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Heidelberg to Paris – Tuesday 5th July
Once again Pascal is our driver. He picks us up from the apartment and drives us to Mannheim to catch the train to Paris.
We had seats booked from Heidelberg to Mannheim, and 8 minute journey for the cost of $US6 each – what a waste of seat reservations!
We share our compartment with two Chinese-Americans from San Francisco. – father and daughter. They are over here for the 4th of July holiday and taken just a week to see Frankfurt and Paris. She spends half the journey planning their intinerary in Paris, the sights, their cost and how to move between them.
Other than giving Pete an arrival time of 17:50 instead of 17:05, we arrive without incident. In the 45 minutes that we wait I have every second man a possible Pete, but when we do make contact he was the obvious match.
Pete navigates us via bus to his tiny apartment, up 5 flights of a circular staircase, where we are made most welcome, with a glass of wine.
We take the metro to the Montmatre district for dinner, I have terrain and veal, Bruce has molluscs (like snails of the sea/pippins) and veal. We walked back through Montmatre and stopped to see the Eiffel Tower show at 11pm of beautiful flickering lights – a millennium gift to Paris. Then home to bed and a big sleep.
Paris – Wednesday 6th July
Pete leaves early to have his eye operation and Bruce wakes me at 10 to 10 – I was exhausted after catching a chill on Monday in Heidelberg.
The find ‘Le chien qui fume’ – the Smoking Dog café that Pete had recommended, but we are too late for croissants and settle for half a buttered French stick instead, with our black coffee.
We meet Pete back at the flat, they did not operate on his eyes and he must go back later in the afternoon, so the trip to the country is out of the question. The weather is poor in any case, so there is little point driving in the gloom.
We head out for the day. Pete takes us for another long walk through the back streets of Paris, to find his films and then to a café for lunch. We sit on the pavement and choose quiche lorraine and salad and leave Pete to go off for yet another eye appointment. He has a rare type of glaucoma that will leave him blind unless the pressure is removed in his eyes by a laser procedure. Quite worrying for a photo-journalist.
We are at the café when the successful city to host the Olympics in 2012 is announced. It is broadcast on TV and everyone in the café stops to watch. The major contenders are Paris and London and in both cities we have seen billboards and signs everywhere, encouraging the city to back their bid. The successful city is …… London. We quietly leave; this is not a time to be recognised as speaking English! The Parisians are not happy.
We walk to the Seine and find the Pyramid at the ‘Musée du Louvre’. We have no intention of queuing to see the art gallery, we have both seen the Mona Lisa before and we are not in Paris for the art galleries and the churches, more to enjoy the atmosphere. We take photos but the fountains are dry and the sky is grey. The only contrast is in the heavy clouds over Paris.
We walk through the ‘Jardins des Tuileries’ where you must not step on the grass, to the ‘Place de la Concorde’ which is undergoing renovation. As you do, we wander up the ‘Avenue des Champs Élyses’ and window shop. Europe is full of summer sales so the window dressing is disappointing, very little worth photographing for Omi.
We reach the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ and sit and watch the crazy traffic. The rule in France is that you give way on the right at a round-about. This means that if you are on the round-about you must give way to other vehicles coming onto it. The result is a gridlock with cars facing all directions! It makes a great spectacle and entertains us for a full half hour.
We take our chance on the metro and successfully navigate our way home. Pete has a broadband connection, which we can hook into through wireless. It is the first time we have had good internet access apart from an expensive hook-up at the hotel in Berlin.
We share a bottle of wine and I write some emails, before we head out to find another good value French bistro. Pete’s first choice is popular – there is a queue of people waiting to eat. As we search we get closer to the tourist town so it is back to Montparnesse and a search for a better deal. We are successful and have another great meal – Bruce & Pete choose a chicken dish after a starter of stuffed goat’s cheese, I have smoked salmon then lamb chops á la françois.
Pete’s flat in the Arrondissement 7 on the Rue de Sevres near Montparnesse is tiny and full – lots of photos, books, music and treasured souvenirs from his many travels, such as rugs, bags and boomerangs, but we enjoy the cosiness and his company. We chatter endlessly.
The flat is on the 5th floor of an old building, it is a huge climb. By the end of our stay with him we can climb it without a rest.
Paris – Thursday 7th July
Pete is up early to play tennis. We get ourselves up and out to the Laundromat for some overdue washing and wait out the time at ‘Le chien qui fume’ with croissants and coffee. Laundry has been a big challenge and this time we are able to catch up with a satisfactory solution.
We meet Peter back at his flat mid-morning and I surf the ‘net and find there has been a ‘major incident’ in London. We check the locations but believe Hayden and Elisse will be OK. Then we head off to Pete’s local market. He has decided to cook for us tonight and needs some produce – not too much as he is off to South Africa for 10 days on Friday.
I debate whether to call Hayden and Elisse, but decide they are not at risk.
The market is small and colourful, but suddenly panic hits – both Ev and Mark call us to check on Hayden and Elisse. Dotty is concerned. At the same time Elisse messages ‘Have you heard the big news? We are OK, Hayden is trying to get to work’. Adina messages that she is glued to the TV. As the day progresses we learn more – 3 bombs on the underground, 1 on a bus, 37 killed, 700 injured. It turns out that Hayden hadn’t left for work, but when he did he only got as far as Marble Arch and walked from there to Regent Street. Soon after he arrived they closed the store and he walked back to Halls at Shepherd’s Bush to meet Elisse and a friend. He told us later how weird Oxford Street was with no traffic, just pedestrians – but everyone calm and in control.
The weather deteriorates, the rain starts. We walk and walk until Pete finds his favourite Creperiere. The crepes are magic – egg, bacon and cheese in a buckwheat crepe. I finish with lemon and sugar, Bruce has pureed apples and Pete marron (chestnuts). All washed down with the local cider.
We leave Pete to do some work and we walk, firstly to check out the airport bus, then to the ‘Tour Eiffel’. Bruce has never climbed the ‘Tour Eiffel’ so after taking lots of photos underneath we take the trip.
The view from the 2nd level is fantastic and the sun treats us. It is about 5pm but the days is still very bright and there are a lot of daylight hours left. The feeling from the third (top) level is awesome. It is windy and cold and totally scary to look down. Thank goodness there are lifts and we do not have to climb the stairs!
Pete cooks us pasta with salmon and cream – yum, and he buys some gourmet ice cream. He shows us his photos and Bruce shows off his camera. It is delightful, we just sit and chat.
We speak to Hayden – relieved to hear his voice.
I sleep lightly and hear the night noises – rumble of the metro, sirens, rubbish trucks.
Next page: Paris to Barcelona
