{"id":178,"date":"2018-07-26T09:10:24","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T09:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/?p=178"},"modified":"2018-07-26T09:10:24","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T09:10:24","slug":"paris-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/2018\/07\/26\/paris-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paris Day 2<\/p>\n

We ventured downstairs for breakfast just after 8 am and found most of our group in the dining room. Breakfast is included in our tour each day and this hotel has a great variety to offer. I found it amusing that the saucer for the coffee cup is almost as large as the plate provided for food. Paul had several \u00a0\u2018buckets of coffee\u2019 with his breakfast \u2013 the cups are huge. I enjoyed eggs, fruit and then a pastry or two. Very unlike me \u2013 but they were delicious. So different to the American pastries they offer on cruises \u2013 they don\u2019t entice me at all.<\/p>\n

Most people were going on a shopping tour but we decided to do our own thing and explore the local area near the hotel.<\/p>\n

We wanted to see how the Parisians live. We found lovely patisseries, butchers with aged beef on display, a large variety of clothes and shoe shops, including a bespoke menswear shop, and other outlets like a tile shop.<\/p>\n

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Patisserie 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Patisserie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Patisserie 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Patisserie 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lemon tart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Aged beef<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We did have to try a citrus tart \u2013 Paul\u2019s favourite. Half the joy for me was the way it was presented on a gold card with a thin row of meringue. The 6.5 Euros converts to $10.25 Australian. An expensive but worthwhile treat for such a small piece of tart. Delicious!<\/p>\n

We just don\u2019t know how people get to these shops as all the parking is taken so early.<\/p>\n

About midday we chose a corner caf\u00e9 for a light lunch and just watched the world go by. The traffic is like rock and water and people just flow around each other. Not like Australia where it is more like rock meets rock with people demanding their right of way.<\/p>\n

The majority of cars driving by were Mercedes (almost all black), followed in number by audi and then a mixture of Madza, Toyota and tiny \u2018Mr Bean\u2019 type vehicles. Most cars have minor dints indicating the rock and water collide at times, but we haven\u2019t seen an actual collision, although we have witnessed multiple close calls. I do like to have my seat belt fastened each time we get in a taxi as we seem to go through such tight gaps and get very close to other vehicles every time we go anywhere. There is no leaving a gap for error \u2013 it is filled immediately.<\/p>\n

We had a short bridge session at 4 pm so we met some more people who a have arrived to join the tour.<\/p>\n

At 6pm we headed out to have dinner at the oldest restaurant in Paris, Le Procope, originally opened in 1686. Our tables were on the ground floor with windows open to the street. There is no air conditioning, but a fan was directed at our tables (until the waiter moved it to get to the till.) We had a set menu with 3 choices for each course. The food was OK, but nothing to rave about. This time the focus was the history and culture. The building has 3 floors of restaurant seating, with separate rooms for private parties. There are a lot of historical items on display and the top floor still had the original wooden beams across the ceiling.<\/p>\n

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Le Procope 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Le Procope 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After dinner we walked towards the Notre Dame Cathedral to catch the night time bus tour of Paris. This went from about 9.30 pm \u2013 to 11.20 pm. For the first time ever the ear plugs fitted in my ears so I got to hear the whole commentary. Paul focussed more on videoing the scenes, while I sat back and relaxed. Quite a good arrangement really!<\/p>\n

This tour took us past all the famous landmarks and we stopped in a perfect location to enjoy the 10 pm lightshow on the Eiffel Tower. The weather was perfect \u2013 no sign of rain, so it was very pleasant on the open top deck of the bus.<\/p>\n