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