Explorations

Lots of exploration this week (both physically and artistically) so feeling quite satisfied with where we are at. The routine is much the same but the outcomes vary dependent on what happens along the way. We set off to explore La Promenade Plantee one sunny morning earlier this week but by the time we got on the bus it had clouded over so we decided to stay on the bus to the end of the line (Gambetta, near the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery) then return to the other end of the line to Parc du Champ de Mars (the Eiffel Tower at one end and Ecole Militaire at the other) an interesting trip through the centre of Paris. 

By the time we had criss crossed Paris the sun had come out and we had a wonderful time wandering around the paths that edge  the Park (avoiding the tourists) across the river and along the banks of the river as far as Pont Alexandre III (Port Debilly, Port de la Conference and Port des Champs Elysees). Along the way we discovered the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris which we have never visited and added it to our list.
We eventually hopped on a bus back to St Paul where we stopped at the Fromagerie to buy some delicate young, soft Rocamadour goats cheese. 

We had visited Rocamadour when touring by car in 1996 and were struck by it's situation, built into the side of a cliff and the fact that it has been a pilgrimage site on the Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle since the middle ages (a history lesson with a small round of cheese). 
Another exploration took us back to Montmartre to find the cemetery. 67 bus to Pigalle then a short walk up the hill to Abbesses looking for a boulangerie that we had visited in 2011 (it was the winner of the best baguette in Paris for that year). Unfortunately it also was closed for August so we set off along Rue des Abbesses and discovered the 2010 winner (Le Grenier a Pain) who had the most delicious pastries we had seen (we settled for a gorgeous tartetine with red currants and cream custard). We never did get to see the cemetery but did discover the Montmartre Bus which wends its way in and out of all the narrow streets and up and down the hills (a much easier way to tour the area - and move through the hordes of tourists).

Finally got to traverse La Promenade Plantee on Wednesday and found it a very calm and relaxing space within the busy streets of the city (even though they were only ten metres below us. 

We discovered a very unusual design for a police station.
And ended up at the Jardin de Reuilly where there is an old station which was part of the Vincennes railway line which used to run along here.

After a relaxing lunch in deck chairs on the Plage near the Cite one day we decide to explore the rest of the Voie Georges Pompidou and Esplanade de Villes as far as the Canal St Martin. 

To our surprise we discovered that the dock continued alongside the lock and all the way along the canal to Bastille (another very different view of Paris)

We even discovered another Australian a long way from home

In the evening we met up with Lindsay and Jane for a catch up (they were staying in the Baldessin apartment out near Crimee) then afterwards decide to take the night bus to Champ de Mars to see the Tower lit up.

 Better leave off now and do some more exploring next week.
Work is going extremely well - lots of ideas and mock ups and I'm wanting to try them out but no opportunities for etching plates (or even digitally printing them without great cost) so I guess I'll just have to be patient and keep working. The Cite is certainly a great place to work up ideas as there is really nothing here to distract you (except the city itself of course but then it just sparks more ideas).