Monday March 13 was a travel day. We caught the 12:42 TrenItalia train for Paris at Gare Lyon Perrache, about a 25 minute walk from our apartment.
We left the apartment a bit early, so we could stop at Mokxa and get some beans. They were open and had the beans we were looking for.
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| Alain with our coffee beans purchase |
We had to walk through Place Bellecour and saw that the Ferris Wheel was being taken down. We had read that it only operated from November to March, but we weren't expecting it to be gone so soon.
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| The dismantling of the Ferris Wheel-- guess they knew we were leaving town! |
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| We sat on one of the benches beside the memorial just in front of the train station (building in the background of the photo). The blossoms were coming out on the trees. |
We left on time and sped through some lovely countryside on our way to Paris. We were going as fast as 293 km/hour. We really wish we had fast trains in Canada.
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| Going very fast through the countryside |
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| The TrenItalia train had stickers of people's heads on the windows- kinda neat. |
We got to Paris on time at 3:00 p.m. and hopped on a bus for four stops. We were then only a five minute walk from our apartment on Rue du Fer à Moulin in the 5th arrondissement (the Latin Quarter). We stayed at the same studio apartment a year ago and have also stayed at four other apartments in the complex since around 2012. There are three buildings behind the entrance with a small courtyard with lots of plants. We are in the first building in the right side of the photo.
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The Courtyard with lots of plants. We are in a studio on the 3rd floor of the building
on the right side of the photo |
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| Compact kitchen area |
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| Sofa bed-- lots of light. |
We walked out to nearby Rue Mouffetard to get some provisions. There was a small exhibit of photographs entitled
Paris Que J'Aime.
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| Info about the exhibit\ |
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| Voiliers flottants, Jardin du Luxembourg |
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| Côté, Montmartre |
We got a baguette at Maison Landemaine, around the corner from our apartment- always good.
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| Nearby boulangerie |
We walked down Rue Monge, noticing a building that was clearly just a facade. We know that behind the building are some Roman ruins.
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| The building on the left has stores on the bottom, but is very narrow |
We had noticed piles of garbage in the street near our apartment and in the 5th and 6th arrondissements as we were out walking. Our host said there was a garbage strike. I consulted Dr. Google, who told me that the City garbage workers in half the arrondissements had been on strike for eight days already. 5400 tonnes of garbage was uncollected. A number of incineration facilities are also on strike. The other half of the arrondissements are not on strike as they have private collection.
There is also another General Strike day planned for March 15.
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| Garbage in the street |
We decided to go for a late coffee at Stada Café on Rue Monge about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. They have good coffee and we sat outside, enjoying our first hours back in Paris.
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| Outside of Strada Café |
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| Building across from Strada Café on Rue Monge |
We walked down to the Seine and passed Notre-Dame Cathedral which is being reconstructed after the April 15, 2019 fire. There is a lot more work being done than a year ago when we were in Paris. The reopening is now scheduled for December 2024.
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| Lots of cranes and scaffolding as the work continues |
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| Photo from the other side as we walked over a nearby bridge across the Seine |
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| Plaque on bridge honouring men from the 5th arrondissement who died on the barricades during the liberation of Paris in August 1944. |
Alain wanted his usual picture crossing the Seine. Back in Paris!
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| Alain at the Seine |
We wandered a bit in the Marais, but a lot of shops were closed on Mondays and it was getting a bit chilly. We bought a piece of poppy seed strudel at Chez Marianne, as our favourite place on Rue de Rosiers was closed.
We headed back to the 5th, passing a group of runners on one of the bridges across the Seine.
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| Early evening runners' group |
Alain made a pasta dinner with fresh tomato sauce and a green salad. We had a glass of wine and then some tea and our delicious poppy seed strudel. We will be in Paris until March 23 - lots to see and do.
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