A rainy day in Paris

Last year we had found the heat in Paris really too much for comfort. This year it was much cooler and while yesterday was pleasant, today we woke to the forecast heavy rain. It was our anniversary, so we exchanged cards before going in search of breakfast. We found good coffee and pastries at a brasserie, Le Village Ronsard, at the end of the road near the small food market. The croissants were so good we suspected they came from the bakery next door, La Maison d'Isabelle, which was awarded ‘best croissants in Paris’ back in 2018 and is still drawing in the crowds as a result!

Eternelle Notre Dame

The rain hadn’t come as a surprise, it had been forecast for several days previously. So we’d come prepared with umbrellas although they proved insufficient against the heaviest rainfall first thing in the morning! We had pre-booked tickets for a VR experience, Eternelle Notre Dame, so made our way in the pouring rain down to the river and across to the Île de la Cité. I was pleased that I’d taken a photo the previous evening looking across to Notre Dame, when we’d been thrilled to see the iconic spire restored since our visit last year.

The entrance to the VR experience was hard to find as no signs had been put out and it wasn’t officially open as yet (despite the fact that our tickets said to come 15 minutes early). But once found we were allowed to wait inside until it did properly open, along with a few other equally soggy visitors!

We were then fitted with headsets and also some rather heavy backpacks before being briefed. The experience worked much as the Egyptian one we did in London a little while ago, although I didn’t find my headset worked quite as well; the picture was blurred and the sound faint at times. However it was very effective, taking us through the history of the cathedral from its first building through the 19th century restoration and addition of the spire, to the fire and the work now ongoing to reconstruct and repair.

Our virtual guide took us high into the ‘forest’, as the lattice of wooden beams beneath the roof is known. From there we were led out onto the parapet around the south bell tower for an amazing ‘view’ of Paris. These sections of the tour that took us to the highest points of the cathedral were among the most fascinating, along with the opportunity to look over the shoulders of medieval stone masons and other craftsmen as they worked.

Afterwards we had a look at the free exhibition about the work being done. A guide talked us through some aspects (in excellent English), including the harmonisation of the organ which has to be done at night when it’s quiet and will take six months in total. Everything is on track for the promised reopening in December this year. I can’t wait to come back next year to see inside.

When we came out the rain had almost stopped, so we had a stroll across the island to the Place Dauphine, where we had honeymooned, stopping there for a hot chocolate.

Tunnel des Tuileries

We crossed the Pont Neuf to the Right Bank and went down to the quayside. Where once traffic thundered along the banks of the Seine, there has more recently been a concerted effort by the city authorities to divert cars etc. away from the river and open it up to pedestrians, cyclists and runners. As part of that scheme, the 860-metre-long tunnel that runs beneath the Quai François Mitterrand was given over to street artists in the summer of 2022. The works were intended to stay in place for a year but since the initial project other possibly unauthorised street artists have made their mark on the tunnel’s walls.

This was the perfect place to explore on this wet morning. We walked all the way through, taking plenty of photos. I enjoyed trying to capture the shadowy figures of runners passing in front of the art as a slow shutter speed was essential in the dim light.

As we emerged there was more art on the walls either side of the path as it ascended. I was interested to note what must have been a collaboration between artists from Paris and Bogota, where we had seen such wonderful street art last year.

The Olympic flame

By now we were near the eastern end of the Tuileries and could see the Olympic flame burning beneath its balloon. We had watched on TV as it was it lit during the Olympic Games opening ceremony on an equally wet day. Now the Paralympic Games were on, and it was once again burning. Access was limited to people who had pre-registered and although we might have been able to do so on our phone on the spot we decided we were happy enough taking photos from a distance.

From here we walked up the Rue des Pyramides where we found lunch in a typically Parisian café. After that we concluded that our still-wet shoes were becoming a bit too unpleasant to wear and headed back to our rental apartment to dry both them and us!

Anniversary dinner

In the evening we celebrated our anniversary with a glass of prosecco in the Café de Metro and then walked down to the river for dinner at Comme Chai Toi. This little restaurant styles itself as a restaurant ‘bistronomique' which I took to mean it sees itself somewhere between a simple bistro and something more fancy. If so, it is spot on.

We had a lovely meal at a nice table by the window with dishes including a watercress velouté starter for me and a breaded swordfish stick for Chris, my fish main with sauce vierge and Chris's stuffed rabbit’s leg, and a too-large biscuit and caramel ganache desert that defeated me towards the end! We also both really liked the wines chosen for us by the waiter, based on a fun little quiz (‘would you rather be on a beach or in the mountains? for example).

Afterwards we strolled back to the apartment, appreciating the lack of rain and looking forward to a promised brighter day tomorrow.