Fri 11 Sep - Flaneuring in Paris

I slept really well in Lise's sofa bed. I woke up at 6.20am after waking up once only during the night. Perfect peregrino time to wake up. 

However, I woke up with seriously red and watery eyes. I am not sure whether the redness was because of the very long day yesterday or my mild allergy to cats or both. I doubt the wine was the main culprit as we didn't have very much. 

Another fine day in Paris. Morning view from Lise and Greg's apartment. 

So what's a man to do with himself in Paris on a glorious day. Flaneuring, of course. To possibly my two favorite places in Paris. Both are also free. 

Mind you, I clocked up 14.5km even on a "slow" day of flaneuring.

I first walked to Pere Lachaise, the rumble and tumble cemetery where one or two famous people are buried. 

There is a side entry only 300 meters from Lise and Greg's place so I walked there first. Closed. At 10.30am. When the sign clearly said that it would open at 8.30am. So I walked around to the main entrance. 

Refer the map of where to go. 

This time there was no old hippie sitting there muttering. You know, he died all too young. He had so much creativity left. Life is not fair. 

Yes, we are talking about the grave for a certain James Douglas Morrison, better known as Jim. 

I visited a couple of other old buried favorites. 

Oscar Wilde whose mausoleum for a better word Di kissed 10 years ago. 

That is no longer possible as there is a transparent screen in front of it now. 

And of course Victor Noir's grave. 

Rub a certain body part for good fertility. Or so the saying goes. It has clearly been tried. 

My next flaneuring destination was the world's original highline park, Promenade Plantee. The rail line that became a vertical park when Bastille railway station was demolished to make way for Paris Opera House. 

Yes, this highline was created before New York City's famous highline. 

Up there it starts...

And if you turn around from the same spot you see a part of the Paris Opera House. Not as sexy...

And if you walk up there... A different world. 

I had bought myself some baguette, charcuterie and fromage so I had lunch up there. Nice, hey?

A few more pics along the way. The highline ceases to be a highline after a while and comes down to street level. It is still very nice. 

Views down over streets...

There are several old railway tunnels along the way too. 

I then returned to Camp De Courville aka Lisa and Greg's place via purchasing a SIM card. 

I was serviced by a very nice bloke from Bangladesh who perhaps was not the sharpest guy ever. It took a while for him to get it activated and to work but he managed eventually. 

A few lazy hours followed waiting for the inhabitants to return from respective work. 

Once Lise came home, we wandered off to a local bistro called Ugosevlino. We had a Friday pre dinner drink as we waited for Greg to return from a business trip to Lille. 

I finished off my Parisian stay with a typical Parisian bistro meal of pullet, frites, jus and salat. 

A few pics from the bistro. Lise and Greg. 

Me and Lise. 

Afterwards we strolled back, had a cup of tea and went to bed not long before midnight.

A most pleasant day followed by a most pleasant evening. Good night.