Following a long lunch on the Champs-Élysées (Italian!) we continued our bus tour. The bus provided headphones and commentary in a number of languages. However I’m sure that on occasions the driver took a slightly different route which meant that the words were often out of sync with the location and a bit of guess work was required! It wasn’t a timing issue as in between locations the listener was blasted with traditional French accordion music.
The upshot of all of this meant I got the ‘back end’ of a number of places…
The Rodin Museum.
Just look at those flying buttresses!
The Colonne de Juillet stands in the Place de la Bastille to commemorate the storming of the Bastille correction the July revolution of 1830 (thanks, Susan). The Opera Bastille (below) was opened on July 14th 1989 during the bicentennial celebrations of the French Revolution.
French National Library (François Mitterrand)
This project was the major cultural undertaking of the President Francois Mitterrand. It consists of four towers (that look like open books) around a large garden. Each of the four towers has a theme: Time, Letters, Laws, and Numbers. The library holds the most important collection of books in France, with more than 395 kilometres of aisles. I’d like to visit next time I’m in Paris.
A little bit of the Arc de Triomphe.
We didn’t buy macarons at Laduree,
but we did visit a bar along the Boulevard St Germain.
You’ll no doubt be wondering about the significance of this photograph, which leads me nicely to the missed opportunity!
I was sure I recognised the group sitting on the table next to us in a bar as Jayne and Ian, who moved into their new apartment in Thollon at the same time as us. We met up a few times for meals and drinks and they sold shortly after we did, in 2009. I wasn’t sure enough to approach them but now really wish that I had. I found out later, through mutual friends, that they were in Paris so missed the opportunity to catch up. They obviously didn't recognise me!
Isn’t it a small world?
Apologies for any errors. Blogger working to rule. Each mistake takes about 5 minutes to correct as Blogger seems to be on a 'go even slower' regime!
Perhaps it's the canicule...
