A brighter day dawned although still cool and a little damp.
Breakfast again in the bowels of the hotel.
First stop of the day is the Picasso Museum. On past trips
we had tried to see a selection of the great man’s works but in general we have
only found one or two of his paintings in the MOMA etc.
The Picasso museum in Paris is a very different kettle of
fish. It would appear that when Picasso died, and then again, when his last
wife died, the French government stung the family for huge death duties. Now
you could either pay in cash or in kind. Thankfully the family paid in kind and
now the museum has been donated, under the French government, with the largest
collection of Picasso paintings, from a pencil drawn torso at age 12 through to
his collage works, his pink period, his blue period, his cubism. Tres
magnifique!!
Again, just like the Monet, just like Da Vinci, the ghost in
the machine comes out again.
On leaving the museum, shopping is the next thing on the
agenda. Off to Galleries Lafayette. Now there is big, then there is bigger,
then there is GL. WE entered through their own personal Metro station entrance
in to a complete floor selling only women’s shoes. Kris was tempted by the
Jimmy Choo shoes but the heels were a little high (as was the price tag).
Eventually we discover that this building is only for women’s buying. The men’s
store is in a completely separate building accessed by an aerial walk way!!!!
The floor above the shoe floor sits on the ground floor
under the most amazing global cupola of stained glass, and it only sells
perfume on this level. One whole bloody floor of every perfume imaginable
(except for no Ombre Rose). You really just want to walk around gazing upwards
but then, there is so much to see and buy. We can’t find a Merrill seller so
John is unable to get some new shoes, but we do find the Dior perfume counter.
If Kris has been wearing Ombre Rose for the last 30 years, John has been
wearing Eau Savauge from Dior (only on special occasions mind) for the last 45
years since being presented with a bottle by his kind host family in New
Caledonia as a 15 year old.
What to do. Johnny Depp was advertising the new “Savauge” ,
it smelt good, it was GL, it was Paris, so what the heck; Kris splurges on a
new smell for John to remind us of this trip to France.
We scout out somewhere away from the cigarette smokers
(France has one of the highest incidences of lung cancer in the world as
everyone smokes everywhere!) and John has another beer (large this time and her
also works out the nickname of the local beer to make future ordering easier)
while Kris has a jus tomat.
Feeling peckish we buy filled baguettes and wander the
streets towards the Opera eating as the Parisians do. I could get used to this
if I haven’t mentioned this before!!
We have missed out on some of the city sights on this trip
so we make a dash for Notre Dame. Last time we were here the queues were
horrendous but this time it is only a few minutes wait until we are inside. Of
course the cathedral is colossal, but this is completely overpowered by the
sheer magnificence of the two Rose windows. A further example of man’s ability
to create such amazing beauty.
On leaving the cathedral, and realising that we still hadn’t
achieved parity with eh cost of our museum pass, we try to find St Chappelle.
We had seen the queue on our last trip and had decided it was too long, but then
we couldn’t remember where we had seen the queue!!
After only one unintentional side track, Kris of course,
gets us on the right track and we find the queue. Bugger, is still too long…..
Next time then.
We leave the queue but right next door is another museum
with no queue, The Concierge. Now this is not of the same beauty as St Chappelle,
but in another way, is a very fitting end to our Paris trip. During this trip
we had been educated and informed about the revolution and the days up to and
after 14th July 1789. The Concierge put the finishing touches to
this part of the trip. It was from The Concierge that those condemned to the
Guillotine were held on their last night on the planet and from where they
left, by the 12s, to Place de La Revolution to lose their heads. Through the
same door that walked through. It was also the place were Marie-Antoinette was
held captive in the months leading up to her death by guillotine as well.
Sobering and sad. It leaves us wanting to know more about this time in French
history. How did it really turn out so badly??
So back to our bar for another beer and Cote du Rhome. They
are getting to know us now, but really, you cannot exit the Metro after a hard
days sightseeing (16kms worth!) without a cleansing ale and a glass of wine.
A further shopping trip to Mouffetard for the purchase of
another half bottle of red and this time, a slice of Comte (all again in
exquisite French, or at least John thought it was)
After wine and cheese at the hotel, a decision is needed for
dinner. We are in Paris, it is our last night, so of course we just have to
have Vietnamese again!! So back up to Contrascarpe and another beautiful tasty
meal.
John demands a last walk down Mouffetard so arm and arm the
happy couple wind their way down the street, pretending to be students, sneaking
a cheeky kiss, and just revelling in the joys of being together and being in
France
Encore une fois encore une fois I believe!!
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