Paris

We arrived in Paris on a lovely summers evening. Nadine safely navigated the crazy peak hour traffic as we made our way from the northern side to southern side of Paris.

We left booking our accommodation very late in the piece which is not recommended for Paris, but managed to secure a room for one night at the Select Hotel, close to St Michels in the Latin Quarter. We then moved to Hotel de l'Abbaye in the 6th Arrondissements not far from St Germain des Pres, which is one of the more affluent parts of Paris, not far from the Seine, shops and lovely restaurants. It is very difficult to describe just how manicured the centre of Paris is and St Germain des Pres set the standard. The price of a 33m2 apartment is around NZ$600,000!

Hotel Select room, Paris

View from Hotel Select room

Hotel de L'Abbaye room

Both the hotels we stayed in were very close to Jardin du Luxembourg, beautiful gardens which Parisians flock to at all times of the day to simply sit and talk/rest. We spent a couple of hours there ourselves. Nadine was looking especially beautiful in the sun!

Jardin du Luxembourg

Nadine at Jardin du Luxembourg

We allocated almost one full day to the Louvre. It was quite overwhelming, with so many pieces of art and artifacts on display. The highlights for us were the Botticelli paintings, Napoleon's apartment and the sculpture. We also took a quick peek at the Mona Lisa - the viewing area was very crowded and not very comfortable.

The Louve

Statue in Louve

Portrait de Jeune Homme by Alessandro Botticelli

Mona Lisa

Napoloean's apartment

We did not miss the opportunity of shopping in Paris and spent a full day walking the streets of St Germain des Pres. It is very expensive, especially in NZ dollar terms, and the French are very good at selling. So beware! I discovered this little Russian shop and purchased a chess set made of amber, which by virtue of the price will be a family heirloom. Revolving credit facilities are dangerous for such moments of madness!

We did a boat trip along the Seine River for an hour which was a nice way to see Paris and rest our tired legs. We were walking between 6-10kms a day around Paris, which is the best way to see the city and bump into lovely little galleries, shops, churches and eating places.

Paris Latin Quarter (our neighbourhood)

Seine River by night

Effiel Tower

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

The best part of our time in Paris were the moments spent with Craig and Dorothy, friends from Wellington who own a little apartment 10 minutes walk from Notre Dame and visit Paris almost every summer. Dorothy worked for the Ministry of Trade for many years and at some point in her career was posted to Paris for three years. She holds a Doctorate in French and Russian and has a passion for fine culture, which Paris has in abundance. They revealed to us a spiritual side to Paris; we visited many churches and sacred places. The level of devotion expressed through the architecture and art is inspiring. We managed to get to the 8.00am mass at Notre Dame and thereby experienced this marvellous monument in its morning glory and before the crowds arrived. The sun shining through the stained glass windows was humbling.

Craig and Dorothy were very kind to us, not allowing us to pay for anything and giving each of us little gifts to take away. Nadine and I are very inspired by them and the life they lead, and we look forward to spending more time with them in Wellington.

Dorothy & Craig outside Notre Dame Cathedral

Statue

Photos of the day

Cross in the sky made by two plane pathways



French Art