Day 17 - Paris > London 25 Sept 2013

Alas all good things come to an end and our time in Paris is over. We pack the bags and catch a taxi to Garde de Norde, the morning traffic is heavy and the going is a bit slow, I have a theory that all French drivers think that all other French drivers have obtained there drivers licences from a cereal packet, hence the obsessive use of the horn, hand gestures and cursing. Thus making the journey to catch the train most entertaining.

The train departs on time and we cruise out into the countryside at 275 klm/h, we get a coffee and a piece of cake and sit back and enjoy the ride. The weather is getting foggier the closer to the channel we get.

Calais arrives and we plunge into the darkness of the tunnel, for 20 minutes we are suspended in the sense of not moving, only the streaking by of the green tunnel lights remind us of our movement. Back into daylight and we are shortly arriving into St Pancreas station.

Departing the train we head to the underground to catch a train back to our original hotel, the train is fairly empty making for an easy transit.

Back in London for another day before picking up the hire car.

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Day 16 - Paris 24 Sept 2013

Another sunny day greets us as we head for the RER to catch the train to Versailles, we have metro tickets to get us there but we need to buy a ticket back to Paris to get back, this is slightly cheaper than a day ticket costing 6.70 euro.

The Vick train arrives and we are off, heading through the Paris suburbs on our way to Versailles, we arrive and walk down to the chateau, even though it is early, 9.30 am there is a line snaking around the courtyard,

It takes quite awhile to get in but finally we are in and enjoying the lavishly appointed rooms.

Dozens of tour groups make some rooms hard to navigate but after 3 hours we have seen the lot, highlights being the hall of victories and of course the hall of mirrors.

Since my last visit they have changed the rules and now the museum pass doesn't allow entry to the gardens, a separate pass costing 7.50 is required to get you through the gate. Considering our tiring legs we decide the views of the gardens from the windows of the chateau will do.

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Day 15 - Paris 23 Sept 2013

Monday, only 2 days left in Paris and being Monday the Chateau of Versailles is closed so that makes it tomorrows outing. So today we are first off to see Monets Lillie's.

We catch the RER around to the D'Orsey and the walk over the river to the Musee L'Orangerie which houses Monets Water Lillie's, there is a small line up but it doesn't take long to get inside. We sit a while and enjoy the paintings before going down to see the other pictures in the gallery, there is a good collection of Renoir paintings.

Next it is back on the metro and off to the Basilica Sacre Cour. I asked our hotel desk clerk which was the best station to go to for the basilica, I though she was sending us to the station I used on one of my previous visit, alas I can only deduce that the desk clerk has not been to the basilica because the station was at the back of the Basilica which means one thing, lots of steps, 3 main staircases of about 100 steps each.

After hauling ourselves up to the top we entered into the main shopping and art center, lots of artists painting portraits of tourists, street performers and restaurants. We head around to the Basilica and wander inside, the inside is nicely decorated, some great roof paintings.

After exiting back out onto the steps we admire the views over Paris in the sunshine before wandering down to the food and tourist shops, a sandwich is enjoyed while watching the carousel. Some mandatory gift shopping is done before heading for the station that I imaged we would have started at.

For future reference Anvers is the metro stop for the Basilica.

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Day 14 - Paris 22 Sept 2013

Cloudy skies great us today as we step out into the street on our way to the tomb of Napoleon, we make our way across the champ de mars where they have set up for a disabled games. The streets are full of health conscious Parisian running about as we make our way to invalides.

The monument has few visitors apart from one guided tour, and it is nice to wander about looking at the crypts in relative piece.

Next we are off to the Pont Alexander 3 bridge, this has to be my favourite bridge, we walk over and back before dropping down to walk along the river side.

We grab some lunch and eat it in the courtyard of the Musee D'Orsey, there are long lines and large crowds inside, seems like everyone has the same idea for a Sunday afternoon. They have changed the display since my last visit but all my favourite pieces are now all on show, after wearing ourselves out we head back to the hotel to watch the highlights from the Grand Prix.

It is also worth noting that being Sunday all of the supermarkets and most shops do not open.

 

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Day 13 - Paris 21 Sept 2013

Another sunny day in Paris and today we are off to Saint Chappell we catch the RER to the Norte dame station and head over the river to the hall of justice and the chapel. We arrive at a good time as the line is not very long and within a few,minutes we are at the main door of the chapel. The lower chapel is ver ornately decorated with painted walls and roof, there is a stone spiral staircase that takes you to the upper chapel, the moment you step off the last step you are blown away buy the overwhelming amount of stain glass windows it really takes the use of stain glass to a new level and gives the room an amazing sense of colour and light.

Next we are off to Notre Dame Cathedral, and they are celebrating 850 years, there are large crowds viewing the facade from the erected seating, we make our way inside and journey around the cathedral, after saint Chappell the inside is plain and dark, but the space is still amazing. We head out and around to the back garden to enjoy a late lunch in the sun.

After lunch we head down the river, shopping in all the box sellers.

 

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Day 12 - Paris 20 Sept 2013

First full day in Paris and the sun is out, promises to be a warm day making a nice change from the mist and rain.

After a yummy breakfast our first stop is the Eiffel Tower, the tower is undergoing a refit of the first level and a large section of the ground under the tower has been blocked off, no climbing the tower today as we have lift passes for later in the week. We head of to the Trocadero to get a view of the whole tower, the crowds are light making for an easy viewing.

Next we walk to the Arch de Triumph again the crowds are light and it is easy walking through the tunnel to the centre of the roundabout. After taking some snaps of the arch we head off down the Champs Élysées bound for the Place de Concorde where we will have a sit down and some lunch. We find some chairs on the bank over looking the Place de Concorde and settle down for a sandwich and some people watching.

After lunch we head through the gardens to the Lovre, the Mona Lisa is a must see and the crowds as usual are heavy, we next head to the Napoleon 3 apartments, which are an amazing site.

The day ends with a metro ride back to the hotel all in all a pretty full day.

 

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Day 11 - Paris 19 Sept 2013

The sun is poking through the clouds as we checkout and head for the train, 2 first class seats await on the 11:48 TGV to Paris. We make it to the station with plenty of time to spare and soon are seated on board and heading out into the French countryside.

The train first heads into the mountains outside Strasbourg, cuttings, tunnels and canals, the trees are starting to change color another month and the mountains will be very colourful.

From the mountains we head across the fields, corn and sunflowers fill the fields along with lots of cows. Scattered amongst the fields are small towns. Very picturesque.

Paris arrives in just over 2 hours and we leave the train at garde est. we pick up some Paris passes and head for the taxi rank, surprisingly for me there is no que. 20 euros later after surviving the Paris traffic we arrive at our hotel. Luckily for us the room I have booked is not ready so we are upgraded to a room on the 10th floor with a view of the tower.

 

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