Week 4
Friday 10 August 2007
Walked to the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise which has over 1 million graves including some very famous ones. We saw the grave of Jim Morrison of the Doors and a tribute to Oscar Wilde which sadly was covered in lipstick kisses and messages. The angel apparently once well blessed but the cemetery manager thought it was not appropriate so had the assets removed and used them as a paper weight! Victor Noir’s grave has a life size bronze statue lying on it and people apparently rub a certain area for good luck – see the photo and look for the shiny bit! The cemetery also has the graves of Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt and Chopin. On the way back Mrs Bean bought some wonderful French cakes which we had back at the boat with a cuppa.
Saturday 11 August 2007
Caught the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and then walked down the Champs Elysee and looked in the very expensive shops – the Cartier shop had a 49,000 euro necklace in the window! Walked to the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais and then through the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre (to take some photos!!). Back along the banks of the Seine and in an area they have made to look like a beach (beach huts, boules area etc) there was a band playing and people were doing what looked like an old fashioned tea dance and there was also a mime act. By chance found the Buddha Bar where the famous music comes from – it is a beautiful restaurant/bar with an enormous gold Buddha sitting in the middle.
Sunday 12 August 2007
Caught Metro to the Eiffel Tower, the queues were enormous and the third level was closed so decided not to join the queue. Went to the Hotel des Invalids, a beautiful building which was built to house 4000 veterans, 100 still live there. It also contains Napoleon’s grave, encased in 5 coffins! Walked back along the river and saw the tunnel where Princess Diana sadly died and people had written tributes all along the walls at the entrance of the tunnel – very moving. Back to the boat for dinner and a huge downpour of rain! Once it stopped headed off to the Moulin Rouge – unfortunately the tickets are sold out well in advance but saw the famous windmill. Then to the Sacre Coeur which is beautiful and looked amazing lit up at night. The steps leading up to it were full of people drinking wine listening to a really good busker. On the way back mum decided she wanted a crepe and got a proposal from the owner!!
Monday 13 August 2007
After a lazy morning we had some welcome visitors for afternoon tea – Martin and his family arrived bearing a beautiful strawberry tarte. The children loved the marina and played on the pontoon trying to get each other wet! It was great to see them – thank you for taking the time to visit. In the evening strolled along the banks of the Seine to see the city lit up at night and the huge dinner cruise boats going past. All along the banks in the parks people were having picnics and drinking wine and some had live musicians playing. Found a lovely little bistro in one of the back streets and had a wonderful meal and welcomed the long walk back afterwards!
Tuesday 14 August 2007
An early start to get Mrs Bean to the airport for her 9.50 am flight. Waved her off (still very proud that she came on her own) and went to get the train back into Paris. Unfortunately there was a problem with the trains so had to get the bus back! Once packed up set off out of the Paris Arsenal and headed south. Just as we left the lock it started raining …. Just like the day we had arrived! Not much to see on the outskirts of Paris, very industrial. Eventually found a place to moor up for the night next to a boat yard and got talking to a French guy who was doing his boat up to do a similar trip to us.
Wednesday 15 August 2007
Left the mooring and headed on, still raining! Went to go into the first lock behind a barge and a Dutch boat and just as we got to the entrance the lockkeeper started closing the gates and we had to do a quick turn and get out – not sure what was going on there. At the second lock one of the ropes got stuck and the boat managed to turn 180 degrees to face in the wrong direction which was pretty scary. Luckily some guys walking down the other side took a rope and turned us round. Still not much to see along the way, the odd town but nothing special. The rain got worse so moored up early at a sailing club.
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