The butchers work is never done. Cleaning the windows, after shutting up shop, about 9pm

Fabulous artwork on our walk through our local neighbourhood

Remembering Albert and great brickart, with interesting windows as well

Fabulous coloured toilet roll paper in a funky designer shop

Apart from the arches, the entry to Parc Georges Brassens was fairly non descript

Once we'd rounded the corner, the view was simply spectacular. It used to be the old horse markets

The old railway station, now Cafe Voie 15, note the tethered balloon in the distance

Such an interesting building with a fabulous arch for decoration over the windows/verandah

Just for contrast, a new 21st C building, Le Tour Triangle just outside the peripherique (ring road)

Roger inspecting the sculptures of soldiers representing all the different French military units

Parc Andre Citroên was quite structured but also with very green lawn areas

Bright flower gardens along side a created stream

And the tethered balloon that would give you a lovely view of Paris

Manicured hedges forming a lattice pattern

And all of a sudden you have exited the parc and are on the banks of the Seine

And on the metro itself. We're in good company

Le Moulin Rouge which I last visited back in 1973

The Karitane girls reunion, Julie in the middle and Linda

Julie and Linda have been travelling for almost 4 weeks and Paris is the last stop

A lively people watching place in the 9th arrondisement

The Pope arrives in Paris

Sep 25–26 in France ☁️ 23 °C

It was a slow start on Friday, Roger picked up croissants from the nearby boulangerie and we opened the windows at 10am to listen to the 7 minutes of church bells ringing to welcome the Pope. Yes, we were in good company this weekend but the expected crowd of 100,000 followers, and the Popemobile route was passing just south of our apartment so instead we headed north towards the 15th arrondisement, and an old disused railway track I had read about. It was a glorious day, and whilst the track itself was in need of some garden maintenance, the extreme hot summer we'd experienced was probably contributing factor. There was a delightful old restored station cafe, Voie 15, where we had beautiful salmon tartare and a GnT for lunch and then we continued on to Parc Andre Citroên the only Paris park that actually abutts the Seine. It was quite stunning with lovely water gardens, clipped hedges and a striking memorial to the French soldiers on a multi level park at the entry.

Our stamina was waning, so we walked down the Seine to Javel station, where we met crowds of the faithful heading to welcome the Pope. A brief crowded metro ride before we were safely back in our idyllic apartment in the 14th arrondisement.

A nana nap was in order before we were back on the metro to head across to the right bank, near Sacre Couer to meet up with Linda and Julie, two of my NZ Karitane friends from the 1970's. We headed up to Bar À Bulles, a rooftop bar on top of the Moulin Rouge, where we could watch the red sails rotating, while the audience crowds were shuffling out of the buses on the street below. There were lots of people spilling onto streets, and plenty of the bars and restaurants were pumping but I'd booked Cloch D'or, where we had seats on the pavement and could watch the atmosphere but still catchup on all the news.
We walked back with the girls to their hotel and then jumped on the metro, line 12 which must be the next in line for a reno. It was like riding a roller coaster with no suspension. The Pope's followers had all dispersed by now so we had a quick trip back to our abode.Read more