Back to Paris

Thursday, 2 October - Saturday 4 October

After a few days of somewhat unsettled weather, we set out on our final road trip on a sunny morning - well that is after the early mist cleared.  The feeling of autumn is definitely in the air in the middle of France now. Our route took us on the A75 past Clermont- Ferrand (very slow progress and traffic jams as we circled this city) turning off near Gannat in a north easterly direction towards Moulins, Nevers and the A77, and eventually the A6 up to Paris.  We made our first stop in the rather attractive village of Charroux where the church bell tower has a very odd look and where there are old bicycles with baskets full of flowers and vegetables strategically placed around the place.

Where has the rest of the belfry gone?  Charroux church

  By contrast with the old stone houses we had coffee in a very modern establishment that was all big glass windows and a minimalist style garden.  After this short stop it was rather a long and somewhat slow trip north beside the Loire River - lots of traffic and often only a two lane road.  Eventually we hooked back on to an autoroute and picked up the pace as we headed north.
Our only other stop was at Charite-sur-Loire for lunch and we were lucky to find a restaurant where the kitchen was still open.  It was in a cave like building next to the magnificent (but closed) church and after a bit of a long wait we enjoyed a really delicious meal.

Part of the beautiful church, Charite-sur-Loire

  The restaurant was full, even at almost 2 pm - obviously it has a good reputation!  Charite-sur-Loire is of course a riverside town, and here the Loire is very wide although the main streets of the town wind up the hill away from the river - maybe it floods at times.  We didn't linger after lunch as we were keen to reach Orly Airport, drop off our car and make our way into Paris and our substitute apartment.

Charite-sur-Loire

Although the autoroute was not too busy, our GPS decided to exit us towards Orly rather sooner than I had anticipated, resulting in a long and somewhat hair-raising drive through the outer suburbs at peak hour - certainly not the best way to approach our destination.  Despite misgivings we decided to follow the GPS and finally found our way to the depot.  After a quick check-in the Peugeot shuttle service took us to the terminal where we were soon in a cab and speeding our way into the city - fortunately at this time of day most of the traffic was leaving central Paris.  We arrived at our apartment building on time but ended up waiting for ages for the owner, Patrick, to arrive.  We had been moved from our original booking in a much better location because of a plumbing issue in the original apartment.  As we only found out about this a few days earlier there was nothing much to be done.  Technically we were still in the Marais, but really on the very edge and the area beyond was a bit seedy.  Fortunately it was not far to walk to St Paul for a good Metro connection and the Place des Voges where we had a really great meal in a restaurant called Le Petit Marche (recommended by some people who worked in an office next door to our apartment).
Gerri was thrilled to be meeting some friends from London who had decided to visit  her in Paris and I was happy to spend a couple of days shopping, strolling and enjoying a final couple of sunshiny days in France.before flying across the Channel to see Jessica. On Friday I revisited familiar places on the Right Bank and enjoyed a little retail therapy as well as a return to my delicious macaroni restaurant in Rue Montorgueil - yummy!

Beautiful autumn days in Paris

  My final day in Paris was a lovely warm sunny Saturday so I ventured further, walking to the Left Bank and through the busy streets (especially the market street, Rue du Buci which was teaming with people) of St Germain-des-Pres to the Luxembourg Gardens.  I was delighted to find an Angelina's tearoom cafe beside the Luxembourg Museum at the entrance to the park and was seated on the lovely outdoor terrace for my lunch.

Floral splendour, Luxembourg Palace

  Everything about this place is exquisite and delicious and there was a continuous lineup at the ice cream cart.  After lunch I strolled through the gardens - a very popular place on a Saturday afternoon.The flower displays are stunning and despite the crowds it is a lovely refuge from the busy streets of Paris.

Luxembourg Gardens

I decided to check out the famous Rue Mouffetard which is in the Latin Quarter and took the Metro.

Saturday afternoon, rue Mouffetard

  It is a long pedestrian street with many artisan style food stores and innumerable cafes - and obviously very popular.  It was interesting to wander and look but to my mind Rue Mouffetard does not have the atmosphere of Rue Montorgueil.

Rue Mouffetard

  I didn't linger and soon caught the Metro back to Bastille and spent some time exploring the area - again crowded with shoppers enjoying this lovely Saturday afternoon.  All too soon it was time to take the Metro back to Saint Paul and our apartment to meet my taxi ride to Charles de Gaulle Airport where I stayed the night at the very convenient Novatel Hotel - best for early morning flights and my London flight was definitely that.  So, the end of another wonderful sojourn in France - can't wait to be back before too long!