Paris (9)

We left our apartment on the Right Bank and moved to a hotel on the Left Bank, the Hotel Parc Saint-Severin with a spacious room and balcony overlooking the Eglise (Church) Saint-Severin and Paris rooftops, plus, the top of Notre Dame. We stayed in this hotel some years ago and really liked it. It is in the center of Left Bank activity, yet on a small street that is quiet. The only “noise” is the church bells ringing, which are a welcome chime.

It was a week of seeing sites, mostly by me as Steve limited his walking to checking out cafes and restaurants and just a little shopping. He said he was perfectly content as he had the perfect excuse to avoid seeing another church, museum, etc.

Following are a few familiar Paris sites, the first being Notre Dame. I took a picture from the Pont (bridge) and then took a picture from the back where all the restoration is taking place. Dominique tells us that it is being redone exactly as it was before the fire and that it is to be done by 2024.

Although I selected specific sites to visit, for me, walking to and from was as enjoyable as actually visiting the selected site. Each street shared a surprise, whether it was a magnificent church, a park or charming cafe. So where did I go? I visited the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, which is an information, documentation, exhibition center of urbanism and architecture from Paris. I visited the Maison Europeene de la Photographie (Photography Exhibit). As it was the only major Parisian “tourist site” I had not visited, I visited the Centre Pompidou, in fact, twice as I went once on Tuesday when it was closed (some world traveler I am!). I visited the Luxembourg Garden, and I visited the Musee de Cluny, the French national museum of the Middle Ages, where I picked up my second “gold” site coin.

The Centre Pompidou is fascinating as a structure, and, it is huge, and, the top floor affords views of all Paris. The exhibition space is grand with the exhibits extremely well done.

With all the treasures of Paris it is difficult to choose a favorite, but, one that was surprising (at least to me) was the Cluny Museum, not least because it is only a block from our hotel. It is a structure that dates from Roman times. The chapel is one of the few remaining examples of “Parisian Flamboyant Gothic architecture” and was built in the late 15th century. The museum also houses “The Lady and the Unicorn,” a series of six tapestries considered one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages in Europe.

Paris is a place to eat and sip drinks. We did lots of that, too!

All week long, we had been lucky with nice weather. Well. . .our luck ran out Saturday evening. It started pouring late afternoon and continued into the evening. We were going to Dominique’s for dinner and a taxi could not be had. We called Dominique, and, fortunately she was able to send a taxi through her regular service. The evening was saved, and, we had a fabulous dinner and evening.

The final photo is of the Eiffel Tower from Dominique’s home. I, along with millions, love to watch it “twinkle” on the hour when it gets dark. It used to be that it would go for 10 minutes, but, they have cut the time down to 5 minutes. I watch mesmerized for the entire time. Each side of the Eiffel Tower has 5,000 bulbs on it to create the sparkle effect, so, it has 20,000 in total.

Today is the last day, so that meant we had to have a negative Covid test to enter the United States. I had arranged the tests a week ago at a pharmacy that was open on Sunday. The pharmacy was only a mile from the hotel, but, it involved changing metro lines, so, Steve wanted to take a taxi. I allowed 1 1/2 hours to get there, and, you are thinking, what. . .1 1/2 hours to go a mile?! It took an hour and fifteen minutes to get there and cost 50 Euros! There was a marathon, so, all the bridges across the Seine and many of the roads were closed. That, of course, meant horrendous traffic. Steve decided that the metro was a good option for returning to the hotel. Happily, our results came back negative, so, we get to go home! Au revoir de Paris!