Adventure en France part 1

Here we are, sitting in our room of our hotel in the 9th Arr. in north east Paris. We have just walked back from Artist Square in Montmartre, right by Sacre Ceur, where we have just had dinner at our favourite restaurant. It is dusk, the sounds of the city are coming in through the open window, and down in the street, the chic and lovely hustle to get to a bar for a well deserved drink.

Paris is just so darn great. It really is.

We woke this morning, bright and early, with just our packing to do. Just some cereal and cup of coffee before the taxi came at nine to whisk us to the station. The international station is just half an hour up the line; the downside is we come all the way back again. Oh well.

Once at Ashford, we check in, and are right behind a class or 5 of French schoolchildren; but they are so well behaved, and the three of four teachers don't seem at all stressed. We all get on the platform on time, and soon the sleek Eurostar is coming down the platform.



A friend has got us first class seats, along with free drinks and meals. We feel like royalty; just not as inbred. The Kentish countryside speeds past until we get back to Folkestone, and then we dive into a hillside and down we go under the Channel.

We are served champagne. We could have had tea, coffee or water, but we have champers; it seems the right thing to do.

France appears, and as we speed through Flanders fields we are served rools, croisants and coffee, followed by a small Engllish breakfast. France continued to speed past. All laid out before us as we sped up to 160 mph. The champagne did not get spilt, we noticed.

Le Gare du Nord is chaos, but organised, if that makes sense. We walk outside, dodging the Romanian beggars and queue for a taxi.Quickly enough we get to the front of the queue, and pile our bags in, and into the warren of narrow streets we dive, with the drive making small talk in Franglais

Our hotel is down a narrow street, identical to many around us. Over the other side of the street there is a boulanger and patisser, a short walk away there are bars and places to eat. The air is thick with a heady mix of cooking.

We love Paris.

We decide to go out for a walk. Looking at our map, we think we know the right way to Montmartre. But, we get sidetracked by the first cafe we pass and call in for a coffee and a creme brulee. The creme brulee is huge when it arrived. We tuck in, as Parisian street life goes on outside for our entertainment.



An old gentleman sees us looking at our map and asks us where we are going. We tell him Montmartre; we think he tells us that was, a little left, a little right. We thank him and head off.

We walk up wide boulevards, past wonderful shops full of hand made chocolates, bread and other wonderful things. Sadly, it was drizzling, so not many photographs for me. Oh well.

Montmartre is the usual warren of cobbled streets and fantastic shops. At the foot of Sacre Ceur, we call in a bar for a beer; proper 1664, brewed in France. Tastes different. We sit in the window and watch the world go by some more.



We catch the fenucular to the top of the hill. As usual, Sacre Ceur is crowded, but the views, even on a dull day is fantastic. We walk down the cobbled street down to Artist Square; we go back to a place we have eaten in many times before. We have our favourite from there, onion soup, full of pain de champion and grated cheese. We follow that with a seafood salad and then Salade de fruits, all washed down by a bottle of house rose.



As darkness fell, we walk back; shops have re-opened for the evening, and the beautiful are posing whilst smoking outside cafes Crowds are outside Moulon Rouge, but people don't go in, not this early, anyway.



Tomorrow, we are visiting a friend in Le Mans, but I should be back in a couple of days time with more from our wonderful life here.