Let the Holiday Begin - Tuesday, 1st May 2012

It’s 1.30 in the morning and I’m now awake after crashing pretty early last night. My diary still smells beautifully of L’Instant by Guerlain which Jancey sprayed in it when she gave it to me two years ago for my last Paris visit. A nice touch.

Here’s hoping Kelli and I receive our luggage today. Just to make things a little more interesting, today also happens to be a Public Holiday, so very little at all is open! Kelli was awake as well so we sat up to around 3.30 am talking, then went back to bed. I was having the best sleep when I was abruptly awoken by my phone ringing at 7.50 am. It was the courier company calling to let me know that they’d be delivering my bag between 10.00 – 2.00 today. Woo Hoo!

Kelli had heard me and had gotten up as well so we dressed and went for a walk and a pastry. Just lovely. We walked to the Luxembourg Gardens which was full of runners and people enjoying some Thai Chi on this lovely ‘workers’ public holiday. Thankfully many cafes, restaurants and patisseries were open – so we are set!

I’m now waiting at home for my luggage while Kelli has gone out for a walk. I’ve been leaning out of the window which faces onto the street admiring the streets of Paris again. In an apartment across the road I can see a big black cat basking in the sun. Down on the street, people walk by with arms full of baguettes. A girl rides past on a bicycle in jeans, a top and ballet flats as her hair dances away from her shoulders in the wind. It is a place where life appears, relaxed and easy. Riding a bike is a means of transport and its okay to wear normal clothes and not wear a helmet. It is simple and wonderful.

11.53 am. Both our bags have arrived. Yay. I’m so excited and have never been happier to receive my luggage! Now our Parisian holiday can really begin! Kelli arrived back at 1 pm with our lunch (Baguettes) and we popped a bottle of Café de Paris bubbly to celebrate. We felt so relieved and happy.

At 3.30 pm we’d showered, changed our clothes (finally) and left the apartment for a walk around the beautiful streets of Paris. We discovered that just down from our apartment is this amazing well set out pre-loved clothes store. And then, just 50 – 75 metres down the road is the Seine River. We crossed over it and walked down to the Hotel de Ville, which is a magnificent building to behold. The clouds have cleared and it is a beautiful day to enjoy outdoor sights like these.

Like always, as has been the case on this trip, I felt hungry again! So what better way to fix this than with a Nutella crepe! Oh so good and delicious. We ate it beside the amazing Tour St Jacques. The Saint-Jacques Tower is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement on rue de Rivoli. The 52 metre flamboyant gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (Saint James of the butchery) which was levelled shortly after the French Revolution in 1793.

We then caught the metro to Sacre Cour at Montmartre. It was a beautiful warm day and being a public holiday it seemed like every Parisian was out enjoying the day. Inside the Sacred Heart Basilica was equally as busy with tourists admiring the outer edges of the building while worshipers attended a service in the middle. There was an all day Eucharist for St Therese on and Nun’s were singing, their voices beautiful. I lit three candles this time, one for my Grandma and Nana and one for Mishka. It’s my thing!

Once outside we made our way to the Place de Tetre, the artist’s square. It was alive and buzzing as always. We walked our way down to Montmartre where Moulin Rouge is and then home. We must have walked 10+ kms! We were so tired and exhausted and finally stopped at 9 pm for dinner at a restaurant nearby our apartment.