We’ve been in Paris for two days now, having come over on the Eurostar on Friday afternoon. The train ride was lovely and I wasn’t at all worried about the tunnel leaking or collapsing! The tunnel part of the journey is only about twenty minutes, so before you know it, it’s over.
We arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon and lugged our luggage (hey – is that why it’s called luggage!?) to our apartment in the Bastille-Marais area. We then went out and explored. The plan was to go on a cruise down the Seine but when we got to the Pont Neuf bridge the next boat wasn’t leaving for another hour. We decided instead to wander into the St Germain area and had dinner. We avoided places with English menus and did our best to speak French. They seemed to understand so we were very proud of ourselves. After dinner we took the Metro to the Montparnasse Tower, where the photo from the last post was taken.
On Saturday we walked around the Ile de la Cite and saw the Notre Dame, The Conciergerie and Sainte Chapelle (glorious).
The Bridges of Paris.
We also had a bit of a wander on the left bank again.
This was followed by lunch at a restaurant just opposite the Louvre. The Musee du Louvre then defeated us with its sheer size! We tried to concentrate on certain collections only, but even that seemed to be too much!
Look! There’s the Mona Lisa!
Napoleon’s apartments were pretty swish.
We then walked along the Seine and onto the Pont des Arts.
Home for a quick stop off and then out to dinner at a local restaurant called Les Artists. The Duck Confit was very nice, as was the Tarte Tartin!
Today we took a day trip out to Versailles which was magnificent.
There were lots of crowds but our Museum pass meant that we got to bypass the queue for tickets. It’s been very cold in Paris – around 2 degrees celsius and minus two or three at night – but beautifully clear blue skies and no rain at all. It was even colder at Versailles – Mark thinks it was zero but I’m sceptical. The ponds were freezing over though…
…that loose ice is sitting on a frozen solid base!
My scarf has been coming in handy – thanks Frogdancer!
We rented a golf cart to see the massive grounds of Versailles and Marie Antionette’s Petit Trianon- it was enormous fun motoring along the paths!
A chandelier in the Hall of Mirrors.
We had a big lunch in the Versailles town so we just bought some bread (une baguette), cold meats and cheeses for dinner and we are now watching French TV.
Well, you’ve got to hand it to the French – they know how to make a beautiful city. It all looks magnificent. I’m sure the scarf is having the time of its life. Your postcard arrived (thanks for thinking of me!).
Really glad you’re taking the time to post the photos.
By: Frogdancer on December 29, 2008
at 6:51 am
i really enjoyed this post.. some day i’d love to visit Paris.. and enjoy what it has to offer. And of course visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery as i am a huge fan of The Doors & Oscar Wilde :) Cheers!
By: ontheroadjk on February 20, 2010
at 10:46 am
Thanks ontheroadjk!
By: scottsabode on February 20, 2010
at 10:48 am
Sounds like you had a wonderful time! I really enjoy your posts – your writing style and photography are both great. A group of friends and I visited Versailles and like you went to rent one of the cars, however none of us were old enough (I think you need to be 22 before they let you near them, which is fair enough). Instead, we rented one of the row boats and went out on the lake. A fun experience that was somewhat blackened by our inability to steer properly and a stubborn herd of swans who refused to move.
By: shallowpocketslucy on January 19, 2012
at 10:42 pm
[...] reminded us of the Sainte Chapelle in [...]
By: Switzerland Day Nine | Scott's Travel Adventures on March 9, 2012
at 11:44 am