Paris in the Springtime

With a bank holiday at our disposal, what better way to spend 3 days than popping across to Paris... again!?!? Our friends Bron and Andy had rented an appartement in the XIIeme complete with spare sofa-bed, so no further excuse was really needed to Eurostar it to Frog-land.

As we've been to Paris before (understatement...) we didn't really have too many "touristy" things left to do (with the exception of Versailles, but more on that later) - so we could instead concentrate on enjoying the true Parisian lifestyle - eating, drinking, shopping, walking, and of course the favourite pastime, people-watching.

To kick off our first day, we hired some bikes and hit the road. They have introduced a public bicycle-hire system in Paris which lets you pick up a bike from any of hundreds of racks around town and drop it off wherever you like. Très cool. So we moseyed over towards the Jardin de Luxembourg, via the Notre Dame cathedral, stopping only occasionally to discreetly check our map. We didn't look like tourists at all - don't worry!



















Here we are in the Luxembourg Gardens, on one of the few "permitted" lawns - there are many others, but sitting there will result in a shouting-at by a uniformed Lawn Enforcement Officer.

Next day we trained it out through the countryside to Versailles, which was heaving with people - can't imagine what it must be like in "high" season - but was very impressive. The gardens were magnificent, filled with extravagant fountains, towering statues and evocative of a bygone age. God I'm crapping on - I'm just trying to justify the sepia-toned picture...



Inside the Hall of Mirrors was like Bron and Andy's apartment, and only slightly larger ;-)


On the way back from Versailles, we realised we were going to go right past the station for the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we didn't need to see it up close again, but as Andy had never checked it out, we had to go and keep him company. And take another 30 photos...


Big thanks to Bron and Andy for hosting us, and being excellent long-lazy-lunch companions!

Shoes Before Breakfast

No, it's not Bec's personal priority scheme! Let us explain. To celebrate our FIVE YEAR(!) anniversary, in mid-January we headed to one of our very favourite places, Paris. In an extremely pleasant departure from the usual air-travel shambles, we took the Eurostar from the newly-refurbished London St. Pancras direct to the Gare du Nord in just 2-and-a-bit hours. Très bon!

We stayed in a new part of town for us, Saint-Germain, and we liked it a lot. It's definitely a hotspot for shopping and fashion, as we discovered on the Saturday morning on our way to getting some breakfast. In the short time it took Johnny to find and use an ATM, Bec had located a shoe shop and was knee-deep in crazy-January-sale-priced footwear. John had to admit it was actually pretty good, with ladies' leather shoes starting at less than 10 Euro! Incroyable! And so it was that we bought shoes before breakfast. Zut Alors!

We finished up at Les Grands Magasins, taking in the beautiful dome of the Galeries Lafayette:



Later that day we took a dinner cruise down the Seine, recreating a fantastic experience we had had over four years earlier, just a couple of youngsters exploring Europe. Look at us now, slowing down a bit now we're into our twilight years, bien sûr, but still having fun... (and no less enamoured with a certain metal tower!)


Sunday saw us heading to the Musée d'Orsay, with its fantastic collection housed in an equally spectacular building, a former palace and railway station. Magnifique!


We still haven't had enough of Paris (or indeed, its shoes) - so we're booked in to catch up with our friend Bron when she hits the City of Lights in May. À bientôt!

Five go to France: Part 2: Paris

The next day we walked (via a pâtisserie of course) to the ultimate goal of our trip: Roland Garros, home of the French Open!


After an absolute shambles of an entry process we finally made it to Centre Court, where we watched Marat Safin outmuscle Spaniard Fernando Vicente in straight sets, before Day 1 of the French Open ground to a halt - rain. And more rain.

And still more rain.


We wandered around pretty aimlessly, until a well-dressed man collared us, asked "Vous venez d'ou?" ("Where are you from?"). When we answered (semi-truthfully) "Australia" his face lit up - "come wiz me!". We exchanged raised eyebrows, but he seemed nice enough (and well-dressed!) so we tagged along after him (no we're not naïve, really!)

It turned out that Well-Dressed Man was from French national broadcaster France 2 - and he interviewed us, live on national TV! Reproduced below is a transcription of the interview (which we had to rehearse about 10 times):

WDM: "...and where are you from?"
Bec: "We are from Australia"
WDM: (feigning amazement) "Australia! Oh so you are here for the whole tournament?"
Bec: "No, we're only here for one day"
WDM: (flabbergasted - almost speechless) "But it's raining! Have you seen any tennis?"
Bec: "Yes, we saw Marat Safin play. He was very good."
WDM: "... and you will watch more tennis today?"
John: "Yes, we hope to see Arnaud Clement play. On aime les joueurs Francais" (We like the French players)

Wow. Seriously in-depth journalism, huh? Some time later, we threw in the (soaking wet) towel and headed back to our usual haunt, the café next to our hotel, for some comfort food - bread, cheeses and red wine. Later on, the rain abated slightly and Bec, Anth and Amanda optimistically returned to Roland Garros and saw a bit of (eventual overall winner) Justine Henin's win over Elena Vesnina. (Kath and Johnny couldn't be bothered)


Later, after some dinner, Eiffel-aholic Bec persuaded Eiffel-skeptic Kath to come and see the mighty tower - and judging by the fact that Kath took even more pictures than Bec, we have a convert!

Five Go To France - Part 1: Bayeux

We met up with Kath again a few weeks later (Stu having already headed off for Barcelona) and set off for Northern France. With 5 in Beatrice it was pretty squeezy in the back as we headed for Portsmouth and the overnight ferry to Le Havre. But I would much rather have slept in the car than the human-endurance experiment/torture session that was the "general seating" of the Norman Spirit. We skilfully managed to seat ourselves next to the loudest snorer on the planet, and with the ergonomically-challenged seat-armrest combination and oven-like ambient temperature, spent one of the most uncomfortable nights of our lives.

The experience was not helped by the fact that much of it was spent not moving. Yep, the ferry leaves Portsmouth at 11pm, but it only needs 4-or-so hours to get across, and Le Havre Harbour doesn't open its doors (or whatever it is harbours do) until 7am. So halfway across The Channel, the boat just stops. For four hours.

Anyway, feeling a bit grotty, we arrived in Le Havre, with Johnny at the wheel having his first experience of driving on the "wrong" side - of the car! Luckily Kath was a very capable navigatress and after a brief mini-tour of Le Havre we hit the open road, with Kath doing her best "bonjour" bit at each péage (toll booth).


After a pâtisserie-break at Caen, we moved on to Bayeux, home of the famous tapestry. Any initial misgivings about "looking at a big rug" were soon forgotten as we walked its immense 70m length, audioguides jammed to our ears as the commentary rattled through the incredibly busy and beautifully detailed story. Pictures really don't do the tapestry justice - the textures are lost - so it didn't really matter that we weren't allowed to take any!

We also looked around the Battle Of Normandy/D-Day Museum at Bayeux, a fascinating insight into what it must have been like to be part of Operation Overlord in June 1944.


The next stop was the D-Day Landing beaches, and the US Cemetery at Omaha Beach (the beach immortalised in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan). A very poignant place - not necessarily a happy one, but highly recommended nonetheless.



Then it was time to hit the Autoroute down to Paris - and a few buttock-clenching minutes of navigating unfamiliar Parisian streets, in darkness, on the wrong side of the car! But we got there - and what a great spot! We highly recommend the 3-star Hôtel Eiffel Kennedy - it's affordable, well-located (right next to a GREAT café!) and the view from your bedroom isn't bad either...