MONDAY 3RD MARCH 2009…DAY 3
I wake up looking forward to our breakfast OPF, GTG with Suzanne and Holger .
We are a bit early so we have coffee overlooking Place des Vosges and sit in the lovely gardens watching the pompiers excercising.
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We are amused to observe a man also “excercising” who starts to jog every time the pompiers come past, checking out the pompiers at the same time, when the pompiers have passed he reverts to walking! Unfortunately the rainbow tee shirt he is wearing rather gives things away!
We are meeting Suzanne and Hoger at a lovely chocolate shop, Valetins, in passage Jouffrey, in the 9th near Grands Boulevards. This is such a charming place, full of lots of goodies.
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We had a lovely and all too brief breakfast of croissants, toast, preserves (the black cherry is divine!) tea, coffee and hot chocolate. I am so glad we met here instead of Angelinas. It is very quiet and much more reasonably priced.
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I have not yet obtained suzannes consent to post this picture so wil fill in laterleft to right. Denise,Suzanne,Holger,Holgers husband, Suzannes husband and Vicky.
The tea comes in an interesting Chinese teapot. Properly brewed in the pot.
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The lovely surprise for me is that Metromole from TA has also come. It’s great to meet this very kind and knowledgeable person.
So we say our goodbyes and Vicky and I walk through passage des Panoramas, opposite passage Jouffrey through passage Vivienne to the Palais Royal gardens.
The sun has come out and it is nice to stroll amongst the daffodils.
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Girls cannot go to Paris without some shopping, and today is our shopping day.
We walk up the ave de l’Opera towards the impressive Opera Garnier. We cannot go in as they are closed till 14.30 so I tell Vicky as much as I can remember from the guided tour we took last summer.
We hit Galleries Lafayette and the surrounding area. The sales are on but we don’t purchase anything yet. We have seen some goodies in Camaiu on Ave de l’Opera We just admire the architecture inside Galleries Lafayette and window shop.
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After about two hours we have had enough so we make our way to the Madeline and sit on the steps in the sunshine eating our delicious lunch of brioche with goatcheese and walnuts and two very sinful pastries. All this cost around 8euros 50c from a little patisserie on rue de Coumartin.
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Later we walk along rue St Honore, window shopping in th designer shops. Vicky even boldly goes into Jimmy Choo and tries the shoes!
We come to place Vendome and decide to have a look in the Ritz. We were both fans of Princess Diana and we want to see where she spent her last hours
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We brazenly stroll inside, it is smaller than I imagined and of course very elegant. We walk through towards the back where there is a very long corridor filled with glass cases displaying lots of luxury goods that they sell in their boutiques. Diamond studded mobile phones and ipods, jewellery, furs, pottery etc.
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There is a glimpse onto a lovely terrace where you can take tea.
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Eventually we find the staircase and revolving door where our beloved Princess left on that fateful night.
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Our legs and feet have given up by now so we get on the first bus that comes along on ave de l’Opera which is the number 21. It takes us on a tour of the 5th arr and out past parc Montsouris to the 13th arr and Stade de Charley. I love doing this in Paris. You get to see places that tourists never usually visit and it is interesting to see how ordinary Parisians live.
We ride the bus back to the centre and make our way back to our apartment. We buy some feet rescue items from the Bodyshop next door to us and treat our feet to peppermint exfoliation, massage and spray. Then exhausted we both fall asleep on the bed.
Around 20.30h we set off to walk through village St Paul over the pont Marie and through the Ile St Louis. Over the Pont St louis and the Ile de cite. The weather is getting colder and a wind is coming up.
We reach our destination Aux Trois Mailletz at 56 rue Gallande in the 5th Just as a storm is breaking. Rain, wind, snow and hail for the next couple of hours.
I am so relieved that Vicky enjoys our evening at Aux Trois Mailletz. Opera is not every ones cup of tea, but the excellent classical pianist entertains us all evening with classical pieces and occasional traditional French chansons. A soprano sings and baritone who was just passing by. The customers clap and sing along to the more lively tunes and a good time is had by all.
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We eat a plat d’olive, excellent fillet du thone avec pommes de terre (18 euros) and a mouth watering creme brulees (9 euros). With wine and soft drinks the bill is 80 euros.
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One poignant part of the evening was observing a little old lady in Aux trios Mailletz . Who obviously had memory problems. When we arrived she was sat clapping an enjoying the music. Then she left by the side door. About half an hour later she returned, greeted by the proprietor kissed on both cheeks and presented with a menu, she had a coffee, clapped and enjoyed the music then left again. Shortly she arrived again and was greeted by the proprietor as if he had not just said au revoir 15 minutes before. At one point he gave her the music score to read, to keep her there a bit longer. This was repeated several times. We were touched by the patience of the proprietor, he came over to us and said “ma cher” referring to the lady…..........Only in Paris.
Love denise