Glimpses of Paris

It is not possible to explore and experience Paris in two days, but Keith and I did our very best to fit in as much as we could. It is easy to understand why it is referred to as the "city of love" and is the setting for so many films. All our senses were awakened during our two days there and each experience contributed to a visit that was richly rewarding.

My friend Libby accompanied us into Paris and took us to our hotel where we deposited our luggage. Libby wanted to show me a fabric shop located close to the Notre Dame which unfortunately was closed. We had a coffee and then said our farewells - what a wonderful hostess she was.

What a perfect day for Paris - not a cloud in the sky. Our feet walked for miles as we explored from Notre Dame to Arc de Triumph and back - we enjoyed the parks and gardens - we sat in the warm sunshine and appreciated the warmth and sunlight.





Fancy coming across a tree house in the middle of Paris!

The Musee Orangerie is a small gallery but filled with Monet's and Renoir that we wanted to sit and gaze at for the rest of the day. We enjoyed Rodin's sculptures in his garden and house. The gardens were a peaceful place to sit and enjoy the soft light. It is easy to understand what the impressionists were trying to capture in their artwork - the light and soft dappled colour.



The sun sparkled on Rodin's statues - they are breathtakingly splendid in expressing passion and the beauty of the human body.



We visited the Musee de Cluny to see the Lady and the Unicorn which literally took my breath away. Each tapestry depicts a different sense, with the fifth devoted to desire. They are large in size and the stitches small and precise. Each tapestry includes the lady, the unicorn and a lion - the colours are rich and lavish. Again, we wanted to sit and appreciate their beauty and the incredible attention to detail. No picture can do justice to them - I bought a calendar, but they are a shadow of the real thing.

We reached our hotel at about nine pm exhausted. Our feet swollen with walking but exhilarated at the beauties contained in this unique city. Our hotel was close to Place d'Italy and a delightful suburb filled with restaurants, cafes and quiet streets and parks. It was an extremely comfortable place to stay and we even had a bath where we soaked our feet.

The metro and RER are an underground labyrinth. As one friend said to us, it is a wonder that Paris hasn't collapsed from the digging out of ground to make way for the trains. However, there are also the endless underground walking tunnels that connect lines to each other at different stations. You could spend so much time walking underground in these black tunnels - filled with people rushing, texting and speaking to each other. There are also a number of buskers who play - there was a harp playing Vivaldi - what a glorious sound to listen to moving from one platform to another. There are also the homeless who are sprawled throughout the tunnels - seeking refuge and there are also those who beg for money. We were constantly on our guard for pickpocketers, but unprepared for the con artists who appeared before us often, convincing us we had just dropped an 18 carot god ring on ground we had never walked on and then asking for money, and there were others asking for money to save their African country. We parted with ten euros, and are still not sure if we responded to a genuine request for money or were hoodwinked.

Once you have mastered the trains, it makes travelling around Paris easy and efficient. However, it is far more pleasant to walk above ground and enjoy the buildings, the gardens, the people, the bakeries and flower shops and the river.







We caught a train to Bastille and walked along a disused viaduct that has been transformed into a walkway with gardens passing through a french neighbourhood. It is possible to see the old Paris, the new and how they mix and combine together. There were no tourists here - just locals enjoying the sunshine and gardens - it was quiet and peaceful. We even came across a scarecrow!



At the end of the viaduct, we managed to get totally lost and had much trouble finding the metro to return to the city centre. We asked three people for directions - happily given, but we must have misunderstood, as it was not until our third attempt that we succeeded.

There was much more we managed to cram into our two days museums and gardens and we ate more bread and pastries than we ever had in our lives and enjoyed each mouthful.

On Saturday, we had an early start to catch a plane to Dublin. The sun was still shining and we were both sad to be leaving a place that we had enjoyed and appreciated - all of our senses had been awakened.