Paris in the Spring

I am tucked up in our comfy wee hotel room in Paris, and i am so glad to be in bed after a long (but excellent) day, which started some 19 hours ago! We had an early start for the 7 a.m. flight to Charles de Gaulle. All went smoothly until we found that the train line into Paris was closed for weekend maintenance so we had to make our way up and down various escalators to a replacement bus. Even that went smoothly; buses were rolling in and filling up fast, and soon we were on the metro to St Germain-des-Prés and leaving our luggage at our old favourite, the Hotel Artus. 

The weather was beautiful so we decided to go for a walk around the Ile de la Cité then across the bridge to the Ile St Louis. When we got to the narrow tip of the Isle de la Cité with it beautiful weeping willow tree, we noticed an unfolding drama in the water. The skipper of a leisure boat had foolishly ignored the warning triangle in the shallow water beyond the point, and his boat had become stuck fast on a mud bank. The fire department were already in attendance and soon a police boat arrived, followed by two more fire department vessels. We sat on the stone steps to watch. There was much Gallic hand gesturing between all parties involved, two divers investigated what was going on under the boat, and there was a failed attempt to tow the boat free. Finally, a hefty rope was affixed to the boat from the largest of the fire department vessels, and then two of the smaller fire speed boats circled near the stranded boat at speed to create some waves as the boat was pulled mightily by the fire department boat. And …. success! The crowd on the end of the Ile de la Cité all cheered as she floated free. It had been a very diverting half hour! James and I resumed our perambulations and had a pleasant coffee at the Brasserie Ile St Louis before returning to our hotel for a wee rest before dinner. We dined in a restaurant near the hotel and had drinks in a café before heading to bed. It’s great to be here!