le 20 Septembre
Dawn is breaking outside my window.
I was not successful on the sleep assignment but did get some rest. About an hour ago I noticed Orion the Hunter outside in the pitch black sky, now he is slowly fading as the horizon begins to glow orange in the east. Still a bit too dark to see what is beneath the puffy bits of cloud below- not sure if it is Ireland or still Atlantic Ocean.
Dinner was a chicken breast in a creamy mustardy sauce, salad of tomato and cucumber in vinaigrette, a surprisingly good bread roll, and for dessert some chocolate mousse with a small brownie in the middle. Washed down with some decent French Chardonnay. But that was probably 3 hours ago by now and I am beginning to get gnarly again for the promised continental breakfast and some tea.
Cloud covered London and the Channel and before I knew it after breakfast the plane was descending throught clouds and then 'voila' we were on the ground in France.
le 21 Septembre
Sitting at a café on the corner of rue Bergere and rue de Fauborg Montmartre, 9th arr., Paris.
Ah oui, this is the life. I have just come from a sparkle-soaked adventure walking the Champs Elysées, rue de Rivoli and Place Vendome. More about all that later. First a recap of Dimanche as I was way too tired to write yesterday by the time we got to bed.
After getting through passport control very quickly (at least compared to Heathrow last year) we passed through the doors only to realize we had overlooked the signage telling us where to find our bowling balls. Merde. Had to go in reverse and present our credentials to a very matter-of-fact border services agent to verify we were bonafide. At that point the luggage was just coming and for once our bags were not the last ones to appear. Abandoning the original plan of taking the métro into the city, we hopped on a Roissy bus which was still a bargain at 8 € each compared to 50 € for a taxi.
The ride was quite interesting as we sped along the highway. I noticed that almost every car was shiny and new looking - Peugeot, Renault, Citroen, Mercedes - almost no 'big 3' cars and the few Fords I did see looked nothing like anything at home. We drove through the area where the St.Ouen marché aux puces is located but I could see no actual evidence of it. Also through Montmartre and right past the Moulin Rouge. The bus stopped right on the side of the Opéra Garnier, so it was just a short walk to the hotel for us, checked in with no problems even though it was still quite early (maybe 12:30?). We considered a nap but decided to attempt my ambitious first day plan.
We walked up the boul Haussman through Place Vendome and up the Champs Elysées all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, which we climbed. It was a marvelous, warm (hot) sunny day and the stairs going up were stifling and a little claustrophobia-inducing, but it was worth it just to see that view. I got my first glimpse of Tour Eiffel and it was magical.
After the descent, we meandered our way to the Tour Eiffel where we took pictures (stoopeed toureests), had ice cream (me pistache, Reyn vanille, both delicieux et cremeux), and decided to take a Seine cruise.
The late afternoon sun cast everything in a lovely glow as the boat gurgled its way under bridges, past the Louvre, the Ile de la Cité and almost everything else. 11 € each, it was an hour long but will last for always in my memories of this glorious city. We navigated the métro for the first time to get back to the hotel as we had strayed fairly far from home, and we had neither the will nor the foot power to get back on our own steam. Took a walk to McD's for nuggets, bought some juices and milk for the small fridge in the room, and went to bed. Took some Advil and slopped on some peppermint foot creme to try to soothe the blister that had already manifested itself on my right foot. We were in bed until 9:18 this morning from about 8:30 last night. I was so pleased to get some much-needed sleep.
This morning we dressed and took a taxi to Place des Abbesses where we found the Mur de Je t'aime in the Jardin des Abbesses. It was a wondrous start to the day except for the fact that the jardin smelled more like a latrine. We stolled Montmartre - Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, and each corner we rounded revealed some new exquisite picturesque wonder. I would live here in a heartbeat.
After lunch (jambon et fromage sandwiche et café creme), we almost completed the Rick Steve's Montmartre walk before jumping in a cab to get Reyn to La Biosthetique for 2:00. We parted ways there at 7, rue Tilsitt - he to the trend collection launch and me to reverse the walk from the previous day - going back down the Champs, rue de Rivoli to go to Gagliani, and to Place Vendome to ogle the jewellery store windows. The Place Vendome did not disappoint and gave me a glittering overdose of all things gem-encrusted and pearl-studded. There were many collier resille in the windows, and some absolutely heart-stopping gigantic pearls at Mikimoto. I almost needed a cigarette.
On my way back to the hotel some people asked me for directions - to Chanel, rue Cambon of all places. I am laughing wryly to myself as I write this.
After dropping off the two small watercolours that we bought this morning at Place du Tertre, I am now enjoying a delicious meal of salade Parisienne (lettuce, tomatoes, Emmental cheese, ham, hard-boiled egg) and a glass of vin rouge. Must return to the room soon and get ready for Il Barbiere di Seviglia tonight.
J'adore Paris!!! (Plus de Londres!)
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