Paris Day 3

Oh my, what a cozy little apartment. We had an excellent sleep that did a real number on the time change woes we felt early on. Guess what the first challenge of the day was? The coffee press! Had to wake Janie up for that at 5:45 AM. We had purchased some beautiful grounds the night before on the way home, and I’d been thinking about it ever since. Janie mixed it with warm milk… Whooaaa… Gorgeous!

Monday was set up as a big walking day, with a route that explored some of the lesser known neighbourhoods that make a half circle around the city core. Our start was a walk to the Bastille area, where we checked out the Place de la Bastille Monument (July Column) at the centre of the roundabout and the new opera house. The weather was fairly cool so we didn’t stop long.

Our first visit of the day was the Coulée verte René-Dumont (ex-Promenade Plantée), an older sister to the High Line Park we visited over Christmas in NYC. Once again, an example where developers took over an abandoned rail line and converted it to a free community park/trail. Joggers and walkers abound as these parks promote healthy lifestyles and replace transportation links with green space. The promenade was gorgeous, and I would estimate that we walked roughly 4 km of multi surface trail.

At Picpus St we jumped off the trail and made our way via Metro link to just outside Père Lachaise Cemetery. This wonderful relic of green space and history houses the rich and famous dead of Paris. We arrived semi prepared and headed in knowing that we’d like to visit the sites of Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and especially Jim Morrison. Monica and I did some homework at the gate to map out the grave sites.

While looking for our second headstone, that of Frederic Chopin, a wild haired man appeared from nowhere. He was excited and very quickly befriended us. I thought uh-oh… this guy is an escapee! However, after a brief conversation it was easy to tell he was incredibly knowledgeable about the stones and the many buried there. What would have taken us hours to find was accomplished in 40 mins… He saved us the aggravation of looking as well as adding to our visit some lesser known sites and interesting anecdotes. Although I’m sure he’s no employee of the site, we sure had fun with him! We saw the biggies and more!  Chucked in a few Euros at the end… And he was over the moon! In fact, he was the highlight of our cemetery visit! Thanks Raphael…

Next stop was the Belleville neighborhood. Monica had shown interest in a website that detailed some “Off the Beaten Track” places in Paris, and in particular Belleville where several streets are lined with graffiti… So we thought we’d pay a visit. Interesting area, much more ethnic than the core, with a Chinatown area and lots of people in Muslim attire. On Rue Denoyez we saw TV cameras set up, looking like some sort of challenge going on with graffiti artists and canvases. The walls are literally plastered with paintings, and both Janie and Monica took some keen photos.  Grafitti  has proven quite common in several of the European cities we’ve visited. In particular, Lisbon comes to mind.  It was definitely more prolific in this French neighborhood.

Then back to the metro for a quick run to Montmartre. This area was a favorite during our 2008 trip… The art, quaint streets, hilltop views… It’s just plain beautiful. Sacré-Cœur, the Basilica, sits here and has a commanding view of Paris in its entirety. Inside, the church is immense. The building was filled with parishioners and tourists, and while we viewed mass was in progress. Further, just a short walk away is Place du Tertre, filled with artists doing landscapes, street scenes, and visitors making there way between the area’s major attractions. Lots of artists hustling tourists to have portraits done. Most guides say to avoid stopping here for lunch, as it tends to be overpriced. Pretty commercial little square!

We chose a space a bit further down the hill as a possibility for lunch. Site for the movie “Amelie“, we settled on Café des Deux Moulins and it suited us just fine! Everyone found items of interest on the menu, and the waiter was perfect at getting all the little things done. I think they are very accustomed to North American visitors. Got to use the infamous washroom as well (for all you fans of the film). The cafe was just steps from the Moulin Rouge, which we did not visit.  Got some pictures of that fine institution from the street outside!

Metro again, this time headed to the Arc du Triomphe (in fact almost all the sites of the day followed along the #2 Line from Nation to Porte Dauphine). We had an excellent visit… Only differing from our 2008 visit in terms of cost and security, both increased! Regardless, great walk up the stairs and impressive views. The Arc is bigger than expected, as we’ve all seen pictures, and the circular staircase up is not for the faint of heart! Monica spent her entire time aloft doing time lapse vids of the circumferential below to share on SnapChat or something (Click on link: Arc Video). Fun though! We did some searching, charting out the sites we’ve seen and plan to visit. I’ve always liked the “Unknown Soldier” component on the ground as well… Ties in the military history nicely.

Our mighty crew steamed onward (by end of day Monica’s step counter on her iPhone made over 30,000 steps) down the glitzy Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Dealerships, brand names, and even the worlds most profitable rotten Ronnie’s (Yes it is… Look it up) reside here. Should have taken that Ferrari for a run! Lots of gypsies on the move too, looking for bigger fish than us I’d suggest (curiously no string men in Montmartre). Monica decided that the Ferris wheel in Jardin des Tuileries needed sponsorship, so the all heights team went aloft while Dad found a “vin chaud” stand that suited him just fine!

Nearing the end of the trek back to Rue Dauphine to complete day’s travel loop, we stopped on St. Germaine to collect some groceries at the local Monoprix (our equivalent to the Superstore). Great haul there with cheese, meats, veggies, cream and vin! Then home for a few minutes relaxation and a shower! All set in on the iGear while Mrs Lumsden headed back down Rue de Buci (just 200 steps she counted) to gather up a few other essentials. We love our space… With its oven, dishwasher, washer/dryer, funky Murphy beds and solid internet! Rock on everyone!

After a sweet supper mug up, we went down Rue Dauphine one last time for the day to cash in our online tix for Vedettes du Pont Neuf. These, in essence, were open ended tickets for the river boats that cruise up and down the Seine at the city core taking hundreds of visitors at a time. We chose an 8:00 PM sailing and got on right away, grabbing some seats beside the outdoor heat vent at the vessel’s stern outside. Excellent spot, with wonderful views and steamy warm air spilling over us on this cool March evening. The tour was from Pont Neuf down to the Eiffel Tower and back, circling Ile St Louis to the dock. Great photo ops (although tricky in low light, on a moving boat, with an iPhone), excellent commentary via the on tour guide, as well as the sheer ambience of Paris, the City of Light, after dark. The cruise ended a powerful day of touring!

… Day 4