We left Epernay, after a fabulous 5 weeks stay and headed toward Paris. We said goodbye to Barney and Al at CDG Airport and took a train to Gare de Nord in Paris and walked to our VERY SMALL studio apartment in the 9th Arrondissement. Although our “digs” are rather small, by Paris standards it works. We have everything we need, a bed, a bathroom with all facilities, a table and chairs and somewhere to cook.

Our apartment was an artists studio of a lady in the Parisian fashion industry. She apparently was an expert in costume manufacturing for Parisian cabarets like Follies Bergeres ( which is just around the corner from us). They created costumes for more than half a century for actors and singers of the 20th century, amongst which include Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker, the famous black singer, hence why our little studio is called Josephine.

We settled in and went for a walk and then found “our local” for a drink. We stumbled across a gorgeous place for dinner on our first night, called Boullion Julien. It was created in 1906 and was established for the “pleasure of the wealthy, of course that is why we went. We saw people queuing and thought it must be good, so in we went. The interior was amazing, beautifully decorated. The food was great and more importantly cheap! Our duck confit and spuds were delicious and the pistachio cream brûlée was average according to Greg, although Rhonda quite liked it.

We had a schedule the following day! We left early to get the Metro to head to Place de Vosges, Greg’s favourite place in Paris, for our morning coffee. It is the oldest planned square in Paris and centered in the Marais district, the area we love the most. Coffee was at Cafe Hugo’s, a haunt of Victor Hugo who lived here for 14 years.

We then ventured onto Rue Cremieux, known as “ the most photographed street in Paris”. Even though there is a sign saying…respect the locals and take no photos…… everyone else was so we did too. It was a glorious cobbled stone street but we did try to be discreet!

We then wandered along the River Seine and onto the Ilse St Louis so Greg could have his morning tea, a pistachio ice cream at the famous Berthillion Ice cream window.

Then it was onwards to see how Norte Dame was coping after the fire! It was lovely to see the spire back and from what we could see of the re construction work, it is coming along nicely and we are confident she will be restored back to her spectacular self, if not better.

After walking for 3 hours it was hydration time so we found a great bar with a view of Rhonda’s favourite building, the Conciergerie, UNESCO listed and seat of power of the Kings of France in the Middle Ages and where Marie Antoinette was held prisoner during the French Revolution.

After hydrating, it was another “forced march”through the Louvre ( with heaps of tourists) to the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House, for a self guided tour. Unfortunately we have no photos of the outside as it was undergoing cleaning but plenty of the inside! It was built from 1861 to 1875 at the request of Emperor Napoleon 111. The interior is stunning and of course the Phantom of the Opera is inspired by its interior. The crystal chandelier with its 340 lights is spectacular. The Grand Stairway is pretty amazing too with its many chandeliers. The Grand Foyer is strikingly similar to the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles and absolutely stunning.

Then we continued walking, with Greg’s knees complaining, through the Tuileries Jardins, with lots of access still closed due to the Olympics and onto the River Seine where we had views of the Eiffel Tower and Greg’s favourite bridge, the Pont Alexander 111 with its gold winged horses.

We then arrived at the Hotel Invalides where we had to come to say goodbye…again… to Napoleon! Although originally buried on St Helena Island where he was exiled in 1821, his remains came to the Imperial Tomb in 1861 after his wishes were granted. His want was “ my ashes to lie on the banks of the Seine in the midst of the people I have loved so well”. His sarcophagus is on a green granite pedestal in a nest of 5 coffins, one of soft iron, one of mahogany, 2 of lead and one of ebony and he is dressed in his Colonels Uniform. It is quite impressive.

We also came across the Tomb of Vauban. We came across many of his ingenious works as an engineer throughout France, building Citadels and fortified constructions. Rhonda is happy she has now laid another France genius to rest!

We caught the Metro back home and by then had walked 15kms. We then needed to do more walking to buy dinner. So after a rest we ventured out again, had a drink at our local, bought some pasta and Chef Gregory cooked up a storm in our little apartment of Basilica pasta and we enjoyed a bottle of rose. By the end of the day we had walked 18kms, Greg’s knees were stuffed so decided that the next day was going to be a rest day!

We woke the next morning to drizzly rain but ventured out to have a coffee. We had seen on the tv at home a story about an Ausssie barista who had set up a coffee roasting cafe not too far from our digs. We have to say it was the best cappuccino we have had since we have been away. As we were walking we caught a glimpse of Sacre Cour but didn’t venture up the hill to visit because we had been there many times before.

We then continued on to a cafe for lunch which only serves Croque Monsieur BUT in many different ways! We chose one pastrami and one onion. Greg’s pastrami included tomatoes gherkins and a shit load of pastrami and cheese. Rhonda’s onion was full of a shit load of caramalised onions in the centre. They were sensational and the local beer was pretty dam good too. If you click on the photo you will see all the different varieties you can choose from, some quite strange.

Walking along the streets of Paris one becomes amazed at the magnificent architecture and different styles of buildings.

Unfortunately the rain continued for the afternoon so it was a good opportunity to stay home and rest Greg’s knees for the following day.

The next morning being Sunday we thought we would wander to the local boulangerie and grab some breakfast. Lo and behold, would you believe not one boulangerie could we find open after walking for 30 minutes, hence fruit and cereal for breakfast, not happy, but good for the waistline though.

After planning our itinerary for the day, we decided to utilize the Paris Metro, and we were quite surprised by the increase in the cost of tickets. Last time we were here it was one euro per person per trip, nowdays it’s 4 euros per person per trip. However it did help Greg’s knees so probably worth the cost!

Our first stop was the ever popular Champs Elysees. There were probably just as many police patrolling as there were tourists and we also saw a bomb disposal car, so didn’t stay too long there. We walked around the Arc de Triumph, Rhonda’s second favourite building in Paris, which honors those who fought and died for France during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. We stopped for a coffee and had a great view at the same time!

Our next stop in the tour was the Petit Palace, built for the 1900 Paris World Fair. It is now a Museum and Art Gallery and surprise surprise , free entry. We had been before so had no need to enter. Next stop was the Elysee Palace, home to Monsieur Macron, the official residence of the President of France. It was completed in 1722. There was a huge amount of police around, the flag was flying, so we presumed that Emmanuel was home , but decided that we wouldn’t ask if he could make us a coffee.

Our next stop was the Cour de Commerce Saint Andre, an almost hidden passage in Saint Germain where you “ step back in time to the world of 1734 when small shops lined the narrow lane paved with cobblestones”. Apparently it is a glimpse of how Paris looked before Napoleon ordered the architect Hausman in 1852 to modernize the city. It was very quaint. We opted to lunch at the Pub Saint Germain, one of the first “pubs” in Paris instead of the rather fancy Le Procope, a bistro founded in 1686, and supposedly the oldest restaurant in Paris. We thought the benches at the pub were more “us”than the white linen tablecloths and waiters in bow ties! Our lunch was yummy French onion soup followed by a citron tart which we shared, the waistlines are now getting enormous!!!

It was then onwards to visit the Great Mosque of Paris. It was built in the 1920’s to pay tribute to the 70,000 unlimited soldiers who died for France in WW1. It is the largest Mosque in France It was a very peaceful place, with beautiful gardens and lovely mosaics.

It was then time to catch the Metro back home to rest up before heading out to dinner. We decided we didn’t want to go far so opted for a final French dinner of crepes.

We have loved our time in Paris, re visiting some favourite places, seeing new ones and experiencing a lot of nostalgic moments that have bought back some great memories of time spent in this beautiful city with family and friends.

Now tomorrow we are off to our final destination before we make the loooooooong trip back home. We are going to Dusseldorf in Germany for 4 nights to drink beer, and eat curry wurst, amongst other things.

So au revoir to our Paris.

It’s that time again, time to lack the bags

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda

xxxx