Journal
The Deptford Lads in Paris
Journal
We stayed three nights in Paris, from Friday 6 to Monday 9 November 1998. This is a fairly rough & ready journal of what we did and where we went, which includes links to pages with more detailed descriptions and other relevant websites.
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| Friday 6 November |
10:23 | Depart: London Waterloo International (train no. 9018) |
| 14:17 | Arrive: Paris Gare du Nord | |
| Afternoon | Bus to Hotel le Faubourg Walk to Île de la Cité (via rue Poissonnière - rue des Petits Carreaux - rue Montorgueil - Forum des Halles - rue du Pont Neuf - Pont Neuf ), then across to the Left Bank and downstream (Quai de Conti - Quai Malaquais - Quai Voltaire) to the Musée d'Orsay. Visit the Orsay, and spend a couple of hours admiring the architecture rather more than the paintings. Walk across the Pont Reval to the Tuileries, then rue des Pyramides - Avenue de l'Opera - rue des Petits Champs - rue de Richelieu - rue du 4ème Septembre - Rue Montmatre. Stop for refreshment and shelter from the rain at Bar Du Croissant. Walk back to hotel. | |
| Evening | Dinner at Le Bouchon du Marais Walk through southern part of the Marais to Beaubourg, then Boulevard de Sebastopol - Boulevard St Denis and back to the hotel. | |
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| Saturday 7 November Dave's Birthday! |
Morning | Breakfast at Café... Bibliothèque national de France (Richelieu site) - exhibition Couleurs de la Terre ("Colours of the Earth") |
| Afternoon | Lunch at Aux Bons Crus. Visit the nearby Palais Royal, and amuse ourselves taking photos of the unusual sculptures/installations. Take new Métro line 14 from Pyramides to Bibliothèque François-Mitterand, passing through the amazing botanical gardens at the Gare de Lyon Métro station. Take a look at the new Bibliothèque national de France from the Pont de Tolbiac, decide that it is too cold and wet (and the building too depressing-looking in this weather) for it to be worth taking a closer look. Walk to RER station Boulevard Massena; RER to Gare D'Austerlitz; Coffee at Café du Gare Métro to République; walk through northern Part of the Marais to find cybercafé Web Bar. It looks very busy, so have a drink in the nearby ... Bar? Métro back to hotel. | |
| Evening | Dinner at
Aux Deux Canards. Traipse around Eastern Paris looking for a nightclub the exact address of which Dave appears to have incompletely remembered. Give-up and return to the Marais for a drink in one of the many gay bars there, before returning to the hotel. | |
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| Sunday 8 November |
Morning | Walk along the Grands Boulevards (Bonne Nouvelle, Poissonnière, Montmatre, des Italiens, Hausmann) We are amused by the (probably not intentionally) hilarious Christmas window displays at the Galleries Lafayette. Breakfast at Linas(?) on the Boulevard Des Italiens (?) RER from Auber to La Défense (Grande Arche) Visit the Grande Arche and take a ride in the vertiginous lifts to the roof. Coffee at the Brasserie in the roof section. |
| Afternoon | Wander across the parvais at the base of the Grande Arche - sculptures (inc Miró). It starts to rain so we seek out the new tramway terminus (which is not so easy to find since it is so new (opened ?) that it has not yet made its way onto any of the signboards at La Défense). Take Tram T2 all the way to Issy Val de Seine. RER Line C from Issy Val de Seine to Saint Michel, then RER line B to Châtelet - Les Halles. Try to visit the Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg), but discover that it is closed for refurbishment with only the bookshop and one exhibition space remaining open. Early Dinner at Au Trappiste (Belgian), where we shun the dreary weather outside with a warming combination of moules, sausages, frites and Belgian beer. | |
| Evening | Pigalle and Montmatre "pub crawl"! | |
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| Monday 9 November |
Morning | Check out of the hotel at take our bags to Gare du Nord. Breakfast (coffee and pain au chocolat) at Gare du Nord. Walk to Place Stalingrad (just because Dave wanted to say he had been there!). Métro to Père-Lachaise Visit the Père-Lachaise Cemetery, including the tombs of Oscar Wilde, Rossini, and Piaf. |
| Afternoon | Bus to Place Gambetta (we were tired!). Lunch at Café Fontaine. Métro to Châtelet. Visit the Art Nouveau department store Samaritaine. Spectacular panoramic view from 11th floor platform. Wander around department stores and shops on the rue du Rivoli, then walk along the rue Saint Denis. Refreshment stop at café on the corner of rue Réaumur and Boulevard Sebastopol. Metro to Gare du Nord. Time to go home (sob!) | |
| 20:07 | Depart: Paris Gare du Nord (train no. 9059) | |
| 22:13 | Arrive: London Waterloo International | |
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