Paris

April 27, 2019

The City of Light was not herself

We had thought of getting up early to have a full day in Paris but didn't set an alarm. We figured we needed any nighttime sleep we could get and I know I didn't get a lot. We got down to the included breakfast buffet before 8 and it made up for last night's mediocre dinner buffet (22€ each but there's nowhere else within walking distance except the airport or another hotel of the 4 in this district). At breakfast, there were even pancakes with real maple syrup(!) along with the usual European offerings.

We had decided to just walk around, starting with Montmartre. The CDGVAL got us to the airport then the RER B line took us into the city, where we got down at Gare du Nord. The station was much bigger and more modern than I expected, even compared to the stations in Cannes and Marseille that we came through 2 years ago. I see on my map that it serves the Eurostar, so I guess that's what led to the development.

Finding our way out, we walked past blocks and blocks of cheap clothing stores, with a focus on wedding attire. The sidewalks, even in this less flashy part of the city, were much cleaner than I remembered from previous visits (1981 and 1992). There were only a few puddles from last night's rain and stuff blown off the trees. It was quite windy all day.

We walked up Rue de Steinkerque and then the wide stairs to Sacré-Cœur. We didn't go in; there was a long queue and we expect to see lots of other churches on this trip.

The style of Montmartre steps I remember

I didn't know there was a windmill up there!

So we wandered. We saw several runners (joggers wouldn't be the right term) running up and down the various Montmartre stairs as a Saturday morning workout. We meandered downward, with a general goal of Champs-Élysées. (That was Al's idea. I think he wanted to see the venue of the final stage of the Tour de France.)

These electric scooters were everywhere! (Al's photo)

We eventually ended up following Rue Blanche all the way to Place de l'Opéra. It was soon after that that we learned that this was not a normal day in Paris.

The Opéra looks normal--tourists, big tour bus....

Many streets were blocked to traffic, with groups of gendarmes in body armour guarding the intersections. Pedestrians were allowed down some streets and not others; there were random inspections of bags.
We bought sandwiches which we planned to eat on a park bench but when we got to Jardin des Tuileries, there was no entry. We could see people in the park but a small sign on the fence (on regular paper in a page protector zip-tied to the fence) said entry was only at some other place. We retreated and went a couple more blocks along St-Honoré and then were permitted to enter the Place de la Concorde.

In front of the Ritz: a classic Rolls-Royce!

View from (outside) the end of the Jardin Tuileries complete with Gendarmerie van. I didn't dare photograph any of the gendarmes.

Place de la Concorde on a Saturday afternoon?

There were benches among the trees in the park, of which only one other was occupied--in the middle of a Saturday at the end of April. We ate our sandwiches and walked right up to the Obélisque.
Maybe the other tourists knew something we didn't because it started to rain hard just then, in addition to the chill wind. Did I mention it was cold and windy all day? At least the big trees along that part of Champs-Élysées provided some shelter. There were barricades along the streets but someone had opened them at the Rond-Point and we escaped into a café for (very expensive) hot chocolate.
While warming up, we plotted a route to accomplish our two goals for the day: my SIM card and CO2 cartridges for Al. This meant circling back almost to the Opéra but both goals were attained.
Next up, the Arc de Triomphe. More meandering, but we got there. This time, nobody was permitted to enter Place de la Concorde so Rue de Fauberg St-Honoré it was. We passed the Palais de l'Élysée which looked like it was under siege. The Arc de Triomphe wasn't crowded because visitors could not approach closer than the outside of the traffic circle and there was very little traffic.

We moved on to the Tour Eiffel. We had no intention to go up but we did want to see it. On the way there was the beginning of another heavy shower so we decided an early dinner was in order. Pizza, and for me, my first French glass of wine. Al chose beer.

We found ourselves at Place du Trocadéro. What an excellent view of the tower! We had never approached from this angle before but it's as good if not better than from Champs de Mars. Unfortunately the fountains were not running. I guess they might be part of the National Maritime Museum which is closed until next year. We walked past them and crossed the Seine on Pont d'Iena and partially around the tower base. All the fencing and barriers (Parc du Champs de Mars is now enclosed in a tall chain link fence with entry at the far end) really detract from the experience of our earlier visits.

Paris. I liked the trompe l'oeil on this wall.

At least the tour boats were operating. Back to looking normal!

The bridge structure behind the baroque (?) facade looks modern.

Looking back at Musée d'Orsay. I'll see you next time!

We walked along the Quai d'Orsay all the way to Place St-Michel and the RER B back to CDG and then to our hotel. We were both dozing off on the train after the long day of walking.

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Steve Miller/GrampiesYikes, I got tired just mentally walking to all those points with you, and then getting on the RER!
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4 years ago

Jacquie GaudetI have always been a walker. It's my go-to stress reliever and has been since I was a teenager (I'd slam the door and walk for hours). Al, however, got sore feet.
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4 years ago