Last night in Paris and here I am writing a blog! Yesterday was a quiet day, going for a walk to Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a lovely park not too far from our hotel. Lots of people running, walking and enjoying the spring sunshine. Groups of school children, some orienteering(?) or at least following maps to particular locations. Groups of pre-schoolers being taken for a walk - always interesting to observe the different personalities. Lunch at a café on the side walk in true Parisian style, although we were the one's not smoking!
Today, we took the metro to the Louvre Museum. The metro is brilliant, much like the London underground and easy to navigate, if you have a map. By the time we caught the train, it was probably 10:30am and the train was still quite crowded. However, it got us to our destination (and back) with the minimum of fuss, at a cost of 1.70Euro for each journey. You don't get to see the city travelling by the metro, but you do get to the destinations quickly and easily. I'm glad we have done both metro and walking.
The Louvre! You could spend a week there and still not take it all in. It took us about an hour to enter, firstly queuing for security check then for a ticket. Lesson: get your ticket in advance! I recall someone telling me that before we left, but I failed to take heed. Another lesson learnt!
Not only are the exhibits stunning and extensive, but the building itself is magnificent. Frescos and sculptures adorn the ceilings and the halls are filled with amazing treasures. Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa. It is in a heavily protected viewing area and it was hard to look too closely at it, but from where we were, it still is quite captivating. Nearby there was a painting by Bossano (I think that as his name) of an architect of the same era as da Vinci's painting. I loved it, in particular the expression in the eyes - tired, world weary etc.
Of course there were many other items of note, including the Venus de Milo, which was larger than I had supposed. She's not looking bad for someone dating back to 120BC!
We had dinner for the third night in a row at a little café nearby. Our waiter each time has been a young man, we guess around 15, who looked after us very well and who takes his work very seriously. Actually he was the reason we went back there, which says something about the power of good customer service.
Overall impression of Paris? The good is very, very good and there is plenty of it. Like any large city, there is also the down side, which is quite prevalent. The drivers are amazing, especially with their ability to park with millimetres to spare, to manoeuvre around and through traffic. How the emergency services get through is amazing, and they do and we hear them quite frequently. It seems if 1 person sounds their horn, the others join in to make a discordant melody. The people we have spoken with have been delightful and helpful. Glad we came!