Sunday 20th – Tuesday 22nd September
Zurich to Newcastle (via Paris)
Simon’s aunt, Julia, lives in Paris with her husband, Gotzon, and their two grown-up children, Thomas and Annie (although Thomas was unfortunately away during our stay).
We have visited them on several occasions before, but Annie was still alarmed by how little time we had allowed ourselves in which to explore her beloved city. Apparently before we arrived she had asked Julia: “Why would they spend two weeks in Switzerland and two days in Paris, rather than the other way around?!”
With only one full day to enjoy the city, we took the opportunity to pick Annie’s brains about the best places to visit, in addition to choosing an art gallery that we wanted to see (although that decision was taken out of our hands to some extent, as many museums and galleries in Paris are closed on Mondays!).
So, after a relaxing Sunday afternoon/evening spent chatting and catching up with family, we enjoyed a great day out in Paris.
Musee de l’Orangerie, Paris
We started at the Musee de l’Orangerie, where some of Monet’s best-loved pictures are displayed in two beautiful galleries, which Monet himself helped to design.
Gardens, Le Palais Royale, Paris
After a delicious lunch in a small cafe in the Saint-Germain district, we had a look around some areas of the city that are slightly off the beaten tourist track. The gardens of Le Palais Royale are a fascinating mix of the old and new, and were hosting an exhibition of modern art sculptures.
We also managed to sneak in a visit to a very up-market chocolate and macaron shop! We finished our walking tour with a great view up the Champs Elysee at the Arc de Triomphe.
On Monday evening, Annie treated us to a viewing of one of her favourite movies, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, in which we were able to re-visit some of the sights that we had seen earlier in the day.
All that was left on Tuesday was to catch the Eurostar from Gare du Nord to St Pancras in London, then after a short lunch stop St Pancras station, the trip north to Newcastle.
Now we’re back home and back to work, after a fascinating trip around a new (to us) part of Europe. We hope you have enjoyed this brief resurrection of our blog!
Quote of the day
“Mum, what’s the English for ‘coup d’etat’?”
In a tri-lingual family (English, French and Spanish), sometimes translation is required….though, as it turns out, not all the time…
Striking Out 