Well, we are off to the races on the sightseeing tours. Kathy arrived this morning - and after some trouble finding the apartment - she had the street but not the house number - I finally located her along the street and settled her in.
After a short rest, we were off. After a light lunch at Starbucks (how did she come for that?) we visited the Place de la Bastille - the place of the storming of the Bastille by the revolutionaries in the late 1700s (more on that later)
Then off to to the Place de Vosges, a lovely open square in the Marais district that was the home of kings and the site of jousting tournaments. We toured the delightful home of Victor Hugo (author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame) which is now a museum which is located in the beautiful homes surrounding the Place de Vosges.
Since Kathy wasn't yet flagging and needing a nap, we were then off to the Musee Carnavalet - which the the museum dedicated to the history of Paris. I had not yet been to visit it. A really good museum - and free to boot!!! From my point of view, the revolution was the really interesting stuff - which includes one of the axes that they used to cut off the aristocrat's heads and a pike on which they were then displayed! A very nasty bit of equipment.
Here is Kathy pictured with Louis XIV (the Sun King), in full Roman regalia.
Kathy then crashed for a nap - at which point, I decided to go explore more of the Marais on my bike. Only to discover to my dismay that the Musee Picasso - one of my favourites - is closed for the forseeable future for renovations. This is too bad, since it is a great museum. Thankfully, I did see some Picasso recently - his masterpiece, the Guernica, in Madrid about a year and a half ago - so at least I have that.
I decided that for Kathy's first night, we should try an authentic French dinner at Le Relais de l’Entrecote located in St. Germain de Pres, on the left bank – which was recommended by two friends, and reputed to be the best steak et frites en Paris. It was delicious, particularly, their special sauce, which is like a creamy pepper sauce.
We walked back from St Germain de Pres, seeing some of the Paris sites at night, which is spectacular.
 |
| on the Pont d'Arts |
