Posted by The Eurostar from St Pancras station was an easy exercise and before we knew we were off and in the tunnel, next thing France and the flatness of Flanders and then Paris.
Checked into our Airbnb and very nice it is, in an old building but fully refurbed , nice host and lovely meringues , rest before a wander and then dinner at a recommend local french restaurant -L’Epi Dupin .
It was filled with locals enjoying Friday night out and also a few tourists, so we enjoyed the atmosphere and the food too.
Next day we were off to Giverny and Monet’s home & gardens , Fredrick our Guide/driver is a lovely guy and made the journey informative , and the comfortable Mercedes Van made the travel very easy.
We got there early and had a coffee before checking out Monet’s grave and then to the house, wow the gardens and the ponds were amazing and we were enlightened to the whole way of life for Monet and how the whole waterlilly fascination of Monet’s started in his own gardens.
The inspiration was all there , every day he painted what he saw in his amazing garden.
We spent a few hours wandering and then through his interesting house with its vibrant coloured interior , incredible dining room , kitchen, studio and bedroom.
We got dropped off in Montparnasse , where our driver said it was his wife’s favourite food shopping street and bought some food, baguette, cheese and Jamon for lunch in the Jardin d’Luxembourg.
This is one of our favourite Paris spots and it was spectacular with gardens in full bloom and the Palace looking resplendent.
Tonight it was off to the Opera Bastille for the Ballet Sleeping Beauty, it was sumptuous and vibrant but a bit low on quality, It was the American Ballet Company ,so we left about 2/3 of the way through and got a taxi easily back to the apartment.
Muse d Orsay was a big item this time but we didn’t factor in Ann tripping out the front on a raised pavement and crashing into a stone wall !! Poor thing it really shook her up and hurt like hell, massive swelling but the ambo guys that arrived at the museum did not think it broken but we iced it up and after a good viewing of as much as we could we headed off over The Seine .
We were keen to check out The Monet Lilly pond series at the L’Orangarie museum accross the Seine and glad we did as it was a real highlight .
So pleased we actually saw it all in the flesh yesterday and see the massive canvasses in the flesh made it all so real .
Tonight it was dinner a the Eifell tower at restaurant 58 on the first level, great views of the Trocadero and a fabulous meal with window seats to boot. This was a birthday present from The Cunninghams team for the big 60, so we had been looking forward to it. Ann’s arm was feeling much better with the swelling down considerably so it was great that we could enjoy the night.
Our last day in Paris and we headed to Sainte Chapelle on Ile d’Cite and got in without the que and boy was it worth it, an amazing spectacular of stained glass filling over 90% of the structure.
It is so light and compact which makes it all the more effective , the two levels really show the Royal chapel at its best.
We had arranged to meet up with Chris & Judy Fitzpatrick friends from Wagga who were touring France the same time as us and we crossed over in Paris so after a failed museum visit to The Architecture Museum ( brochure said it was open Monday and closed Tuesday, but of course it was the opposite in reality) we had breakfast and visited the Marine Museum instead , OK but not what John was hoping for .
We had a lovely lunch and catch up and then found out we were all booked in for The Moulin Rouge tonight,,, so that is what we did on Tuesday night, had dinner and close up front views of the long legged mostly Aussie girls with many of them topless,the cabaret style show was certainly entertaining to say the least.
