Plus Paris

Day two saw us having breakfast in a cute little cafe (pic) before we headed to the street market of Rue Mouffetard, which is one of the oldest market streets in Paris - near Gobelins. It was there that we bought some delicious french wine, cheese, ham and bread for our lunch at Montmartre.

As you know both Mark and I are impatient at the best of times with public transport, so we usually walk everywhere, but I must say this was one of the few times as we actually caught a bus.

Our feet were still aching after all the previous days walking which even a soak in the bath could not cure. It was actually a good thing, as it went a different way and we saw a few places of interest to return to later.

Montmartre (pic below) was just as quaint as I remember, but busier as it was a weekday when we last visited, but there was still no clear view to the the Eiffel Tower. I also wanted to buy a painting from one of the painters in the square, but with the rent being due soon, I was promised i could buy on our next Paris visit. We have the rugby in France next September, so we know for sure we will be back.

The Galleries LaFayette was next on the agenda, all the way down the hill from Montmatre. At first it seems like a big shopping mall, but its actually one huge multi-level (7 actually) shop, but all designer products, not unlike Selfridges really (which I actually hate). We actually visited because the interior is supposed to be stunning and it certainly did not disapoint.

We managed to grab a bus, just before a huge downpour of rain, back towards our hotel, but alas once we got to our stop, we were still forced to huddle in the shelter of a cafe while it subsided - but only slightly.

It didn't quite disappear even when we went to dinner that night at Bistro 80, near the St Sulpice church. We were a little worried that we had seen the last of the sunshine, but the next morning it was just as gorgeous as ever. Oh and despite what everyone says Paris is very clean, and we saw only one nasty doggy poop on the pavement the whole time we were there, the biggest problem we encountered was the abundance of smokers - the French sure do love to contribute to the tobacco industry!