Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Trip Advisory - Paris

Many years ago, so many that the exact date is lost in the mists of time...... (Okay it was 2001)The Husband and I went to Paris. (He wasn’t the Husband at the time but for simplicity’s sake we will call him that anyway.)

We stayed in a small hotel in the 14th Arrondisment and we were there for almost 2 weeks. Paris was a lot of fun even though it was July and very, very hot. The Hotel room was teeny tiny, with about a foot of space around the bed and a washroom so small you almost had to sit crosswise on the toilet so you didn't bump into the shower. But it was cheap and we had a balcony that opened up onto a view of downtown Paris. On a clear day you could see the Eiffel tower.

One of the Views from the balcony. You can see how narrow it is.





















We saw lots of museums and galleries and churches and shops and people. We took a side trip to Versailles. Of course that was the day the back of the camera popped open and we lost our film. So we have no shots at all of the palace at Versailles. We went for a long walk by the canals and poked through flea markets. We even went to the zoo.

One of the locks on the canal.



We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and Napoleon's bedroom. If you go, avoid the main entrance (throught the glass piramid) and go in the side. The line for the main entrance was long and we walked right in.

The Greek and Roman Gallery at the Louvre.



And we ate. Moroccan food with lamb so tender you didn’t need a knife. Baguette sandwiches with procuitto and tomatoes and Brie and butter. Composed salads with eggs and potatoes. Gelato and lemon tarts and croissants so flaky that they shattered when you bit them, and steak frites with creamy and tangy béarnaise. Pate and Fois Gras and White Peaches so juicy you needed a bib. Little glass jars of crème caramel and Perrier with lemon. Andouille sausages and pasta and wine, Oh the wine. We went to France as timid wine drinkers and came back with new horizons. Melons that tasted like brown sugar and cheeses and bread. In one place I had salmon with lentils and vanilla crème sauce and it was a revelation. The Husband drank a lot of espresso. Chocolate with pink peppercorns. Oooey gooey Brie on baguettes, eaten in the park with the sun and the ducks.

The Husband on the Street of the Naughty Boys. He still looks exactly like this. And he still has the same shirt.



It's a good thing we walked everywhere. It seemed such a shame to take the subway when there was something exciting around every corner.

The water sculptures at the Pompidou Centre.


We went to an open air Bird Market. Chickens for sale in the heart of Paris. During the week it's a flower market, but on Sundays it sells all kinds of birds and a few other small pets. We could have bought a prarie dog. But we refrained. The Chicken wasnt too happy.


We took a boat cruise on the Seine and grabbed this shot from the boat.
I don't remember who took this shot and it looks remarkably like a postcard. But it isnt!

No comments: