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Everyone knows Paris is a city of romance.

Le Ville Lumiere

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 15:21:40

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the cobbled streets of the Isle of St Louis and gazing up at the crooked buildings, you could almost imagine yourself to be in the Paris of Robespierre or that of Napolean or even Sartre.

Sadly however, it was getting late and we had to leave antique Paris behind for its more modern and lively counterpart and once again traversed the Seine, this time onto the right bank. From there we walked up towards Paris' most famous non-existent monument, the Bastille and caught the every faithful metro back to Chateau L'Eau.

Dinner that night featured the same culinary triumph although in less ambitious surroundings. By walking in the opposite direction from the previous night we came upon a small Italian restaurant called, inevitably, La Scala. Dinner that evening was bruschetta, penne al arrabiata or tagliatelle Siciliano and of course the ubiquitous thick black espresso.

The following day we were to leave early that afternoon and so determined to put in one more serious Parisian landmark before our departure. So that morning we checked out of our hotel and used our last metro ticket to reach the foot of the mount on which Sacre Coeur sits. Climbing the winding staircase which leads we were confronted with the gleaming white shell of the church of the Sacred Heart.

Braving the slightly-thinner-than-Notre-Dame crowds we shuffled inside for a look. While larger and more well known, I think Sacre Coeur was far less impressive than the smaller St Germain des Prix. The outside of the church was far more spectacular than the interior, a fact not aided by a restoration of the interior which had given root to a forest of scaffolding.

It then left us enough time to wander gently back down hill to Gare Du Nord and our awaiting connection to London's Waterloo. All in all, a very pleasant way to spend a weekend.

Sometime soon I hope to return to Paris. This time maybe I'll go in the company of a beautiful woman and together we can sit in the sunshine, in a café, soak up some ambience and feel content that we too can share the joie de vivre of Paris.

Aug 2000

My travels