KYQ4: Out and About in Paris

Hotel de Ville, an Olympic venue

Monday 26 August 2024

After one and a half days in Eurodisney, I needed to escape the queues, fast food and saccharine-fuelled atmosphere. Never had I queued so long, whether for short rides or for overcharged franchised food, drink and commodities. Nevertheless, I had to admit Disneyland created a vibrant and happy clientele and Minnie had said she liked me. After a morning with the family reprising favourite rides from yesterday and gently baking in the late August sunshine, I caught a train to Paris. It is only 35 minutes away by the double-decker RER train that serves the eastern suburbs. I alighted at Les Halles, now the location of the massive underground three-story Westfield des Halles Shopping Centre.

I had no real plan other than to spend some time in the Musee d'Orsay and meander around the glorious streets, and buildings and walk along the Seine. I pitched out on the west side of the Westfield des Halles centre and sauntered along to the nearby Bourse de Commerce, but was captivated by the gothic splendour of Eglise Saint-Eustache providing some architectural elegance. I followed my nose through the narrow streets, alive with lunchtime cafes, towards the Louvre. I found a passage into the courtyard and then drifted towards the Pyramid. There were gobsmacked visitors from around the world but it was far from crowded. I lingered while absorbing the magnificent public space inside the Louvre Palace with the epoch-defying Pyramid taking the limelight.

Crossing the Seine to the Left Bank reminded me that I should sample a Parisian cafe and I found a corner cafe not far from the Musee d'Orsay. The service was instant, the food was good and relatively cheap compared to the UK and Disneyland. A beer conveyed me into the mid-afternoon as I watched the street scene from a pavement table. It was dominated by bikes and pedestrians with the occasional vehicles that were mainly electric adding to the peaceful ambience of summer in the city. The Musee d'Orsay was closed, it was Monday so I would have to find other impressions.

It was easily done, I recrossed the Seine by the impressive Passerell Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, a footbridge to view the river traffic and watch Parisians doing exercises. The massive river boats were conveying hundreds of tourists in perfect conditions that the Olympic athletes were denied on the wet Friday when the Games started. I was excited to see Catherine Deneuve pass under me while on the bridge. I walked westwards along the quayside past the Orangerie to the Place de la Concorde which was sealed off for the start of the Paralympics the following day.

This gave me the chance to saunter back along the Seine Quais to the Pont des Arts where the Institute of France houses the various artistic and scientific bodies that have been the drivers of French cultural and scientific advance. I drifted deeper into the left bank towards the Sorbonne with the density of cafes and art galleries increasing as the age of the crowds decreased. Returning to the Seine, I crossed over the Pont Neuf to examine progress on the Notre Dame. Even here the crowds were light but a viewing gallery, presumably for the Olympics, gave a splendid place to sit and observe the near completion of the restoration.

There was time to visit the Hotel de Ville which had hosted the start of the marathon at the Olympics, just one of the many significant buildings that had infused the Games with historical references. I drifted back towards the Centre Pompidou that was being refurbished. Still, the quirky fountains in the nearby Place Ivor Stravinsky provided the artistic humour that Richard Rogers had bestowed on Paris when he designed the Centre Pompidou in the 1970s. It was time to return and the hardest part of the day was finding the Platform for the Cessny train back to the alternative world of Disneyland. I was in no doubt which I preferred but I was still looking forward to another session in Walt's World.