4. 'Paris is Always a Good Idea'

26 July 2025

We have two hours left on our HOHO ticket, and if we are quick, we should be able to tour around Paris once again. I want to stop in the shopping area of Champs Elysée, not to buy anything, but to get a better photo of the Louis Vuitton suitcase and the Arc de Triomphe. Ideally, if we had the time, a visit to Notre Dame would have been good. But we are on a quickly diminishing timer and we need to be back on a bus by 11:10 AM.

We alight in the Champs Elysée and cross to the centre of the road. Due to its width, there is a second set of pedestrian lights midway across the road, and being on an elevated platform, is perfect for getting a ground shot not only of the Louis Vuitton suitcase, but of the Arc de Triomphe. Photos taken, we walk along the wide footpath marvelling at the stores and the eateries along the way and stopping at a merchandise store for the Tour de France T-Shirt for Arty.

The day is again warm and sunny, but perhaps not as hot as I had expected it to be, although it is not yet August, so maybe we have missed the cloying heat of Paris this time. A bus comes along just before the ticket expires and we enjoy watching, without listening to the commentary, the buildings pass by. This time, I notice the huge glass ceiling of the Grand Palais and again lament our shortage of time. This is the first time I have done the HOHO bus in Paris, and I can see now how little I have actually seen on previous visits. Those times were not wasted either as I did different things. This trip has provided a whole new perspective on Paris and I am loving it.

As we pass the Printemps Haussmann and the Galeries Lafayette department stores, we realise it is time to get off the bus to join Carolyn and Laraine, who will meet us at the Opera House. We do slip into a store or two to check out latest Parisian fashion first.

Despite the crowds, it is easy to find Carolyn and Laraine, or I should say that they found us. We had been a little distracted by people dancing at the back entrance to the Opera House, when they arrived at our meeting point.

It is time for coffee, but all the little cafes are crowded, and after establishing our location inside the Galeries Lafayette, we trundle by escalator to the top floor, above the dome, where a large merchandise and food hall are present. Here we see magnificent views of the city; the front of the Opera House through one window, and a clear view of the Eiffel Tower through another. Of course, that side of the café is the most popular and it is impossible to find a seat with that view. All is not lost when Marianne finds a table that, if you are seated in exactly the right spot and squint through two concrete pillars, a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower is possible.

Shopping at the Galeries Lafayette is an experience that one has only a few times in their life. This store is dominated by an Art Nouveau glass and metal dome, around which the store is designed so that from many of the separate franchises or departments, a view of the ornate architecture, and in particular the central dome, is visible. I have never been inside a store that not only is visually beautiful from so many angles, but metaphorically wraps its arms around you in such a welcoming fashion. I love the store from all its aspects, and eventually after visiting the shoe and Chanel departments, descend to the first level to view the dome from the centre of the floor. Unfortunately someone has put advertising material in the way, making it very difficult to get an unadulterated shot of the glass dome.

By mid afternoon, shopped out and tired, Carolyn and Laraine returned to the hotel, whilst we take one last long walk along Haussmann Boulevard, wandering in and out of shops and generally enjoying the ambience of this beautiful city.

Before we return to the hotel we make a couple of regretful stops. First we explore an arcade filled with quirky stores, one of which is an Aladdin's Cave of unusual odds and ends. A set of baroque pearls for a very cheap price and that do not really pass the tooth test is left, but later I regret that even if there are not real, they would be an unusual and special souvenir of Paris. The second regret is a book on Queen Elizabeth's jewels from coronation to her last photo, at a cheap price, and as a bonus, it is in English. Again, left behind with later regret.

But all is not lost as just near the corner of our hotel, we look at the menu of a restaurant, which appears to offer traditional French food. The owners don't speak much English and so, we reserve a table for later. The food at Ma Cocotte du Faubourg is beautiful and the staff are friendly and very cheery. Whilst Marianne and Carolyn enjoyed a plate of snails for entrée, I concentrate on an Argentine steak. Across the road we decide to queue up for traditional French Crepes. When they arrive, they are a complete disappointment as instead of paper thin leaves of pancake, the reality of our dessert is a thick breakfast pancake, which would rival something ordered in Canada for breakfast. For our last evening in Paris, this does leave a sour taste in my mouth.

We return to our hotel to pack our things and to organise a large taxi to take us to Gard du Nord for tomorrow's Eurostar ride to London. Paris has been wonderful, far too short, but I leave with a promise to return to enjoy more of what Paris has to offer, more time to explore, more sightseeing, and the ability to really absorb the atmosphere of Paris and to enjoy it for the city it is.

Title Quote: Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina

>> Next

<< Previous