On arrival, I forgot to tell Ants about the gypsies - folk who swarm around the entrance to the station, pestering unsuspecting smokers with mulit-lingual requests for money. I walked straight into them on my first trip here, 11 years ago and, dying for a smoke after 3 hrs on the train, so did Anthony.
Having evaded them without giving away any of our change, we made our way by Metro (the Paris underground) to Montparnasse, a hip cafe district south of the Seine, where we'd found a very cosy little hotel at a stunning price, then headed to the Right Bank to explore.
Paris is stunning, and I fell in love twice this weekend - first with this beautiful city that never seems to sleep, and second with Ants (all over again), as we traipsed through parks and along boulevardes, in and out of cafes and alongside the Seine. Paris truly is a city that never closes - the Champs Elysees was still in full swing at 7pm on a Sunday night - shops open, with throngs of shoppers - adults and kiddies alike - and we scaled the Eiffel Tower (actually, you take a lift) at 10pm. The cafe that we found for supper didn't even begin to get busy until well after 11pm, and the fellow serving us our plates of bread, cheese and saucisson seemed to really appreciate that, although he gave in and helped us order in English, we persisted in trying to ask for things in French.
By far the best value holiday trick we've uncovered on our travels so far is that, on the first Sunday of every month, most of Paris is FREE. The Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and countless other places that normally charge up to 7 euros (about $A12) each. And in December, even the crowds at the Louvre are manageable. Ants was delighted to find the Mona Lisa (she smiled at him!) although he was peeved that Venus de Milo refused to give him a hug... After all that, paying 11 euro to climb the Eiffel Tower didn't feel to bad - it was our only admission fee for the day! And Paris by night (we went up around 10pm) was a sight to behold...
Monday morning saw us sleep late, wandering down to the famous Les Deux Magots cafe, near St Germain de Pres, renowned for its patronage by Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and a host of others. The service was impeccable, the food simple but oh so stylish and tasty... Ants platter of rare beef and my hot chocolate were clear highlights!
Another highlight of our day was the awesome Musee du Moyen Age, situated in the remains of the 12th century Cluny Abbey, which is itself built on top of ruined Roman Baths. Oh the swords, the chain mail, the tapestries.... We then had just enough time to wander over to the Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame, (to light a candle for Mikko and send a message of peace to the world on behalf of Anthony's new nephew, Lachlan), visit a patisserie and collect souvenirs (a tshirt from our fave cafe for Ants, and a jaunty hat for me) before it was time to board the train home.
I'm so proud of my fella - he coped amazingly with his first taste of a non-English speaking country, which can be exhausting. We've come back hungry for more... time to start saving the pennies.
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