PARIS

14/11/2022 Flight CAR to Paris Orly Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca, Morocco @14:05-16:55 AT770.

PARIS Nov 14-20, 2022

Observations About Paris
1. Paris is one of the loveliest cities in the world. There must be detached houses (with grass and some land around it) but I have never seen one. Everyone lives in a 6-story apartment building. Apartments are not cheap.
2. Dog poo. It is much better than the other two times I have been here but one still must watch where you walk.
3. Smoking. It must have the highest percentage of smokers than any country in Europe.
4. Metro. Very efficient and gets you everywhere cheaply. Buy the Navigo card to save money and for convenience. Make sure to carry the small extra card with your photo. I lost mine and it cost me 50€.
5. Paris Museum Pass. A great deal. I bought the 4-day pass for 66E and have paid for it 3 times over (I see a lot of museums). But some are not covered (M Hommes, Galeria M and others), but most are covered. At 10-15E per museum, it doesn’t take much to make it work well. Note that it is a 24-hour card and is not good on day 5 before it was first activated.
6. Food. There must be a million restaurants but they are not cheap. It is impossible to find a hamburger for less than 17E and they are typical European hamburgers – too much bun, no pickles or mustard or bacon), a few pieces of lettuce as a “salad”. Wine is expensive. Burger King is much better – a double cheese with bacon for 11E and a much better burger.
7. SIM card. 15GB for one month cost 15€. It registered and activated when put into your phone!

Day 1, 2 Nov 14-15, 2022. Paris Orly to Paris Charles de Gaulle. No bus. TVG to Antony to CDG 21.30 euro
I had a very uncomfortable night sleeping in the airport – all chairs had arms so I alternated between sitting in a chair and lying on the hard floor.
I was in Paris to get the carry-on backpack I had left at CDG on November 4^th. I had received a message that they had found my bag on Nov 6 but would not answer any emails or phone calls. After endless tries I was able to talk to a real human (use the Air France reservation number) and make a claim but never had a tracking number or any way to make sure the bag was there. So it was somewhat of a risk to fly all the way from Central African Republic (for CAD$900).
At 9, I was at the lost luggage which was ferme and then walked all over to find how to access it. I returned to Lost Luggage and got them to open the door. With only a description of the bag, I finally got their attention when I said I had well over $2000 in the bag. After a long search, they asked where the money was. It then took an hour for them to find the money by basically taking everything out of the pack. Along with the money, there was several years of accumulated travel stuff – a sleeping bag, Thermarest mat, silk sleep sheet, hiking shoes and endless other stuff that was difficult to replace.
Metro/train pass. I bought the Paris Navigo card (5€ + a 22.80€ top up). It requires a small photo to purchase.
I finally left CDG at noon, took the train to Gare Nord and 2 metros to my hostel, home for 2 nights to see all the Nomad Mania sites I had missed on my previous two trips to Paris. I also needed a visa to go to Guinea Bissau, proceed to Gambia and finish all of West Africa (other than Equatorial Guinea – I hate having these single left over single countries but this is an impossible visa).
I had a late lunch at a busy sidewalk café, The Saint Jean – cheeseburger 17.50€ – good for a European hamburger, but it will be hard getting used to European prices.

MONTMARTRE. This is a lovely district with cobble streets, few cars, lovely shops and many cafes with sidewalk seating. 3 NM sites
Montmartre Funicular. It rises 36m up the hill to Sacred Coeur Basilica. Originally built in 1900 when it operated hydrologically, it was rebuilt in 1991 to run on electricity. There are two cars moving up and down at the same time taking 1½ minutes. 2 million people take it yearly. 1.90 Euro each way. Take the 197 steps down.
Sacred Coeur Basilica. Built between 1878-85, this is a wonderful grand church on top of Montmartre Hill. Inside there is a huge central dome. The highlight are the wonderful mosaics in chapels, a huge one over the altar and many small mosaics adorning most surfaces. All the wood is quarter-cut oak. There are great views south over Paris.
La Pigalle. Hip Pigalle is famous for its neon-lit red-light district and eclectic nightlife, from the 19th-century cabaret Moulin Rouge to glam cocktail bars. South of Boulevard de Clichy, contemporary bistros give way to grand 19th-century neoclassical buildings that earned the area the nickname of Nouvelle Athènes (New Athens). Notable art museums include the Musée National Gustave Moreau and the Musée de la Vie Romantique.
Much sketchier than Montmartre, there are many more cars and cheap restaurants.
I bought a SIM card – 15 gigs, 1 month for 15E. It registered and activated itself.
ON Plug-Inn, Montmartre. 35/night including breakfast. I didn’t make a reservation but had to book and pay online as it was not possible at the desk. I could only stay 2 nights as it was booked out. It is large with 6 floors and the tiniest elevator in the world holding only one person with luggage. Rooms were nice with comfortable beds.

Day 3 16/11. This was a big walk-about day seeing as many NM sites as possible (in this order). It has been some time since I walked much. It rained lightly, then quit and then rained heavily from mid afternoon on. I was very knackered when I got back to my hostel after having pizza for dinner. 27 NM sites.
I purchased the Paris Museum Card – 4 days, 66E. Buy at any participating museum or online. Activates with first use. It probably paid for itself on the first day.
Grand Opera. Italian-style opera house with ceiling painted by Chagall & library museum in 19th-century building. An over-the-top building with painted ceilings, great statues and lots of marble. In the Palais Garnier. 14E (not covered in Museum Card)
Grand Synagogue. Landmark 1,800 seat synagogue built in 1874 and seat of French chief rabbi. Open M,T, and Thursday 9-12 and 2-4. No reservations necessary.
InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel. A large hotel that I walked all over. Lovely big sitting area under a large glass roof. I try to go to the bathroom in all these lovely buildings.
Hotel Westminster. Small 5-star hotel, smaller, less ostentatious than most of the others. Cheapest room was 550E.
Hotel Ritz Paris. A huge hotel on Place Vendome with a great copper column in the centre of the square out front. One of the few hotels that I couldn’t get past the front door. Cesar Ritz lived from 1850-1918.
Hotel de Vendome. Presently under renovation but can still open for business.
Hotel Le Meurice. Another 5-star hotel.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs. A huge museum. Large exhibit on Elsa Shiaporelli, a luxury fashion designer with a store from 1933-53 and bought by Tod’s in 2006. Etiene Robial, graphic artist. Large parts on Renaissance and then by century to modern – furniture, ceramics, glass. Pass
Hotel Regina. Another 5-star hotel. Hard to get past the lobby.
Ministry of Culture and Communication. A six story building with a decorative, abstract metal grill covering the front and sides.
Saint Eustache Church. A grand Gothic church with extremely high ceilings and grey stone. The side chapels are a riot of decoration.
Galeries Lafayette. 5 locations in Paris. A large department store.
La Samaritaine. A high-end department store, wrought iron frame, seven stories, glass roof, all stairs.
Pont Neuf. Road bridge crosses the Seine with an island at its west end (with Notre Dame, La Chapelle and the Martyrs memorial on its east end)
Sainte-Chapelle. Ornate 13^th century Gothic chapel built by Louis IX with relics and notable stained glass windows of Biblical scenes, vaulted ceilings and ornate decor. A small area at the bottom of a very high church that wasn’t entered. Built in the 13^th century in the middle of a palace, now the courthouse. Pass
Memorial des Martyrs de Deportation. At the east tip of the island, it is a holocaust memorial, with great small vignettes portraying concentration camps. Has an eternal lit crystal.
La Tour d’Argent Restaurant. Centuries old quayside emblem of French cuisine famed for its house-special pressed duck. Built in 1582. On the south bank of the Seine.
Institut du Monde Arab. Striking, 10-story building with latticed windows, housing Islamic cultural exhibitions, plus cafe. On the river side is a long curve with a separate totally glass cube behind.
Maison de Victor Hugo. The house he lived in from 1832-48. All the interior was auctioned off in 1852 so little original. 230 square metres over 2 floors. Pass
Place des Vosges. Oldest planned square in Paris, lined with trees and red brick houses, built by Henri IV in 1612.
Pavillon de la Reine Hotel. High end hotel in an elegant building offering a fitness center and a refined lounge bar. Behind very high-end art galleries and a small courtyard that couldn’t enter.
Musee Carnavalet. The history of Paris in a huge museum spread over 3 floors. Free
Museum of the Art and History of Judaism. High security. All individual labels in French but good larger story boards. Told of all the banishments. Many Torah and silver pieces. Nothing on the Holocaust. Large library with 25,000 volumes. Pass
Musée Picasso. 17^th century building with 5000 works by Picasso, his own art collection and archive. I hate Picasso and simply don’t get it. The most interesting was the second floor with many photos and art of his family, especially his daughter Maya. Pass
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. Private 12E and not worth the price.
Musée des Arts et Métiers. Converted church with scientific and industrial artworks (many machines from windmills through steam) and artefacts including Foucault’s pendulum (hangs from the ceiling high above and swings. Due to the earth’s rotation, its arc changes slowly and knocks over bullet casings, one by one. Pass
Arts et Métiers Metro Station. Not sure why it is in this list, as it is little different than many old statins – white tile with nice arched roof.
ON The People – Nation X 3 nights. In the far SE of the city, It is a huge 5 story hostel with a market next door. The Nation has a large circle. There are good views of the Eiffel Tower from here – at night the lights intermittently shimmer and there is a great search light on top.

Day 4 17/11. I had another big walk-about. Many places seemed to have a 1-2 kilometer distance between them. Rained most of the morning. 25 NM sites.
Cinémathèque Française. Exhibits consist of “Top Secret” and Muse Miles. Has a large film library. All in French so not very worthwhile.
Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir. A long and wide pedestrian bridge with undulating surface as it crosses two roads and the Seine. Wood deck.
Cité de La Mode et du Design. On the river, this is a fashion design college. The river side has a green tubular network supporting the outside stairs. Rooftop restaurant.
Jardin des Plants. A huge park with a wide variety of trees all labelled with a description. A large natural history museum. Many large greenhouses – an alpine garden and a tropical garden. One of four botanical gardens in Paris.
Grande Galerie de l’Evolution, A natural history museum with many stuffed animals and skeletons. 14E
Great Mosque. Built in 1933, has a garden, courtyard, library, education rooms and a smallish prayer room (that could not be entered, but has a lovely wood minbar. Lovely tile and decorative wood work. Unusual square minaret. 3 E

Marché Mouffetard. A lovely set of small stores and shops centered on one intersection. Cobble streets.
Jardin de Luxembourg. Huge park, many great trees, tennis courts and the Palace, now the French Senate.
Musée de Minéralogie de Mines-Paristech. A lot of rocks. Pass
Marché biologique Raspail. Street market on a wide boulevard, held in the mornings Monday to Friday and Sunday mornings.
La Tour Montparnasse. Modern 210m tower with panoramic views from roof terrace and 56th-floor observation deck.
Hotel Lutetia. A five-star hotel. Went to the bathroom.
Le Bon Marche Rive Gauche. A luxury department store with 6 floors.
Petite Chaise Restaurant. A small restaurant open every day and for lunch. $$$
Les Deux Magots. Opened in 1885, this iconic brasserie serves traditional French fare in an airy charming space. Was packed in the early afternoon with all the outside tables occupied plus the glassed tent to the side. $$$$
Hotel d´ Angleterre. A three -star hotel with small lobby rooms and a small garden courtyard.
Café Procope. Founded in 1686. Rousseau and Voltaire ate here. $$$
Saint Sulpice Church. A huge church, grey stone, large chapels each with a large stained glass window and either large paintings or statues.
Maison d’Auguste Comte. On the second floor, all is intact from when he lived here. There was a photo exhibit on and so was open on a Thursday. Comte was a philosopher and mathematician (1798-1857). Free
Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes et hôtel de Cluny. A great collection of Middle Age art in wood, ivory, metal, enamel, much of it religious. Some great altar fronts. Pass
Grévin Museum. Family friendly wax museum with lifelike models of French historic and contemporary figures. Wax museums are passe and not worth visiting. 26E
Grand Rex. Landmark art deco cinema featuring 7 cinemas, one a huge 2000 seat auditorium with Moorish architecture & a starry ceiling. No English movies when I was there.
Strasbourg-Saint-Denis. The edgy Strasbourg-Saint-Denis area is dominated by a pair of 17th-century triumphal arches, built on the site of Charles V’s former fortifications. Boho cafes mix with old-school bars around Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, known for its eclectic food stores. Passage Brady is lined with Indian restaurants, while chef-led bistros dot narrow lane Cour des Petites Écuries. Le Brady is a famed arthouse movie theater.
Very high black population.
Passerelle Bichat. A small but high arched pedestrian bridge over a canal (with a lock just downstream). Its structure is steel girders.=

Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The usual crap but here the staff were the worst to make it a truly awful experience. Pass
Palais de Tokyo. 1930s venue with rotating exhibits renowned and emerging artists from art to performance. Le Nuit was the highlight. 12E
Galliera Museum. Frieda Khalo exhibit with long lines that moved at a snail pace. Private. 13E
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Art deco concert, opera, recital & dance venue with 2 resident orchestras, constructed in 1913. White marble exterior, lovely metal banisters.
Grand Palais. Art nouveau hall with domed glass roof, built in 1900, hosting exhibitions and cultural events. Under renovation.
Petit-Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris). Richly decorated 1900 building, housing eclectic fine arts dating from Renaissance to 20th century. Free
In Petit-Palais is the Musee des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris. Richly decorated 1900 building house eclectic fine arts dating from Renaissance to 20^th century.

Musée Jacquemart-André. Notable 15^th to 18^th century European art (not very interesting or worth the price) in ornate 19^th century townhouse. Private 15E
Musée Nissim de Camondo. House museum. Elegant Belle Epoque mansion housing 18^th century French furniture and decorative arts. The round library and the kitchen with its massive stove and oven was a highlight. Camondo lived from 1860-1925. Pass
Galeries Lafayette. 5 locations in Paris. A large luxury 3-story department store.
Fouquet’s. A high-end restaurant with high-end prices.
I walked by the Arc de Triomphe after Fouquet’s.
Hotel The Peninsula Paris. Opulent 5-star hotel with large spaces and outdoor café. BR.
Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine. Many friezes, statues (190), and doorways from Notre Dame. Art Deco portion was pay for. Since the April 1919 fire, the new church is anticipated to open in 2024. Pass
Musée de l’Homme. Fully renovated museum with a permanent collection that stems from the 16th century Royal Cabinet. Prehistory museum with cave art, pictographs and archaeology. 12E
Palais de Chaillot. Architectural, naval & ethnographic museums, above fountains & gardens with Eiffel Tower views.
Maison de Balzac. He lived in this house from 1840-47, spending most of that time doing revisions of La Comedie, sometimes up to 30 times. Has five rooms including a kitchen. Had several mistresses, initially older as they had lived through the Revolution but then one 35 years younger at the end. The man there gave me a lot of juicy history. Free
I passed beside the Eiffel Tower and actually took several selfies, unusual for me. 
Musee de quai Branly. Large exhibit entitled “Black Indians of New Orleans” showcasing Mardi Gras. Great history of black people in the USA from slave boats, through the Civil War, Reconstruction, convict leasing (blacks could be imprisoned for little and then were hired out to do free work, ended up being cheaper than slavery as did not have to provide for them), KKK (once had 5 million members), 4000 lynchings between 1877-1950. Pass
Sewer Museum (Musee des Egouts de Paris). The sewers were a cesspool in the 17^th century but by the 19^th, they were an agile, gravity fed system. Tours were first held in 1867 conducted by boat or dredger wagons. Pass (9E)
Zouave du pont de l’Alma. A large statue of a sailor with a musket standing on a pier below the bridge.
Pont Alexandre III. A road/pedestrian bridge, has a wide sidewalk, 4 gold monuments and decorative 3-globe light standards.
Musee de l’Orangerie. Has 9 huge panels in two oval rooms of Monet’s water lilies. Exhibits downstairs are of Michele Thomas. Paul Guillin, and Szufran (most of his art studio and stairwells). Pass
Pont de la Concorde. Another road bridge, it is just east of Pont Alexander III.
Musee de l’Armee. Lots of guns, swords, uniforms, paintings, artillery, and photographs. The French army has not done well since Napoleon. Pass
Musee National Auguste-Rodin. 18^th century mansion and sculpture garden with Rodin’s influential works. Many plaster casts, busts. Pass
Le Penseu “The Thinker” in the garden next to the main exhibit sitting on large concrete base,
I did my laundry at a great place. Paris has cheap laundromats – 4E wash and 1.10E dry. Ate at Burger King for a great American style burger. Both are very close to People – the Nation. 

Day 6 Sat Nov 19. Anther big walk about on a clear, cool day. Mostly to the NW of the city.
Pavillon des Indes, Courbevoie. Art deco brick front and lovely wood rear with gold onion domes and clear stained-glass windows.

Tour Carpe Diem, Courbevoie A skyscraper with large triangular jut-outs.
LA DEFENSE is an area in West Paris that is a sea of skyscrapers. I tried to see the area before but was driving, could not find parking and saw nothing. The only practicald access is walking along the huge Place de Defence, a wide walkway then a large square that is pedestrian only.
Tour Total. An office skyscraper located in  La Défense, in Courbevoie. It houses the headquarters of the oil company TotalEnergies. Built in 1985, it is the fourth tallest skyscraper in La Défense as well as the fifth tallest in France 190 m high. All the offices of the tower integrate energy savings (insulating glazing, management of energy consumption). It is made up of 5 towers attached to each other
You can access the entrance to this tower from the basement by taking the escalator from the Grande Arche metro station.
Tour First. Another skyscraper initially built as the Axa tower and then 50m was added in 2013.
La Grande Arche de la Défense. 110m steel & stone monument in the shape of a hollow cube, illuminated at night.

Les Quatre Temps. The large department store at Defence. Westfields is the main store. Has cinemas.
Le Pouce de Cesar. A skyscraper in a curved half circle shape. Mirror glass.
Le Pouce Giant Thumb. On the Place de Defence. A technical feat of enlarged moulding at 12 metres high and its weight of 18 tons.
The original model, a reproduction of the artist’s thumb made in 1965 on the occasion of an exhibition on the theme of the hand, measured “only” 40 cm and was sold for 1.2 million euros.César Baldaccini, known as César (1921-1998), Le Pouce [The Thumb], polished, waxed and varnished bronze, 1991 Bois de Boulogne. Once a Royal hunting ground, this huge urban park has lakes, trails and a lot of trees and bush. I walked across the entire park diagonally.
Jardin d’Acclimatation. Amusement park in Bois de Boulogne with 42 rides and 15 food venues spread over 15 hectares. 4E
Fondation Louis-Vuitton. Architecturally unique with curving envelopes. Art museum whose present show is Joan Mitchell ((1925-1990)/Claude Monet (1840-1926). Joan Mitchell’s works are often large, in the form of diptychs. She is also one of the artists whose masterpieces enrich the permanent collection of the Louis Vuitton Foundation such as the famous diptych Two Sunflowers. Musée des Années 1930. Museum of art, sculpture, furniture, industrial & architectural design from the 1930s art deco era. Pass
Musée Marmottan-Monet. Significant Monet collection and other impresstionists in a lovely building and porcelain. Also furniture, statues. 12E
Villa Savoye. Classic, 1931 modernist villa, designed by architect Le Corbusier, with guided tours.
Cité de la Céramique. In Sèvre (in west Paris). European and Asian ceramics from 16^th century on, including earthenware and porcelain. Expecting a lot of China wear and ceramic figurines, these are in a minority. The best are the recreated human anatomy. Also large animals, fantastic large plates full of animals and snakes. 6E reduced
Paris Saint-Lazare Station. A brutalist station with reinforced concrete. There is no hall with multiple tracks.

Day 7. Sun Nov 20. A short day to see a few NM sites close to my hostel. Clear and cold. 5 sites. 
Quartier de la Réunion. At the end of the 2000s, the square was redone, in order to revitalize the economic life of the district and to promote the creation of a green space. with flowers and trees. In the center of the square is a circular fountain,
On my way to below, I transferred subway lines and didn’t have my photo ID and was fined 50€. 
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie. A modern museum with many hands-on science stuff that was interesting.
Philharmonie de Paris. Innovative contemporary music venue.Chateau de Vincennes is a fortress located in Vincennes , in the eastern suburbs of Paris , whose construction lasted from the 14th to the 17th centuries. It is the largest royal fortified castle remaining in France and, because of the height of its donjon , one of the highest plain fortresses in Europe.Bois de Vincenne is a wood located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris . With an area of ​​995  hectares, half of which is wooded, it is the largest green space in Paris. The Bois de Vincennes is also one of the places of Parisian prostitution (heterosexual, homosexual and transgender ), as well as a meeting place for gay men. The wood occupies a slightly overhanging plateau to the north of the confluence of the Seine and the Marne . Mainly wooded, it also has some lawns, as well as four lakes linked together by a system of streams.

Flight Paris Orly to Bissau, Guinea Bissau. Royal Air Maroc @18:20-04:45.