Paris

I wrote this yesterday - Saturday. I won't bother going through and changing the yesterdays and todays. And the good news is - I am finally on line! And my phone, which i thought was working but wasn't, should be OK by tomorrow. It's all very exciting. Let me know if you have Skype - so far I only have one contact! The photos - the one of Elizabeth W, Colleen, Tim W and Tim I think gives a sense of just how cold it was. The street scene is showing our hotel on the Rue Diderot. Well, the sign saying Hotel, at least!
Today is Toussaints – All Saints Day. It’s cold and windy in Poitiers, and it was wet overnight. But I guess it’s the last month of autumn so only to be expected. And that of course means that winter can’t be too far away. As I mentioned, I have been on holiday and yesterday I got back from a couple of days in Paris. I have to say that Paris was VERY cold, and at times very wet too, but it was lovely.
So, last Tuesday I got the bus to the railway station here, strangely enough arriving far too early. There are other qualities which Mum had that I would have preferred to inherit, but it seems that I am stuck with a thing about being early. Anyway, I had a very pleasant trip. I was sitting by a lovely young girl from La Rochelle who was off to visit her boyfriend in Germany. She doesn’t speak German and he doesn’t speak French so they communicate in English! She was just delightful. I had bought Paris Metro tickets in Poitiers and was planning to get to the Gare de Lyon that way. But she organised me on to a Number 91 bus which was direct and far less complicated. And indeed, about half an hour later I arrived at the Hotel Helvetia, which is about a block away from the Gare de Lyon (station). And checking in at the same time were Tim and Elizabeth, my lovely neighbours from Auckland. It was soooo good to see them. I could have cried with joy! It’s actually only been 2 months since I did see them, but it seems like so much longer than that. They have been travelling around with friends of theirs, Colleen and Tim, and it was lovely to meet them too. That night we went out for a meal at a wee café we found round the corner. It had a great atmosphere and good food. On Wednesday, after a breakfast at the café next door to the hotel with a waitress who let the side down somewhat, we headed off for the start of our adventures. Firstly we walked to Notre Dame and had a look inside. [Did you hear the one about the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the bell ringer? He missed his timing one day, the bell hit him and he tumbled over the parapet. “Oh dear”, the crowd said. “Who is that?” “I don’t know, but his face rings a bell.” (It gets worse.) Anyway, they needed a replacement so his brother applied and got the job. All went well for a while until one fateful day when exactly the same accident occurred. “Oh dear! Who is that?” “I don’t know his name but he’s a dead ringer for his brother.”]
Anyway! To move on…. Then we did the double-decker bus thing. I had done that two months ago, but it was actually really good to do it again, as I forget things quite readily, and also I picked up new things. BUT…….. It was C O L D!!! My fault for sitting up top I guess, but the view is so much better there. At least it wasn’t raining. After lunch, Tim went for a bit of a run, Colleen and Tim went to the Louvre, and Elizabeth and I went to the Musée d’Orsay. Well! How wonderful was that? Just fantastic. I have got a bit of a thing for Monet and to see so many of his original paintings…. It just took my breath away. One of my favourites is Regatta at Argenteuil, and there it was! I know that most of you have probably been there so I won’t rave on, but it was just great. We didn’t see everything, and in fact missed an exhibition of Pastels which no doubt would have been great to see, but in fact there is only so much you can take in. And I was pretty happy.
Oh yes, while I remember…. We were looking at paintings done by some guy on the footpath outside the museum, when this young girl came past and picked up a ring off the footpath. She showed it to us and made a big fuss about it being gold and how much it would be worth. “Ooooh” I said. “You had better take it to the Police.” She then tried to give it to me, and then asked for money to buy a coke for having done me such a big favour. I had been fairly naïve up to that point, but it then became quite apparent that it was a trick! So I forced it back on her and wondered how many people they duped with that. As I’ m sure you know scams like that are a bit of an art form in some big cities. The beggars are quite distressing, and you never know how genuine they are. Tim was waiting for us one time at the Metro entrance near the Arc de Triomphe, and he was watching a woman lying on the ground, whimpering, with her face covered and her hand out for money. While he was there she popped up and perkily had a coffee that an associate had got for her.
The meal that night at another restaurant we discovered, was even better than night 1, with a delightful waitress. Great stuff.
On Thursday morning, after discovering that the waitress next door still hadn’t cheered up, we headed off on the Metro to Montmartre. Colleen and Tim hadn’t been to Paris before and I thought that the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre came into the ‘must see’ category. (Me being so knowledgeable, having been to Paris twice before, for the long time in total of about 3 days!) Anyway, we got accosted again, this time by some chaps from Kenya doing those plaited bracelets. In fact, it’s assault really, the way they grab you and just start plaiting. I was insistent that I didn’t want one, but my chap told me it was free! Well, he wasn’t very happy at the finish when I gave him €1 only. He wanted €10!!
I really like the Sacre Coeur cathedral, or church or whatever it is. It’s kind of quirky. We had a good look round then walked over to the Montmartre area and hung out in the souvenir shops! I make no apology for that – I loved it! In fact I only bought a scarf and went in with Colleen and Tim for an apron for Elizabeth, whose birthday was the next day. Another thing I love is looking at the artists. Despite the freezing cold and impending rain there were quite a few there beavering away. (And wanting to draw you, or cut out your silhouette. Now what would I do with a silhouette of my head??) Colleen bought a lovely painting but I managed to restrain myself. We had lunch there and a chap was playing the piano – perfect!
We then walked round to the Moulin Rouge, using my local knowledge. Lol. I just had a feeling I knew where it was, so I was pretty relieved when we found it. A few photos later, we hopped on the Metro again and went to the Champs Elysées. We just wandered down one side and up the other, (a bit like Friday nights in town in Dunedin in the 60s). But it was good to do that, and it’s something I hadn’t done before. It was raining quite a bit by then, but we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower anyway. We hopped on a red bus as our tickets were good for two days. In fact I had left mine in my other jacket pocket but clutching the headphones did the trick! It was now very, VERY cold, very wet, and getting fairly dark. Tim W was really keen to walk up the steps of the tower. I know it would have been great especially with all the lights coming on, but no matter how hard I try I just can’t do heights. And certainly not when you can look through the stairs and see way down below. Aaagh! I’ve been up the tower before so wasn’t really missing out, and Elizabeth kindly waited with me while the others went up. I could have waited in the lift queue but it was raining and it was in the open. Anyway, it was great for Colleen and Tim to go up. So back home on the Metro and after a hot shower and a few drinks and nibbles, we went and found another restaurant. The meal was superb. I think our evenings out were a real highlight of the trip!
So that was pretty much it. The others left the next morning after breakfast – in the hotel this time – and it was sad to see them go. I found an internet café and checked my emails, then went back to the hotel and packed up and went to Montparnasse Station on Bus 91. And as the bus pulled up I happened to spot a large shopping mall! Fancy that. So I was trundling over towards it when I suddenly became aware of a guy bending down beside me, and picking up….. you guessed it – a gold ring! He started the patter – Look what I’ve found, it looks like it’s gold etc – and I told him as clearly as I could to Go Away! I could hardly believe that it happened two days in a row!
An OK trip home and that’s it. I had a really enjoyable time. Today I have done some washing, and grocery shopped, and I did the Listener crosswords from the two Listeners that Lesley had sent and were waiting for me when I got back. Lovely! Tomorrow I must do some study. Although what I really need is some conversation practice with someone.
Until next time! xxx