Paris - But Wait, There's More!

Altogether we're spending ten days in Paris and at first I was worried that we would run out of things to do, but I need not have been concerned.  The problem will be to find enough time to do everything we want to do.

Yesterday was Sunday and despite lots of things being closed, there was plenty to keep us busy.  I think last night was the most tired I've ever been, while travelling. It's important to have a plan for the day, because otherwise you find yourself double-backing and wasting time and energy.  Keep going in one direction, as best you can anyway. 

After a late breakfast in our rented apartment, we walked to Notre Dame.  Although we have no religious interest in visiting that cathedral, I was keen to hear the choir and organ and knew this might be my only chance.  I was not disappointed.  We arrived just a few minutes before the music began and really did find it stirring and emotional to be in that great church on a day of prayer, where there was a choir and literally several hundred people singing in unison to the accompaniment of the echoing organ pipes.  The cathedral can accommodate 6000 worshippers, although it wasn't absolutely full today.

It was time for elevenses after that, so we made our way to Korcarz bakery, an institution in the Jewish area of Paris since 1946 - you can find it in Rue Rosiers.  We visited there last time we were in Paris and we were pleased to be able to fit in a visit again. It's not glamorous, it's homely; the coffee is very good and the pastries delicious - the chocolate shneck (snail) is warm from the oven.  The lovely ladies who work there are friendly and smiley and they are thrilled that we've made a point of coming to their bakery all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

Next, we crossed back over the river to visit the Shoah (Holocaust) Memorial, which was well-worth doing and very interesting indeed.  In 1995 French President Jacques Chirac finally acknowledged France having been complicit with the Nazis in the systematic rounding-up and subsequent transport to extermination camps of French Jews during the Second World War.  The Mémorial de la Shoah displays archived documents and articles in relation to this shameful period of French history.  The museum is free to visit and it was pleasing to see a lot of people taking the opportunity to discover what was hidden for far too long by the government here.

The magnificent two kilometre Champs-Élysées designer shopping strip was next on our agenda, although only to join the thousands of people strolling the area at a leisurely pace, in gorgeous Parisian sunshine.  Our true destination was really the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the street.  Last time in Paris we didn't climb to the top, but this time decided it might be the last time we have a chance, so we should do it!  Given that the day was so clear and bright, the photographic opportunity was hard to overlook.