All good things...

1/2  November

The last day of my big trip and again the weather was kind, perfect for a visit to Marche des Puces at Porte Clignancourt, which has come a long way since Gill visited 30 years ago. The area around the metro and en route to the antique markets is a bit rough, and is full of guys selling knock off watches, phones and sunglasses which they shove underneath your nose. Once you get past the Peripherique bridge though, a left turn takes you into more civilised territory, though getting there before 10am meant that there wasn’t much open.

60s pod - the home of the future, outside and in

The area is divided into several markets, mainly antiques and especially furniture and lighting.  (Less interesting, but there’s a fair amount of new clothing too.) We saw the most beautiful gleaming bakelite furniture - never seen quite such a collection before - it looked as though it was lacquered. There were all kinds of antique kitchen wares (I was close to buying a wooden coffee grinder but it was a bit pricey), metal signs, photos and magazines, record players, clothing, plus repro retro petrol pumps, juke boxes and the like. It’s a fascinating mix and worth a visit even if you’re there to browse and not buy - if you’re into vintage jeans, leather and fur it’s also a good place. As most of the markets are under or mainly covered, with permanent and semi-permanent units, I think most of them would be open through the week as well.

After coffee sitting on a sunny corner, we went by metro to Bastille and had a fresh air stroll along the Promenade de Plantes (it runs parallel with the Rue de Lyon), and into the Jardin de Reuilly-Paul-Pernin. 

It’s a garden trail (though mainly with trees and shrubs rather than flowers), all above the road and mostly along a disused viaduct. We had to dodge the joggers a bit, but it was a peaceful contrast to the market and a fun way to view the local area, where there are some beautiful old apartment buildings that have been tastefully updated, with colourful balconies and brickwork and restored period details.

After lunch we set off for the Musee d’Orsay - all the museums in Paris are free to enter on the first Sunday of the month, and though the queue was quite long we got in fairly quickly with a good 90 minutes to browse. The building is beautiful, especially the big clock, but the layout is annoyingly confusing on different levels - will still return on another trip though.

Van Gogh was a must for me of course, and I enjoyed the Manets, Degas, Cezannes and Renoirs in the Impressionist gallery. There was also a really interesting exhibition of the work of female photographers in the early part of the last century, and some great Rodin sculptures. And I bought one last fridge magnet. (I’m going to need a bigger fridge.)

Camellias

Manet's sister in law I think

A room of his own

Those eyes tell you everything

We took a twilight walk across to Place de la Concorde and saw the Eiffel tower glittering in the distance. 

The obelisk was bathed in golden light and looked particularly gorgeous as the evening traffic hurtled around it. 

We wanted to take a look at the Pompidou centre - we were a bit art-ed out but thought it would be interesting to see the building and have a drink. It’s a bit disappointing that the fun fountain outside isn’t illuminated, and we had a very disappointing abortive trip to the bar on the roof where they seemed to be happy to seat but not serve us (though a bottle of ordinary wine was pretty expensive), so maybe I’ll go back another time. 

Street art nearby deserving of a place in the gallery I reckon

We had a nice glass of Chablis on the other side of the square instead, before returning to Marx Lemoy and the freindly neighbourhood Bistro D’Olive for dinner.

Our return Eurostar train left around 1130. When I woke up this morning I felt really excited about the prospect of coming home, and just a bit tearful. I realised I felt almost the same as when I set out on 5 September - a mixture of excitement and anxiety, and tinged of course with sadness that my amazing trip is at an end.

Now I'm home and posting this, and am still surrounded by the chaos of 2 months's absence, and of course the machine loads of washing and the post that needs processing - but my lovely flat was clean and tidy when I got back, and it's good to be home. Back to some routines as soon as possible, and a new adventure starting at Crisis on Wednesday. I want to do some reflecting on the trip and supply some high and lowlights, so will post again before the end of the week when I've had time to collect my thoughts.