Yes, it's true -- the French people have stolen one of our most-loved English words -- they say Le weekend. I think they've stolen the word "chewing-gum" too, but they don't quite say it in the same way.
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| Stéphane, Katrina, Daryl |
We walked from the station to our apartment along the Coulée Vert. It used to be a railway line above ground level. It's now a 'planted promenade' -- popular with walkers and runners. How lucky are we with our apartment right on the Coulée Vert?
Well, no time to waste ..... so we were off on our "Latin Quarter" tour. Stéphane has lived in France most of his life, but had not been to Paris. Daryl and I were the official tour guides!
Here's our official "Personal Tours of Paris" guide (we can make details available for a fee that covers another week in Paris some time).
Standing in line for Notre Dame
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| Notre Dame |
Crossing back over the bridge -- three guys on rollerblades putting on an impressive show for the crowd.
It was a BIG day today. With Katrina and Stéphane here, we had younger legs to keep us going all day.
We started at the Bastille Market (our second visit) to stock the kitchen for the four of us. Since it wasn't raining this time, we have some better photos to share:
We had some of this salmon for dinner
Daryl and Stéphane trying to choose which olives to buy
Daryl and Katrina in deep decision-making mode:
We thought we had enough food for half the week, but we seem to eat an awful lot over here.
First stop: Jardin des Plantes, the main botanical gardens in Paris. There's a small zoo there too, but we walked through the garden section. It started in 1626 and then used as a medicinal herb garden for the king (Louis XIII).
Katrina, Stéphane and Daryl in front of the biggest cherry tree I've ever seen. It's branches were touching the ground!
The biggest green-house we've ever seen:
We started our walk from the gardens, through the Latin Quarter, to the Pantheon. So many wonderful, winding streets and squares along the way.
Katrina is 7 1/2 months pregnant and not yet as big as her dad!!!
Daryl now feels totally French because he found "Ou la la" :-)
There are squares like this at so many intersections.
Coffee and croissants are never very far away.
After a little more walking through these wonderful streets, we turned a corner, and wow .... there it was. The Panthéon. A massive building.
It was originally built as a church, but now functions as a secular mausoleum. Many famous French people are buried here. They include Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Louis Braille.
Down, down, down (under all the splendour above) to the necropolis
Voltaire
The burial place we most wanted to see: Pierre and Marie Curie.
Daryl and Katrina resting on the steps of the Panthéon
... and me too!
We still wanted to walk to the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Palais du Luxembourg, so there was little time to rest. Time to ignore the pain in the hips and legs and the swollen feet -- marchez!
The Palace was originally built for Marie de Médici, mother of Louis XIII, but after the revolution it was turned into a legislative building. Since 1958, it has been the place where the French Senate meets.
We really did need to sit again! It was good to get out of the hot sun and sit in the shade.
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| Daryl, Katrina, Stéphane |
Believe it or not, Daryl was fast asleep when I took this photo. Well, I guess with Grandchild Number 3 on the way, he's earned the rest!
By now it was certainly after 7 pm and still very light. We started our way back to the apartment.
The final reward for Grandpop when he got 'home' .....
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