The Lady Jenny and Larry the Unicorn

Last night we had dinner at ‘The Beer Station’ around the corner from our hotel.  We had to go there as the two words Larry told me  had learnt in preparation for his French holiday were ‘bier’ and ‘sil vous plait’ (except that I have subsequently learnt that he also learnt how to say ‘I love you Jenny, will you marry me) J  The day had been fine and partly cloudy all day even though they had forecast showers and we had carried an umbrella around all day just in case (we decided French weather forecasters were just as useless as Australian ones) but during dinner the heavens opened and it was raining pretty heavily as we headed home – lucky it was just around the corner.  But we had to hoof it and it seems to be becoming a bit of a habit for Larry to make me exercise by jogging/climbing multitudes of stairs etc after every meal – hmmm.

Last day in Paris draws to a close, has been exciting and rewarding but we are over the seething mass of humanity.  Arrived at the Notre Dame cathedral in the morning and a very impressive building.   We didn’t try and battle the crowds trying to get inside but instead headed to the crypts which had lots of information about the history of Paris including models of it during the Roman period when it was called Letitia.  Were also lots of Roman era foundations etc down there.  Wandered through the parks to the rear of the Notre Dame and tried to visit the Memorial to the deported Jews during WWII but it was closed unfortunately.  Did the lazy sight seeing touristy walks as we were not in hurry to anything today.  Enjoyed an ice cream from the famous Berthillion cafe on the island St Louis then wandered the streets of the Latin Quarter before stopping for quiche (Jenny) and hamburger (Larry) for lunch.  Finally we got le stroppy French waiter – everyone else has been very nice and friendly everywhere else we have been.  Larry then got impressive brownie points by going to a tapestry museum.   Well it was the amazing set of tapestries of the Lady and the Unicorn and even Larry had to admit they were pretty impressive.  I got the itch to do another tapestry but the souvenir shop only sold ones that had already been done (and at vast expense) so had to content myself with a calendar instead.  We wandered back over to the I’le de Cite and found a square with a bird market and a police concert band setting up.  Found a park bench and settled in to watch for a while and as were leaving the familiar tune of Advance Australia Fair reached our ears, we did a quick u-turn to listen to the rest and clapped louder than anyone else at the end. That was about the last tune they played though as finally the forecast rain hit but it didn’t last for long and had stopped by the time we had made our way back to the line of tourist shops near the Notre Dame where we loaded up with some souvenirs before heading homewards.  Stopped on the Pont des Arts to revisit ‘our’ bench and got some spekky shots from the bridge in the daylight with the sun glistening off the hundreds of padlocks.  Then back on the metro and home for a relax and to pack up ready to hit the road tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the part of our adventure which will be more relaxing starting with our train trip to Vitre tomorrow morning.