Monday – Friday, 23-27 May

The week started wet and cold.  On Monday morning we headed back to the Australian Embassy and collected Cherrie’s Emergency Passport.  The weather is not kind to the   French Open which was rained out today. We did not have plans to go but we did feel for those who had.  Instead, we braved the miserable weather and walked to the Louvre, which we had booked on line early this morning, thus avoiding the queues.  It’s a great system, book and pay on line and collect the ticket at the booth near the Louvre and go straight to the priority entry.  Saves lots of time.

It never fails to impress, the Louvre.  Its size is overwhelming, although we managed to walk the whole of it but I must confess to travelling at speed through some of the displays.  The Apollo Gallery, formerly Louis IV’s sitting room, is gobsmacking.   

No wonder they revolted.

But then so is the apartment of Napoleon III.  If they hadn’t revolted by then, they surely would have

 Signe, we saw your wedding jewellery.  Belonged to Napoleon’s wife, Marie-Louise

 Mind you, Louis IV had a pleasant jewellery case of his own.   It’s pure gold

 The crowds clearly increase around some of the exhibits

 Ah, there she is

 And here’s another crowd pleaser

We were quite taken by Melpomene, but it may come as no surprise that we find big women, especially those with heads in hand, quite fetching

The views from the windows are great too

 

The precision of this hedging is immaculate

And security is taken very seriously at the Louve

On Tuesday morning we moved into our apartment, our final move before heading home next week.  We are in an absolutely delightful one bedroom in the Invalides area.  This building was originally built as home to retired soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars and is a 6 storey building on the gorgeous Rue Saint Dominique. We are on the 3^rd floor, with french (ha ha) windows opening onto the street from the sitting room, and onto an internal courtyard from the bedroom.  It is quiet and comfortable.  What a triumph.  There’s even a lift in the building which means we never have to lift a suitcase down or up a stair again this trip.  We are near the famous markets of Rue Cler and are surrounded by great restaurants, boulangeries and shops. A five minute walk to the Metro, either Invalides or La Tour Mauborg and we couldn’t be happier.  And we even see the Tower from our street!

 

Our plan is to go to Monet’s garden at Giverny tomorrow, a relatively simple metro/train and shuttle bus journey which should have us there an hour after leaving home.  But, guess what?  The trains are on strike.  Metro too.  There are major transport and fuel strikes in France which are having a massive impact on the country.  These are all about this socialist government’s labour reforms and even my left wing friends say these reforms are long overdue.  No train, no Monet’s garden.   And the weather forecast tells us that tomorrow is the only day without rain for the remainder of our time in Paris.  So, we sacrifice an arm and a leg and book a small tour, meaning a driver in a van with maximum seating of 8 will pick us up tomorrow at 1.30pm and deliver us to Monet’s garden and collect us 2.5hrs later.

Before Giverny on Wednesday we took advantage of the clear day and walked to the  Jardin Tuileries.  They are truly lovely and the little bit of sunshine brought the locals out and it was fun to see kids in the playground, and older folk reading by the lake

Even I abandoned my inhibitions for a short time

Around the gardens are pretty special too.

Once upon a time you could stand in front of the Louvre and look all the way up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe, and beyond, with an unimpeded view.  How things have changed

Like clockwork, our driver arrived at 1.25pm and we boarded our comfortable mini van, joining Rosemary from San Diego, Nancye from Chicago and Sharon from between Canterbury and Dover (that’s as much a clue as we were given).  A drive along much of the same route that we took to Normandy last Saturday morning had us in Giverny by 2.30pm.  It was worth it

We really enjoyed this trip, and it was good for the soul

Back at the apartment by 6.30pm, we set out for dinner at a nearby restaurant which had been recommended by our classy (and pretty spunky) landlord, Pierre-Louis.  It was also right up there on TripAdvisor.  Let that be a lesson to us…it has turned into a tourist restaurant; the service was indifferent and the food lacklustre.

On Thursday we took the metro up to Montmartre.  I remembered it being a charming, bohemian and interesting area.  That was on my first trip to Paris.  In 1975.  I suppose it’s not surprising, therefore, that the area has changed?  It’s tacky and not even a bit interesting.  Although the views are good

And so is the camping apparently

It’s a long walk up to Montmartre from the Metro, and we should have had the good sense to take the funicular.  But we didn’t.  Sense seems to have evaded us.  In a clear demonstration of that, we took the funicular down.  We then kept walking down and down and down, until we reached L’Opera.  We potted around and even went into Galleries Lafayette.  It’s worth a visit just to look at the ornate, domed ceiling.  The security has lifted here, as with everywhere, with bag searches and those gun powder wands that airports use.

Dinner tonight with our friend John Berrick, Entertainment Director at Disney France at his home, a 20 minute metro ride from Paris .  And, as luck would have it, our mutual friend Will Fraser from Hong Kong was also in town and staying with John.  We were joined by another couple, old friends of John’s from Mallacoota in Victoria, John’s partner Tony and Susan Owens, a journalist who is now resident in Paris but who spent many years with the Australian Financial Review.  Susan specialises in writing for the luxury market, the largest hunk of which these days is for the Chinese.  She told us that Galleries Lafayette last year paid a commission to tour operators for the Chinese market of….sit down….€30m.  Thirty million euros in commission.  Such is the size of the Chinese tourist market to Paris.  Ouch.

John has acquired the most beautiful dog.  Lad is a Labradoodle, jet black and unbelievably well behaved.  Of course, he goes to school every day. He is collected in the morning by two carers, goes off with his packed lunch to dog day care, where he is exercised, groomed and trained.  He speaks both English and French and John was recently advised that one of Lad’s closest school friends speaks Arabic so it perhaps John could teach Lad basic Arabic too.  I think that fell on deaf ears.

Both Cherrie and I enjoyed some dog time, and are looking forward to reuniting with Beetie soon, who is miraculously still alive and in the expert care of her god mother Jeannie.

It was a great night, with lots of interesting conversation and even a few laughs!

Yesterday, Friday, we walked to and along the Champs Élysées, still a beautiful Boulevard but slightly different these days with the inclusion of McDonalds, Marks & Spencer and other ‘downmarket’ stores

 We visited the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, created from the private home of an avid art collecting couple, Edouard Andre and Nelie Jacquemart, in the late 1800’s. It’s a beautiful house

 

 And the current exhibition is that of the Impressionists whilst in Normandy:  Turner, Monet, Degas, Boudin, Renoir, Pissaro, Gaugin etc.  We only took two photos before being sternly asked by the bag searching, gun powder scanning, rifle wearing security guards to desist.  Uncharacteristically, I acquiesced immediately.

 

A walk all the way home, and then the discovery of a wonderful restaurant only steps from the apartment.  Yum.  Five more sleeps before boarding the plane home.  Hope the strikes don’t get us!