A Sunday/Monday Meander in Paris (D day minus 6-7)

In the spirit of begin as you intend to carry on this blog is already late (in some expectant readers eyes).

After 36 hours (door to door) travel from Canberra, I arrived in Paris (via Melbourne-Dubai-London) Saturday evening at the centrally located Citations Saint-Germain des Pres arranged by good friend, experienced Parisian visitor and mine host for the first two days: Mary-Lynn. To help reset my body clock we took a gentle perambulation on a warm summer evening passing a few iconic landmarks which was followed by a good night’s sleep.

Started the next day (Sunday 5 July) with breakfast at Paul – a  bakery/patisserie not far from our accommodation then set off a a slow Sunday meander appropriate to the slightly overcast day and the relative quiet due to many establishments being closed. Wandered by: Le Louvre; Tuileries Garden; Place De La Concorde and down the Champs-Élysées (good to walk along this hallowed cycling site).

I decided early on in the day that I would just soak up the ambiance and not worry about taking photographs – in other words taking in the sounds and sites without expending effort on “capturing” them.

As we were passing the Grand-Palais, Mary-Lynn was most excited to see that there was a Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition on. So after a short-wait in the queue in we went to expand my fashion sensibilities – not that I recognised much of his work though I did know who Kylie Minogue and Madonna were 😀.

Sauntered on via the Arc de Triompheo to a well earned lunch time stop then headed down towards the Eiffel Tower which despite its size we managed to lose a few times on the way. Sat under the Eiffel Tower for a while admiring the graceful engineering and observing the people ants climbing it. Our meanderings then lead us past the Quai Branly Museum – initially attracted by the external live garden facade and then enticed by the free entry (as first Sunday of the month) we wandered in to explore. The initial positive impression created by the design of the grounds and the building itself was immediately added to by The River of words projected onto the floor and seemingly flowing down the ramp as you enter the main exhibition space. The works themselves (cultural artifacts from various regions of the world including Oceania) are well curated with greate atmospheric lighting and display cabinets that conveyed the sense that the items were of great cultural significance and value. Nice to recognise works from N.E as well as Westen Arnhemland, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu etc.

Back past the Musee d’Orsay and onto what was becoming the holy grail of the day – some well earned great ice cream. The quality of which was only exceeded by the fare indulged the following day. A well earned rest was then taken back at the apartment  – after at about 8 hours walking (excluding meal/refreshment breaks) – checked in on what was happening with the Tour de France and Wimbledon. Nice to be able to do so at a reasonable hour of the day.

Back out for dinner – savory crepes – which was spent people watching looking over a park at the back of the Notre Dame. Interestingly i.e. something that I’ve not noticed elsewhere the restaurant/cafe tables on the pavement are often set up in rows facing onto the street to facilitate this practice. Slept the sleep of the righteously tired that night.

On Monday Mary-Lynn’s Mystery Meandering Parisian tour continued but this was just a 5-6 hour version (due to logistical requirements such as ML catching a train back to Geneva and myself relocating to the hotel that is the starting point for the ride i.e. “base camp” in adventure parlance. In a our morning meanders we passed lots of interesting stuff but I “zen”ed out even more than the day before in terms of focussing on “the vibe” rather than noting particular things 😀😀😀.

After relocating to “base camp” I spent a few hours scouring supermarkets, hardware stores and pharmacies for a few supplies – at time wishing that the standardisation of the shopping experience brought on by globalization was more evident that it appeared. Relaxing meal overlooking the canal next to the hotel.

Attached photograph was taken at the Jean Paul Gautier exhibition – though a selfie we felt very restrained in comparison to the amount of “I was there” photography going on. Which reminds me – lots of hawkers selling selfie sticks and on a completely different note – if we Australians could parallel park as tightly as Parisians we could increase our available parking space by 50%!