metro to the Obelisk from Thebes (Luxor) in the Place de la Concorde (named after they had finished guillotining people there during The Revolution) and short walk to La Madeleine.

Arc de Triomphe

Madeleine

We bought a 3 day bus and rail pass and found the Metro very easy to use, with regular trains and heaps of stations going all ways. Getting into the platforms required feeding your ticket into a machine which then released a gate long enough for you to get through – much like Singapore. However, unlike Singapore, there were other flaps that stopped you jumping over the top or taking baggage through. It turned into quite a wrestling contortion. Getting out entailed taking a run at a pair of doors that angled towards each other – rather like trying to crash through the All Blacks cover defence.

It was noticeable that there seemed to be a stereotype for the beggars – they all displayed wedding ring and crucifix, rugged up to the extent that one had no idea who or what was inside there, hunched over so that you could imagine something even more wretched, avoided eye contact and rattled tins ferociously whenever a tourist approached. They obviously had some reserves of energy because we saw the same one in several scattered locations during the afternoon.

We were in excellent spirits but beginning to feel just a little ragged ourselves round about then. It was getting on lunchtime, still very cold, and we were ready to sit for a while, check the guide books, and have a thought about the afternoon. Paris absolutely bristles with a whole range of cafes to restaurants, all of which exude an air of warm hospitality and display tempting menus, but for anyone unaccustomed to spending Euros at that rate . . quite daunting. The tourist precincts seem to be studded with the great French brand names (St Laurent etc), and you just knew that these were the real thing. We even passed (presumably The) Maxims restaurant.

Then occurred what was for me a pivotal moment. It was only a brown paper bag discarded in the street but it evoked an immediate and tangible sense of warm refuge, affordable food, warm drink, comfortable chairs, a toilet (without seat as it happened) and a supply of tissues for runny noses. Did I really experience all that simply from the large M on the paper bag? Yes absolutely. Yes it might be cultural travesty to eat McDonalds 50 metres from the Opera but that was exactly what we needed right then. We had nice warming cups of tea and coffee and the world’s most expensive Big Mac meals during which time the sun made an appearance and the day warmed up a bit.

Metro to the Louvre, walked to Musee D’Orsay which unfortunately was closed due to a strike.  So instead we walked to Saint Chappelle.  Thanks to the people who have said “this is not to be missed’ as it really was beautiful. 

Downstairs chapel - St Chappelle

Upstairs chapel with huge stained glass windows, St Chappelle

 Back inside Notre Dame Cathedral for another look.  Subway to Eiffel Tower as the day was now clear and we thought a late afternoon/evening would be a good time to be there.  Seems half of Paris had the same idea and the queues were very long. 

 Spent some time there and headed back ‘home’ for dinner after 9 hours on the hoof.  Having never been to Paris before, I spent the whole day being gobsmacked.  Everywhere you turn is something to see.  The streetscapes are quite beautiful in their own right, but then add in a stunning centrepiece at the end of the street of a column, statue, church spire, cathedral domes and all the bridges – it really is lovely.  We didn’t go into the Louvre, just walked the gardens in front and that is special enough with the grandeur of the buildings, the landscaping and statues and vista along the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.  Breathtaking.  I really had a most enjoyable day