For the fourth time in my life, I have the pleasure of being in Paris!
Our accommodation is perfectly located in the Marais district, which means that we are close to the Metro & within walking distance to old friends.
However, we decided that for this trip, we would try & see parts of Paris that we haven't seen before...tempting as it is to reunite with the old & reliable!
Our first new discovery was St Merry's Church which is virtually next door. It isn't in the best state of preservation, but what is GREAT about it, is that it is alive & active in the community. It has recently hosted a Street Art exhibition, with exhibits being displayed in the Church itself.
On the Tympanem outside, we were amused to find...amidst all the religious & decorative symbology...a frog & a snail. How very French!
The Tower of St Jacques was another new discovery. It is all that remains of an old Church that was destroyed during the French revolution. It is a place where pilgrims enroute to Santiago de Compostela would stop for a blessing. Dramaticly restored, it has some fabulous carved features & sculptures.
The Eiffel Tower is not new to us, it is an old friend & such a delight to see on the skyline, but to see it in the same frame as one of the many buskers that fill the air with sound in the evening...was too good to not share!
We have never seen the locks of Pont Neuf before & I was really disappointed that they aren't actually ON the bridge. Even so....they are an impressive sight. Unfortunately, my memory being somewhat lacking these days, it wasn't until we were there that I remembered that I had planned to bring a lock from Australia to add to the multitudes to commemorate our 25th wedding anniversary! But I forgot!!
It's not every day you see a whole lot of blue beings climbing Parisienne buildings!! That was a new one for us!
And whilst the Louvre is an old & dear friend, we had never before seen in from the outside looking in!
Paris is a great place for walking but that does build up a thirst! We quenched ours at the exquisite old-world salon de tea 'La Duree'.
With it's wood panelling, gilt & painted ceilings it felt very grand. Although it is famous for it's macaroons, neither of us are very keen on them, so opted for some of the other delicious morsels on offer!!
La Madeleine was our destination. It was closed due to renovations when we were last in Paris & I was determined to visit it this time. Quite unusual compared to other French Churches, this one resembles a Greek temple & was built in the 1800s to honour Napoleon's great army.
Inside it was very dark, but we were still able to make out some exquisite sculptures & decorative features. Outside there are some incredible food shops. We drooled at Maison Truffle, where a tasting plate starts at over 125 euros! Sadly, not suited to our budget! Fauchon's also had many temptations, it is known as the millionaires supermarket!!
Our afternoon involved something we haven't had to experience for a very long time...queuing for 3 hours. The reason we stuck it out, was so we could see the catacombs. This is part of the many kilometres of tunnels under the city of Paris! Quarried out from the 1500's to provide limestone for the building of Paris...including Notre Dame...they were then used in the late 1800's to rehouse the dead from the overflowing cemeteries.
Over 6 million bodies are laid to rest here. Whilst we may not know who they are anymore, they are set in areas designated for the cemetery where they were initially buried. We felt moved by the experience of walking through 2 kilometres of Ossuary & seeing how respectfully they had been placed here.
It was also a golden opportunity to have a certain someone give a lesson on bones! You can get a sense from the moss growing overhead, how damp it was down there. We may have waited 3 hours to get in, but we both felt it was worth it.
In Paris for just over 24 hours & we have already seen & experienced so much. What an amazing place to be.
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