Sunday, December 28, 2014

Sunday 28 December - Tourist stuff

Quite a bit colder today and the wind was pretty strong at times. However the clouds cleared off mid afternoon leaving great light effects later in the day. The Monge market was in full swing and Mouffetarde was reasonably busy. There was singing and dancing at the bottom end of Mouffetarde.
In the window of a chocolate shop on Mouffetarde
A beautifully decorated house on Mouffetarde
The singing and dancing on Mouffetarde was in full swing
Notre Dame from the Ile St. Louis
Hotel de Ville
We then went to the Île St. Louis and Notre Dame and then to lunch at Le Bourguignon du Marais - onion soup with bavette of beef. We have found the staff to be very friendly and attentive and the cuisine is excellent.
A new piece of art in the garden of the Hotel Sully. The metal plates were vibrating in the wind.
 There followed the Hotel Sully, Place des Vosges, the Marais, the excellent metro station for Arts et Métiers and the Pompidou Centre where there was a pause for (very) hot chocolate. The parvis of the Hotel de Ville was very busy with skating and free roundabout rides. One man was making very large soap bubbles for the kids to burst. 
The children were having a great time jumping to burst the bubbles but not many realized that the man was trying to raise some money
Next came the Jardin du Palais Royal, the Louvre, Tuileries and Place de la Concorde before heading back to Lévis. The Palais Royal was quiet but the hoards of tourists elsewhere were very heavy.
Paul and I did a dry run to Gare de Lyon and back as he and Karen have an early start tomorrow for their day in Basel.