BONJOUR PARIS…..ARMCHAIR TRAVEL

 

Notre Dame

I landed in Paris day before yesterday. Last night, I strolled along Rue de Buci, one of the most charming streets on the left bank of Paris. The sidewalk was crowded with tables and little motorbikes buzzed by like loud mosquitoes, as I paused to buy a ripe Saint Marcellin cheese and half a roast chicken from the little street market. I stopped in at Le Bar Du Marche for a glass of wine, and bought some books at Taschen. Then, just as I was biting into a gelato-filled macaron from Amorino Gelato, I woke up.

There are many ways to travel, and one of them is in the mind. Right now, we're all missing the thrill and anticipation of planning a holiday in India or overseas. So how can we recalibrate our brains to cope with an enforced period of non-travel?

Embrace your armchair, I say, and give it wings. Lose yourself in any book written by Bruce Chatwin, Mark Twain or Bill Bryson; or dig deep into a travel documentary on the National Geographic channel.

I can think of any place that I have visited in the past and savored any speciality dish of the region. It could be the saffron risotto of Milan, the caraway-spiked choucroute of sauerkraut, pork, sausages and potatoes of Alsace, or the baked shakshuka of eggs and spicy tomato sauce of Tunisia or just fish and chips in Phillip Island. Then theme that finished dish with the right wine, play the appropriate music, and you've kept one of the great joys of travel alive.........without stepping out of your home!

Want another tip? Learn a language, or polish a rusty one. Download an app and practice your French or Japanese over dinner. With every new phrase learnt, you're a step closer to being there. If you're with oldies, get them reminiscing about their best travel experiences. If you're with youngsters, get them planning their dream holiday. A dream holiday has a huge advantage, it’s budget is invariably unlimited! The trick is to not sit at home stewing, wishing you were somewhere else. That would be as silly as travelling the world, as free as a bird, and wishing you were at home. Today you have the abundance of time in your hand but this situation will not last forever. Just remember, the sun will shine again, and the planes will fly again.

So let us return to the tour of Paris. I propose to do two walking tours in two days and I invite you to join me! I have been to several walking tours of this city, some guided and some all by myself but today I am remembering a trip I took with a group of tourists from 8 different countries and led by a charming guide Adele. I remember it because the tour was intellectually stimulating, well-researched, and serious, which is not to say boring. Adele understood the importance of good storytelling, and knew how to hold their audience’s interest, while also providing them with impressive and reliable factual information.

The guides, Adele told us, were selected on the basis of their extensive knowledge of, and passion for, a particular area of expertise. I would suggest that if it is your first walking tour of a city, go with an official guide because Google will not do justice to your time and effort spent in the city

Sacré Coeur Basilica

Our tour began with a walk to the base of Montmartre hill for a funicular ride to the beautiful Sacré Coeur Basilica. Carolina had us laughing while she ensured we crossed the road safely. “You’ve got to be careful when you’re crossing the road in Paris as the drivers only know two speeds: go and kill! Make sure you look the right way and then look again before you step out.”

We were lucky with the weather on the day we did our tour, with blue skies and stunning views. Getting to Sacré Coeur just after 9am also meant there were no crowds which was another bonus. The tour had just started but I was already glad that I had signed up. I had been to Sacré Coeur before but thought you had to pay to go inside as I mistook the security bag screening point for a ticket booth. I never would have seen inside the stunning basilica if it wasn’t for Adele explaining there was no charge.

After spending time inside the basilica Adele took us on a tour of Montmartre. Once again, this was a place I had visited before but Adele made me see it in a whole new light. For example, I had always thought the outdoor artist studios in one of suburb’s best known squares were ‘touristy’ but it turned out famous artists had been selling their works here for hundreds of years. A walk in Montmartre is very physical because it is uphill! If you want to fully enjoy Montmartre and visit the most important landmarks, you will have to do a lot of walking.

Adele told us that in 1871, the inhabitants of Montmartre rebelled against Parisians and created a new system of their own. It was called “La Commune” and they were kind of independent from the city of Paris for about three months. The true Montmartrois are pretty different from the common Parisians. They are revolutionary, free and talk what comes to their mind.  It had inspired so many artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh. The museum,  Musée de Montmartre  was constructed in the 17th century, and is actually the oldest building in all of Montmartre! Over the years, many famous artists like Renoir, Utrillo and Valadon have called this property home, and worked from the studio on site.

Moulin Rouge

In Montmartre we walked past the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret.  It is, undoubtedly, the most famous cabaret in the world! Its name is also universally known, thanks to the 2001 movie by Baz Luhrmann starring Nicole Kidman. The Moulin Rouge is sexy, fun and unique! Tickets can be difficult to obtain at the door and prior online booking was advised by Adele. 

We also saw a historic vineyard in the heart of Montmartre, one of Paris’ original bistros, sculptures with a story to tell and a whole lot more. Place du Tertre is a great place to see when walking in Montmartre . It’s very close to Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. If you like authentic art and appreciate looking at artists at work, you need to go to this square. Montmartre artists gather in Place du Tertre, do portraits and illustrations of the neighborhood. Many of them live from their art. Buy the paintings directly from the artists, not from the little souvenir shops around the Place du Tertre because they’re fake!

Artists at work in Place du Tertre

An artist, in his French accented English told us a story about how a pet donkey who lived in Montmartre was used to trick the art critics at the prestigious Salon des Indépendants in the early 1900s. Many creative types, including author Roland Dorgelès, thought the critics were pretentious and knew nothing about art so he decided to prove it. He tied a paintbrush to Lolo the donkey’s tail and got it to ‘paint’ a picture called ‘Sunset Over the Adriatic’ which was attributed to a fictitious Genoese painter Joachim Raphaël Boronali. Imagine the embarrassment when the work earned such high praise from critics that it sold for 400 francs, a huge sum of money at the time.

Musicians busking in a metro station

Afterwards we stopped for coffee then caught the metro to Ile de la Cité to visit Notre Dame. As we were walking through the metro station Adele explained something that I’d been wondering for years. “Why are the buskers at metro stations always so good?”She said these coveted busking spots are only available to authorized performers who have gone through a tough audition process. Only a small selection of buskers make it through which is why they’re always so great to listen to.

From Notre Dame it was a quick walk along the Seine to the Louvre Museum and the choice of a nearby restaurant, boulangerie, snack bar or even – shudder – McDonald’s for lunch. Lunch isn’t included in the tour but Adele gave us excellent recommendations to suit every taste and budget. I was pleasantly surprised how good (and affordable) our lunch was at the bistro she recommended; especially given we were in a very touristy part of Paris. 

Louvre Museum

After a Croque monsieur (which is the French version of a ham and cheese toastie), a glass of wine and some laughs with newfound friends from the tour we met Adele and the rest of the group back at the Louvre for Skip the Line entry to the museum and tour of some of the most famous works. We really enjoyed strolling through this section of the museum, especially as I didn’t know the foundations were even there. I could have done with more time at the Louvre, but that’s only because I love art. Needless to say, I went back to the Louvre later on the trip, all by myself, and spent the entire day marveling at the wealth of treasure it holds.

However, on the tour we did see plenty of highlights in the next hour or so such as paintings by French Romantics, sculptures by Michelangelo and Anthony Canova, and famous statues like the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This was one of my favourite artworks during my previous visit. I still loved it just as much 20 years later. Seeing the Mona Lisa again was great but also a bit of a shock. I wasn’t brave enough to get any closer because of the crowd as I feared for my life. Some tourists were so desperate to get that all important selfie with the famous painting that it was downright scary. If nothing else, you’ve got to admire their determination.

Stunning views from Seine River cruise

After our visit to the Louvre we took the metro to Trocadero Plaza where we got some great photos of the Eiffel Tower. This is where we said goodbye to Adele but not before she gave us our Skip The Line tickets to the Eiffel Tower and also tickets for a Seine River cruise. The good thing with the river cruise ticket is it is valid for several months so you don’t have to use it that afternoon if you’re feeling tired or the weather isn’t good.

During the next hour we sailed under the famous city bridges, enjoyed stunning views of the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame and some of the city’s most beautiful bridges. This was the perfect end to the tour but there was more fun to come.