June 19 Passages and streets

This is the life!

Just one last posting from Paris before we head to Scotland and the Atlantic Ocean!

This trip to Paris (what to us has always been the world’s most romantic city) was our third visit together.  Always we have loved the street life - just wandering, buying our food from neighbourhood street markets, experiencing everyday life with the occasional tourist attraction thrown in. Just hanging out. This visit was no different. 

Some of what we’ve done you know already, but we’ve also just wandered along the banks of the Seine watching huge barges sliding up and down the river, and sneaking looks into long houseboats (water caravans! - converted barges mostly) moored mainly on the Left Bank. The riverbanks seem to have been given a facelift with lots of sculptures and pockets of pretty gardens since we were here last and it looks lovely. 

But we also explored a different side of Paris.  Getting lost in Paris is lots of fun, but our feet are not as accommodating as once they were. Nevertheless we walked for hours - and got lost trying to find some of Paris’s many hidden Passages. We stumbled on a few on our first visit and wanted to explore further on this visit. 

Fast rewind to the end of the 18th century when a labyrinth of hidden passages sprang up across Paris. Over the decades many fell into disrepair or were demolished, but if you’re lucky (or know where to look) you can still find some of them, whether they be beautifully restored and the height of chic, or run-down and quirky.  Some are grand and gorgeous like the Grand Cerf, others tiny passages between buildings such as Passage de Deux Pavilions. Others such as Passage de Petits-Peres where we happened on a community orchestra performing outside an old church, are like Melbourne’s laneways. All are intriguing and worth tracking down next time you visit. Go visit! 

Next stop Edinburgh. We’ll be out of communication for the next couple of weeks, but will catch up when we can from Scotland sometime next month .... 

This houseboat has a wonderful garden

Tourists can hire these cute autos - so very French

What would the banks of the Seine be without its many second-hand 'stalls'

An Aladdin's cave

We almost missed the entrance to the Passage du Grand Cerf (1825)

All metal, wrought-iron and glass

Inside this Passage we found a small shop advertisimg Australian Indigenou Art 

Insect crackers - for human consumption! Beats potato chips.

Place des Petits-Peres contains the entrance to Galerie Vivienne

Stunning entrance to Galerie Vivienne

Beautiful old world charm inside Galerie Vivienne 

Entrance to Passage des Deux-Pavillons (1820)

The Passage des 2 Pavillons opens onto Galerie Beaujolais ......

.... and this - all part of the Palais-Royal complex