And this is something that amazes me, that two countries so close to each other can be so different, one has wonderful bread, pastries and artisan stores, breathtaking museums that are full of tourists, the other has the best coffee in the world ( Paris has possibly the worst) terrible bread, history on every corner, reasonably good service, and great food ( the French service was generally average, and the food ok, but alcohol so expensive.
But at the end of the day, you can't resist that French accent, and they have the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel tower, and a brilliant metro system.
Now what we learnt was always buy a travel pass, 3,5,6 day well worth the cost as you use the metro alot, as well as bus's. The next and most important is the museum pass, which gets you into museums, nearly all for free, and in the fast line to get in, which saves hours.
Typically we hit the museums with fury, first stop was a look at the Eiffel tower, as we were a bit late ordering tickets to go up it, and it was the holidays. But it looks as good as in the post cards, even better!!! Then we did d'Orsay museum, and saw some of the greatest works , especially for me Andre Derain, Vuillard (Public Gardens, one of the greatest paintings), Maurice Denis, Gauguins sculptures and van Gogh (the church of Auvers) and especially Pierre Bonnard. And then there was Manet, who we saw a great show in Venice, but always good to see them again.
Then we visited l'Orangerie, to see Monet's water lillies, and downstairs was a Frida Kahlo show. Acroos to the Louvre, the next day to see the Mona Lisa ( boys choice) and some of the Bolognese artists, along with Egyptian works, we need of course several days to see it all there, but did not want to burn the boys out. Later to Pompidou , which had a Roy Lichtenstein show, which we all loved, l especially like the brushstroke series, and his screen, wood cut prints, and sculptures. The boys also liked watching the library of films. Great place for kids, and the area around there is good for dinner and drinks.
We visited the Grand Arch, Arc de Triumph, and had a view from the top over Paris, which along with the Pompidou are terrific, especially when you dont get up the Eiffel. We went to the shop where Ewans "ducky " came from, and ended up getting an elephant for him and a huge bear for Hunter, they are still kids!!
Some great shops were Bonpoint , superb layout store, for women and kids, Ewan ended up with a english school jacket, a concept store called Merci, with homeware, clothing, food and cafe, very impressive, and a small shop called Brutals, in the 11th district, does great shirts.
So we had a great time, the weather was parisian, it was wet, cold, sunny, and windy, just like Melbourne. We had a great flight with Air France, direct from Bologna, and Melanie was so kind to let us stay at her apartment.
One of the things Jayne did at Lafayette
Boys watching films at Pompidou
Hunty with escargot
Lunch in the Luxenbourg gardens
Ewan with his new jacket and soft toy
