Ahhh, Paris.

Wednesday 25^th May – Fill It Up Jens

Welcome to my cool world by Mondo Rock could easily describe how cold the nights have been here at the Chateau. Our stay here has been great and it has been a fantastic base to explore the region from. The other bonus is that it cost only 60euro for our four night stay. One problem that we have to overcome is to fill Jens’ camper with fuel. There has been a major fuel shortage due to strikes by the union for refinery workers. This was evidenced by the long queues at those stations that still have fuel. There have been reports about fights breaking out as some people are beginning to panic.

We decided to push on and attempt to fill up if an opportunity arose. About 100km down the road there was a service station attached to a supermarket that was open for business. The queues were not too long so we pulled in to top up. I already had ¾ of a tank so I only needed 18.5euro worth of diesel. The irony was that the older lady who was in front of me topped up with 5euro or about 4 litres. There was a limit on how much you could purchase and Jens could only put in 19.5euro. Still it was a start and will definitely help the cause. Another 50km down the road and the same chain was selling so Jens bought another 19.50euro. Now he has half a tank and will probably start singing the old Hollies song, ”Gasoline Alley”. It was well after lunch and we were looking for a place to pull over when we spotted the same supermarket servo open for business. We pulled over in the car-park and prepared lunch while Jens joined the queue for fuel. He managed to get 30euro worth this time which gives him ¾ of a tank and a peaceful mind. While we were having lunch the chain went across the entrance to the servo as they had run out of fuel.

Over lunch we decided to push onto Versailles as it was just over 100km away. During the drive we have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of land that is turned over for farming and nature. About 40km from Versailles we found another servo on the highway that was open for business. We both topped up our tanks and probably have just enough fuel to reach Belgium if the fuel crisis worsens. There is a lot more traffic on the road as we are getting closer to Paris and it is close to 4:00pm. We have decided to stay at the Huttopia Versailles which is only 3km from the Palace. The campground is on the side of a hill adjacent to a forest which means that the sites are not what you would call level. We managed to get ourselves set up reasonably well however after the recent rain the sites are still damp and sticky. Our friends the mosquitoes are also out in force and over dinner which we took at a camp table quite a few of them were sent off to meet their maker.

Thursday 26^th May – Paris

After breakfast I took a walk to check out the local train station, Porchefontaine to try and work out how easy it would be to travel into Paris. One good thing I discovered was that the ticket machine had an English function and that it was 3.55euro for a trip into Paris. Back at the camp Jens has decided that after a bad night he is not up to a trip to the Palace of Versailles. Alice and I decided to go into Paris and check out the d’Orsay museum. Luck was with us as just after we purchased our ticket from the vending machine we heard a train pulling into the station. We sprinted up the steps and jumped breathlessly into the first carriage. As we took our seats I checked to make sure we were on the correct train, we were. Less than 30 minutes later we pulled into the Musee d’Orsay RER station and were in the queue to enter the museum. After clearing security we thought we would splurge out on a six day Museum pass. At 74euro each it will be good value if we decide to visit al the sites that are of interest to us. The other advantage is that you can queue jump with the pass and come in and out as many times as you want.

The museum is the home of France’s national collection from the impressionist, postimpressionist and art nouveau movements, spanning the 1840’s and 1914. It is housed in the glorious former Gare d’Orsay railway station, itself an art nouveau showpiece. The display is like a roll-call of Masters such as Van Gogh, Gaugin, Monet, Lautrec and Cezzane. For me the highlight was Van Gogh’s, Starry Night and self portrait. It was enough for me to start singing Don Mclean’s haunting song, Vincent. The collection is huge and we had spent a couple of hours inside and still had one more floor to go. The museum pass came in handy as we went outside for lunch and then returned to finish our visit.

Time was marching on but we decided that we could not head back to Versailles without embarking on a Seine River cruise. We walked up to Du Pont-Neuf which is near Notre Dame where we boarded a barge (12euro) for a one hour cruise. The young girl who was providing the commentary in French and English gave us a good description of all the sites and added her own comedic anecdotes. The Alexandre 111 bridge with the Paris coat of arms in the centre and gilded statues is the pick of all the bridges crossing the Seine. The barge turned around at the Eiffel Tower and Tassie jumped out of the bag for a photo opportunity. He really is into selfies! Our tour finished just after 5:30pm so we headed off in search of our RER station which thankfully was only a block away. There were a few trains leaving our platform that were heading to different destinations. It took a few minutes to decipher and we managed to choose the correct train and made it back to Versailles by 6:30pm.

It was nearly 7:00 when we arrived back at camp. Jens wasn’t worried however he was just about to make himself some dinner. No need to worry as the trusty Weber was brought out and soon in action. A couple of beers while I was cooking the beef and pork skewers was a nice way to end my first trip to Paris.

Friday 27^th May – The Louvre

Jens does not want to risk his health so Alice and I will travel into Paris again today. We are going to try and tackle the third largest museum in the world, The Louvre. Public transport should not be an issue however there have been indications that the railway workers may join the strike action. Finally, we got away around 10:30am and managed to catch the same train as yesterday. We must be experts now as we did not have to consult the map once for the entire journey.

The lineup for passing through security at the Louvre is quite long however we were able to join a shorter queue which took about 10 minutes as we had the museum pass. Once inside it was a little daunting due to the huge scale of the museum. Armed with a Louvre plan we went in search of a toilet and the recommended highlights for each section and floor. We were a tad confused as we could not even figure out what floor we were on. In the end we went forth into the unknown area of the Sully section. I figured out later that we were on the lower ground floor and that we had been following the wall of a Medieval moat. In the end we were following the signs that were directing us to Michaelangelo’s beautiful sculpture of Venus de Milo. After admiring the perfect lines of Aphrodite we moved onto another of his masterpieces, Captive (The Dying Slave) which I thought was more emotive. By this stage I was dying for a p… and for the life of me I couldn’t find a loo even though they were shown on the floor plan. After searching in vain for what seemed ages I finally located a set. They were difficult to spot as they blended seamlessly into the wall. There is no need to call me Kenny!

 There are three wings to the Lourve Museum, Denon, Sully and Richelieu and you just about need a cut lunch to traverse one floor. The museum curators are a crafty bunch as they have placed major works of art in each wing on every floor. We now had a purpose and decided to tick off the major works and along the way enjoy all the other offerings of the Lourve. We finished off the ground floor with a look at the statues depicting a Winged Bull that was framed by an archway. From here we headed up to the first floor and joined the masses who were trying to get a look at Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. We had a reasonable look but you could not get close due to the hordes of Chinese who want to take a selfie with every piece of art. Absolute chaos! On the Daru staircase the headless statue, The Winged Victory of Samothrace had the place of honour for another round of selfies. We finished off the first floor with a slow walk through Napolean 111’s apartments.

Lunch beckoned so we descended down to the lower ground floor for some respite. Over lunch we had an amiable conversation with an Indian Couple who hailed from Chicago. With lunch over we ascended to the second floor in an effort to see the rest of the highlights. Along the way we gazed at works from Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet and a Frenchman who went by the name of David. The major pieces of art on this floor was Gabrielle d’Estrees and Her Sister which was a little risqué for the time and The Turkish Bath by Ingres. By this time I was completely knackered and decided that I had enough art for one day.

A little tip if you are visiting the Louvre and want to reduce the queuing time for the security check you can enter via the underground shopping centre Carrousel du Louvre. The entrance is just to the right and left of the Arch which faces the Grand Pyramid.

We finished our day of with a leisurely stroll through the Tuileries Gardens. It is a significant green space and the gravel paths lead you past a number of ponds where you can take a seat and catch a few rays. It was a bit hot for us so we took the path less travelled and stuck to the edges of the path where there was some shade. We ended up at the Place de la Concorde where there is a huge Ferris Wheel which is flanked by Paris’ oldest monument. You guessed it, an Egyptian Obelisk dating from who knows when (3000BC) sits in the middle of the square and as an added bonus it can also tell the time. This sundial was purloined by Napolean when he ransacked Egypt. A walk across the bridge and along the left bank brought us back to the RER line. Within 10 minutes we were on a train and speeding back to Versailles, happy and tired.

Saturday 28^th May – Versailles Conga Line

Well today we are going to travel 3km down the road for a look at the Palace of Versailles and the Gardens. The guidebook said to avoid Sunday and Tuesday so at 11:30 we all hopped in the camper for the short trip. I had heard that you could park the camper in with the tourist buses and luckily this proved to be true. The 15euro cost was well worth it considering how close we were to the entrance. After clearing the first security line I could not believe the length of the queue waiting to pass through the security for entrance to the room of the palace. We took a seat near the entrance and contemplated going back to the campground. I could not imagine how busy Sunday would be. As I was bemoaning the length of the line a lady with two young girls took pity on us. She said that her husband was in the line and not far from the front and that we could join in with them. I was reluctant to begin with then thought what the heck as it was a chance to save us an hour. I thought that this nice person was French but her family was on holiday from Hungary. After we entered Alice and I thanked them profusely and then headed off to climb the first staircase. The only trouble was that there were hundreds of visitors heading in the same direction.

Work on the Chateau commenced in 1661 under the reign of Louis XIV and was the royal court from 1682 up until the fateful events of 1789. The revolutionaries massacred the palace guard and dragged Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette back to Paris, where they were ingloriously beheaded. That is what I felt like doing to the Chinese tourists that were blocking everybody’s path whilst they indulged themselves. I had to settle for photo bombing and physically lifting one lady out of my path. The grandeur of the rooms is ostentatious: frescoes, marble, gilt and woodcarvings with themes from Greek and Roman mythology. The only room where we had any space was the huge Battle room which is decorated with large paintings depicting victorious battles. All in all it was a disappointing visit due to the large number of visitors that are channeled into small viewing places. As Alice said it felt like we were in a huge conga line.

We did not visit the Gardens as there was a fountain show on today which meant another 9.50euro admittance fee. It was tempting however Jens was waiting outside and we could also see some large ominous grey clouds scuttling towards us. It turned out to be a good decision as it started to rain before we arrived back at the campground. Alice prepared a very late lunch while I secured the camper. Later in the afternoon we received a large downpour which was accompanied by a bit of thunder. It did however give us some time to do some planning for further visits into Paris over the next three days.

Sunday 29^th May – There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch

The French weather has decided to turn nasty. This morning our campground and most of Paris is shrouded in fog and the threat of rain is imminent. With our umbrellas in tow we caught a train that had us in Paris just before 10:00am. After alighting, it was Shanks’ Pony to the Musee Rodin about twenty minutes away. Rodin donated his entire collection to the French state in 1908 on the proviso that it dedicated his former workshop and showroom, the beautiful 1730 Hotel Biron to displaying his works. They are now not only installed in the mansion itself but also the rose-clambered garden. When we walked in the first statue we saw was “The Thinker” and thought what a place to contemplate his famous work. A great museum which takes around an hour to visit.

A short walk past the huge Army Museum which houses Napolean’s mausoleum brought us to one of the many Paris metro lines. In no time we were on the right bank and heading off in search of the Musee Picasso. Along the way we spotted a café doing a brisk business so we decided to try our luck with an early lunch. I grabbed an inside table while Alice bought a couple of rolls at the counter. Only problem was that it was table service however they were gracious enough to let us eat our purchase there. We ordered two cups of coffee which would have had my brother Edward scratching his head in disdain. The coffee itself was great however at $7.60 for a small lukewarm cup you could say it was a tad overpriced. It wasn’t a tourist rip off as the majority of customers were local. When we went to pay it was too difficult for them to work out how to add our lunch to the bill so they gave it to us for free.

The Picasso Museum has a collection of drawings, engravings, paintings, ceramic works and sculptures by the great master, Pablo Picasso. It is housed in the renovated mid 17^th century Hotel Sale. This is another collection that takes around an hour to visit. Some of his works I just don’t get and to me could have been the work of a child. For example some of his metal sculptures would look at home if they were placed next to one of those country letterboxes shaped like a cow or a pig.

With our visit over and a few spots of rain falling from above we headed off on foot in the direction of the Centre Pompidou. The centre makes a radical architectural statement and from the outside my immediate thought was that it was an active construction site. The museum itself houses the largest collection of modern art in Europe. Paintings by Igor Stravinsky, Matisee, Warhol and others lined the gallery walls. Again I just don’t get some of the modern art exhibitions. In one large room you walked to the centre on a boardwalk that resembled a jetty where you could watch fluorescent lights dim from one to another in a prearranged sequence. I have absolutely no idea what the artist was trying to convey. It is definitely worth a visit though if not for the paintings but the great panoramic view.

Alice thought she had enough energy to visit a couple of shops so I gave her twenty minutes of freedom and went grocery shopping. We met again opposite a fanciful fountain that had a heap of water based modern sculptures. As we walking to our next metro station I worked out that Les Halles roughly translated was a market place. We followed the signs and in front of us stood an edifice that should be a shoppers delight. I weakened and asked Alice if she would like to spend an hour here. To my everlasting surprise she said no as she did not have any energy left to shop. We ended up down in a metro maze and after a long walk found our line and travelled two stops to the left bank. We could not have timed our run more perfectly as we boarded our train within 30 seconds of arrival. On our walk back to the campground the rain started to get heavier. We no sooner had reached the camper when it came down in bucket loads.