Peripatetic in Paris

Last stop on my itinerary was the beautiful Paris.  This city lives up to all your expectations!  Nothing quite compares to that first thrill as you glimpse the Eiffel Tower for the first time....

We were blessed with a cool change and enjoyed (mostly fine) days in the mid-high 20s.  I had a list of must-see sights and we managed to cover them all!  I even got to see the bikes race round the Champs Elysees and ride the TPG in first class style.  It was a quick visit in more sense than one!

First our host took us to Versailles, King Louis XIV's famous castle in the outskirts of Paris.  We were staying in that direction.  My favourite part was where this picture of Mum and I was taken - the famous Hall of Mirrors.  I had also been reading a book that was largely set in Paris (including several visits to Versailles), so it was easy to imagine it in its heyday.

On Saturday we traveled into Paris on the train.  Mum and I took a trip around town on the Red Bus and saw many of the most famous inner-city sites.  Then met up with Dad at a Little tart cafe near Notre Dame.  We also had a look around inside the cathedral after lunch as the line was a bit shorter.  Then we split up again and Dad and I explored Musee d'Orsay, home to many impressionist paintings.  The one below was my favourite, I'm a big Renoir fan, but I also discovered the Edgar Degas didn't only paint dancers!

On Sunday I trooped into Paris on my own after checking out the Sunday market in St Germain En-laye, where we were staying, with my parents and our host.  It was a long wait for the bikes to arrive, but I made some new friends while waiting and it was well worth it!  You could feel the excitement build up as the cavalcade arrived... we even participated in a few mexican-waves around the circuit while we waited!  The picture below is me in the crowd, followed by a shot I took holding the camera above my head.  I had a better view but camera's don't move like eyes....

Monday I was a little weary, but our admission tickets to the Musee d'Orsay also qualified us to visit the Orangerie gallery, so Mum and I went and checked out the enormous Waterlily canvases by Monet (the gallery was built around them!)  There were other impressionist painters represented there too, many by lesser-know artists.  After that we reunited with Dad (who had checked out the Bastille) and went to explore Monmatre.  Monmatre is famous for Sacre Cour on the hill, the Moulin Rouge and was also where much of Amelie was filmed.  The photo below is me outside "Amelie's cafe" better know as Cafe des Deux Moulains.

Tuesday, out last in Paris, took us to Normandy for a much anticipated visit to Monet's Garden in Giverny.  Mum and Dad had been before, so I had heard about it, and seen it many times in his artworks, but visiting it, and his house that has been preserved as it was, is something else.  Mum took so many photos, below are a couple of my favourites.  One day I hope to return with a special friend who has spent many hours in Adelaide Botanic Garden with me.  I could just imagine her soaking it all in, like I did.  

Sadly, now my peripatetic days are over and I'm packing my case to return home tomorrow.  I has been a very special month with my parents, full of memories I will treasure forever.