A weekend in Paris

We have always promised ourselves a wedding anniversary in Paris, and after 31 years, we met that promise. On a Friday night, we caught the train to London, then the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel to Paris, a four hour trip from door to door. The Eurostar has been in operation between London and Paris for over 20 years, and is a great way to travel. We lashed out and went with premium tickets, which included a little more leg space and meals. We were travelling at night, so couldn't see the countryside, but at a top speed of 296km/hr, it would have been a blur. We had a hotel right in the central part of Paris, in St Germain, so everything we wanted to see on this trip was within walking distance.

The weather was mainly clear, but very cool, so we walked, and walked and walked. Coffee and croissants at sidewalk cafes, French onion soup with red wine for lunch, and a dinner of escargot and  beautifully cooked meals in a tiny little restaurant around the corner gave us the food experiences I had been hoping for. My very limited French at least meant the correct food arrived,  and everywhere we went, the staff were helpful and polite (after a little laugh at my attempts at speaking), and were happy to help us and speak in English. Spending most of the time walking around the centre of the city, so many of the buildings were so old and magnificent, with so much history attached. The only drawback was, being winter, renovations and building projects were under way in many parts, so a lot of places were covered with scaffolding. It was still wonderful.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame was our first stop. The building is absolutely awe-inspiring, with soaring Gothic spires, carvings, and statues around the doorways. The over-size statue of King Charlemagne in the courtyard is fitting for the scale of the whole place. Inside, a full mass was in progress, with about 50 clergy and hundreds of worshippers. All around the outside of the main body of the church, the tourists (including us) were walking along side aisles, and could watch the service on big screen TV. There are side niches and chapels all around the outer of the main church, where you can light candles for loved ones, and sit for a time to take in the atmosphere. It is one way of accommodating both the parishioners and the tourists wanting to experience this building, and the hundreds of years of faith and worship. Being the season of Advent, there was an enormous Advent Wreath suspended above the aisle, with three of the candles lit leading up to Christmas. The towering vaulted ceiling, the scale of everything, and the sounds of the choir and congregation singing in this beautiful space were very moving. The Church has caused a lot of grief and strife throughout the centuries, but it has also been a source of hope and love for millions, and this Cathedral, with all it's wealth and beauty, prompted me to consider both aspects of faith through the ages. As we left the Cathedral and walked down the side of the building looking at the gargoyles along the roofline, the bells started to peal out over the streets; such a sensory experience.

From Notre Dame, we walked past the Hotel de Ville, and towards les Halles, and found a Christmas market under way; food and wine, clothing, bags and beautiful Christmas decorations. We took a break in a little café serving hot French Onion soup for lunch to warm up, then we kept walking through parks, amongst the old buildings, and back past le Louvre. So many iconic places to see. We didn't go into the Louvre this trip, knowing we didn't have the time to do any sort of justice to the collections inside. The surrounding gardens and parks were so lovely, with families relaxing, and even a group of locals playing petanque on the court in the park; are retired locals paid to come and add to the scene? It must be so gorgeous in spring and summer, though very busy. There are hawkers everywhere, selling souvenirs and (in the cold weather) beanies, gloves and scarves. 

We wandered around the streets near our hotel in the evening, and found a little restaurant which sat about two dozen people downstairs, with all food and drink being delivered down a winding, narrow staircase from the first floor kitchen. We tried l'escargo; very creamy and delicious, then beautifully cooked mains and desserts, all accompanied by champagne and wines. By this time it was very cold, so we caught a taxi up to the Champs-Elysees, through the Christmas lights and crowds. We walked around watching the street entertainers and window-shopping, then another taxi to the iconic Eiffel. Lit up at night, the tower was spectacular. After years of pictures, stories and images, to actually see this incredible structure was very exciting. 

Sunday morning, we woke up and went hunting for coffee and croissants again; it was great to have so many decent coffee options! After breakfast, we started walking in the general direction of the Eiffel Tower. It took us a couple of hours, walking through streets with little shops amongst residential buildings, seeing locals and tourists out and about. Everywhere, there were shops and stalls selling Christmas trees, real pine trees wrapped in net, with a block of wood as a stand, of all sizes, for people to take home and decorate. As we walked past one florist, a couple were buying their Christmas tree, a beautiful, thick pine, about 2.5metres tall. They then proceeded to load it into their tiny little Smart car! Rather, they tried to load it! They went trunk first, then pulled it out and tried tip first. Neither option was looking very promising, but we didn't stay to see the final result; it could have been a while! 

As we walked, there were open parks, including one with about eight sheep grazing in a little enclosure. The rows of old, stone apartment buildings, mostly two to four stories high, showed only large entry doors and some windows to the streets, but occasionally we caught glimpses of the inner courtyards and gardens. We walked past beautiful old public buildings and the military barracks, and along narrow, winding residential streets. As we came up to the tower and the surrounding gardens, the size and scale of the structure becomes even more magnificant, especially when you realise it was built in 1887-1889. Being winter, many of the parks and lawns were fenced off, and scaffolding and building were under way for new security entrances. There were also fewer ticket offices open, although still plenty of people queueing, so our wait for tickets was over an hour. We caught the lift to the top level, and had an amazing view out over the city, although I stayed very close to more solid central area of the viewing platforms. Looking at the engineering of the tower is also astounding, when you see all the metal girders and rivets that make up this 300 metre high (over 300m with the top spire) structure. The facts about the tower are pretty incredible; my favourites are that Gustav Eiffel actually lived in an apartment at the top of the tower once it was finished, and that the lift cables were cut by the French during the German occupation of WWII, so that the Germans would have to climb the 1710 steps to the top. 

From the tower, we caught a taxi back to the Arc de Triomphe, which sits in the middle of a roundabout, where 12 streets, full of sight-seers and French drivers, converge! Not a place for the faint-hearted. It's a beautiful monument, even with the mayhem all around, with tributes to French soldiers over centuries of battles. The carvings and reliefs on the monument, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, are all tributes to generals and soldiers. From here, we walked down the Champs-Elysees again, then down a side-street where we suddenly found ourselves on Avenue Montaigne, in the midst of the haute couture boutiques, looking beautifully decorated for Christmas. The streets and shops all over the city looked so lovely, with beautiful Christmas lights along the avenues, and the shops looking festive. 

Paris was beautiful. We loved so much about it, and were fortunate not to have any of the 'arrogant French' experiences people had warned us about. People were very helpful and friendly, and generally happy to speak English. We were in the central, tourist areas, which probably makes a difference, but everyone was lovely. We need to brush up on our French, and plan return trips. We loved:

• Walking through the inner city, past the Seine, amazing landmarks and beautiful old residential buildings
• The Eiffel Tower; what an incredible construction
• The Cathedral of Notre Dame, so moving and awe-inspiring, especially in the Christmas season
• The food, the food, the food (and coffee!)
• The hotel, an old building in the historic 6th Arrondissement, in the midst of the artistic and literary haunts of such people as Hemingway and Simone de Beauvoir
• The history and stories of the city

We caught the Eurostar back on Sunday evening, arriving back at St Pancras in London at about 7:30, and back in Peterborough by about 10:00pm. To have such an amazing city, so close to where we live, is one of the main reasons we have made this leap to the other side of the world, away from family and friends.