Intrepid White's Travel Adventures

Thursday, 21 June 2018

Paris 16-20 June 2018

'Paree' City of Light, Bridges, Sidewalk Cafes and Love Locks

To describe this city in a word: 'Awesome'. The best way to present the best of Paris is in pictures, not words, suffice to say that the initial outstanding feature of the city upon arrival is the architecture. The city has structures, mainly but not only churches and cathedrals, that range from middle ages, Romanesque and Gothic and so very much is in tact, preserved and still in use.

The city has a vibrant street culture reflected in alfresco cafes, restaurants and bars along with street stalls and hawkers of all descriptions.

The Seine is the spine of the living Paris and the bridges that traverse it are the vertebrae gauranting the life of the city.

And last but not least the City of Love which has many facets but one in particular that catches the eye, love locks!

We arrived by Eurostar from London at Gare de Nord, one of several major long distance and international rail terminals that service all points of the compass. We changed to the metro and after navigating the ticket machine travelled the 2 stops to Gare de Lyon from which the Hotel Palym was a 2 min walk. The choice for this was heavily influenced by the station being our departure point for our journey to Spain. It turned out being advantageous for the ease of access to other services we required.

Paris

Gare de Lyon

Station from Hotel window

Metro (Sortie = Exit)

The Lourve

Eugene Delacroix's most famous

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Gardens of Tuileries

Place de la Concorde

Auguste Rodin-Le Baiser 1889

Av de Champs-Elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Taken from the exact place Hitler stood in June 1940-Sureal

Wide angle views

Eiffel Tower from Arc de Triomphe- Zoom

Eternal flame to unknown soldier at base of Arc de Triomphe

Metro on Champs-Elysees

Grand Palais

Early 2oth century works by Viennese artist Frantisek Kupka

on exhibition at the Grand Palais

Petit Palais

Underneath the arches!

Views from 2nd level of Eiffel Tower

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Heavy security presence everywhere

Just a small sample inside Notre-Dame

Around area of St Chapelle

Place Dauphine

On the Seine

Love locks. Placed on infrastructure of bridges by couples declaring their love. The locks generally have short messages attached or inscribed. A number of years ago one bridge was under stress from the locks attached and the authorities removed 45 tonne of locks.

Parisien Ngaire

Monument celebrating Bastille

Stalingrad Paris, not Russia. Paris has named many streets and monuments to famous WW11 identities and places.

Interior of famous Trainbleu restaurant at Gare de Lyon

Dinner on the Seine

Monday evening we experienced a river boat cruise with dinner. It was a fantastic evening which added to our wonderful time in Paris.

Dining on the Seine with live music.

Left Bank and Latin Quarter

These famous Paris locations have been the at the forefront of French bohemian culture, student radicalism, art and literature. The twenties and thirties was the cultural peak with the likes of Picasso, Hemingway, Isadora Duncan, Norman Mailer and Henry Miller to name just a few.

The most beautiful area is the 'Le Jardin du Luxemberg' or:

The Luxemburg Gardens

The Latin Quarter

'And you can't go anywhere without---'

And Last but not Least 'Paris at Night'

Au Revoir

Monday, 18 June 2018

Exeter to St Pancras via Exmouth, Sidmouth and Plymouth June 12-16

Exeter to St Pancras-Along the Coast of County Devon

Arrived in Exeter late afternoon of Tuesday June 12 and settled into the comfortable Queens Court Hotel to freshen before dinner with Ngaire's distant relative and his wife and son.

The next morning we were collected by Derek, the reli, and taken on a tour of Exeter, Exmouth and Sidmouth. It was a great day .

Exeter was a substantial manufacturing and distribution centre that has felt the effects of economic downturns and globalisation. It was targeted by German bombing raids during the war and was significantly damaged as were most major centres in South West England and the country as a whole.

Exmouth is the traditional Port city at the mouth of the river Exe which runs through Exeter on it's way to Exmouth. In the heyday of the Port, trade came in and out of Exmouth and was delivered to and from Exeter by barge and smaller trading ships and boats.

Sidmouth was originally a fishing village at the 'mouth of the Sid'. Today it is a tourist centre and retirement hub and is the gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site.

Plymouth is a famous Port city, and it's early history extends to the Bronze Age. Plymouth borders the counties of Devon and Cornwall where the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar enclose the city and are incorporated into Plymouth Sound which forms the boundary with Cornwall. Plymouth is steeped in maritime history and was the home to Sir Francis Drake and the Mayflower, famous for it's voyage to the Americas. Drake led the English naval forces out of Plymouth to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588, not before completing his game of bowls on the Plymouth Hoe , a large grassed area of public space overlooking Plymouth Sound.

Plymouth was heavily bombed during the second world war and the city centre all but destroyed and was totally rebuilt after the war. Plymouth played an important role in the preparation toward and launching of the D Day invasion of Normandy on June 6 1944 and was host to thousands of American troops.

Departed Plymouth Sat. 16 for our journey to 'Gay Paree', the city of light. Train from Plymouth to Paddington, tube to Kings Cross-St Pancras International then Eurostar to Paris, all in 61/2 hrs!