Our Last Day in Paris!

Well, another holiday had nearly come to an end. We'd packed our suitcases the night before and tidied up the apartment ready for our departure the following morning.

Just before 10.00 a.m. we left the apartment and dropped the keys off at the building where we'd collected them on our arrival. Then with our suitcases in tow we dragged ourselves and the cases to the main area in Montmartre to find a cafe where we could waste a few hours relaxing before we headed back for Blighty.

On the way we passed some more street art by "ME".

In the same area there were more street art / political statements.

Some more street art.

This is where we saw the first photo that I took mixed in with other works.

We came to the main area which is normally heaving with tourists. At this time in the morning there was nobody there! We had the place all to ourselves apart from a few of the cafe owners who were beginning to set out their tables and chairs.

I far preferred it like this but of course the cafe owners need the customers!

We found a cafe that was open - this was the one we had been to previously which served up a wonderful cafe au lait - which is what we had again. Whilst the Other Half sat and watched guard over our suitcases we wandered into the nearby shops. We purchased some lovely smelling soaps, some keyrings and fridge magnets as presents and Our Daughter chose a necklace with a pink Eiffel Tower - a small memento of her stay in Paris - see below!

Our Daughter at the Gare du Nord. That red panda used to be mine as a child. My mum brought the panda down for Our Daughter one Christmas when she was much younger and he has become her favourite.

Just over a couple of hours later and we were at St. Pancras.

I had seen a photo on a blog with a statue from St. Pancras. I aksed a staff member and he pointed me in a certain direction.

This wasn't the statue that I meant - but what a wonderful surprise. I then asked a member of staff if there was another statue. He didn't think there was, his colleague seemed to think that there was one not very far away and we found what I had been looking for!

The statue of John Betjeman!

You can tell that the Olypmics are coming!

And that as they say was the end of our trip to Paris.

Shortly after this we jumped into a taxi to Waterloo where luck would have it - there was a train departing to our destination in five minutes. We boarded the train and as we sat in the carriage looking out of the window it started to rain - we knew we were well and truly home!

Until next time,

June.

Paris Day 7 - Part Two

We returned to Abessess via the Metro from the Musee d'Orsay. In the underground passageways we saw some colourful posters advertising another museum but as you've probably gathered we were all museumed out! Maybe on our next trip whenever that may be!

The chalk artist had added some ladybirds to his pavement art whilst we'd been away.

A look back at the entrance to the Metro station.

Very near to the Metro was the little park which I've referred to before with the "I Love You" wall.

We went into the little park to sit and relax before we ventured uphill to our apartment and those 120 stairs to the front door!

In the park the wild birds were looking for scraps of food. The birds here weren't as adventurous as those in the Jardin des Tuileries - see previous posting.

I do like wild birds.

The Other Half and Our Daughter near the "I Love You" wall.

A rare photo of me taken by the Other Half with Our Daughter by the "I Love You" wall.

We don't look very romantic do we by the "I Love You" wall! This photo was taken by Our Daughter and I had my fingers crossed behind my back hoping that she wouldn't drop the camera!

It was soon time to go back to the apartment and to start packing ready for our departure in the morning. We had to vacate by 10.00 a.m. but our train back wasn't until 1.00 p.m. from the Gare du Nord.

During the morning we did a bit of exploring around the local area nothing too taxing as we were lugging two suitcases with us. After a while we just found a cafe and had some drinks and Our Daughter and I went shopping for presents at nearby shops. More on that later.

Until next time,

June.

Paris Day 7

On the seventh day we set off to see the Musee d'Orsay. We went on foot from the apartment to the Metro at Abessess. We travelled down in the lift and found some scratched artwork in the lift's walls. They're very good despite being an act of criminal damage!

The above are clearly Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

Does anyone know who this is?

Or this?

Or indeed this?

We walked to the Musee d'Orsay. The museum is in a converted railway station. It is a beautiful building but whether it works as a museum I'm not sure as space within the building did appear to be tight. However, the museum was undergoing some refurbishment and this may have led to it feeling a bit of a squeeze. That and the amount of people which were inside. We had to queue for about 45 minutes to get in.

There were some super sculptures outside.

The rhinoceros was guarding the main entrance.

As you enter there are signs showing that no photographs can be taken. This disappointed me after the more relaxed approach at the Georges Pompidou Centre. I think that the reasoning behind it is nothing to do with any potential damage to the paintings but to the fact that it would slow down the flow of traffic. It seemed that you were hardly allowed any time to admire the paintings before you were shunted from behind to move forward. Despite the no camera sign - I did take a few!

I was enthralled by the works of four artists - Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas.

The above is by Paul Gauguin.

There were some truly inspirational paintings here even the Other Half admired them.

There were no sarcastic comments about children being able to draw these!

By Vincent Van Gogh - his bedroom at Arles.

A still life.

By Vincent Van Gogh.

Another Van Gogh. If I had to choose he was probably my favourite - the choice of colours were lovely and the quality of the paintings in real life is far better that what I've photographed or indeed what you see in a book.

Paul Gauguin - Early Days in Tahiti.

More from Tahiti.

Another Gauguin - Self-Portrait.

And another!

"The White Cat" - Pierre Bonnard.

"The Checked Blouse" by Pierre Bonnard.

"Woman at her Toilet" - Pierre Bonnard.

Inside the museum - a vast space in the middle and then much smaller rooms leading off of this space. The rooms made us feel a bit like sardines in a tin!

The pale colours in this one were beautiful.

By Claude Monet - Woman Holding an Umbrella, turning to the left.

By Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

By Edgar Degas - Dancer with Bouquet, Curtsying on Stage. These are all the photos I managed to take without attracting the attention of the staff. Having taken 18 I thought I'd chanced my luck and left it at that! There were a few others taking photos and the staff seemed to turn a blind eye.

The only disappointment was the amount of people that were present as it meant that you were not really given the time to appreciate these very beautiful paintings.

We left the museum and found a row of statues outside - waiting for me and my camera!

So I busily snapped away.

At these lovely busty ladies!

Another one!

And another!

The Museum d'Orsay.

We went in search of food as it was by now quite late in the afternoon. We had thought of having lunch in the museum but there was once again a very long queue. I don't really like queuing at the best of times so we decided that as it was so late and that the prices would probably be higher at the museum than elsewhere it was our cue to go elsewhere. We found a lovely little cafe nearby and were entertained by the french owner of the cafe - who was quite rude with people who came in and just looked at the menu. She just ushered them out of the cafe telling them to go as they were blocking the aisles! Those who sat down to look at the menu were treated with respect and she was there is a flash taking an order! A woman after Basil Fawlty's heart!

Shortly afterwards we returned to Abessess on the Metro - more on this later!

Until next time,

June.