Tuesday March 28 - Lyon to Paris
We got up early to pack and head off to Paris on the 11:04am TGV to Gare de Lyon - we arrived at 1pm and jumped in a cab to our apartment at 22 Ave d L’Opera in 1st Arrondissement - right near the Louvre - perfect location.
Anne-Marie, the manager, met us at the apartment - we were able to check-in right away which was great. The apartment was everything we had hoped but alas there was absolutely no view - the living/dining overlooks a “light well” which was not unexpected as the description did not mention the view.
After checking-in we headed off to the Monoprix right across the street to do a quick grocery shop - getting just enough for dinner and breakfast. I unpacked and got some desperately needed laundry going - then we had fives’s while relaxing before our favourite Paris (and many other places) dinner - French bread, an excellent selection of cheeses and proscuitto.
We watched a bit of the Miami Open tennis and hit the sack.
Wednesday March 29 - Paris
We went to Museum Orsay in the morning then walked to Gallerie Layfette via the Tullerie - we checked out their gourmet food halls and finally had a light lunch on the outdoor rooftop terrace in the sun which had come out. We walked back home stopping to shop for dinner. We had pasta and salad for dinner then went to bed after watching some more tennis.
Thursday March 30 - Paris
As planned to headed out to Versailles in brilliant sunshine with a high of 22℃ forecast. We started a bit later than planned (as I had a bit of a sleep in) but we still arrived via RER line C before 11am. There was a bit of a line at the entry but we got in quite quickly - the inside was very busy but nowhere near the crushing crowds of our previous visit many years ago. After viewing all the rooms and halls we spent 1.5 hours wandering the gardens and visiting one of the smaller palaces. We had made a reservation at Paul Boucouse’s Ore restaurant (on site); it was a nice way to finish off our visit - we had an excellent light lunch.
We walked back to the RER station and hopped on “the next train” to Paris - then “disaster” struck - at the first station (2 minutes down the line) the train stopped and waited and waited …. there were a few garbled announcements in French only from which we gathered there was some sort of blockage on the line. After about 45 minutes and another announcement everyone disembarked and we were directed (in a very haphazard manner) to walk to another train station (about 20 minutes away) where we caught a train on a different line to Gare Montparrsant. From there we caught the metro back to the L’Opera. Since we had to walk through the Tuillerie to get home - we stopped at a cafe and had a six o’clock drink sitting in the sunshine ….. the train issue had really cost us most of the afternoon. Since it was already quite late we stayed home for a dinner of sambos.
Friday March 31 - Paris
It was an overcast and somewhat cooler day - with a high of 17℃ - but still pretty good considering the time of year. We took the metro to Foundation Louis Vuitton art museum and cultural center and surrounding park. The $143 million museum was opened in October 2014. The building was designed by the architect Frank Gehry, and is adjacent to the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The building is amazing - unfortunately there were no exhibitions open but just visiting the building is a treat.
We then took the metro to Les Halles for some lunch - we had a most un-memorable light lunch at a typical café then walked home via the famous foodie street Rue Montorgueil in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements - It is lined with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, wine shops, produce stands and flower shops as well as many cafés and bistros. We bought some nice berries then kept on walking home. It was a bit earlier than other days but we needed a bit of break before going out for dinner.
We had dinner at a local place, Les Carte Postale - very small and owned by a Japanese chef - it was highly recommended. We had a very nice but not totally memorable dinner unless you count the Pommard red wine at $100 which we had. Our waiter, also Japanese was quite delightful - he spoke excellent English (and of course French and Japanese) - when we asked him where he learned his English he told us his former girl friend was English speaking.
Saturday April 1 - Paris
Ah another beautiful day - mostly sunny and mild (high of 18℃) - we started the day by doing our grocery shopping for the rest of our stay to get that squared away. We then had lunch at home before heading out for a day of sightseeing. We went to Place Madeleine walked along the Champs Elysee to Arc de Triomphe - we then walked back to Louvre and had a drink at the famous Café Marly (within the Louvre complex and if you sit a the right end of the table you can see the sun setting over the Eiffle Tower) - we finished our day by waling home via Palais Royal where the park was very busy with Parisians enjoying the spring sunshine.
We stayed home for a dinner of spatchcock, roast potatoes and white asparagus - unfortunately the whole thing was about a 1 out of 10.
Sunday April 2 - Paris
The days just kept getting better weather-wise - clearly an early spring in Paris. Since most shops are closed on Sunday we headed over to Jardin de Luxembourg - it was amazing, the park was hip-hop and happening - full of Parisians (and tourists) running, walking, taking yoga or Tai Chi lessons, people with personal trainers, all 8 tennis courts were busy, people were playing “le long paume” (a game similar to tennis), people sailing miniature sail boats in the lake and of course the cafés were starting to open ……
We walked to the Pantheon then we walked forever trying to find a place for lunch (along Boulevard St Michel) - we finally ended up at Le Zinc in Place Honore - near our apartment - the 8 or so bistros where overflowing - but we finally got a table and had a very late lunch. We stayed home for dinner of pasta and salad.
Monday April 3 - Paris
Last full day in Paris - again a perfect spring day - high of 19℃. We started out with a self-guided tour of the Opera - the most beautiful theatre in the world (so they say) and we had to agree - quite an amazing building. From there I did a bit of shopping, scoring 3 Desigual tops - since it was getting close to lunch time we decided to just hop home and finish off our ham and cheese.
After a quick lunch - we headed out by subway for Sacré-Coeur de Montmarte and Place du Tertre which has changed a lot since our last visit some 10 years ago - then artists worked at their easels, now it’s pizza and “moule frites” bistros with art kiosks, from here we walked to Pigalle and around then took the subway to the Eiffel Tower finallying walking all the way back to our place via Place Concorde stopping for final happy hour at St Honoré.
We came home and showered and packed then had an excellent dinner at L’Absinthe - also in the Place St Honorê.
Tuesday April 4-6 - Paris to home
We got up early to be ready for our 8:30am car pickup to CDG. Our SQ flight departed on time at high-noon — it was a good flight with just over 2 hours connection in SIN. We arrived home on Wednesday evening at 8:30pm. As usual totally zapped and ready for bed.