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  • Alan Chapman

France 2024

A 54-day adventure by Alan Read more
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  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Arrival in Paris

    August 9, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After my final breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express in Marseille, I checked out at 10.00 and walked across the road to the St Charles Station to catch the 10.45 TGV to Paris. My reserved window seat was on the upper deck where lots of luggage was already stored since the train had started in Nice.
    The train passed through rolling countryside, occasionally crossing the Rhone and the North-South motorway. The sky got cloudier as the train approached Paris, arriving at the Gare de Lyon at 13.50.
    After buying a 7-day RATP Pass, I had lunch at Le Train Bleu, the very ornate restaurant in the Station. Afterwards, I took the Metro to Madeleine on the new LIne 14 which doesn't have train drivers, and then Line 12 to Front Populaire near Aubervilliers, a 20 minute journey from Madeleine, a journey I'd do often over the following month.
    The 2-star easyHotel was across the road from the Metro station and next door to the Paris 2024 office which was called The Pulse. The bedroom was basic with no telephone, table or chair but the bathroom was OK with a walk-in shower and the double-bed was comfortable. The manager gave me the largest room since I was there for a month, and it was quiet.
    The hotel was only a few years old, having being built when the district was redeveloped from being light-industrial in a working class, left-wing, and immigrant district just north of the Peripherique. Opposite the hotel was a square around which there was a boulangerie, supermarket, and a couple of restaurants and bars. There was a university campus on the road north towards the Stade de France. The station was also new compared to the traditional Metro stations in the centre of Paris.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Olympic Cauldron and Balloon

    August 9, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    In the evening, I took the Metro to Madeleine, the station at Place de la Concorde being shut due to the temporary Olympic stadium, and walked to the Jardin des Tuileries to see the Olympic cauldron and balloon as well as the Olympic rings in front of the Pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre., and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.
    There was a rain shower so I quickly went into a cafe for dinner. The TV was showing the Olympic football final with Spain defeating France 5:3 which didn't go down well with the locals.
    The Jardins became very crowded with picnicers and spectators as the time approached 22.00 when the Olympic balloon rose which was a great sight against the night sky.
    It took a while to exit the Jardins because of the crowd, and then return to the hotel by the same route as I'd taken earlier.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Montmartre

    August 10, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Breakfast was not included in the room rate so I paid about 12 Euro every day for the buffet breakfast of juice, fruit salad, muesli, bread and jam, pain de chocolat, and cafe au lait, sometimes called cafe chaud.
    I went to Front Populaire to catch a train to Abbess in Montmartre. Trains came every few minutes. Those on Line 12 weren't the newest, different Lines having different generations of rolling stock. Most stations had lots of information plus RATP staff in the ticket booth, and lots of volunteers in the final days of the Olympics and when the Paralympics began.
    On a hot and sunny day, I walked up almost 300 steps to the dome of the Sacre Coeur for a great view over Paris. Lunch was a savoury crepe on the Place du Tertre crowded with artists and tourists.
    At 12.00, there was an organ recital in the Eglise de Saint-PIerre de Montmartre of 24 songs mainly associated with the cabaret clubs of Montmartre.
    I walked to the Moulin Rouge at Pigalle and then to La Sainte-Trinite but no organ recitals were advertised there, nor at Notre Dame de Lorette which was closed for renovation. I walked through the stylish Place Saint-Georges.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Boxing at Roland Garros

    August 10, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    In the evening, I took the Metro to Porte Auteuil and walked to the Jardin Botanique on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne.
    The tennis stadiums at Roland Garros were a little further along the road. After queuing for about an hour, chatting to a couple of English brothers, the gates opened at 20.00.
    After stopping for a snack from one of the many food and beverage outlets, I took my seat high up in the Phillippe Chatrier Stadium which had its roof closed and with a boxing ring in the centre. I'd come to the boxing because it was almost the last event in the Olympics that evening. After a long build-up, there were only three finals and I stayed for only two to miss the crowds at the finish. The bouts were the men's and women's 57kg with each bout being of three three-minute rounds, shorter than the build-ups. There was great support for the Taiwanese women's gold medallist.
    I took the Metro back to the hotel.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Musee d'Orsay and St Eustache

    August 11, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    On another hot and sunny day, I took the Metro to Solferino and walked to the Basilica of Saint-Clotilde. Unfortunately, the organ recitals didn't restart until October. Apart from the organ recitals and concerts in the churches, there was very little classical music in Paris in August and early September.
    It was a short walk to the Musee d'Orsay which had lots of galleries, many dedicated to the Impressionists. After a snack lunch, I managed to buy a ticket for the last day of the immersive experience with a head-set about the Impressionists' meeting and exhibition in 1874 which was very good. You had to follow the route outlined on the floor in order not to get lost or bump into other people.
    Later in the afternoon, I walked alongisde the Seine and crossed over to go to the church of St Eustache near Les Halles for the weekly Sunday organ recital at 17.00. The programme included a sonata by Reubke. The organ is one of the largest in France with nearly 8,000 pipes., and probably is the biggest being 18m high and 10m wide. The organ case or buffet appeared to be one third the height of the nave which was much higher than Westminster Abbey. At the end of the Sunday recitals, there seemed to be an appeal by the organist for people to support a campaign for the Paris Council to contribute towards the repair of the organ's buffet
    Returning to Front Populaire, I had dinner at the restaurant owned by one of the catering suppliers to the Stade de France. It had a good selection of salads.
    Back in my hotel bedroom, I watched the Olympics Closing Ceremony on TV which also had BBC World but no sports channels apart from one from Bahrain.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Bateaux Vedettes and the Conciergerie

    August 12, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    On a very hot day, I took the Metro to Pont Neuf to take a Bateaux Vedettes du Pont Neuf on a one-hour round-trip on the Seine as far west as the Eiffel Tower and as far east as the Ile Saint-Louis.
    There was a long queue for La Chappelle so I went next door to the Conciergerie which is one of the few remaining vestiges of the medieval Palais de Justice plus Paris's oldest prison. The route went through the Great Hall into the area where Marie Antoinette's cell was plus the courtyard used by herself and other female prisoners.
    I took the Metro from Chatelet back to Front Populaire and had dinner at the same restaurant as last night. The owner told me that there were five rates of VAT including 20% on alcoholic drinks, and 5.5% and 7% on restaurant food.
    There were beggars on the Metro trains plus the occasional accordion players. Some passengers almost missed getting off at their stations because they were glued to their mobile phones.
    The French don't always stand back to allow passengers to exit Metro trains and hotel and other lifts.
    There seemed to be more bees and/or wasps in Paris compared to London, maybe due to the hotter weather. There were also lots of beards and moustaches.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee

    August 13, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    It was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, partly cloudy, and with a light shower at lunchtime.
    I took the Metro to Charles de Gaulle/Place Etoille, and queued for a little while before going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for great views of Paris. There was also an exhibition about the French Revolution.
    I walked down the Avenue des Champs Elysee and had a snack lunch.
    Continuing down the Avenue brought me to the Petit Palais which housed the Musee des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris which had a mixture of traditional and contemporary art. The Grand Palais next door was closed, being used as an Olympic and Paralympic venue.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    The South Bank and Ile de Cite

    August 14, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I took the Metro to Cluny-Sorbonne for the short walk to the Musee National du Moyen Age which incorporates the remains of Roman baths plus rooms of the former Cluny Hotel. The Musee had Roman artefacts at the beginning followed by mainly religious art and artefacts, and finally some beautiful tapestries. I had a snack lunch at the cafe in the courtyard.
    In the afternoon, I went to the church of St Severin to check if there were any recitals, which there weren't, and then to St Julien le Pauvre.
    There was a queue outside Shakespeare & Company, the famous bookshop, so I didn't go inside.
    I walked across a bridge to the Ile de Cite and took a photo of the facade of the Notre Dame from a viewing platform which had been erected for that purpose. Nearby was the Crypte Archeologique which housed the Roman ruins of a port and the Baths of Lutetia. These had been uncovered during excavations for a car-park.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Musee d'Orsay and Organ Recitals

    August 15, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    On another sunny and warm day, I returned to the Musee d'Orsay to view the galleries which I hadn't time to see before, especially more Impressionists and Neo and Post Impressionists, and also to go outside on the terrace looking across the Seine to the Olympic balloon and the Louvre. One gallery had early examples of "Look at the Camera" including Charlie Chaplin as The Kid.
    I went to St Germain Des Pres and then to St Sulpice for the 16.00 recital by Daniel Roth on the Cavaille-Coll organ. The church also has three murals by Delacroix.
    After a quick dash to the Metro, I managed to get to St Eustache for the 17.00 organ recital.
    The restaurant at Front Populaire was closed for a national religious holiday so I went to Le Comptor de la Gastronomie on Rue Montmartre for an alfreso dinner of onion soup, cassoulet, and strawberries. The restaurant was near Les Halles which has been redeveloped into an underground Westfield Shopping Centre.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Sainte-Chapelle and Ile Saint Louis

    August 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    I went to St Chappelle on the Ile de la Cite to see the fiftenn beautiful stained glass windows telling the story of the Bible from Genesis to the Apocolypse of St John plus the story of the purchase by Louis IX from Byzantium of the Holy Relics, especially the Crown of Thorns which was kept at Notre Dame.
    I walked along the Ile de la Cite past the Notre Dame to the Ile Saint-Louis where I went into the Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation. Many schools and other buildings in Paris had plaques mentioning the deportation of Jewish children and adults in the months and years before the Liberation of Paris in 1944.
    The Ile Saint-Louis also had 17th century mansions, the Eglise St Louis en l'Ile, and Berthilion, a famous restaurant where I stopped for an ice-cream.
    Back at the hotel, I watched a webinar about the Stade de France.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Musees Carnavalet and de la Magic

    August 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    On the first wet day of the trip, I went to the Musee Carnavalet in the Marais district which has many historic mansions. The Musee tells the story of Paris from prehistory to the present day. There were reconstructions of 17th and 18th century rooms plus an interesting section on the French Revolution.
    I had lunch at a nearby Basque restaurant.
    In the afternoon, I went to the Musee de la Magic in the St Paul district of small sreets and courtyards. The visit to the Musee included a 30 minute magic show plus automones and a hall of mirrors.
    I popped into the Eglise de St Paul et St Louis.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Bastille & Thoughts about the Metro

    August 18, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    On a day which was dry but cloudy and fresher, I took the Metro to Bastille. On the Place de la Bastille, paving stones outline the profile of the Bastille.
    I walked to the Hotel Sully and then through the Place des Vosges which was arcaded on its four sides.
    I returned to the St Paul Quarter, seeing a surviving section of the city's wall, and continued to the Jewish Memorial de la Shoah.
    After an alfreso lunch, I walked through the Jewish and Arab Quarter, past an art nouveau synagogue and queues at falafel cafes.
    I crossed the Seine to go to the 16.00 organ recital at St Sulpice before taking the Metro to Les Halles to catch the 17.00 organ recital at St Eustache.
    Tea included another fruit tart from the boulangerie near the hotel.
    Navigating the ups and downs along the Metro corridors must be tricky for the disabled. It was alleged that President Macron wanted to make all the Metro stations wheelchair-accessible prior to the Olympics and Paralympics but then he was given the cost. Only 10% of the 250-odd stations are wheelchair accessible. It was interesting that Andrew Parsons, the President of the IPC, in his speech at the Closing Ceremony wished that a fully accessible Metro system would be the legacy of the Paralympics.
    There are no buskers in the Metro station corridors although accordionists walk through the carriages sometimes.
    The platforms have vending machines with snacks and drinks but not as large as those in Japan and with no hot drinks. Also, they didn't appear to take cash but used code-scanning.
    A few e-scooters and bikes were on the Metro trains, unlike to Underground in London. There were lots of bikes on the streets but, generally, they were properly docked unlike in London, e.g. Lime.
    There were beggars on the trains and a few in the streets.
    There were no free newspapers on the Metro such as the Metro in London, and I saw only once a newspaper being read on the Metro. On the streets, there aren't newsagents such as WH Smith, but occasional kiosks which sell newspapers such as Le Figaro and Le Monde although with little demand apparently.
    The Metro carriages, platforms and corridors were clean although some seats on the older carriages were showing signs of wear, e.g. Line 12.
    It was good fun to sit in the front carriage of the driverless trains on Lines 1, 4 and 14.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides

    August 19, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The sunny and warm weather had returned. I took the Metro to Bir-Hakeim, Line 6 crossing the Seine on a viaduct.
    I took two elevators to the top of the Eiffel Tower for great views across Paris. There were long queues.
    Afterwards, I walked along the Quai d'Orsay to Les Invalides, stopping for a sandwich and a drink at a kiosk on the way. The front gardens of Les Invalides were covered by a temporary Olympic stadium.
    I saw the tomb of Napoleon in the crypt of the Dome plus the tombs of his brothers and generals, and the tomb of Marechal Foch. I visited the Soldiers' Church, and watched a film about de Gaulle and walked though an exhibition about his life. I also went to the galleries about the Order of the Liberation and French history of the 19th century. Other galleries displayed swords, muskets, and uniforms.
    There was wide coverage of the death of Alain Delon on French TV.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    St Denis

    August 20, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    It was a sunny morning but wet in the late afternoon.
    I took the Metro to St Denis which was a working-class district, and which was also the largest African community in Europe. It looked depressed around the Metro station with empty buildings but it was more attractive around the square in front of the Basilica and the Hotel de Ville.
    The Basilica is a royal mausoleum and necropolis going back 1500 years. It contains the tombs of 42 kings, Louix XVIII beng the last, 32 queens, and 63 princes and princesses.
    It has beautiful stained-glass windows, monumnents, and a Cavaille-Coll organ. There is an ossuary in the archeological crypt.
    There are statues of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and memorials to Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, and another to Henry II and Catherine de Medici.
    I had an alfresco lunch in the square outside the Basilica.
    At 16.00, I went to the Athletes' Village for a familiarisation visit, including meeting the anti-doping managers.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Tour Montparnasse & Jardin du Luxembourg

    August 21, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    On a sunny and warm day, I took the Metro to Montparnasse and went up the Tower, something which I'd probably done on my last visit to Paris in April 1984 when I stayed in the area. From the viewing deck on the 59th floor, there were great views over Paris. Having being built in 1973, the Tower was showing its age, and a company has been appointed to modernise it with a hotel and other features.
    I walked to a military church which was attached to a hospital but closed for renovation, and then returned to the Jardin du Luxembourg with its sunbathers, children's boating lake, and closed tennis courts., and the Palais du Luxembourg.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Pantheon and St Julian le Pauvre

    August 21, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Continuing on to the Pantheon, I went up to the roof of the Dome for more views over Paris. Inside, there was an exhibition about the history of the Paralympics, and in the crypt, there were tombs of many famous French men and women such as Marie Curie, Voltaire, Dumas, Rousseau, Hugo and Zola.
    I visited the church of St Etienne-du-Mont which was next to the Pantheon.
    I had a good dinner of onion soup, beef bourginon, and fruit salad at a restaurant in the Rue Saint-Jacques before the concert at St Julian le Pouvre of Vivaldi, Bach, Handel and others. The church has been used by an Arabic-speaking Greek Catholic sect, the Melchites, for the last century.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    FIrst Shift in the Athletes' Village

    August 22, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    On a cool morning before becoming sunny and warm, at 05.00, a taxi arranged by Paris 2024 took me for the 15 minute ride to the Athletes' Village for my first shift as a Doping Control Chaperone. It would not have been possible to get to the Village by Metro at that time, the bus routes had been affected by road closures around the Village, and I wasn't sure of the walking route, especially in the dark.
    I eventually found some athletes in their bedrooms to take to the Doping Control Centre.
    There was an enormous dining hall for the athletes with sections dedicated to different cuisines, e.g. International, Halal, etc. The hall had been part of the former studio of Luc Bresson. The dining hall for the staff and volunteers was in the same building, and the hot food plus salads, fresh fruit and yogurts was adequate.
    The Village was next to the Seine. Part of it was on an island over a bridge and had been used during the Olympics but it was not being used for the Paralympics because there were fewer athletes. The Village was part of a regeneration project for the districts of Oeun and Pleyel which had been industrial.
    The walk back to the hotel took 40 minutes so I now knew the route in case I needed to take it although I never did.
    A hotel receptionst advised me not to go to the neighbouring district of Aubervilliers, presumably to avoid crime.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Second Shift in the Athletes' VIllage

    August 23, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    It was another cool, early start but it warmed up later.
    My shift in the Village didn't start as early as the previous day's so a taxi wasn't justified. I took the Metro to Pigalle, changed to get to Place de Clichy, and then returned north on Line 13 to Carrefour Pleyel which was a 10-minute walk from the Village. The journey took 40 minutes.
    I had good conservations with a volunteer who lived in the Bois de Boulogne who played tennis, plus a Lebanese and other nationalities at lunch.
    The doping control team of doctors, nurses and managers came from France, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Korea, China, Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Paris 2024 had sent out invitations to the doping control authorities of other countries asking for assistance.
    I probably did over 20,000 steps on each shift in the Village since the Doping Control Centre was at the top of the Village with the athletes' apartment blocks lettered from A to E down the hill. There were many unsuccesful trips to the apartments which meant a long walk back to the Centre to collect the names of other athletes required for testing.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Canal Saint-Martin

    August 24, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    On a suuny morning, I took the Metro to Bastille and the nearby Port de l'Arsenal to catch the boat for a cruise along the Canal Saint-Martin. The first two kilometres were in a tunnel under the Place de Bastille built in the 19th century. The boat went through eight locks which raised the boat 24 metres. There were also two surviving pedestrian swing bridges. There were apartments on the streets either side of the Canal.
    After the final lock, the boat entered the Bassin de la Villette with its deckchairs on a Paris Plage, a cinema and restaurants, and a swimming pool in a roped-off section of the Bassin, before entering the Canal Ourcq which passed through the Parc de la Villette on either side, which is where I disembarked after the two-hour cruise.
    The Canal Ourcq connects with the Canal St Denis which, in turn, connects with the Seine.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Parc de la Villette

    August 24, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    In the Parc de la Villette, I walked past the Halle which had been used for some of the country pavilions during the Olympics.
    The Philharmonie was closed, as was, for renovation, the Musee de Musique which was part of the Cite de la Musique which had opened in 1995.
    I went inside a 30 minute immersive installation wearing a headset which had soft background music and peaceful images projected on to the walls with people sitting or lying on the floor.
    There was a record shop where I bought CDs of Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet on the advice of the staff as excellent reminders of the cabaret and torch songs of France.
    On a road bridge, I crossed the Canal to the other side of the Parc and went to the Cite des Sciences et Industrie which had exhibits about robots, space exploration, stars, geology, maths and other sciences plus a planetarium which showed a film about the creation of the universe. Some of the exhibits were interactive. There was also a cafe where I had some lunch.
    Outside, I went into L'Argonaute, a French submarine of the 1950s. Unfortunately, the Geode was closed.
    During the short walk to the station, there was a thundery shower.
    On the way back to the hotel, part of Line 5 was elevated.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Musee de l'Orangerie and Place Vendome

    August 25, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    On another sunny and warm day, I went to the Jardin des Tuileries, seeing the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde at a distance, and the Olympic balloon, before proceeding to the Musee de l'Orangerie to see Monet's Water Lillies which were exhibited in two especially-designed galleries where the public were asked to be quiet but, as usual, some people thought the picture would be enhanced with selfies.
    There were other paintings, including some Picassos, in the lower floor, plus a cafe where I had a snack.
    The afternnon began with a walk through the very stylish Place Vendome with the Ritz Hotel on one side, and then, on Rue St-Honore, into the Eglise St-Roch which was battered by grapeshot when Napoleon dispersed a crowd in 1795.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Opera Garnier and Eglise de la Madeleine

    August 25, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    At 14.00, I went to the Opera Garnier for a look at the ornate interior, including the auditorium.
    At 16.00, I went to the Eglise de la Madeleine for a recital by the Canadian, Alexander Straus-Fausto. on the Cavaille-Coll organ. It was compered so took longer than expected and therefore I only reached St Eustache via the large Metro station at Chatelet at the end of the 17.00 Sunday organ recital.
    The church doors aren't closed for organ recitals in Paris so visitors and staff walk around during the recitals unlike recitals at Westminster Abbey and Cathedral.
    I had a good French dinner at Chez Denise across the park from St Eustache. I had foie gras de canard, foie de veau, ille flotante and a mirabelle digestif plus a nice chat with a couple from Orlando.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Galeries Layafette & the Stade de France

    August 26, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    On another sunny and warm day, I walked down Boulevard Hausmann to the large department store, Galeries Layafette, and went to the glass platform on which you are allowed to stand for five minutes whilst taking photos pf the opulent decoration, including the inside of the dome. Then I went up to the terrace for a view overlooking Paris.
    I walked past the Opera Comique and Credit Lyonnais on Boulevard des Italiens on the way to some of the Galeries and Passages (arcades) such as the Passge Jouffroy, some more stylish than others, and continued through the Place de Victoires, with its statue of Louis XIV, and the Place des Petits-Peres with its church of Notre-Dame des Victoires and the historic cafe, Le Moulin de la Vierge, where I stopped for a coffee.
    I returned to the hotel to put on my uniform before the 20-minute walk to the Stade de France for pre-competition training, including visiting the Doping Control Centre. The Stade was a big complex with many entrances and two concentric rings under the stadium for traffic, stores, the mixed zone, medical and press centres, etc., plus a training track where the Doping Control Centre was located. There was also a Volunteer Centre and Dining Room. It took a few tries to remember all the routes when my shifts started.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Third Shift in the Village & St-Germain

    August 27, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    This was my third morning shift in the Village on a sunny and warm day, and I found a few athletes in the apartments. I sat with British, Peruvian, Mexican and Spanish volunteers at lunchtime.
    After a couple of hours back at the hotel, I went to Le Tout-Paris bar at the top of the Cheval Blanc Hotel on the Quai de Louvre which had been recommended to me by a Parisian volunteer for its great views over the Seine. I was allowed to take a photo from the terrace, and then sat at the bar with a cocktail and pastry.
    I walked through the Jardin du Palais Royale and past the Comedie Francaise, St-Germain L'Auxerois and the Galerie Vero-Dodat.
    I walked across Le Pont des Artes to St Germain des Pres for a concert by a string quintet of Vivaldi's Four Seasons after having a drink and pastry at one of the smart restaurants opposite the church.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanFrance 2024Traveler

    Buttes Chaumont and Pere-Lachaise

    August 28, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I went to Buttes Chaumont in the North-East of Paris, a landscaped park around an old quarry. Next was Belleville Park which hadn't been maintained despite the view of the Eiffel Tower. I stopped for a drink before walking down through the Park
    At Menilmontan, I went into Notre-Dame de la Croix, and continied along the high street with lots of ethnic shops to the Musee de Edith Piaf but it was only open by invitation.
    I continued to the enormous Pere-Lachaise cemetery and found the graves of Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Fred Chopin. I also had my photo taken with the Paralympic Flame which was being carried in procession through the cemetery.
    I walked to the small Romanesque church of St-Germain de Charonne, stopped for a drink in the village, and then took the Metro to the Place de la Republique to take a photo of the statue of Marianne, the female symbol of the Republic. There was a games kiosk in the Place in the summer.
    Dinner was back at Le Choc restaurant near the hotel.
    I watched the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, which was held on the Champs Elysee and the Place de la Concorde, on TV at the hotel.    Read more

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