Sat 14th.
Tony wakes at 8 am. He’s had 17 hours sleep and is as bright as a button. I, on the other hand, am completely wrecked and feel quite sick. Worry and lack of sleep will do that, trust me. I stagger out of bed and to the table - luckily not very far - and manage to drink some coffee and eat a piece of bread, but I am exhausted. By the time we make a short trip to the supermarket I can barely stand up. By lunchtime I am back in bed. We’re planning to walk the Champs Elysees this evening and have dinner out - we’ve only eaten out once a week in nine weeks, so this is quite a big deal, TWICE in one week - but not if I don’t get some sleep first. Luckily Tony has a date this afternoon at the Scottish pub - The Olde Alliance - just a few doors down the street. If you asked Tony the three things he loves most in the world he would probably say West Ham United, Jazz, and me…. Yep, in that order. He has been a staunch supporter of the football team for 65 years, since his Dad first took him to a match after the war in 1945. The chances to see a match live on TV are very slim in Oz….but the sports bar is showing the match live at 3pm. He didn’t have the heart to suggest it, so I did, and he jumped at the chance. So Beloved goes off to watch football and I go….to SLEEEEEP!
Five hours later he is home and happy after making a few friends and having a couple of beers, ( West Ham lost but that is normal) and I am awake. We smarten ourselves up a bit - it IS the Champs Elysees after all and we take the metro to Etoile ( The Arc de Triomphe). It’s late evening but there is still about 2 1/2 hours before sunset and one of the most famous streets in the entire world looks absolutely stunning as the sun decides to come out and check out Paris before going to bed. A bit like us really!
We walk slowly - the avenue is over a mile long but we have plenty of time. We take in the cocktail parties in the new car headquarters, Peugeot, Renault, - a hots of showrooms with concept cars and the beautiful people drinking champagne. Then there are the local matrons - shopping and conversing animatedly with a cigarette between their fingers. Impeccable coiffured and coutured, they mostly look bored. There are tourists by the thousands, mostly consulting little maps or guide books with little idea of where they’re going. They’re so involved with what they hope to see that they miss the teeming panorama of life going on around them. Every other shop is a café/bistrot - most with lovely alfresco eating areas with canvas roofs. The pavements are about 10 metres wide so there is plenty of room. I think it would be great to say we had dinner on the Champs Elysees and I want to be there when the lights come on. Tony thinks it would be better to get away from the tourist traps and also cheaper to find a little café in a side street. AS usual he’s right but he gives in and I let him choose the restaurant. Money is something of an issue. We’re counting pennies now and need to save enough to get to the airport. He chooses a place called Leon’s of Bruxelles. It’s a chain restaurant ( warning, warning) that specialises in mussels ( moules) and we both love them. But the mussels are very ordinary and the service is lousy and we’re glad when dinner is over. I hope to have ONE good meal in Paris before we leave. The problem is we can’t afford to go to places where the food is always good….so the best meals are those I’ve made in our little apartment.
The sun is setting and I try to get photos as The Arc de Triomphe is due west and is now starting to stand out in silhouette against the deepening pink sky. By the time we walk down to Place de la Concorde the lights are all coming on and we’ve seen the Palais Royal and it’s little sister across the road, and numerous statues and as we come onto Pont Alexandra 1, the bridge that leads to Les Invalides, there it is, all lit up against the darkening sky….The Eiffel tower (looking suspiciously like an abstract Christmas tree) . It’s a beautiful sight - the moon is rising, the lights are on, and Paris looks more beautiful than ever.
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