Friday morning, our last full day in Paris, and the sun was beaming brightly, though we miss a good part of it, as we slept in and did not hit the pavements of Paris till around 1100. At this stage of our holiday we are getting a little bit tired and yearning for the comfort of our own home, our own bed, and the company of our friends and family. 

Thursday was likewise a lovely Spring day, though not exactly what you might call “warm”. We wandered down to the the Louvre, knowing that we would only have a limited time there. It was a pleasant walk along the boulevard with the Seine on one side and Paris’s pavement cafés, and public buildings on the other. For some reason, the cafés gave way to a row of pet stores, then flower stalls before we approached the massive facade of the Louvre. The courtyard with the glass pyramid was a lively buzz of people, mostly just sitting on the benches, taking photographs, and of course, queuing. The queues were reasonably short and we had only a two minute wait in our queue for pre-booked ticket holders. Inside was busy, but not nearly as crowded as I had imagined.

With a limited time we could give to the Louvre, we decided to concentrate on the Italianate, the renaissance painters and sculptors, with a must-see of the Mona Lisa. It was a feast of art and we thoroughly enjoyed walking the galleries, pausing to admire works that took our fancy. The gallery for the Mona Lisa was another matter: a thick pulsating mass of people pushing, seething, arms stretched upwards holding cameras. I am not sure why you would take a picture of the painting, even though I did. The experience of being there should be sufficient, but the competition to view it did rather remove the lustre from the experience.

There is a great scene in the Ben Stiller version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty where he finally finds a photographer he has been tracking down. The photographer has been searching for the rare snow leopard in the wilds of the Afghan mountains. The animal came into view and the photographer centres it with his long range lens, focuses for a minute or so, then puts his camera away. Mitty asks him why he did not take the shot as he may not get another chance. The photographer replies: I saw it, that is enough.

Now, I am not comparing the isolation of a Tora Tora mountain experience with a thrusting crowd of tourists, but: I was there, and I saw it, and that is enough. And I did buy a souvenir photo much better than I could have taken!

After a few less crowded galleries we took leave of the Louvre to walk up to the Paris Opera where in an adjacent theatre there is a movie The Paris Story, which shows the evolution of Paris from humble beginnings through the arc of history to the vibrant city it is today. It was quite entertaining, though we seem to be attracted to places where there is also a throng of teenagers or school pupils.

It was after this while we sitting down to a very late lunch, that I realised my phone was missing. I knew I had it during our Louvre visit as I had listened to some commentary on the gallery using the Louvre app. We retreated to the theatre but it was not there, so I figured it had either fallen out of a pocket somehow, or perhaps been taken from my top pocket by one of the light fingered persons we are often warned about. It is a bit liberating in a way, but of course I will replace it. I have remotely deleted the contents of the phone so my personal details cannot be seen.

We had a short break back home before going on a night bike ride through the streets of Paris. Yes, you read correctly. It is a 12 kilometre ride starting near the Eiffel Tower, through the streets and down to Notre Dame, then back to Saint-Chapelle, across to the Louvre, then up along the Right Bank towards the Eiffel Tower. At this point, having survived the cars, taxis, buses and motor bikes and scooters who also wanted to share the road, the group joined an evening river cruise. Then back to the bikes to ride back to base. It was a late night, as we did not finish till about 1130 and it was midnight before we hauled ourselves up the steep stairs to our apartment and fell into bed.

I have to confess that the night bike ride would not have been my first choice for an activity (please don’t tell Jenny, as it was her idea!) but it was a wonderful experience. The lights of the city are enchanting. As we entered the Louvre courtyard, the sun was setting in a golden ball beyond the Champs Élysées, glowing through the glass walls of the Louvre Pyramid and bursting like a fire of orange and red through the arch of Arc de Triomph du Caroussel on the western side of the Louvre courtyard. It was a stunning visual experience, and we were inclined to linger.

Our group was about 14 riders from all parts of the globe, including some Australians other than ourselves. We had a couple of protective formations for our safety, including riding “dominant” which means that the group takes the whole lane on busy Paris thoroughfares, much to the consternation of some drivers.

we intended that Friday would be a slow day. We started with a sugar and lemon crepe from our favourite creperie, and took a slow walk up to the Jardin de Luxembourg which is an enormous and popular haven of green space, ponds and trees. It seemed to be a gathering place for people to come and sit and talk, read or just soak up some sun. It was nice to sit down there and reflect with thankfulness on our weeks away.

As a lighter end to our holiday, we took a couple of metro lines for a look through the Musee Gourmand du Chocolat. I guess that does not need much explanation. There were some samples and we also bought some tasters, but I am not sure how long they will last, as we both have fairly low levels of resistance to chocolat. More metros home for us to clean the apartment, do the last minute laundry, pack, and prepare for our trip home. We did take time out to secure our padlock on the nearby pont de l’Archeveche as a symbol of our 40 years together, and a commitment to many more. We threw the keys in the green waters of the Seine.

We are not actually looking forward to the flights home, but I have been able to secure seats which will offer a bit more comfort. The last leg from Doha to Melbourne looks, so far, to be fairly lightly booked, so we may have some additional space to spread ourselves around.

We will arrive late Sunday night, stay overnight in Melbourne and hit Canberra around 1300 with our Jess there to pick us up. We have had an enormous number of experiences, and they have all been good. We are so thankful to have had this opportunity. We will have to have a monster slide night if we can find our old projector, so now is the time for everyone to come up with really creative excuses.

Au revoir France.