Paris on Foot

Paris …

First things first, let me show you our little abode for the next week.  It’s at the top of what must surely be the steepest little one-way street in Paris…. And yep we dragged our bags up there.

On the 1^st floor of a 3 story building fronting Rue Lepic it is owned by an Indian family (friends of a friend) and has the most incredible collection of books & musical instruments and art covering the walls.  Creaky timber floors and cute Paris balconies, its just gorgeous.

We arrived in Paris yesterday – but yesterday will get no more mention other than we arrived.  One day I may complete the story – suffice to say it was not an enjoyable day by any stretch of the imagination.

We set out this morning abut 10 and had a coffee & crepe stop part way down the hill to Blanche - our local metro station, and then caught the metro to Charles De Gaulle, and like you do in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, we came up the stairs face to face with the Arc De Triomphe. It’s huge, really huge and really popular – it was swarming with tourists – all taking the obligatory selfie so we did the same,  then took the tunnel under the roadway for a close up look.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier WW1

From the Arc we strolled up the Champs Elysees and did a spot of window shopping at Tiffany, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and their contemporaries along the ‘Golden Mile.’

Next, a stroll past the fabulous Grand Palais – currently hosting a Gauguin exhibition.  It’s a stunning building, as is its neighbour, the Petit Palais.  We continued along the Champs Elysees to the Place du Concorde where Luis XV and Marie Antoinette lost their heads.

Then, it was into the beautiful Jardin des Tuileries with its formal layout.  Alleys lined with pleached trees in their skeleton form without leaves were gorgeous.  Fountains (switched off to avoid freezing the pipes) and statues, gravel paths and grassed areas (roped off to keep the grass undamaged) make up this stunning public garden.

  

 At the end of the Jardines is the extraordinary Louvre building.  And in the middle of a nearby intersection, France's Girl Heroine - Joan of Arc

The impressive Palais Garnier was our next target.  It’s beautiful outside, and what we saw of the inside was incredible.  There was a performance of Swan Lake due to start just after we arrived so we only got a brief look around.

Final stop on todays itinerary was the famous Galleries Lafayette.  It’s a massive, over-the-top, high-end department store with THE MOST amazing stained-glass dome.  We’d heard it did amazing Xmas windows so we braved the throngs of families, only to be thoroughly disappointed – and sorry Paris, I’m going to do it again – the Myer Xmas Windows in Melbourne blow yours out of the water.

Pigeons are the 'theme' of the Xmas windows - really!

The inside however, was something else, and the views of Paris from the roof-top terrace go for miles.  Ainsley, I decided not to pick up your wedding shoes!

Checking google-maps for a route back to the flat, we discovered it was only a little over a km so we decided to walk.  Past the Eglise de la Trinite (Church of the Holy Trinity) and up Rue Blanche we were back in our own hood in no time.