Tour Montparnasse. Friday 14th August, 2009.

Europe's fastest elevator had us on the 56th floor in 38 seconds at Tour Montaprnasse - now that would rip the skin off a rice pudding!

The whole set up was a little RSL for my liking, monogrammed carpets and hideous overpriced food and drink being the standouts. This could not detract from the view though. Some may even say better than the view from the Eiffel Tower and they could just be right. The view from Tour Montparnasse offers a skyscraper view and a view of the Eiffel Tower with the sun setting beside it - no too shabby hey.

We spent most of our time on the 59th floor terrace where we watched the sunset and the city come alive with golden twinkling lights. The sunset was beautiful tonight, a bright, fiery red only for a few moments before fading to soft.

Hangin' with Van Gogh and a whole lot more. Thursday 13th August 2009.

I ventured out to Musee d'Orsay to investigate food in art. What a wonderful way to spend the day. I must confess to being a tad ignorant when it comes to the art world. I have never really understood or appreciated it, but I'm thinking, maybe I just have never given it the time it deserves, because today, Musee d'Orsay was a delight.

I saw all the greats, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Manet just to name a few. I am sure those of you who have visited some of the world's great museums and galleries will agree, it is strange to be face to face with famous pieces of art , where you are close enough to see every minute brush stroke that has been applied by famous hands. I had a ball and covered every inch of the museum, just me and my audio guide. I loved Cezannes apparent obsession with the edible. Two of my favourite pieces were both by Latour, the 'Vase de Fleurs' and 'Chrysanthemes dans en Vase' whos flowers lept from the canvas and came alive. The collection of painted plates by Rousseau were beautifully displayed, I imagined dinner served on them and a whole baked salmon lying on the fish plate wouldn't look too bad either. Like that's ever going to happen.

I walked 2 hours home from Musee d'Orsay, most of the way along the river, passing the old book stalls along the way, it was beautiful but I arrived home spent, and had to quickly shower to look ravishing for our 7.30 dinner cruise down the Seine.

What a time we had on board Bateaux Parisien. We boarded at 7.30, JR was taken on board just before to capture the boat on camera with its tables layed, ready for service. The boat pulled away from the port at 8.30, gently we cruised, you would hardly know you were floating on water the ride was so smooth. The music played and the singer crooned. We cruised passed the sights and under the beautiful bridges. As night came, the mirror balled chinks of light dazzled around us and the bridges became lit and glowed with an ethereal beauty, old and soulful with so many stories to tell.

Entree was spectacular, AJ's smoked salmon cubes and potato panna cotta was a luxurious treat and was decorated with perfect beads of dark caviar, he loved it and so did I. My foie gras was smooth as smooth and was served with miniature mushrooms, almonds and a pink hued pepper jelly. The combination of all on a piece of crunchy toast floated me right down the river - literally. My crepes suzette with raspberry butter was the perfect closing act to a great night.

We went out to the rear deck and watched the boat round the Statue of Liberty with the Eiffel Tower illuminated behind. The boat moored at 11pm, just as the Eiffel Tower shimmered with her hourly light show, you could hear Paris ooh and ahh as it lit up. Hats off to Bateaux Parisiens for a wonderful night.

Instead of heading straight for the subway, we decided to wander along the Seine to Pont de Alexander III, we wanted to see how beautiful it was at night. One step led to the other and we kept going, ending at Place Vendome for AJ to do some car spotting. He saw two raries but you will have to check out his blog for details, it's all a bit lost on me.

Up In The Clouds. Wednesday 12th August 2009.

There was a bit of administration to be done today... all play and no work makes Jack and Jill crazy! We printed documents at the local internet shop and went to pick up my press dossier from the Tourism Office at Gare de Lyon. While at the station, we booked our train to Marseilles, from there we will drive to our next exchange in Provence in a few weeks time. We also booked our train from Provence to Rome for 18th September. It is hard to believe that our time in France will end in 5 weeks time, but Italy - here we come!

We picked up our passes to the Eiffel Tower as arranged, and happily skipped the oh so long and daunting queues. Instead of being packed like sardines, we travelled up each stage of the tower in comfort, sharing the lift with only two others, what a way to go. The best part of tonight was for JR and I to be here with AJ. He loved it up here with our heads in the clouds. We ascended the 300 or so metres of the tower stage by stage, stopping at each one to take in the view and spot all of Paris's famous monuments. The day was spectacular, the sky a perfect blue and we could see to eternity.

As the light began to fade, we secured a spot on the very top level of the tower, at the west pillar, to watch the 'coucher du soleil', known to us as sunset. The sun took its time to fall, softly, softly to the edge of the world. A cool breeze came and AJ layered up and snuggled into my side, he quietly said to me, 'You're a great Mum', he looked at me and held my gaze. This is one of life's unforgettable moments, one I will never forget. The horizon began to twinkle with lights, and the city became illuminated bit by bit until it shimmered softly underneath us on a canvas of violet and blue.





We descended a level and took in one last view before coming back down to earth, this time with only one other in our lift and no long queue to negaotiate. What a ride. We had to return our passes, and as it was after hours, we were told how to access the office. We had to press a buzzer on the wall once inside. A drawer popped out from the wall in which we put our passes, the drawer disappeared to the other side of the wall without explanation. We all looked at each other and began to laugh, it was so bizarre, not a word was spoken, no instructions, just the offering of this silent drawer. We waited patiently, laughing, thinking we were on candid camera or something. Whoosh, the drawer appeared again, this time with our passports inside. 'Merci boucoup', I said to the drawer before it left on its journey to the other side of the wall again - it did not answer back.

The three of us walked down the Champ de Mars to get a few full length photos of the Eiffel Tower at night, she absolutely stops me in my tracks no matter how many times I see her. The guys wandering around selling souveniers had lowered their price of Eiffel Tower key rings to five for €1, I caught JR considering a purchase, gosh he loves a bargain no matter how useless the product. The tower looked beautiful from all angles, we hung around at the central point underneath, gazing up at the enormity of it all.

Time to head for the subway via the fountains at Trocadero, but not before befriending a gaggle of nuns, of course we posed for a photo, you know us, seize the moment and all. We stopped to watch street entertainers in front of Palais de Chaillot, who were fire twirling (Trace, one of them looked like you and I turned to JR and said, 'Trace would just love this'), the backdrop to their wonderful act was the Eiffel Tower, for me it was surreal and moving to be somewhere so beautiful, making memories with those I love.

Wandering in Paris. Tuesday 11th August 2009.

My new favourite passtime is wandering in Paris and I am comitted to dedicating my life to it - for the next few weeks anyway.

The boys stayed in the apartment today, just doing their thing while I went out to explore. I ended up in Montparnasse where I visited the cemetery and the grave of Jean Paul Sartre. On I wandered until the long Jardin of des Grand Explorateurs led me to my favourite place of calm and tranquillity, Jardin du Luxembourg. I love it here. I sat for a while and watched the world go by. The pace was slower here than out on the streets of Paris and I liked it that way.

I visited the Pantheon and ventured underneath to the crypts, the resting place of so many greats like Jean Jaures and Victor Hugo.

Back on the Parisian streets again, I knew not where I wandered but I ended up on the enchanting rue Mouffetard in the heart of the Latin Quarter. It's great here, life marches to the beat of its own little drum. The bars and cafes spilled out onto the streets, their tables filled with people sipping beers and cocktails, resting their weary feet. I noticed a sign pointing to Place d'Italie which I knew was not too far away from home so I kept plodding away on foot rather than disappear into the subway.

Arriving home to the big pot of lentil soup I had put on to simmer this morning was such a treat. I was exhausted and every part of me ached. I had walked some miles today and every step was wonderful.

Sacre Coeur and the red windmill. Monday 10th August 2009.

On previous trips to Paris I had never visited Sacre Coeur, I don't know why. JR had though and had given it a bit of a rave so I was looking forward to seeing it.

Bloody hell, the streets of Montmartre are steep, either that or I am getting old. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be a little of both. Our visit to Sacre Coeur was lovely. We took our time, just like yesterday. This is the best way to visit Paris, not to have to rush and to go where the breeze takes you. It is so different to our previous visits where we wake with a full agenda every day and leave Paris feeling like we have not even scratched the surface, not breathed in her sweet smell. This time is different and it is wonderful.

The view from Sacre Coeur fell to the sides of the Earth. Alex reminisced about the views in Athens, of the concrete jungle before him, man's mark on the land. There were street entertainers on every level as the stairs petered out to flat, tourists crowded around happily watching these masters of their art. This guy with a soccer ball and a oogle worthy body was magical, he controlded the ball with every part of his body (almost) and was standing on the tiniest platform suspended in the sky. AJ threw a few coins in his hat and he smiled appreciatively.

We paused on the green grass half way down the stairs to the streets of Montmartre, it was cool with the arrival of a late afternoon breeze. AJ's eyes nearly popped out of his head as we wandered Avenue Rochechouart towards Place Pigalle and Avenue de Clichy. I didn't realise this street was the very heart of Paris's red light district, I knew it was around here but before we knew it, we were in the thick of things, so to speak. There were a few occasions when I advised, 'Eyes ahead AJ!' Once we arrived at Place Blanche, the shopfronts became a little tamer. We stopped at the Moulin Rouge and snapped a few pics. We wouldn't do the show this visit, we had done that last visit and the memories are still pretty fresh in our minds.

AJ was assigned to crouton duty back at home while JR washed salad leaves and peeled hard-boiled eggs, I whisked up a mustardy dressing as the lardons sizzled in the pan. Tonights salad was spectacular, thanks boys - many hands make light work and delicious dinners!

I love Paris. Sunday 9th August 2009.

JR and I took off to the local market which is a five minute stroll from home. It was small but good and we came home with fresh fruit and vegetables and farmer chicken which may be cooked ala JC style. On the way home we had a coffee, a bloody good one too, at a little sidewalk cafe and watched Paris go by. I could have sat all day, the two of us in Paris with time on our side.

After lunch, we all took the subway to the Champ de Mars, to walk the long lawn with the Eiffel Tower at its end. I thought of you here today Manuela, as I strolled the setting of your love story with Fab. We snapped cheesy tourist photos in front of the tower. The tower never ceases to amaze me, its strengh and perfect symetery. The ground underneath was filled with camera toting tourists, all enjoying her beauty. AJ ate the most enormous chocolate ice-cream as we sat on the lawn in front, it was great. We had packed a few pain au chocolates and we enjoyed them as we sat too.

Our walk along the Seine seemed to last forever. It didn't matter, we had the time, we strolled with no agenda other than the direction we were heading. Pont Alexandre III was just as beautiful as the last time we had seen it, maybe even more so. It's gold shimmered in the afternoon sun and was as beautiful as anything could ever be. To our right was a view of Invalides with its golden dome, also shimmering brightly.




Crossing the river at Pont de la Concorde, we entered Jardin des Tuileries. Everything looks different when you walk in the opposite direction to the one you usually take. We have noticed so many new and beautiful sights by just walking the opposite way to last time. We sat in Jardin des Tuileries for a few hours and people watched, AJ reminisced about the time we people watched in Lyon and the fun we had with Fran. Gosh it's a great sport, and so much fun, we laughed and laughed. We spotted the most outrageous hair style on a lady and JR rushed to get a good photo of it, it was like a bleached blonde mini beehive but a lot more complicated and looked so funny, she had gone to a whole lot of trouble to have it that way but it looked so ridiculous.



Towards the Louvre we strolled, we all love it here. The giant ferris wheel spun around over the rooftops of Paris and distant fairground music floated on the air. The pyramids had not changed, they were still a lovely sight, backdropped with aged buildings. Weary tourists sat on the edge of the triangular pools of water, soaking tired feet and regenerating themselves before moving onto their next Paris sight. We too were weary, it was time for home.

Madeleine. Saturday 8th August 2009.

We jumped on the subway and popped out at Place de la Madeleine, one of my favourite parts of Paris. I wanted to show Alex the visual feasts of Fauchon and Hediard. He dutifully popped his head inside each store and then opted to wait outside and take part in his own version of visual feast - car spotting. Maison de la Truffe's window was proudly advertising Australian truffles, I felt rather chuffed and proud of ourselves.

We all climbed the steps to Eglise de la Madeleine and sat outside at the base of the giant pillars with a view through to Place Concorde. Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis, and Porsches all made their way around the busy roundabout, it rained for a while and we sat car watching perched high at the Eglise, perfectly dry under the awning of the church. AJ had a grin from ear to ear.