Awhi had some time in lieu saved up so we had a long weekend in Paris with Dylan, Aurelie (Dylan's partner) and her mum Maryse (from Lyon)....what a privilege being in Paris with French speakers ...makes life so much easier. I was struck at the prettiness of Paris after London much lighter building material and much more whimsical and romantic ....
Maryse and Awhi had not been to Paris so we spent the day with Dylan and family touring the high spots Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, eating out in Montmarte and Marais, boat trip on the Seine etc and had a great day out. We ate well trying a range of French specialities Foie Gras, steak tartare, snails etc. Awhi put aside her ethics about the foie gras and enjoyed the pate, Dylan ate his way through raw mince and raw egg with a smile and I enjoyed the butter and garlic on the snails but the meal we enjoyed the most was the Sunday lunch at an urban cafe in the burbs. awhi and I had travelled out to go to a flea market ( 14 stops out on the metro) and at the end of trawling through literally streets of interesting junk and art we stopped for lunch and gestured to the waiter ( at this point we were on our own Dylan and family had left Paris so no translators) we wanted what the others around us were eating which turned out to be delicious .....mince stewed with herbs and tomatoes wrapped in bacon and cabbage leaves and steamed in its juice and served with potatoes yum yum. Awhi and I had two days to ourselves. We had several things we were keen to do flea markets, food markets, canal trips, Musee Dorsay, a Latin quarter walk and generally walking around various neighbourhoods.Loved the food market which was only ten minutes walk from our Air B and B and I was chuffed to see kina on the fish tables. The canal trip on Canal Saint Martin was fabulous as it took us through a number of locks ( a first for me) and through an area described as bo bo (bourgeois bohemian and not far from where we were staying). generally we had fun just wandering around and discovering interesting sites around every corner including the zombies, the protesters who occupied the republique square, lovely small parks etc. We had a very interesting Air B and B where we walked through a courtyard of big potted plants with naked mannequins, up through several flights of our hosts house with all family lying around, and entered our bedroom which was funky art, large and rather shabby but with a great bed. we didn't look too hard as we walked through the house slightly embarrassed at what we may see and it was quite dark thank goodness. But it was within budget great location and sort of interesting and any flaws overcome by having a great bed.
Lovely photos Awhi
ReplyDeleteRuiha and I recognise some of the places and the boat ride.
Nga mihi
Richard