Highlights of Paris.

OK, I know I'm a jammy sod, having a whole week in Paris, and I completely enjoyed it! So what were the highlights? Well, for one thing, the clothing stores and boutiques. Absolutely wonderful. But I'm warning you right now-don't risk shopping in Paris unless you have vast reserves of either cash or steely resolve. I am hardly known as a fashion fiend, but I'll tell you, when I got home I wanted to burn my entire wardrobe.








Galaries Lafayette is the ultimate temple of retail; to call it a shop would be on a par with referring to Westminster Abbey as a church. It's grand. It's beautiful. It's immense. And it has every fashion house known to man (or should that be 'woman'?) under it's gorgeous glass domed roof.





I was completely lost in there, in every sense, bedazzled by the Tiffany diamonds, lured by the luscious leather goods and generally reduced to drooling. It is magnificent, makes Selfridge's look like Sainsbury's. I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't even find my way out.

Luckily, I found the Ruinart champagne bar! Convenient, no? However I was very good and only had the one wonderful glass. Would have had more ( the whole bottle) but thought I had better remain sober. And also at least a bit solvent. So I'm not saying how much it cost; my DOH might read this. But it was really, really good champagne.




Because we were staying in an apartment rather than a hotel, we got to know some of the local shops, too. The fruit and veg guy always greeted us with a friendly 'Bonjour'- he was probably planning to pay off his mortgage with the proceeds from the armloads of fat, white asparagus spears I carted away every day.



I am sure the nice lady in le Boucherie (butcher's shop) still remembers us after I tried to ask if my DOH had already been in one day. In a sad attempt to describe him, I forgot that in French, the word for 'hair' is very similar to the word for 'horse'. I wondered why she looked so worried. I bet she's still laughing about the man wearing a long, silver-grey stallion on his head.


And the people at the Patisserie will certainly be wondering where I am. Ahem. That's enough said about that, I think.










I heard some truly great music while I was there, including buskers in the Metro, but the best place was at Les Abessess square. I mentioned the jazz band, led by an exile from Texas, in a previous post. They were so good, we stopped to listen to them a couple of times. On another day there was a superb clarinet player, together with a pianist. He sounded like he'd just come from some seedy, smoky bar somewhere. Wish I'd bought his CD, but there were shoes to be had, and you already know about that; shoes win. Every time. Always.


Most evenings we went to Sacre Couer- it was the only place we could visit that didn't involve climbing up a hill to get home afterwards. At night the steps turn into a kind of amphitheatre, with guitar players, jugglers and lots of African men selling more copies of the Eiffel tower than you can ever imagine anyone buying; available in silver, gold, bronze- or how about the deluxe model which lights up? No? Me neither.




We did all the tourist stuff- visited Notre Dame (if you're going there, the back is far superior to the front, but, oh the shame, how did I let it happen, my camera battery died) so I have no photos. Just trust me. Really. Stop laughing.

We walked around a lot, past Moulin Rouge and all the seedy sex shops- tried hard to see inside, as you do.
















If you're wondering about the Eiffel Tower- well, here it is, as seen from the Louvre. We didn't go there. It doesn't 'turn my crank'. It just looks like some monstrous Mechanno toy to me. John agreed. It's pretty at night though, when it's all lit up. Then it's like Mechanno with lights!








This is the entrance to a Metro station. I included it because I liked it, no other reason.















So that's about it. There's lots more I could waffle on about but I don't want to induce any coma's. I'm already plotting a return to Paris, the City of Light. I'll rent another apartment, too. But I'll be asking detailed and intense questions about exactly where the apartment is; and if there's an elevator!