Paris... The Bad, The Good and The Funny

I recently treated my mom to a weekend in Paris for her birthday. Things didn't go exactly to plan, but we had a load of laughs and came away with many memories.

It was raining the day we arrived... the type of rain that drives everyone indoors, seeking warmth and shelter, and yearning for hot cups of tea and yummy cakes. Consequently the queues for cafes everywhere were horrendous! After a bit of browsing in the beautiful Galeries Lafayette, I'd planned on taking my mom to Angelina's  for tea, but we really didn't want to waste the afternoon waiting in the long line that was snaking down the Rue de Rivoli.

Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette

Plan B - find somewhere (anywhere) along the Champs Elysee - turned out to be Very Bad Plan Indeed. We'd walked all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe... in the pouring rain.... without finding anywhere. Finally, just near the Arc, I noticed a restaurant  that was serving les gateaux yummy and had loads of empty tables under the cover of the awning in front of the cafe...result!

Or maybe not. Apparently the only table that was available for us was the one right at the edge of the awning... the table that was getting progressively wetter with the persistent raindrops falling on it. When I pointed out to the sullen waiter that there were in fact other empty tables and that we did not fancy sipping tea diluted with the deluge of water that would be falling into our cups, he just shrugged mournfully... "I cannot help the rain!". 

Fair point. I did not expect him to be in control of all matters meteorological. I did, however, expect a bit of half decent customer service... so we let our feet do the walking as "I can, however, take my patronage elsewhere, Monsieur!".

Admitting defeat, we returned to our hotel, stopping at the little patisserie over the road to pick up a selection of macaroons and a takeaway coffee. We were just enjoying the sugary delights in the comfort of our hotel room... with not a sneering waiter in sight... when with a loud crash, a huge picture fell off the wall and onto the floor... yikes! Luckily that didn't happen in the middle of the night... or we may well have both suffered heart failure. Nothing worse than getting woken up by loud crashes and bangs....

Nothing disturbed our slumber that night. After a fabulous dinner in a brasserie not far from the hotel... great food and a jovial waiter who seemed quite struck with the mother and daughter duo, tried speaking to us in Russian and then Italian when I attempted some awful French, and then joked that we did not need to pay for the meal, but we'd have to do the washing up.... we went to bed early, planning to make the most of our second and last day in Paris. I didn't bother to set an alarm... my mom is always up with the larks, so I didn't give it much thought. I certainly did not expect to sleep right through until almost 11 o'clock the following morning! What did that jolly waiter put in our ratatouille the night before? Valium?

Of course we'd missed breakfast and, what was worse, wasted a good few hours of the glorious sunshine! I phoned down to reception (worried that we'd even missed checkout) and the lovely gent on duty reassured me that we still had another hour, and then offered us breakfast in our room at no extra charge. Within a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and a tray of fresh pastries, baguettes, butter, jams, honey, a pot of tea and orange juice was delivered to us...what a treat to have breakfast in bed!

Fuelled up and feeling very well rested, we set off for the Eiffel Tower and a boat trip down the Seine to take in the sights...

A bit of a dash back to Gare du Nord and we just made our Eurostar train back to London. 

Tout est bien qui finit bien!

(All's well that end's well)

Photos all my own

Paris: Je Reviens

Paris is a city filled with statues and sculptures....

No... unfortunately, I haven't been back to Paris - just sorting through a few more of my photos from last month's trip!

Stained Glass Windows

For me, the stained glass windows are the most beautiful part of any church.

Here are a few I captured in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris...

And in St Leonard's Church that I wrote about here....

And finally, in St Michael's Church in Beer (Devon)....

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

People Watching In Paris...

 Accordion player near the Pont de l'Archevêché

 Baguette underarm...

 Serious buskers on Pont Saint Louis

 Couple on the Left Bank

 One way to get around the city

 Busker near Le Louvre

 The Wedding Photographer I

The Wedding Photographer II

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I'm going to be away in Dorset for the next few days... quite possibly without wifi.... so do excuse my lack of posting or commenting. Catch up with you all soon!

Lovers' Padlocks In Paris

All around the world, lovers hook little locks on bridges to symbolise their eternal love. The origin of this tradition is obscure.... the Italians claim it was sparked by a romantic novel titled “I Want You”, by Federico Moccia, in which the hero and heroine attach a padlock with their name onto a lamppost on Ponte Milvio, near Rome, kiss and throw the key in the river Tiber. Others believe this is a much older tradition, which started in Moscow.

This weekend in Paris, I came across one such bridge…Pont de l'Archevêché near Notre-Dame Cathedral, absolutely crammed with little padlocks. Apparently, lovers often throw the key into the river Seine as a sign of undying love, or keep it and open the padlock when they next return to the French capital.

Not everyone approves of the tradition though…declaring the rusty locks an “eyesore”, a type of vandalism. Paris' town hall recently said that the locks "pose a question about the preserving of heritage" and that "in time these padlocks will be removed". However, it promised only to do so when it had found an alternative home for them, such as installing metal trees to hang them on.

So what do you think of the lovers’ locks… a romantic gesture or a rusty eyesore?

Une Journée à Paris

Some days, I just need a little adventure...

Like getting up in the middle of the night to catch the stupid o'clock train down to London St Pancras... to grab some cheap, last-minute tickets on the Paris-bound 06.22am Eurostar.

Two and a half hours later, and I was buying my Carte Mobilis (one-day Metro pass) at Gare du Nord. First stop: Île de la Cité, for the majestic cathedral of Notre-Dame (Our Lady)....

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Then across the Pont St Louis to Île Saint-Louis... for pistachio and melon ice cream at the famous Glacier Berthillon.

A walk along the quays of the Left Bank of the River Seine....

And a cruise on the river...

Batobus in front of the Museum D'Orsay

A stroll down the Champs-Élysées....

Delicious macaroons at 'Angelina' on Rue Rivoli....

A walk through the Jardin des Tuileries...

And the Jardin du Carrousel....

Arc de Triomphe du Carousel

There was no time to say "Bonjour!" to the Mona Lisa, as the evening was drawing in...

The Louvre

It was time to hop back on the Metro and get back to Gare Du Nord for the 20.13pm Eurostar back to London...

Au revoir, Paris! More photos to follow....