Friday, 28 April 2006

A day of window-shopping. We took a long walk along La Rue du Faubourg St Honore, admiring the clothes, jewelery, shoes and other finery. Bruce found a lovely suit for only 1500 euros which is about 3000 Australian dollars, but the find of the day was at Ralph Polo Lauren where Virginia found a very stylish denim jacket. It was a patchwork design made from scraps of a variety of different fabrics and it was only 5,500 euros. Virginia thought she might get two with all the matching accessories like a tent to sleep in because we would have had to mortgage the house.

We then walked up the Rue de Rivoli and around the Place de La Madelaine where, those of you who know this city, will remember there is where you find the grocery shops to die for (but not to shop in) and the flower stalls on the street.

In the afternoon we went up to the arty-farty-touristy section of Montmartre which is still very interesting and has some lovely side streets which are not as touristy as La Butte. We got there on the Montmartrebus which is a neat little electric job which zips up and down and around La Butte and Sacre Coeur. It departs from the Mairie du 18eme and ends up in Pigalle before starting its return journey.

As far as economy goes, they can't be beaten. The little electric cars that people use here and recharge in parking stations are good value in terms of travel. Also, because of the high price of petrol, there are little two-seater smart cars which get 100 km per litre of petrol. Great for parking, but not something you would want for a run from say Adelaide to Melbourne.
The Mairie or town hall is a very useful place in each arondissment. It is the local centre of government and a source of much information. We have picked up guides to the district and information about adult education courses run in the various districts.

We have one more week left here and are planning the essential sights. This may be more easily said than done because after some seriously nice weather we are expecting cold and wet days. Our French is not yet up to going to the Cinema but maybe by next year!