We immerged 50 metres above the street level to a glorious sunny day and remained on top of the Arc admiring a 360 degree panoramic view of Paris. It was very cold with the wind, but with a jacket, hat, scarf and gloves the wind chill was tolerable and the view was fantastic. Luckily it wasn't too crowded on the top either. Sadly it seemed to be the day for Australians to visit, so it was a little odd to be here overlooking Paris to the soundtrack of the always harsh and mostly grating Australian accent all around us.
It was interesting to watch the crazy Parisian drivers down on Place Charles de Gaulle (the huge round-a-bout that Le Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is in the middle of). No lanes on the round-a-bout and anywhere between 12 and 19 roads lead onto Place Charles de Gaulle (it's hard to work out which ones), not to mention how crazy the Parisian drivers are. Red lights, marked pedestrian crossings and parking spots are more vague indications to them rather than something to obey. You can never cross at lights even with a green light for pedestrian crossing without checking for traffic, especially motorcyclists who particularly like to run red lights.
After about 45 minutes at the top of the Arc we made our way down and took some more photos of the arc whilst we had the pleasure of some direct sunlight and then headed back down the Champs-Élysées where we decided to stop and have an obligatory coffee. We chose the Nescafe stores of all places and surprsingly the cafe (espresso) was really very good and the service was outstanding.
With the sun still shining we decided to make the most of the outdoors and headed for metro and made our way across Paris to the Place de la Bastille which is 'where the Bastille prison stood until the Storming of the Bastille'. Not that exciting to see, but certainly a major historical and important part of the French history and something that has very much shaped modern day France, and subsequently modern day western society. Anything that overthrows authority, especially royalty has my support.
As the Place des Vosges was just a block or two away we headed over to check it out. I was actually expecting more, but as it was winter much of the park was off limits, and the fountains in each quarter were not turned on. Still it was good to experience a classic part of Paris and spend some time sitting on the park benches.
Sharon had desires to see the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise which also held some interest for me so we headed off east deciding to walk as it would have ben two or even 3 metro lines to get there. Turns out it was further than we were expecting, but another good way to see some back streets of Paris. We stopped by a boulangerie (bread shop) and picked up some pastries for lunch 'on the go'. The women working there even stated that '...your French is excellent'. Looks like I'm improving. Pity I still only know a few sentences. Still I can mostly enter shops or cafes, order and pay without needing to resort to English, so long as the conversation doesn't veer from the expected.
We arrived at the cemetery and explored the graves, tombs, and sepultures for a few hours. A very interesting cemetery on a hillside and very tightly packed in. There are some impressively old tombs and I especially like the ones that have now crumbled and rusted away, the deceased now long forgotten by decedents. I like that you return to the earth and that your life in the realm of overall existence and life on the planet is pointless and meaningless and within a very short period of time is forgotten all together.
In amongst the long forgotten dead are some that will probably be long remembered: Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Modigliani.
The sun was now starting to set and as we were a little tired by now, having walked half way across Paris, we headed for the metro subway. Not really ready to call it a day on Paris especially seeing as it was Vendredi (Friday) we decided to head out for dinner. We made our way to a restaurant (Saveurs Végét'Halles) in Les Halle that had ben recommended to us by friends. We found the restaurant after another grueling walk and made a reservation for later on in the evening and then headed to a brasserie for a couple of drinks (Vin Rouge). Back to the restaurant for vegan dinner which was great and then we finally made our way to the metro and back to our apartment.
Today's Weather
Sunny. Cool in the wind. Temperature around 10 to 12 C.
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| Place Charles de Gaulle traffic madness |
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| Enjoying the Parisian windchill atop Le Arc de Triompe |
