Paris, the city of Love. How perfect that we can visit here on our honeymoon. I wish I could report that we had a wonderfully romantic time here, alas, the reality was somewhat different. The first afternoon was quite lovely, however after that Steph's cold/flu relapsed with a vengeance. But let's not focus on that, we did still manage to get out & see the main sights.
The one thing that was definitely seen & felt in Paris was the heightened security level. At every monument, train station & any space frequented by groups of people there were wandering soldiers, usually 3 or 4 together, large assault rifles in hand. While their intent is safety & security, is was also a stark reminder of the endless possibilities of those that which to cause harm.
Upon arrival into Paris, our accommodation was only a 10min walk from the station. Our lovely French host was waiting for us & made us feel very welcome. We got ourselves settled and then headed out for the afternoon. First stop, the local shop for (among other tasty treats) baguettes & cheese and then a park to feast on our findings. We then went to Sacre Couer, only about 10mins from the apartment and we could actually see it from our window. We looked inside and then without even thinking about it, brought 2 tickets to climb the stairs in the dome to get a view of the city. The first half was enclosed, then at about the half way mark you emerge into an open-air section, and this is when Bevan's fear of heights realised that we were heading up. Bevan continued to the top but stayed glued to the wall as far away from the edge as possible. Although is was a pretty narrow though fare anyway. It was a spectacular view of all of Paris, well worth the 300 stair climb. From here we wandered to the Moulin Rougue. Stopping along the way at Le mur des je t'aime - the wall of love. This wall is a 40 square metre installation in a otherwise unassuming local park. We stopped for a selfie and reminded ourselves that we were on our honeymoon, even though things had not been terribly romantic to date.
On day two, we stopped by a gluten free boulangerie for lunch and then headed off on a walking tour of the city. The guide had some great stories about key moments in French history relevant to the stops along the way. We started at Fontaine Saint-Michel, walked through the Latin Quarter to Notre Dame Cathedral. Then along the Seine, the Pont Neuf bridge (the oldest bridge in Paris) and a statue of Henry the 4th. There a section off to the side of the bridge, near the statue that is now used for the 'love locks', after they were all removed from the next bridge down, Pont des Arts. Soon the Pont Neuf will also be full of locks and they too will be removed as the weight of them causes damage to the bridge structure. Prior the removal, the Pont des Arts had over a million locks on it, weighing approximately 45tons. The gesture of attaching a lock with your names engraved to the bridge and then throwing the key is the river is actually a Serbian tale that originated after World War 1. Our guide tells us that the popularity of attaching a lock to the Pont des Arts took hold after Carrie Bradshaw did exactly that in an episode of Sex in the City.
We then went across the Pont des Arts, which now has Perspex sides, and into the Lourve square. We heard all about the history of the Lourve, which was actually built as the city's fortress in the late 12th century. It was then converted to the main residence of French kings in the the mid 16th century. We ended the tour in the Jardin des Tuileries and listed to the history of the Eiffel Tower.
Steph was feeling pretty miserable by this point so it was time to head home.
The day was also grey and rainy. Perfect day to head to the worlds largest museum.. Right..? Well every other man, woman & child in Paris had the same idea. The Lourve is the also the world's most visited Art museum, with 7.5 million visitors every year. We were fuelled with a lunch of gluten free crepes, Steph even had two, and thought we were ready for it. For two people who don't like crowds, we were never going to be ready! We strolled around, saw the highlights, including the Mona Lisa and got out of there.
Day four and our last day in Paris. It was time to tick off the big ticket items and rack up some more walking km's - the Eiffel Tower, Jardins du Trocadero, Palais de Chalillot, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Élysées, Grand & Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde.
After all that walking, refreshments where definitely required. Noglu, a gluten free bakery had just the goods for afternoon tea, rooibos tea and a citrus tart. Oh, and a massive slice of lasagne to take away for Steph's diner and a handful of gluten free baguettes. We then wandered through the Latin Quarter, had a last look at Notre Dame and headed home to pack up for the next mini adventure. Next stop, Berlin.
