We were hoping that the eve of Christmas Eve would be a good day to visit the Louvre: everyone would be busy catching up with family wouldn’t they? Wrong. The Louvre teems with people from all over the globe. Footsore parents and detached children; ticking off probably the most recognised artwork in the world as they crawl along the snaking line to get close to the Mona Lisa. After a selfie under the huge pyramid we set off around just a small amount of the paintings and sculptures.
Some of the historical paintings were fascinating; like the huge work showing the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France. It’s interesting that within 25 years of the revolution that led to massive upheaval and a time of terror, the French people were willing to enable Napoleon to crown himself as an autocratic ruler with his coronation taking place in the Notre Dame.
In a moment of naughty irreverence I couldn’t resist a shot of a painting of St Sebastian and John the Baptist with a baby Jesus and making comment on the cladding around Sebastian’s loins.
“Visited a very crowded Louvre today – this painting caught my eye: Sebastian modelling his new season budgie smugglers. John the Baptist appears unimpressed.”
We decided that the crowds were just a huge distraction from any means of engaging with the sights on display and headed to a nearby cafe for a bite to eat and to wait for the darkness to fall.
One of the attractions for families in Paris at Christmas is the carnival and Christmas markets in the Tuileries.
We headed in to the grounds with the thousands of others and joined the line for the large ferris wheel which serves as a ‘Paris Eye’ across the lights of a pre-Christmas city. Once packed within our little perspex gondolas the wheel swung us high above the crowds into the wind and a world of reflections and the Eiffel Tower; its lighthouse beam sweeping across the Paris sky and pointing the way to the Arc de Triumph squatting at the top of the Champs Élysées ready for New Year’s eve when it will burst forth with fireworks.
After our ride we managed the crowds for just a little while before taking and exit and heading west to the gate out to Place de la Concorde and views of the lights in the Place and the rows of decorated trees lining up on either side of the Champs Élysées.
It’s only a short walk from Place de la Concorde to that part of Rue Saint-Honore and its cluster of fabulous high end label shops. Dior, Hermes, Chanel, Balmain, and the list goes on. Last minute shoppers clutching bags with famous brands on their sides dodge around the woman begging in the street: a stark juxtaposition that reminds us of the huge dichotomies that exist within our world. Earlier in the afternoon we heard about a shooting against Kurdish refugees near the Gare d’est.
The lighting and decorating on the buildings here was wonderful as we moved past and on around the corner into the Place Vendome, home of the famous Ritz Hotel.
After what had already been a busy day we had found somewhere to enjoy the end of the week and to unwind after a day of sightseeing.
We’d discovered a live music venue in the 10th Arrondissement, on the banks of the Canal St Martin and walked to the Metro station at Opera to travel to Louis Blanc and a short 5 minute walk to Bizz Art, a great live music venue where we spend a great night in mezzanine seats with a great view of the stage and enjoyed dinner and the show; featuring Quentin Moore, from the US and with an excellent soul voice; switching easily into falsetto and out again, backed by a 4 piece band of Keyboard, Bass, Guitar and Drums.
After a big day we made the short walk back to the Metro where, despite it being after midnight we only had to wait a couple of minutes for a train home with services still running at 10-15 minute frequencies.
It’s now ticked over to Christmas Eve and it’s a bit surreal to imagine the way that we would usually spend Christmas Eve at home and the gatherings of family and excited grandchildren. We fall to bed: exhausted.