Paris and we are still going strong!

the charm of Monet's

GIVERNEY


Our final entry for Paris

please excuse that all comments about photos are moved by the publishing process. I seem to have no control!! So you must work it out yourselves!


In conclusion and not because we didn't do other things, the charm of Paris for us lay in the back streets of the 5th and 6th arrondisements (the Latin Quarter and the St Germaine des Pres area) including the Ile St Louie and Ile de Cite. These were the most interesting and diverse and atmospheric areas for us. The Rue Buci just behind our apartment block had everything we wanted from our Champion Supermarket (open til 11.30pm!!) to flower stalls to the little fruit and vegie market, to upbeat cafés on the pavements, to tiny galleries, art shops, shoe and clothing shops. It was a little world of its own.

The architecture of the buildings with their ballustrades and red geraniums, and the tiny meandering streets are just so pretty and charming, dotted throughout (as these areas are) with tiny parks or squares for relaxing, reading & eating lunch. The Jardin du Luxumberg was an example of this on a grand scale with it's palace in the background. People just sit in these parks to read the papers and enjoy the open air. With so many apartment dwellers in Paris, this has to be part of the fabric of daily life.

The Parc du Luxumbourg with palace in the background.

The Medici fountain in the Parc, a spot for meditation

A picnic on the Pont Des Arts on weekend evenings is a very special part of life in this section of Paris. When we stumbled on it after walking through the Tuilleries one evening, we wondered what all these young people were doing. They had their music on, they were sitting on blankets with numerous bottles of wine; pate, dips and baguettes. It looked fantastic and we were enthralled, wishing only that we had visited Paris with some mates to join us....and a spare blanket!

There were plenty of things we missed out on in Paris, but by the same token, we chose what was important for us to see. Churches were not part of the agenda at all for Russ who has a pet hate of them as well as of queues! He wouldn't even come to the Sainte- Chapelle church with me to see the magnificent stained glass. High Gothic architecture or not, chursh visits did not form part of our itinerary except from the outside. And since queues were his second pet hate, musuems at this high season time of year were also off the list. A huge concession was accompanying me to the Musee D'Orsay because he knew I so desperately wanted to go.

Sainte Chapelle

What we did not do was waste our money on an expensive meal out in a well known Parisian cafe like Les Deux Magots or Cafe De Flore, both heritage listed and in our area. We opted instead for a wee cafe off our Rue Buci and met an American lady studying at the Alliance Francais andthoroughly enjoyed our evening. I guess this made us realise that we are both far more 'Left Bank' than 'Right Bank' in our tastes and we feel far more at home among the crooked old streets of the Latin Quarter with their quirky fashion shops, their tiny art galleries and the plethora of cheap restaurants and pavement cafes.

Our half litre of beer, glass of chardonay

and baguettes.

For any of our friends considering Paris, an apartment in the Saint Germain des Pres area is our recommendation. We would even go so far as to highly recommend Citadines in Rue Grand Augustins. It was a tad indulgent and costly but its position was spot on and right in the middle of everything which meant we could walk everywhere! It also had free(?) internet access and wonderful coffee available in the lobby. The apartments themselves were impressively appointed...and we know this because we were relocated to another Citadines in the 13th arondissement

when our booking was mucked up. This Citadine hotel was not a patch on Saint Germain des Pres where we enjoyed eating in on several of our nights there.

Rue Buci

Now our Paris soujourn is over and we have flown to Toulouse, or rather to a suburb of Toulouse called Balma. As you all know this is our house swap with Geraldine and Xavier and we have landed in another dream situation. In fact since we arrived oin Sunday night we have done nothing except relax, shop for food, walk the little tracks close by and potter in the huge (for us) garden. We have no interest in exploring further than the mega city of Toulouse for at least the next 4 days!! More on that anon.

The most ritzy wedding drress makers in Paris, right next door to Citadines!

Love to you all,

Shirley and Russell