Paris visit April 2026 day 1...part 2 , Ending in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Our walk down from our hotel in the 19th arrondissement ended at our intended destination '1925-2025 – One Hundred Years of Art Deco' at the Museum of Decorative Arts. This temporary exhibition closed yesterday so we were happy to have made it. You can see more here on my Paris site.

After our visit to the exhibition we headed down rue de Rivoli and across Place du Carrousel in front of the Louvre.

Then onto Quai Voltaire where you can capture the fabulous Musee d'Orsay on the other side of the Seine.

Then over Pont du Carrousel to Quai Voltaire.

Looking back over the bridge towards the Louvre.

We were heading to the Latin Quarter in search of a restaurant for dinner. We headed down toward rue de Seine with one of the city's domes,that of the 'Institut de France', acting as a beacon.

From rue de Seine we continued onto rue de Buci, a popular choice for tourists looking for a restaurant in this part of the city. The street entertainers were out for them but it proved too busy for us. 

We turned up the quiet rue Grégoire de Tours and were 'accosted' by the friendly proprietor of 'Gavroche' just around the corner. Normally we would not be drawn in by this approach but we were ready to eat and he seemed like a nice guy. So we entered the the restaurant which had a few customers spread around. We ended up in the 'window' so as to attract others in!

It proved to be a great choice with great service very tasty food at a good price. It didn't take long for the place to fill up - probably the attractive couple in the window!

Rue de Buci took on a different vibe after dark.

After dinner we headed over to the legendary 'Caveau de la Huchette' to check out the jazz on offer as recommended by a friend. 

There was already a long queue outside the venue and as we joined the end only to be told that this was in fact queue number two - the other, even longer, one was across the road! We decided that maybe we will try agin on our next visit.

We decided to take the metro back up to the 19th catching it over the river at the Hôtel de Ville, passing the illuminated Notre Dame. It was interesting to see that the 'love locks' have reappeared - not sure how long they will be allowed to stay.  

Crossing the Pont d'Arcole was magical.

A walk in the park? Monday's walk...

Not exactly, the walk I led yesterday's in Descartes had all the right ingredients,blue sky, riverside,lovely gardens, pleasant scenery and good company but at 24 deg, the weather was just a wee bit too hot but we boldly strode along taking advantage of some shade where we could.

It's days like theses that remind us to stop, 'Smell the Roses' slow down and take time to enjoy life.

Brocante et la course de caisses à savons à Preuilly-sur-Claise.

We went over to the annual 'Foire de la Saint-Georges' brocante at Preuilly-sur-Claise on Saturday. Where it normally stretches out through the streets of the town this it was restricted to the south of the river,around the Marie, Place des Halles and Pl. du Champ de Foire down by the 'Le Lavoir'.

We are no longer searching for treasures as we actually need to get rid of 'stuff' but it is still fun looking at what's of offer...we never get boared.

The restrictions on brocante stalls was because much of the main streets were given over to form a course,made up of bales of hay, for the staging of a soapbox race. 

There was an interesting array of vehicles taking part.

Love that the course included a ramp and water jump.

The finish line was just before the river crossing, a real fun run!