Paris, Day 2 - Notre Dame

From the Louvre, we took a stroll along the Seine – and we had a lovely view of the islands in the middle of the river.

We also had a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

Father and son paused midway across the bridge for a pic.

As did mother and daughter.

Finally, we reached Notre Dame, which I loved.

Gorgeous architecture

and gorgeous stained glass.

The tower was closed to tours for lunch, so we took a snack break. Chloe couldn’t resist a crepe and was fascinated by how they’re made here – spread out in a rectangle, then folded into three once cooked; then another pancake is made, the first is placed in the centre of it, and then the second crepe is rolled up around the first.

We also had a Berthillon glace. Chris loved the chocolate, Chlo and Gerry liked the strawberry, and I enjoyed vanilla that had obviously been made with proper vanilla pods. (But, sorry, Paris – best ice cream in the world? Nope. That’s in Venice.)

We waited for an hour to go up the tower, getting very cold (at this point both Chloe and I were regretting not wearing a coat – though she was glad she talked me into buying her a beret).

While we waited, we looked at the gargoyles.

The tower is 387 steps each way, with narrow spiral staircases, and the treads had been worn by thousands of people before us. Hard work, but absolutely worth it, as the views were stunning.

We loved the gargoyles. The official name for the first stage is the Chimera Gallery; it’s 46m above ground level, and the creatures were designed in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc (who restored much of the building). The most famous one is the stryga. And there are some other fascinating ones too.

Then a climb up yet more stairs to the Great Bell, also known as Florentin le Guay. It’s made of bronze, dating from the 17th century (it was hoisted up to the top of the south tower on 14 July 1682). It weighs more than 13 tons – the clapper weighs an additional 474kg – and its note is F#.

(Well, of course you were going to get the nerdy facts.)

Actually, the bell in the other tower chimed 3pm while we were there. We were expecting it to be REALLY loud, but it actually sounded quieter than it did from ground level.

And the views from the very top can speak for themselves.

We were going to see the Conciergerie next, but sadly it was closed while an exhibition was being set up. We couldn’t face another long queue in the cold to see the Sainte Chapelle, so we decided to head for the Eiffel tower. (Note, we said no long queues…)

Paris, day 2 - the Louvre

The view under the pyramid is a curious mix of old and new.

The Louvre is the biggest museum in the world with more than 35,000 works on display. Obviously you can’t see everything, so we had a confab and decided to visit the really famous pieces. On the way, we saw the original 12th-century foundations of the building, then the Egyptian area:

Plus some rather lovely ceilings.

The Venus de Milo (very strange to walk along and suddenly think, hang on, I recognise that sculpture…).

La Joconde (which was bigger than I expected, and they’ve organised the area very sensibly and given it a lot of viewing space, as it’s the most popular exhibit).

Art students copying paintings:

A rather nice sculpture of Diana.

And a gorgeous painting of the Northern Lights by François Biard.

I had also wanted to see a certain painting by Hippolyte Flandrin (Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer), but couldn’t find it. I asked one of the curators, who was the only unhelpful person I met in Paris, and was aided by a really lovely man who translated for me because he could see I was struggling – and she still shrugged and said she had no idea what I was talking about! Um, the painting was on coasters and the like in the museum shop, so it’s not exactly obscure!). A bit more trawling the galleries, and we discovered that it was on loan. Tant pis…

There was a fab view of the courtyard from the top floor.

Then we went further down to see the other bit of the glass pyramid.

There were rainbow patterns everywhere… and they show up very well on dark hair.

Paris, day 2 - from the Champs Elysées to the Louvre

Lovely breakfast, albeit a bit decadent: smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and natural yoghurt, plus gorgeous French coffee. Strange for it still to be dark at 8 a.m.

The sun was only just over the horizon when we reached the Champs Elysées.

But it was a really, really lovely Autumn morning, so we decided to walk for a bit before we took the Metro… and it was so enjoyable that we ended up walking all the way. We went past the Grand Palais.

And then past the beautiful gold dome of Les Invalides (we visited it later in the week, so more pics later).

The Place du Concord is beautiful, with its fountains.

Strange and rather sad to think that the crowds were baying for Marie Antoinette’s blood here, and more than 1,000 people were guillotined here during the French Revolution.

From here, we had our first proper view of the Eiffel Tower.

Then there’s the Egyptian monument (from Luxor, approx 3,200 years old) – it’s visually stunning.

Turn round, and there’s an amazing view all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Then to the Tuileries – I had expected it to be grassy, but the first half isn’t. We all liked the fountain and the large lake.

And there was lots of sculpture – a curious mix of old and new.


My favourite one here was probably the tree in the lake. (I am a bit conservative about art.)

The part of the Tuileries near the Louvre is more formal. We had another view of the Eiffel Tower – and we had to take a touristy shot, where Chris appears to be holding the tower in his hand.

I loved the arch in front of the Louvre, with its imitation of the Quadrigia from St Mark’s in Venice.

And then it was a matter of going over to the glass pyramid and queuing up to visit the Louvre.

Paris, day 1 - arrival and the Champs Elysées

Early and chilly start – the street lights weren’t even on when we got up! The full moon was very bright on our way to the station, and we watched the sun rise during our train journey to London. Sunday morning engineering works meant leaving the train for a short coach trip between Witham and Ingatestone – the organisation was a bit of a shambles, to say the least, but we got to St Pancras in time to catch the Eurostar.

Facts about the Eurostar: the tunnel through which it travels is 100m below the English Channel at its deepest point, and the highest speed it reached during testing of the UK high speed line was 208 mph (338 km/h). Going through the tunnel itself takes about 20 minutes (the other 2 hours is overground between London and Paris).

We arrived safely at the Gare du Nord.

And then we had the fun of negotiating the Metro. Once we knew which line we had to take from the Gare to connect to line 1 (our stop was Franklin D. Roosevelt), it was fine. The French Metro is covered in white tiles and there are barriers which only open to let people on to the carriages – and the trains themselves are quite shabby and covered in graffiti.

And then we emerged into the Champs Elysées for the first time. Parisian architecture is just glorious. All we had to do was cross the road (MUCH wider than I’m used to), take the next left, and then a two-minute walk to the hotel – finally arrived at 5pm French time.

The hotel reception is gorgeous.

Loved this ceiling.

Nice firm bed and plenty of room – and a lovely view.

After we’d settled in, we walked up the Champs Elysées...

...to the Arc de Triomphe.

Gerry says it’s the biggest roundabout in the world – and the driving was crazy! There were soldiers under the arch, clearly involved in some ceremony; we later discovered that it was lighting the flame on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is done at 6.30pm every night.

Then we did a spot of window-shopping – amazingly, in Paris, there are car showrooms among the retail shops. This is Peugeot’s electric car. We just loved these neon rope lights.

Bit shocked by the beggars – some of whom looked as if they needed hospital care – and it was a very sharp contrast to the affluence of their surroundings.

Then it was dinner in a lovely bistro. Sadly they’d run out of the risotto de canard et champignons, but the crème brulee was the nicest I’ve EVER had (and it was huge!).

Then back to the hotel, via some of the Galeries.

Spotted a familiar name on a perfume ad...

Chris says he understands now why his dad refused to let Chloe and I come here alone!

Most of today was spent on a train, so we only walked 12,994 steps. But we made up for that the next day...

a special day

Current work: gelati book
Listening to: Daughtry
Reading: next on TBR

Having a week off did me a huge amount of good. Back to work today (and visiting Dad with birthday cake) so we’ll see how it goes. I'm focused, and I know what I want to do, so I think it’s a matter of quietly getting on with it.

What did I do in my week off? The first part was a research trip, and there will be pics on the blog from tomorrow for the next two weeks (because I manage to fit an awful lot into three days). The second part involved shopping, partying and doing a special ‘this was your last decade’ album for my littlest, who’s ten today.

And now it’s Monday. November. Rushing towards Christmas. I have new book to start (which will take my mind off waiting for mammoth revisions – it would be soooo nice to have a book with minor tweaks, but I guess in this economic climate that doesn’t happen any more), a house full of flowers, and two blog posts elsewhere today – one about gorgeous Frenchmen at the Pink Heart Society (fitting, as I’m just back from Paris), and one about special days at the Harlequin Medical Authors’ Blog (where there’s a chance to win my latest duo, so do go over and say hello).

Have a nice day. And happy tenth to my littlest.

à bientôt

I have finished the book and emailed it to my editor. (Sadly, this did involve a 5am start. I never sleep properly when I'm on deadline. Wide awake at stupid o'clock. I could do with a nap, but don't have time - I have a million and one things to do that were neglected this week for my deadline.)

Half term starts NOW, so je suis en vacances and I am SO NOT WORKING this week. (Well. Notes. Snippets. Don't really count, do they?) But am touching computer as I have photos to scan in and sort out a certain person's "these were your first 10 years" birthday album. (Quite scary to think she's about to hit double figures.)

Going to be v v v busy, but should also refill the well a bit. Research is involved... of which more next month (because half term ends on the last day of October) and I am spending this week with ma famille.

Have a nice week - à plus!

Sometimes people are lovely...

OK. So you're on the last chapter of your book (the one with the screaming deadline). You've just phoned the customer care people at the electrical store to come and fix a problem with your fridge. You're thinking about the social events you're organising for next week (daughter's birthday parties - 2 of 3) and mentally organising the shopping lists and remembering which cake she wants for which party and doing the cooking plan.

You're also really trying to resist the bar of chocolate that your evil husband put in the fridge because the diet is going well and you don't want to backslide (and you know you've been glued to your desk all week and been a total failure on the exercise front, so you can't risk the chocolate - not to mention the fact that you have a dentist appointment after school).

And then the doorbell goes, and the dog barks, and you think, nooo, it's a Person from Porlock and I have to do the school run in 45 minutes...

... and this is what the delivery lady brings you.

(Thanks from my publisher for work on a project I did for them last month. And they remembered my favourite colour flowers from the last time they sent me some - winning the RNA Romance Prize.)

Just... lovely, and stress levels are right back down again :)

Thank you to the lovely editor who organised this. (And of course I’ve sent a personal note!)

3D

Three Ds today - deadline, dentist and Dad. So I'm a bit short on time (major litotes there) and I have a pile of admin things that have to be done before tomorrow or I am toast... so here are some interesting facts for you.

• February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
• Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
• The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
• The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
• TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

Enjoy - and I will be back at the end of half term, if things slow down enough! Have a good week :)

something lovely

Current work: Capri medical romance
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: Anita Brookner, Strangers

Am busy busy busy as this book HAS to be off my desk on Friday - I am taking next week off to recharge, come hell or high water (which also means I won’t be blogging next week until at least Friday, because there’s simply too much going on in half term).

So today I’m going to leave you with something lovely. Y’see, my daughter makes me watch the X Factor with her. I have been grumbling a bit… but there was this fantastic song on Saturday. I loved the lyrics (absolutely one for a romance novelist), and I really like the guy’s voice (yes, this is the one I’d like to win – if he doesn’t, I do hope he makes a record. I’d definitely buy it). Not 100% perfect, but it’s live, so you don’t expect it to be the same standard as a multi-take recording. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Oh, and if you’d rather read – here’s an interview with Jacqueline Wilson, my daughter’s favourite author. She sounds a thoroughly nice and sensible woman. (Cough cough cough on kids wanting to be writers because they think it will make them ‘rich and famous’ – rich authors are news because there aren’t many of them! And also, how sad that they’re missing out on the best bit of being an author: telling stories to people, and putting a bit of sparkle into their lives. You can’t buy that feeling.) I think I would enjoy having coffee and eating cake (no, bad Kate, cake is a Banned Substance) with her and talking books.