Sunday 17th July: Blue Skies, warm in Paris 30°C
Paris: Walking/cycling around Paris
Morning visit to Montmarte and Sacre-Couer Basilica
Paris is a city where you don't need to do anything specifically - like go to a show or climb the Eifel Tower - you can just walk or cycle and enjoy this fabulous city and that's what we did.
A late start on this Sunday morning and after breakfast at 8.30am, Ian and I go for a wak to Montmarte to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica - along with another thousand tourists. It's on a hill to the north of Paris and less than 1k from our apartment. In fact we can see it from our lounge room window.
On returning to our apartment, Graham is just leaving for a bike ride, intending to use the French vela system - pick up a hire bike from a bike station close to you, return it to another station where you are going within half an hour, pay nothing and do the am all day. So Ian decides to go with hom and Jenny and I walk down to the Decathalon store near the Madeleine metro.
Perpetual artists on Montmarte
Must see the Eiffel Tower
Graham and lunch at Eifel Tower
We're there for only 30 minutes, when lo and behold the boys turn up and all 4 of us spend a few hours browsing through the huge sports store - a French version of Anaconda. I leave to go for a long walk via St Martin Canal, built by Napolean in 1802 to provide fresh food and water to Paris, Ian and Graham continue on their bike journey via the Eiffel Tower, and Jenny continues shopping.
It's quite a hot day, so the shade along the canal is welcome. I was there at the right time to see a huge Paris Canal Cruise boat laden with hundreds of tourists, move through the locks in the canal, and disappear underground with floodlights blazing. St Martins Canal is 2k underground from The Republique to Bastille, before emptying into the Seine River.
I get back to the apartment at 4.45pm, in time to watch the last 20k of Le Tour. Jenny turns up an hour later after shopping all day, and the boys 30 minutes after that. Dinner of pork fillet, salad and red wine with a view of the Basilica through the trees is better than dining out. Bed at 10pm.