Paris!!! Springtime in the City of Light

Paris in springtime!  Here we are in Rosie and The Operators most favorite city in the world! Daffodils and wildflowers are starting to bloom on the peripherique, trees on the boulevards have new leaves and full luscious canopies blow in the spring breeze, so many tiny dogs to be seen already with their solemn well behaved eyes walking beside owners carrying bags with baguettes poking out the top …..now just stop raining for a  bit so Rosie and The Operator can go for a stroll and pretend to be part of this amazing regal city.

We are staying in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the Seine so called because prior to the Revolution all of the students in this University suburb only spoke Latin to their professors.  The Le Demuere Hotel on the Rue de Marcel is our cosy home for the next three days.  It is a perfect suburban location, a little whiles away from the tourist sights and not heavily over run with tourists. This is an area populated with with a mixture of students, the young and the old plus families.  Our two hundred meters is lined with everything you could ever need, the subway is on the doorstep, cafe, restaurants, post office (very important to Rosie) bolangerie, vin cave (very important to the operator) little alimentaries and everything else in between.

Our room at Le Demuere is Parisian chic…and super small, The Operator commented it was like living in the camper…but with no useful space.  But who cares we are in Paris! Five floors up with a tiny balcony and doors you can fling open to the sights and sounds of the city.   The view as you can see below is fantastic!

Rosie and The Operator bought a wee luncheon and sat on the tiny balcony in between rain showers clad in every winter woolley we had bought and just enjoyed being in Paris.  The Man in the apartment across the road was watching very closely from behind his potted plants, obviously very bemused and and not having much else to watch on a Sunday afternoon……

Rosie and The Operator have been to Paris many times before. We have seen all of the museums, tourist sites and galleries we want too in this magnificent city, our aim is try to absorb the atmosphere of living in a suburban location and enjoing the local life….with a little sightseeing at our leisure thrown in for good measure.

 

After exploring our neighborhood we caught a taxi to the Arc de Triomphe. This is one of Rosie and The Operators favorite sites. Built in 1806 at the bequest of Napoleon Bonaparte upon his triumphant return from war.  This monument built on a traffic island in the Place Charles de Gaulle, is surrounded by 12 avenues feeding traffic into a frenzied sea of 5 laned Parisian madness.  This is a great place to view the city and surrounds from after climbing the 284 stairs to the top.

 

Normally you access the monuments island through a tunnel that goes under the road…not today.  Rosie was taking a photo of the Arc and The Operator mentioned that the road was quiet for once, and, being a Sunday Rosie hesitantly agreed….nek minit, Rosie is holding The Operators hand, squealing like a pig and running for dear life across the road, well, Rosies version of running, across the road to the monument….only one person tooted.

 

And whats a famous monument without some scaffolding around it.  The space up the top was limited but we were there early evening and the crowds weren’t so big, even for a weekend.  Rosie loves the way you can view the Eiffel Tower Tower from up high and can see the the Sacre Cour perched on the only hilltop in Paris in the distance.  The majestic Champs de Elysees streams with traffic and the vista of all of the avenues  forming a perfect circle around the Arc is breathtaking.  The old palaces and houses are built in between the spokes of the wheel and the pale majesty of their facades, wrought iron balustrades and streaky lead lined roofs with millions of orange clay chimney pots  embodies Paris and the wealth back in the day to build it.

 

Rosie and The Operator strolled down the Champs de Elysees at sunset and headed for home.  The Operator nipped out for a pizza and took this photo of Rosie on the balcony watching for him.

The magic of Paris goes up a notch when the sun sets, The City of Light truly comes to life and looks like a fairy tale.  Ps you did notice the Eiffel Tower that we can see from our balcony?