Retour a Paris

Back in Paris ... and a beautiful day. Started with cafe at La Perle, then a visit to the Musee Cognacq-Jay, which was fabulous. The musee, in a 16th century townhouse, comprises a collection of artworks brought together by Ernest Cognacq, the founder of la Samaritaine department store, and his wife Marie-Louise Jay. The collection of sculptures, portraits, porcelain and furniture from the 18th century is spectacular. We loved every moment.


Brought lunch at a boulangerie and ate in the Place des Vosges - my favourite place in Paris. On a day like this, there is just nowhere else to be.





















Walked through the Place des Vosges arches to the courtyard of the Hotel de Sully, which has two Renaissance-style courtyards and is home to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, a body responsible for many of France's historical monuments, and the photographic organisation Jeu de Paume. There was an exhibition of photographs in one of the courtyards, "Images de monuments nationaux", and we had a wonderful time viewing the exhibition, browsing in the bookshop, and soaking up the sun in the courtyard.




















Headed to FNAC at Bastille and pre-booked our tickets for Versailles, the Louvre, Musee Rodin and Musee d'Orsay. We've got a lot to pack into our remaining days in Paris!

Left FNAC to find ourselves in the midst of the annual Techno Parade - kids dancing on the roof of bus shelters, kids dancing in the streets to music pumping from floats, kids, kids and more kids, and not all of it pretty. The usual 20 minute walk home took us two hours, swimming against the current of the parade and trying to skirt the perimeter of the crowd. It's a big night in Paris tonight; Madonna is playing the Stade de France (so the streets of the Marais should be quiet!) and a hugely popular French rap band are playing at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. A very good night for us ageing rockers to retire quietly with baguette, cheese and chardy!