One other bit I forgot was that I did a lot more walking on the Sunday, up and down Rue St. Antoine a couple of times, through the Hotel de Sully and into Place des Vosges. I can see why P des V is popular but for a lovely, quiet sit for 5 minutes in the sun, the hotel courtyard was much nicer.
So: Monday.
Now, I know purists will fling up their hands in horror but today I planned to make very good use of my L%26#39;Open Tour hoho 2-day pass. There are 2 stops in the Place de la Bastille, and I knew I wanted the Rue St. Antoine one, which starts at 09:15 and heads off towards Notre Dame. A bus was parked right there and I walked smartly up to it. The doors remained closed. I%26#39;m British, I wait in queues, even queues of one, so I stood. I got out my email voucher suggestively, and smiled at the 2 ladies standing in the bus talking to the driver, I supposed they were hostesses, some of these buses have them. They smiled back. Then they drove off. Hm, I thought.
It was another sunny and golden, crisp morning, so I set off smartly down Rue St. Antoine, figuring if the tourist bus went that way it must lead somewhere %26#39;interesting%26#39;. I strode out smartly, wondering if that glimpse of tower in the distance was Notre Dame. It wasn%26#39;t, it was Tour St. Jacques, and very photographable. I turned left, because the buildings looked interesting and shortly saw a queue of people. I was reminded of the olden days in the Soviet Union when, if residents saw a queue they joined it, only then asking what it was for: it was bound to be for some previously shortage goods that were now in stock. I decided that the Paris equivalent was that if there was a queue of people, it had to be A Sight. It was the Police Prefecture, and I don%26#39;t know if people were touring or presenting themselves on police bail, but it slowed me down long enough to orientate on my actual first choice of the day, Ste. Chapelle.
I queued for less than 10 minutes to get through security, alarming a 15 year-old policeman (yes, they get younger in France every year too) by having left 20c in one pocket which set his alarm of.. The underwire in ladies%26#39; underwear tends to do that too but he looked too young to talk bras to. The a queue of none to buy the ticket and into the chapel. I thought it was beautiful, loved the colours and shapes, and bought a guide book to take home and read afterwards. The spiral staircase up was easy - because there%26#39;s a separate down staircase, so there was no squeezing past each other on narrow treads. The upper chapel was even more beautiful, I loved the stained glass. Then when I turned round to go back and saw the amazing rose window, it was another bursting into smiles day.
On to ND, still on schedule, to hear a school choir from England sing. An amazing, amazing acoustic, you could almost see the sound roll around above their heads. I only stayed for one piece - I can hear English choirs in England - and headed off to the hoho bus, which I finally cornered and mounted; er, boarded. I took the whole of the green line trip, and I can thoroughly recommend it as an introduction to the major sights of this amazing city. I enjoyed the commentary and even the kitschy music in between was fun. The bus was quite empty and I got lots and lots and LOTS of photos. The place that tempted me most was the Louvre and all the complex of buildings and gardens that go with it. I will definitely return to explore that area.
Back to ND and I swapped to the Blue line to take me home to the Bastille. It took me a couple of buses to realize that the colour of the line is displayed in a square in the front left window (left as you look at it) - logical when you know, hard to spot when you don%26#39;t. The downside of the buses is that it gets very, very cold up there and I didn%26#39;t have enough layers on, I began to develop a permanent shiver. I stopped at the Cafe Opera, where I%26#39;d eaten on my first evening, for a wonderful hot chocolate: no bells and whistles and fanciness, just delightful, silky, creamy, HOT chocolate.
I need someone to point me to the thread about cafes and restaurants and what one might order where. I wasn%26#39;t sure if I could go into a cafe around the lunch period and have just one dish, or a hot drink; and whether tables that are set are available or only for food and so on and so on. While trying to find an eatery that I felt comfortable with, I found a small supermarket and bought rye bread, a charcuterie selection, some butter and blue cheese, a 6-pack of small waters and toted that back to the hotel. That made the rest of my meals, breakfasts included for the rest of my stay. Given that I really wasn%26#39;t up to large meals, all I needed was sustaining food and this was definitely that, and tasty.
Time was wearing on after my room-picnic, and I got back on the Blue line for the 2nd half of that tour, round past the Institut du Monde Arabe, the canal St. Martin, the Library etc. I%26#39;d added 2 extra layers and one of the Richard Lenoir shawls - they%26#39;re good and warm!, but it was still getting chill.
I%26#39;d noticed on this leg how close my hotel was to the Promenade Plantee on the Viaduc des Arts, so when we got back to the Bastille I set off and walked about a mile and a half of it. It was dusking and glowing and beautiful, I could have walked a lot further but had to turn back to get ready for the opera.
The Opera Bastille was well layed out and the staffing was very good. I had a mid-price ticket up on the 2nd balcony, level 6 in the lift, and I was surprised just how good it was. The sight lines were excellent, the seats comfortable and very well raked: I often suffer in older theatres because I%26#39;m short and it%26#39;s often hard to see but this was very good indeed. Speaking to a Parisian the following day, who was not a great fan of the building, I had to agree that maybe the house was just a bit big for the production I%26#39;d seen, die tote Statdt. The action all takes place in someone%26#39;s claustrophobic sitting room, so perhaps a smaller, more intimate theatre would have been better for emphasising the claustrophobia. The music was great, the orchestra was excellent, the singers great singers but not terribly good actors, it should have been a lot more intense than they were. It didn%26#39;t help that I got it into my head from Act 1 Scene 1 that the hero looked like Ricky Gervaise from behind and the opera was not a comedy.
The Bastille area felt perfectly fine to be sauntering around at this time of night, around 10:30 - 11:00 when we got out - lots of activity but, as far as I could tell, a lot of the activity was being done by local Parisians, so there was no sense of tourist trap. It was nice to be home in 90 seconds though. Once again I opened the windows - Paris seemed to warm up slightly in the evenings - and looked at the passing traffic while finishing the last of the minibar wine.
And so to bed.
I realized half way through the opera that I wouldn%26#39;t be able to retrieve the Jacquemart Andre Museum, which I%26#39;d missed today but could fit in tomorrow, because my prepaid ticket was date and time specific. Yes, I know I could queue up and pay again - but I could also choose to reserve that for my next visit (March, God willing, I%26#39;m planning it even now) and take myself off to the Louvre. Not only did I want to explore all around but I wanted some of those cheapo T. Eiffel keyrings from the traders. Kitsch but purposely kitsch.
So that was the plan for tomorrow but come tomorrow ........ to be continued..
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another lovely and amusing report we stay right where St Antoine turns into Rue Rivoli so know the area keep up the good work
cheers
jim
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Aildih, are you sure it was Paris warming up at night while you were drinking your wine??????
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I love your style! I can%26#39;t wait to read more.
%26gt;%26gt;They smiled back. Then they drove off.%26lt;%26lt;
You got me laughing so hard with that one! I could see the three of them turning their heads to you simultanuously, breaking into a big smile, and scroll away!
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Yes, doc, I agree. I feel as though I%26#39;m watching a BBC comedy sketch :)
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