Bonjour tout la monde.
Here we are at the start of day two of our most excellent adventure. We are staying in the 20th arrondissement with an old school friend of mine, Paul McKey, and his girlfriend Irène. Paul has been a fabulous tour guide par excellence over our first two days howing us parts of Paris you don't find in any of the guide books as well as introducing us to some fine cuisine and keeping us awake and active so we adjust as quickly as possible to the change in timezones. He also is a great photographer as witnessed by this stunning pic he snapped on our walk down to Boulevard de Bellville on a beautiful side street Rue Deyonez. I love the local checking out us and the beautiful morning from her second story apartment! Anyway back to the start of the adventure.....
In The Beginning...
After 29 hours of travel courtesy of Singapore Airlines we finally touched down at Charles Des Gaulle International Airport just after 07:00 on the morning of Jan 28th. The trip went relatively well and along with the obligatory movie marathon we were stoked to be able to catch up with the Knoxies at Changi International Airport as they were on their way to Thailand for New Years before heading off on their own adventures to Southeast Asia and India. A dip in the pool atop terminal 2 was a great way to freshen up before the 12 hour flight to Paris. It was a new experience for both of us to board the Airbus A380 (the double decker plane) and we were wrapped to find we had a spare seat beside us so one of us was able to get horizontal and enjoy a bit more sleep.
Paris greeted us with a dark cloudy morning and by the time we caught the train and metro to Paul and Irène's apartment the sun was finally getting in to gear so we were able to get a quick peek of Sacrè Coeur and Stade de France before we headed underground. We resurfaced at Jourdain Metro Station and as Paul had promised we were greeted by an amazing backdrop of Saint Jean Baptiste de Bellville Church. The short walk to the apartment really gave us a sense of the day just beginning and the lovely feeling of having finally arrived.
Paul welcomed us with a much needed cappuccino and a shower before we unpacked the scarf, gloves and hat as the temperature was fairly fresh. Paul then took us on an orientation stroll round the local neighbourhood. The 20th arrondissement is situated on a hill so within a short walk from the apartment we were presented with a magical view of the city. If you look close enough you can spot the Eiffel Tower!
This snap is taken from the top of Parc de Belleville which meanders its way down the hill to the Boulevard. One thing I love about Paris was brought home to me again on our walk and that is the graffiti art or public art. Coming to the end of one street we came across a community garden and on the walls surrounding the small garden was colourful and vibrant art. The detail below we just love.
Next stop was Parc de Buttes Chaumont a favourite of Paul's as not many tourists know about it. Located in the neighbouring 19th arrondissement the park is a transformed gypsum quarry that also descends the hill. Paul often runs in the park as the loop that borders the park is a convenient 3km. The green space was beautiful with many locals exercising. Sarah loved a cave that had a waterfall tumbling through it and out into a lake that skirted the bottom of the promontory at the centre of the park that had been created by the quarry. Once we climbed the promontory we were again afforded some great views of the city.
Following the park we headed back to the apartment for a quick breather
before striking out for the city. I was very excited about this as I was so looking forward to seeing Sarah's reaction to the grandeur and scale of the city. We caught the Line 11 metro into Rambuteau Station which saw us surface outside the Centre Georges Pompidou which is a uniquely modern building with all the services on the outside and houses collections of contemporary modern art. Paul then directed us toward a lunch option known as a galette which is a savoury crepe. Paul found the creperie that he was looking for and due to its popularity we had to kill some time. This gave us the opportunity to stroll onto Ile de la Cité and take in the mighty Notre Dame. It is quite a surreal experience witnessing this massive work of masonry for the first time. Walking across Ile de la Cité you catch glimpses of the Cathedral's two towers rising above the other buildings and as you get closer and closer the edifice continues to climb. Then as you enter the square in front of Notre Dame she is revealed in all her glory. Sarah was blown away and taken by the sheer size of the Cathedral but couldn't get over the amazing detail of the sculptures adorning the facade. We also took the opportunity to snap a pic of Sarah standing on Point Zero the marker from where all routes are measured.
After checking out Notre Dame we headed back to the creperie and had our first attempt at ordering in French. This was a humouress experience that we managed to negotiate with out to much bother due to the guidance of Paul and a wonderful French waitress. The galletes were delicious although Sarah's choice was the pick of the bunch with a beautiful cheese sauce.
Post lunch we decided to go for another wander this time up Rue de Rivoli which runs along side the Louvre. As we walked through one of the amazing arches beneath the Louvre to enter the colossal forecourt where Ming Pei's Pyramid rises up Sarah caught a glimpse of some of the treasures housed within the museum. I remember reading somewhere that the Pyramid represents the light of knowledge and as you can see from the photo lit up on dusk it is a stunning contrast to the age of the Palace. From there we walked down to Place de la Concorde through the Tuileries Gardens again marvelling at the grandeur and sense of space in this beautiful city. We decided to hang a right at Place de la Concorde and head up to Madeleine, a church built like a Greek temple. After a quick look inside we headed for a rendezvous with Paul's girlfriend Irène and some of their friends. Enroute Paul had a few more suprises including the phenomenal Opera House, a stunning view of the city from atop the Print Temp department store and a giant Christmas tree in the Gallerie Lafayette. We eventually made it back to the apartment around 8pm where we crashed into bed at the end of day one.