11 April 2008
After housework this morning (the one and only disadvantage of renting a flat) we took a bus right through the city to the Pont d'Alma. This ride took us down the famous Avenue Montaigne. We've told you about it in the past;surely the most chic street in Paris with its dozens of high fashion shops. Let me put it this way; you can go the length of the street admiring the goods (particularly clothes) in the windows and never, never see anything as mundane as a price tag. It is all POA! At the Pont d'Alma there is a model of a flame identical to the one on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. Because it is right above the place in the tunnel where Diana was killed, it has become a sort of shrine. Personally, I think it lowers the significance of the flame (i.e. Emma Lazurus' poem which I am probably misquoting: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless tempest-tost to me/I lift my lamp beside the golden door").
We then walked up the Avenue Georges Cinq. There were some roadworks and we had to cross the street. A very handsome policeman stepped forward and asked Virginia if she would like him to stop the traffic for her. How could she refuse? So, accompanied by Paris' finest we crossed the road. I am afraid I am in trouble as I suggested that he probably would have helped any elderly person across and it had nothing to do with her manifold, innate charm. Whatever the case it was a very nice gesture on a busy six-lane street. And, I might add, Madame was "chuffed" for the rest of the day convinced she had brought Paris' notorious traffic to a halt with charm alone. Ooh-la-la!
Quite by chance, walking up the Avenue, we came across the American Cathedral where our friend Winky volunteers a couple of days a week on the welcome desk. Although fairly new; only built at the end of the nineteenth century, it is quite magnificent and very welcoming.
Because Virginia had a 2.30 appointment to have her hair done (another challenge) we set out to return to our neighbourhood. At the bus stop, we were approached by a very pleasant young Italian couple, trying to find their way to exactly where we were going and so with a mixture of French, Italian and English we were able to see that they got where they intended. We pointed out the sights on the way and Virginia, later in the afternoon, against all odds, ran into the couple again who were very grateful and thanked her for the information which had allowed them to have a wonderful day exploring the 18th Arrondisement.
In the meantime, before Virginia's hair appointment we made our way to the Place de Tertre and had a very nice lunch in one of the tourist restaurants. We walked back down (Virginia has counted 192 steps down on one ocassion and 191 on another). We will check this out since we are sure that there is little else about Paris that you want to know nearly as much as the number of steps from the Place de Tertre to Rue Caulaincourt!
From the windows of your flat we can see right down into the window of the local hair-dresser. Virginia finally got up the courage to make an appointment to have her hair cut. It is much more formal than in Hobart. They took her coat, offered her tea or coffee, assured her that everything was hygienic and then offered her a range of products; natural, perfumed, bio-degradabled or eco-friendly. It was quite different and she noticed that all the magazines were recent. After initial nervousness, she enjoyed the experience; listening to the language as the women talked amongst themselves in an intimate salon setting. And, most importantly, she got quite a nice haircut.
After housework this morning (the one and only disadvantage of renting a flat) we took a bus right through the city to the Pont d'Alma. This ride took us down the famous Avenue Montaigne. We've told you about it in the past;surely the most chic street in Paris with its dozens of high fashion shops. Let me put it this way; you can go the length of the street admiring the goods (particularly clothes) in the windows and never, never see anything as mundane as a price tag. It is all POA! At the Pont d'Alma there is a model of a flame identical to the one on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. Because it is right above the place in the tunnel where Diana was killed, it has become a sort of shrine. Personally, I think it lowers the significance of the flame (i.e. Emma Lazurus' poem which I am probably misquoting: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless tempest-tost to me/I lift my lamp beside the golden door").We then walked up the Avenue Georges Cinq. There were some roadworks and we had to cross the street. A very handsome policeman stepped forward and asked Virginia if she would like him to stop the traffic for her. How could she refuse? So, accompanied by Paris' finest we crossed the road. I am afraid I am in trouble as I suggested that he probably would have helped any elderly person across and it had nothing to do with her manifold, innate charm. Whatever the case it was a very nice gesture on a busy six-lane street. And, I might add, Madame was "chuffed" for the rest of the day convinced she had brought Paris' notorious traffic to a halt with charm alone. Ooh-la-la!
Quite by chance, walking up the Avenue, we came across the American Cathedral where our friend Winky volunteers a couple of days a week on the welcome desk. Although fairly new; only built at the end of the nineteenth century, it is quite magnificent and very welcoming.
Because Virginia had a 2.30 appointment to have her hair done (another challenge) we set out to return to our neighbourhood. At the bus stop, we were approached by a very pleasant young Italian couple, trying to find their way to exactly where we were going and so with a mixture of French, Italian and English we were able to see that they got where they intended. We pointed out the sights on the way and Virginia, later in the afternoon, against all odds, ran into the couple again who were very grateful and thanked her for the information which had allowed them to have a wonderful day exploring the 18th Arrondisement.
In the meantime, before Virginia's hair appointment we made our way to the Place de Tertre and had a very nice lunch in one of the tourist restaurants. We walked back down (Virginia has counted 192 steps down on one ocassion and 191 on another). We will check this out since we are sure that there is little else about Paris that you want to know nearly as much as the number of steps from the Place de Tertre to Rue Caulaincourt!From the windows of your flat we can see right down into the window of the local hair-dresser. Virginia finally got up the courage to make an appointment to have her hair cut. It is much more formal than in Hobart. They took her coat, offered her tea or coffee, assured her that everything was hygienic and then offered her a range of products; natural, perfumed, bio-degradabled or eco-friendly. It was quite different and she noticed that all the magazines were recent. After initial nervousness, she enjoyed the experience; listening to the language as the women talked amongst themselves in an intimate salon setting. And, most importantly, she got quite a nice haircut.
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