Paris

Monday to Thursday, 25 -  28 August

Flew into a cloudy, crazy Monday morning at Charles de Gaulle Airport after a comfortable flight on lovely  Cathay Pacific overnight from Hong Kong.  The only downside to flying with Cathay is the six hour lay over at Hong Kong airport - rather tedious but never mind.  Luggage collection was a bit slow this morning due to a malfunctioning conveyor belt.  I had somewhat of a trek from Terminal 2A to Terminal 2E but plenty of time before Eleanor and Freya's arrival from London.  Paul's provided the usual good coffee and yummy croissant to help pass the time while I waited at the arrivals hall.  Being Monday morning and with the French holidays coming to an end this week the airport was super busy - crowds of people playing trolley derby in the walkways.  I was thinking how smoothly the process of arriving and meeting the girls was as I saw that their flight had landed when suddenly airport security ordered everyone out of the arrivals area and down the corridors away from the exit.  I had no idea what was going on, but through the glass walls I could see that the baggage claim area was becoming increasingly crowded.   I chatted to a fellow with a sign (meeting some passengers) and he was able to tell me that some abandoned baggage was at the exit of baggage claim and had to be checked.  Managed to phone Eleanor to let her know what was happening and after an hour the army explosives guys arrived, detonated the offending luggage and finally everyone was released.  In the meantime I had found our driver and soon we were on our way to the city. Great to see the girls despite a rather unwelcoming start to their visit.
Our driver made up for the airport delays by taking us on a scenic route through the centre of Paris - around the Arc de Triomphe, down the length of the Champs Elysees, through Place Concorde and along the river bank to our apartment in Rue Pont Neuf.  Very exciting for Eleanor and Freya!  The apartment is delightful, spacious and very well located and we were soon settled in.

Our lovely apartment, Rue Pont Neuf

The first thing we wanted to do was to have lunch so we strolled a short way to Rue Montorgueil and found an outdoor table at one of the many restaurants that line this pedestrianised street.  This is a really vibrant area, busy but authentic - a neighbourhood shopping street with many specialty food shops.  Lunch was lovely - the girls were astounded at the size of their salads and I loved my French style macaroni dish - I will certainly try this again!

Eleanor and Freya enjoying Paris

 Feeling somewhat restored from our overnight and early morning flights we walked to the Pompidou Centre - Eleanor and Freya set off to explore the Marais district and visit the Pompidou and I headed down Rue St Martin to  pick up a few supplies and then returned to the apartment for a long overdue shower and a bit of a rest.    Caroline and Jessica were due from London on the Eurostar around 5 pm so I took the Metro to Gare du Nord station to meet them.  This  afternoon an on-time train and absence of security dramas meant that we were back at the apartment in no time at all.  I managed to twist my ankle on the cobblestones on the way back so after a catch- up with my London girls I sent them out in search of a bandage and some dinner while I rested - bit worried about limping around Paris in the next few days.  We all slept very well - the apartment is quiet although we look directly onto the street and have tall French windows with little balconies in the typical Parisian style.

Caroline, Eleanor, Freya and Jessica hit the streets of Paris

So relieved to wake up on Tuesday morning to find that the bandage has fixed my foot and I won't have to hobble about after all.  First stop this morning , the local shops - fruiterer, boulangerie, supermarket and then breakfast and serious planning for the day.  Freya and Eleanor set off for the Louvre, Tuileries, Napoleon's Tomb and the Eiffel Tower and we all arranged to meet at 4.30 at Laduree, the famous tearoom for a welcome to Paris treat.  Caroline, Jessica and I decided to check out the shops in Rue Rivoli, just around the corner on this showery Paris morning.  Shopping proved very successful with the acquisition of a few bags of winter clothes - so much nicer and cheaper than London, so I am told.  The sun came out, the day became very warm and the shops very crowded so we struggled home with our shopping bags and rustled up some very late lunch.  Then it was onto the Metro to Place Concorde, a short stroll up Rue Royale and a meeting with Eleanor and Freya outside Laduree.

Tea, champagne and macaroons - Laduree, Rue Royale, Paris

  It is such a gorgeous place.  Being 5 of us, there was not room  downstairs so we went to the upper level which is beautiful but not quite so over the top in terms of decorating style.  The girls were quite overwhelmed initially with the choice of goodies and beverages on offer but soon overcame their amazement and set to the task of choosing something delicious from the menu.  We ended up with an assortment between us - white wine, champagne, coconut coffee, Kir Royale and strangely a cup of Kir tea which we hadn't ordered - never mind it was delicious.  Our goodies were just as diverse - ice-cream sundaes, macaroons (for which Laduree is justifiably famous), choux pastry with rose petal cream - mmmmm!

Afternoon tea, Laduree, with Caroline and Jessica

   Just as well we walk so much in Paris!.. We lingered over our food, enjoying the lovely ambience of the place, not forgetting to check out the beautiful bathroom, and then set off to walk to the "grands magasins", the two giant department stores on Boulevard Hausmann - Le Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.  Although it was approaching 7 pm the skies were sunny and the Madeleine church looked especially good with  a bank of flowers in front.  The department stores were as usual crowded and as usual extremely expensive - the only people buying seemed to be Asian tourists.  The magnificent domed roof is quite spectacular at the moment with a giant white balloon suspended from the ceiling.

Galeries Lafayette

  It did not take very long to tire of the crowds in the stores, so we walked a couple of blocks to the Opera with its splendid gold rooftop statues and then jumped on the Metro back to our neighbourhood.  The restaurants of Rue Montorgueil were pretty well packed but we managed to squeeze around a street-side table at one of them and enjoyed a typical brassiere dinner - although I must say that the onion soup was a little strange - very pale and cheesy.  A short walk home and and some badly needed R & R.
Eleanor and Freya continued to enjoy the sights of Paris over the following days, making the most of the Velib system to hire bikes - they even bumped their way up the Champs Elysees!  With good planning they were able to get the most out of their 4 days in the city but of course it would probably take 4 years to see and experience all the sights of Paris.  Mostly the weather was pleasant and the occasional shower was no problem. Jess and Caroline had the opportunity to spend and evening with their Parisian friends (ex Bond Uni) and I was happy to stroll and browse and potter.  On Thursday afternoon I said goodbye to Caroline and Jess at the Gare du Nord and in the evening strolled through the Marais with Eleanor and Freya who treated me to a nice dinner on a perfect balmy Paris evening.
At six thirty on Friday morning our transport to the airport arrived and we said goodbye to our lovely apartment.  Eleanor and Freya flew off to Berlin and I met Gerri at CDG where we collected our Peugeot 308 and started out on our French road trip.  A thoroughly enjoyable stay in Paris with great company!

Amazing rose cream pastry and a nice Burgundy white at Laduree