The meeting place was Pont Marie Metro Station, Alain was waiting and after Alain explained where we were going and some of the history we headed off.
We were going to explore Ile Saint-Louis one of the most expensive areas to live in Paris.
Strolling through we passed many heritage plaques and grand doorways that hid courtyards. We also came across the Bakery school and the story of Heloise and Abelard - the french Romeo and Juliette as Alain explained it to me.
Turning a corner there right on the sidewalk a petrol pump? It was explained that because of the crowded conditions they don't have petrol stations like ours and it was out front of a garage - mechanic's store.
We wandered through narrow cobbled streets and past small shops and cafe's. This is the smaller of the islands and one resident has never left in over 30+ years as everything needed is right here.
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| Dolphin Down pipe |
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| Grand Doorway and Dolphin Down pipe |
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| Now that's a mixing bowl |
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| Artwork at The Bakery School |
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| Old Map |
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| A Petrol Bowser |
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| Looking towards Notre Dame |
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| Heloise and Abelard |
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| The Lovers Gates |
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| Down narrow streets |
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| The flood level in 1910 |
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| Wine Bar steeped in History |
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| Heaps of history here |
On the Rue De Colombe is steeped in history the above photo shows both a Dove which is another love story and the faded street sign to the left of the lamp is an old Roman street sign - preserved.
We moved on to the oldest flower market in Paris and also to Notre Dame, Alain and I had coffee at the obligatory sidewalk cafe and the waiter kindly took our photo. We walked past the Palace of Justice and The Conciergerie - The First Prison.
A very informative and fun few hours with a greeter who's love for their city shone through.
If you'd like to know more about the area's I visited in Paris, this link is for you.
http://www.housetrip.com/en/paris/central-islands-guide.html
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| With My Paris Greeter Alain |
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| First 'Public' clock in Paris at the Palace of Justice |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Original Roman Cobbles and Tile for St Catherine |
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| The queue is for the Tower |
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| Tile for St Nicholas - Father Christmas |
That evening I went on a 2 hour cruise down the River Seine and made a new friend, Mariana, who hails from Brazil. She thought I was very brave to be travelling alone and couldn't wait to tell her Mum in hope of encouraging her to do likewise. Please note Mariana was travelling alone also, we chatted about our travels and we parted at The Eiffel Tower as Mariana was going to climb it.
I told her to keep an eye out for that elusive 'Semolina Pilchard'.
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| An ideal life |
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| See those spiky things don't work |
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| The other Statue of Liberty |
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| Crowds at the Louvre even after it's closed for the day |
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| Feeling much safer - Armed Soldiers |
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| Police on Roller Blades |
As we know Paris has had some troubles recently and I felt much safer after seeing Armed Soldiers and Police on Roller Blades patrolling the street, especially around the tourist centres.
My Paris sojourn was over and also this Trip of a Lifetime, I had a fab time and one day, if I win Lotto, I'd love to return and revisit some places.
I've learnt alot and made many friends along the way.
I must say Thank You to a few people, especially my Travel Agent Miles at Travel Associates East Gosford, he took my brief - I just want to see Beatle related sites in the UK - spend a couple of days in Ireland and a week in London - and ran with that.
What a great job, so Thanks Miles I owe you a beer or three!
To all who have followed my journey both here and on Facebook,
and to those 'real life' people whom I met and supped with Thanks for being a part of the journey and also for pointing out places I may have overlooked.
You know who you are!
Next stop was Perth WA for a catch up with and 'old' friend. I say 'old' as I did meet him when I started school in 1955!
I had a great 3 day R&R with Bryan and Noeline, caught up on places I known back in 1970-something when I lived in Perth for a short while.
The city sure has grown since then, even Kings Park and it's view but that's progress for you
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