Fête du rond du chêne brocante.

 

We popped up to the annual brocante at the Rond du Chêne, more for the walk that to seek out any treasure as is our current status.

Was a wee bit underwhelming but we did see what might be considered a blast from the past!

“Fur aboots are ye fae?”

Think this was possibly put in place for the bears.

Bloomin' eck!

 

Our Pierre de Ronsard in the courtyard has gone into overload!

More art in Beaulieu-lès-Loches...

 

We were in Loches yesterday and before lunch we did the walk across 'Les Prairies du Roy' to Beaulieu-lès-Loches. On arrival we were met with wit a selection of art displayed on the walls and as we ventured further into town we discovered they had an exhibition 'Autistic Artists' showcasing the work of around fifteen autistic artists.

The Hotel de Ville hosted some of the works.

While others were randomly displayed about the town.

We passed a local artist's studio as we were heading out of town when I noticed this large canvas, he said he was exhibiting at another exhibition at Savonnières as per the poster on his door.

There was one udder painting on display as we headed back along the path to Loches.

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.