The night before, I spent three hours researching Paris and its attractions and creating account after account to book ticket after ticket while scrutinizing the maps and the itinerary. It was going to be an action packed outing and adventure. All of these things came down to one thing: planning.
I woke up at three o’clock in the morning and then decided to book a last ticket for somewhere on Saturday too. I walked down to the bus stop and got the N8 down. There was a rush. I had to get to King’s cross for about six. There was a feverish rush walking from Holborn to the first proper entry point into the journey but fortunately it wasn’t too cold at that ungodly time in the morning.
I met up with my companion for the first leg of the tour and we plonked ourselves down in waiting with plenty of time for the Eurostar. The ride in was uneventful apart from some slight vexations with the conveniences, or rather the people using them.
Arrival at Paris went smoothly although the lady selling the day card for metro travel was insolently rude and ignored me which was not the greatest of welcomes to the city.
Sacre Coeur
We walked up the hill towards the beautiful cathedral dodging the string artists jostling for work. That old carousel drew my attention. There was an elegance to it. The sight of Paris laid out behind us was breathtaking and we looked at it from different levels. The higher you got the better it looked. We were surrounded by the love of others in the locks signifying commitment. I wondered how many were still together. This was a place of pilgrimage and we were also pilgrims for Paris.
Eglise Saint Pierre de Montmartre
The church had incredible stained glass windows and a sublime sculpture of Christ on the cross which was larger than life. We wandered around in silence enjoying the beauty and calm.
Montmartre Artist’s square
We amused ourselves with the open air gallery. There were portrait painters galore, silhouette cutters, city chroniclers and oil painters of the nude. I enjoyed some stylish colourful depictions of the Eiffel tower and we also wandered into the enclosed art gallery. This had wonderful artworks in strips including women models in art history.
Musee d’Orsay
The building was an absolute feast for the eyes. Some masterpieces we looked at included:
Ingres ‘The Source’
Manet ‘Le dejeuner Sur l’herbe’
Van Gogh ‘Moonlit Night’
Cezanne
I had read about these masterpieces for years. It was incredible seeing them up close. My favourite part was going into the Art Nouveau gallery and admiring the posters, decorative arts and looking at the construction of the spaces.
Musee d’arts Decoratifs – 100 years of Art Deco Exposition
This was the main draw. We were super excited and we loved it. There were so many beautiful things, furniture, posters, screens, books. Each more delicious than the last. The highlights for me included the Cartier jewellery and the desks, each more lovely than the last. We traversed three levels of art deco learning about art deco animals, the figures involved and the ballet russes.
Musee d’arts Decoratifs – The New Orient Express
I’ve actually been in the house or castle of the once owner of The Orient Express. It was amazing to see the art deco updated, particularly the sleek dining lounge and the wood panels. What a beautiful ride it would make! What an opportunity to work on such a thing! An amazing creative endeavour.
Notre Dame
Time was running out as my companion had a train to catch back home but we decided to go in quickly. Fortunately the queue wasn’t so bad. We caught some music. The interior was beautiful as expected and I kept on thinking of all the good times I have had in Westminster Abbey and of how much I enjoyed reading ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.
The last part of the day was taking my companion to the Gare du Nord to go back home and booking into my hotel and a quaint room accented in red. I got into bed at 10.45.
diary of a lone man 