Paris Breaks

I met up with an old friend from Paris and we talked about Paris breaks for hours, just like the old days. It was amazing really because we hadn’t seen each other for years, but he was instantly recognisable as Mike, and still had many of the same old ways that I remembered from the Paris days.  We talked about the early Paris breaks, from trying to find the EIffel Tower and then ending up with those two french girls, to the scene in the Montmartre cafes where we used to sit and exchange painters stories at the end of the day.  Mike still carried on painting, hoping for the big break in Paris years after I had given up effectively, and put up with a regular job in the petro chemical industry. But do you know what? I’m certain the experience I had with the painters in Paris like Mike and the gang put me in good stead for the career I never wanted. Funy how things work out isn’t it.

If we were to go back to Paris now, on a short break or weekend trip perhaps, it wouldn’t be the same as when we just turned up with our artists materials, a few francs and a thirst for knowledge.  For one thing the informal street painters scene is a lot more tightly regulated than it was  back in the day when you had to take Paris breaks by Ferry because the Eurostar tunnel hadn’t even been dug yet. And I mean that in both senses of the word.

So all that’s left for us now I suppose is the occasional nostalgic Paris breaks with a nice comfortable hotel, so we can shuffle uneasily past the old haunts and try to remember what it was really like after all the false memories which seem to have grown up over the years. We’ll always have Paris breaks., as they say.

Paris Breaks to the 1st

The 1st Arrondissment is well known but sometimes overlooked on Paris Breaks. Do you head straight for the Latin Quarter or Montmartre? At some point you’ll be passing through the centre of Paris and this is what you can find there:

Paris 1st Arrondissement  - Musée du Louvre, Les Halles

The Louvre was once a royal residence, and is a big attraction in the 1st arrondissement. Next to the Louvre is  the Jardin des Tuileries, Paris’s most formal garden park, which was originally laid out by Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis XIV. Place Vendôme, also in the area is the opulent location for the Ritz Hotel. Les Halles and the  Forum des Halles is a huge shopping mall, though done with Parisian style.