UK & Europe '24 Day 19 - Parc Monceau, Arc de Triomphe and shopping on the Champs Elysees

We had a good sleep in this morning. The alcohol from last night really slowed us down, poor old ducks, and we didn't head out until some time after ten o'clock. We're OK with that, because tonight we'll be up well past our bedtime again to go and see the show at the Moulin Rouge. What we lost in minutes on the pavement we made up for in steps, having comfortably made in the vicinity of 15,000 by this point. We liked the look and sound of Parc Monceau yesterday when the bus drove by, so we decided to head there, which was less than a half an hour using the metro. 

The park has a a network of meandering paths and is circled by a main path that was filled with runners, either out for their lunch time run. or inspired but the upcoming games, or both. We found.a kiosk on arrival and I've discovered if I launch in confidently with the limited French I know, things go pretty smoothly. If, on the other hand, I botch up the first interaction by trying to ask a question and butcher the language, I'm very quickly met with "what do you want?" Anyhow, that was my invitation to ask for crepes, a panini and coffee which was consumed as we watched passersby from a park bench. It's a pretty park. The ducks appear happy with their pond, as do the massive fish swimming there. There are small bridges and Roman-inspired columns and gardens bursting with colour. 








We had our nature fix, if not our full caffeine fix, and decided to hunt down the nearby shopping area which, as it turns out, was the Champs Elysees.

It was interesting to see brands like Yves Saint-Laurent and Louis Vuitton, normally with small areas inside department stores, with entire buildings as large as those department stores. Cartier, Tiffany's and Dior were all there as was L'Occitane, whose store also has a cafe and chocolatier inside. Chris made a special purchase there in what turned out to be the equivalent of a shopping montage from Sex and the City for us both. We both came away from the Champs Elysees with some new clothes and slightly fewer Euros, but 'quand a Paris'!




This was taken in the L'Occitane store. I have no idea what the pose is about.

Amidst the shopping frenzy I paid a nice lady 2 Euros to use the loos and we visited the Arc de Triomph.

It was all merci beaucoups as we bought our entry ticket, passed security and headed to the entrance. 






It wasn't an elevator, my friends. It was a spiral staircase of 284 stairs that raised our heart rates along with our step count.  It was all puffing and panting by the end, and not of the Bridgerton variety, but we reached the very top and the view of Paris is spectacular. 








From where the great arch stands, all the streets of Paris radiate. We were dead centre centre of the incredible wheel that is Paris as the city extends in all directions. The city's buildings are generally no higher than six storeys, facilitating a clear view of its treasured landmarks.






The walk down was much easier than the walk up and afterwards we finished our shopping montage before hopping on the metro, hopping off a stop before Bastille to buy a baguette and some fresh ingredients to enjoy for a simple dinner. I didn't attempt to ask any questions this time, so the transactions went very smoothly. Time to rest our hoofs before heading out for god knows what at Moulin Rouge. The drive-by on the bus yesterday revealed no short supply of sex shops, so if don't hear from us again, it's been nice knowing you XO

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