Sunday – Had a quiet day around the Apartment. Ian went off and bought a paper in the morning, mainly to get the tennis results and I went to the Cyber Café later in the afternoon.


Monday - Made up for the quiet day yesterday. We caught the metro and then regional train to Chartres where there is a 12th Century Cathedral. This is a lovely old medieval village with nice gardens and very old buildings. We visited the Cathedral and walked around for a couple of hours. The Germans bombed part of the village and the old city wall in 1944. Somehow the Cathedral was left untouched. There was a memorial for the French Resistance in a square. We caught the train back to Paris (a two hour journey) and came back to the apartment to rug up before going out again. We walked up to the Louvre to have dinner at the food court however this was closing so found a nice Café nearby and had a delicious meal of braised lamb – lamb shanks cooked in a cast iron pot which was how it was served to us. After we finished we went off to take some shots of some big steel balls in the Garden of the Royal Palace. Whilst doing this the fun started. A lady came running through the area shouting something in French. I am generally oblivious to things when trying to set up a photo so didn’t really take much notice. By the time Ian worked out what she had said we were locked in the grounds surrounded by high iron fences. We tried every gate to get out but they were all locked. Luckily some fellow using the fence for an exercise wall noticed us and called ‘madam’ who came to our rescue and let us out again speaking sharply to us in French. Obviously she was not impressed with a couple of silly old tourists overstaying in the gardens. We visualized a very cold night in the gardens for a while. We were now on the wrong side of the Louvre and had to walk back to where we started. Thankfully that area isn’t locked up and we were able to take the photos of the huge Courtyard area of the Louvre lit up which is what we had planned. This area is amazing at night but it isn’t dark till after 10.00. After our previous escapade it was well and truly dark when we got there. We had a lovely walk home along the Seine which is also well lit and the Eiffel Tower has bright lights twinkly until 11.00 after that it is just lit up with normal lights. It was after mid-night when we arrived back to the apartment and both slept well. 

Five minutes from the Apartment

Tuesday – Much quieter day today. Ian went off for a walk to see a Chateau de Vincennes. I did the fun thing at the Post Office, we pay a different amount each time we post a card so goodness knows if mail will turn up in Australia before Christmas. After lunch I went off to Rue Saint Louis. We had walked up here last week an d I wanted to go back to really look at the shops. They are just wonderful. Lots of small boutiques.

Wednesday – We went off to Monet’s Garden at Giverny. This was a wonderful time to see it. The iris are out and there are simply hundreds of them in every imaginable colour. It was not as easy to see the bridge this time as all the trees are in full leaf and the wisteria is really overhanging. Enough to get a couple of photos though. We caught the train back to Paris. We are really impressed with the trains. They are so fast, clean and comfortable. After tea we went up to Sacre Coeur. This is the party place at night – we didn’t go for the party but to take some night shots. It was almost midnight again when we arrived home. 

Thursday – In the afternoon we went up to Luxemburg Gardens and walked along the fence outside looking at a photographic exhib. That was done over a ten year period by a husband and wife showing the lives of nomads. Very interesting. Last night we had a great dinner in a local restaurant nearby.

Hats on Display                                                    There's always somewhere to eat                

We say goodbye to Paris in the morning and fly to Iceland.  Bye for now.