Our trip to Paris Part 3

Hi everyone,

The Louvre became (partial) history with the last post but hold on for a ride on the Seine, the open air bus trip to Tour Eiffel..

The Paris Pass allows one a free boat trip on the River Seine and this was one of the other great desires of the Good Wife, so it ended up as Paris event no.2 on OUR agenda. It goes without saying that finding a squash court in Paris was way down OUR priority list.

Firstly I took out my trusty old Sabre again. The reason being I forgot to tell you about the orchid shop situated on the Ile de Cite on the way to Notre Dame. We were attracted by the fantastically sweet smell and found the shop when we stooped to satisfy our curiosity. This happened in yesterday's post and should have been reported then hence my Sabre. If you forgive my blood all over this post, I'll carry on with today's post ...

Our second day in Paris was sunny, so the Seine it was. We got up early, ate breakfast at another roadside Cafe and made our way to the Eiffel Tower, the boarding point for our 'free' boat trip using our 'free' 5-day metro pass (also included in the Paris Pass bundle).

Sensibly, we decided to combine the open air bus trip, which leaves from central town (centre ville) to the Eiffel Tower, with the boat trip. We got off the metro at Chatelet les Halles and made our way to the nearest bus stop on the banks of the Seine. Now as we were about to board the bus, an urgent tugging on my jersey somehow managed to distract me from the objective: Get to the top of the bus and find a good seat! A hoarse voice urged e NOT to go to the top of the OPEN-AIR bus but rather to find us a seat inside! I was stunned! An OPEN-AIR bus in Paris and we must sit in the closed section! The very idea is an affront to all sensibilities. Not that I have locks of hair that can dance in the Paris sunlight! But I was so angry at the lack of telepathy between me and the good wife that i put my foot down that very instant. I turned upon the apparition at my side with the wildest Gaulish look I could muster, shook my head so hard I had to physically restrain my false teeth from escaping into the Seine, summoned the most masculine squeak I could manage and said: "We are sitting on top or we're not getting on this bus!!!"   My good wife, although she was not convinced, agreed to follow me simply because it looked like I was about to make a very public scene (She cannot stand uncivilised public scenes!)

Selfie on top of Paris bus. No Brownie points at this juncture!

I must admit it was quite windy in the open air but the breeze subsided and the view made up for being blown about a bit! We took a route along the Seine that goes past Musee D'Orsay to the Opera district and for all her apprehension, the Good Wife started to appreciate my seating choice! When we reached the first stop near the Paris Opera House, she showed off her shopping knowledge by announcing that we were near Gallaries Lafayette. You could knock me down with a feather, but I've never heard of this hugely expensive department store. The next day I was to get closer to this edifice of moneyed monstrosities!  The next bus stop after a leisurely drive up the Champs Elysee was close to the Arc d'Triomphe. The drive was stunning and went past some serious shopping cathedrals like the one in the next pic.

Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysee in Paris - I, perhaps unkindly, call it my young niece's cathedral!

We came to the stop near the Arc d'Triomphe monument and watched the mid morning Paris traffic swirl around this man made symbol and the crowds streaming up and down the sidewalks and shops on the Champs Elysee. My romantic side started to tug at me as well! and my indignation at the cheek of the Good Wife started subsiding!

Stopping to observe Parisians in action at the Arc d'Triomphe 

Eventually we made to the bus stop near the Eiffel tower. To get there we walked past one of the most enduring Parisian symbols! A museum dedicated to man (His museum Musee de l'Homme). Only in Paris, Homes!!!

Musee de L'Homme

Now that all the male readers of this blog downed their beers, thumped their chests and refused to put their beer glasses in the kitchen sink, let's settle down, We are not alone!!

After dusting myself clean of male pride at the discovery, the Good Wife and I persuaded an Asian to take a photo of us in front of the Eiffel Tower. I insist on giving my camera to Asians because they normally have much more expensive cameras. No incentive to run off with mine, see. They are also more friendly and eager to assist poor Africans in foreign lands (so it does not require much persuasion). In the pic you'll notice from my girth that I've failed to grace the courts of Kings in a long while, preferring to feast on french and Belgian pastries instead!! 

No caption necessary!

If 

Happy on a boat on the Seine

We were then ready to book ourselves a boat trip on the Seine and this selfie shows we were successful! At this point the launch trajectory of a Soyuz rocket  illustrated the growth in my Brownie points much better than a graph.

If I must be honest, I'll admit I enjoyed the trip on the Seine as much as the Good Wife. It clearly provides a different view on this great French city. And while we travelled past the Ile de Cite ( the island on the Seine where the original city was reportedly started) and on which the Notre Dame Cathedral is situated, it occurred to me that our trip may take us all around this little island but that was not to be. We turned around at the other end of the island and returned the same way. Because of the side we sat on however, we had a direct view of the opposite bank of the Seine. All in all a worthwhile hour spent on the River Seine and the Paris Pass 'freebie' is worth it.

Pretty large flat bottomed river barge

The boat itself is a large, stable perspex covered all-weather flat-bottomed river barge and you float serenely past large barges and other river sights, So you wave like you know the people on the passing boat and they wave back at you or they start first! Silly you'd say, but weirdly nice anyway!!!

We floated under the bridge of love locks and promised ourselves to visit it on foot! The pic was taken through the perspex covering so it has all sorts of reflections!


Reminded me of travelling in rural South Africa - always wave at people if you're not close enough to greet them!

Child looking down at our boat from love locks bridge over Seine

Some nice but temporary sights along the river banks included these massive images that promoted a cause ... I'm not sure which one anymore.

My young niece's name, Reza (the cathedral one) was found on the wall of the Seine.

When we finished, we took the RER train, a train that runs both inside and outside of the Paris Metro boundaries. This train was triple-deckered!!! with a lower, middle and upper deck seating. Really cool to see from the inside!

Triple Decker - centre seating deck not visible from outside 

The Paris Pass seems expensive when one buys it online but its Louvre and travel benefits outweigh the cost by far. If you need to go somewhere in a hurry you can use the metro or jump on a bus with your Pass and get there without scrumming at a check-in or automatic dispenser. The Pass proved more beneficial for three days or more rather than shorter periods in Paris and the Metro Pass allows one extra day of travel i.e. a three-day Paris Pass will allow 4 days' travel on the metro So apart from inner city buses and the metro, the Paris Pass allows one to take the open-air bus and a short boat trip on the Seine.  I was initially sceptical but  I became a convert and will buy it again if i go to Paris on holiday. I made all the bookings and arrangements online but do not recommend it. Let the travel professionals deal with all the unexpected problems one is likely to encounter. I was only comfortable to go online because I had been to Paris via Dubai a few times before, albeit on business trips.

I am going to end this part of our Paris trip right here but despair not, there is a fourth instalment on its way to deal with our great walk, a (less than) romantic 'stroll' along the banks of the Seine and other such intrepid adventures.

Keep well and remember, if you enjoyed this post, share it with your buddies.

Until next time, which, DV, will be tomorrow!!