23/24 September
Decided to avoid all the hassle of a flight, and took the Eurostar instead. Unfortunately, the powercables on the train platform collapsed, and we were stuck waiting for 3 hours, not even knowing if the trip would still go ahead. Eventually we got lucky, but it was still a slower trip than usual, and we arrived in Paris very late at night. Fortunately the taxi ride was a doddle, and we were at our upmarket hotel within few moments. A tiny room, but very nicely decorated, and with a superlative shower.
We were so tired, we ended up sleeping in until about mid-day (in what would become a recurring feature of this trip), then went in search of an omelette. Several places stubbornly refused to send us one, and Anna was reaching her emotional and hunger limits before we found a decent enough little place near the Pantheon.
After breakfast, we walked to Anthony's place nearby (we were staying in his neighbourhood), where we had some delicious home-made coffee before going for a long walk around the south side of the Seine. Visited some great comic shops, and popped in to meet the chef at Ant's favourite restaurant. It's a strange little place, with underwear on the wall. We got a little glass of cassis as a treat.
Ate dinner at Anthony's favourite crepe restaurant. Apparently authentic savoury crepes should be a dark colour than sweet crepes (because of the buckwheat that is used instead), a distinction apparently not made by the street-side crepe vendors.
Dinner was indeed delicious, and we naturally had sweet crepes for dessert as well (salty butter and sugar, lemon and sugar, and coconut and rum flambee). Afterwards, Anna did a 3 hour night time walk around the river to the Eiffel Tower and back again.
Setlist
Afterwards we walked to the Louvre, and pulled a good several hours exploring the lesser-travelled galleries. Saw lots of interesting work from Asia/Africa/South America/Pacific, and we particularly enjoyed the Ancient Persian rooms with their exquisite glazed terracotta bricks.
Popped back to our hood to say goodbye to Anthony, grabbed our bags from the hotel, then headed home on the Eurostar (with another delay - this time at the entrance to the Channel tunnel).
Went to Anthony's favourite restaurant for dinner, with Maggie and Julian as well. Pretty rich foods (soup with foie gras, duck breast covered in foie gras, you get the idea...), and unusual decour (bras and people's business cards). Capped it off with a little bicycle ride around the Pantheon and our local hood. Great fun!
Found a nice street market to have breakfast in, before visiting the Natural History Museum. This is spread across many buildings, each with their own ticket costs, so we plumped for the Evolution building - which had a great interior, and many interesting stuffed animals, but was light on information - then the outdoor Menagerie.
Took the underground RER train across the city to see the miniature Statue of Liberty, before walking around underneath the Eiffel Tower - this time to admire the tenacity and perseverance of the crappy merchandise touts. Returned home on the RER and ate dinner once more at the crepe restaurant.
Another late breakfast, at a different cafe near the Pantheon. Great coffee, and excellent squeezed orange juice to accompany our Croque Madames. Visited the Pantheon afterwards - formerly a church but since converted to a memorial to the French Republic. It is beautifully decorated inside, with a recreation of Foucault's Pendulum demonstration, and houses a tomb below where famous patriots are interred (Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo etc).
Walked across the river to the Pompidou Centre, then back for a boat cruise from the Pont neuf. More soak-in-the-culture walks, and some Nutella street crepes, before going to meet Maggie and Julian for dinner. Had some drinks in a little Spanish place on the Ile de la Citee, before moving north to a great Italian restaurant.
