I love Paris in the Printemps (Paris)

Or in Galleries Lafayette or any other major shopping venue.

Paris: shopping 

Today is DAY 4!!!!  She made it past the dreaded 3rd day.  Jayne has now seen Paris beyond the three day jinx.  I didn't want to get carried when I wrote last night's entry because she has actually made the night of the day 3 previously, twice. Today, she surpassed all previous efforts.  No accidents, no hospital, no drama, just an uneventful day playing tourist.

Aiming for level 2 this time.

The planned trip up the tower, proved to be just that, a plan.  You are no longer able to pre-purchase tickets at the Tourism Office, so we discovered this morning.  However, you can purchase them online.  We decided to head down there and see what the crowds were like, the estimate at the tourist office was a wait of 2 - 3 hours.  The queues snaked across the court yard.  It appeared the estimate was correct.  Too long to stand and wait so we fired off a couple of snaps and headed for a cafe.

Map on the ceiling of a cafe that show our street Rue Beranger

While we were enjoying our coffee, Cait noticed the ceiling was decorated with a map and we were sitting directly beneath the street where our apartment is located.  

I have yet to have a bad coffee in France.  Back home I have taken to drinking hot chocolate until the quality of the coffee can be guaranteed. It's not that difficult to make good coffee, lift your game Australia.  And then there's cheese and bread.  You pretend to be world class Australia, but ...

Random: a man made of shells

We planned our next move over our morning break.  Hmmm, there was really one thing left to do: shopping.  The shell-man to the left was in a shop in Rue de Haussman.  I have no idea what import he may have, we just thought he looked interesting.

Jayne re-mapped our metro journey and we departed for Printemps and Galleries Lafeyette.  Well, the sales were on and I needed some new shorts and T-shirts to match and then there was that other short and the Le Tour replica jerseys (which I could have got €5 cheaper across the road from the apartment, damn).

Then it was time for Cait to shop.  OMG.  Random.  She was like an exocet missile zig-zagging through the different brand areas.  Around and back again and then back over there.  All to no avail.  No clothes purchase was made.

The Queen of all Guinea Pigs.  Striking resemblance.

Not to be deterred we headed for the shoe floor.  That's right dear reader 'floor'.  One entire floor of women's shoes.  Almost an acre in area!  It was terrifying.  I found it very difficult to feign interest.  round and round, across and back and until she finally settled at the Guess section.  Shoe after shoe was discarded due to size issues; these are the sales, sometimes the display was all that was available.  Eventually she purchased two new best friends (2 pairs) if you are a FB friend of hers you can see photos. Yawn.

Guinea Pigs are big over here and feature in a lot of advertisements.  The resemblance I'm talking about is the guinea pig and HRH Elizabeth, not Cait.

Part of Le Tour display in Lafayette Galleries

The first thing I saw when we walked into Galleries Lafayette was Le Tour display.  I miss my bike.

After 4 hours of shopping we headed back to the apartment and I went on a reconnaissance mission to sus out dinner places.  While en route around Place de la Republique they began another sound check.  That means another rock concert tonight commencing at 8 and concluding at midnight.  Can't say I'm thrilled by this and completely understand why our host lets her apartment over summer.  I guess it will be another hot, bass thumping night.  Atmosphere, that's what it's all about.  Jayne would prefer that it was about sleep.  For once, I don't disagree.

It seems that music is in fact the life blood of Paris during the summer - nightly rock concerts, a singer loudly impersonating Edith Piaf in a restaurant in the markets yesterday, a piano accordion player heading off  from station Republique to busk on the trains and in our carriage on the way to the tower this morning, a trumpet player, complete with his own rhythm machine, busking from station to station and then doing the rounds of the carriage for contributions to his collection cup.  Pleae pay me and I'll go away.