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Today we visited the Pompidou centre, after a major delay in departure from hotel due to my not being able to find my passport, but finally it appeared in a highly original place.  The Pompidou centre is a building with the services on the outside, it is a truly dreadful, already showing its age with grimy pipes and services.  Each service pipe is colour coded; Green for water, Blue for Air, Yellow for electricity and Red for lifts.

The centre houses a library, which opens at 12.00 a.m and had students queuing an hour beforehand.  As well as the library, there is a restaurant on the sixth floor, with a good view of Paris and tables on the roof each decorated with a rose.  Alas the restaurant priced itself out of our reach, although not quite as expensive as the Jules Verne restaurant on the Eiffel tower.

The building also houses modern art, three floors of it.  Starting on the sixth floor were a couple of exhibitions.   We spent rather too long on Samuel Beckett and the Airs De Paris.  Moving on then to the fourth floor of modern art, the type of art which is represented by the pile of bricks on the Tate Modern.  Again spent far too long in that area.

Back on the fifth floor was the type of modern art which did have some originality and graphical excellence.  Here there were pictures by Picasso, Leger, Jean Dubuffet, Matisse and Salvidor Dali.

Getting late, we went and ate in a nearby café, both of us opting for the Spaghetti Bolognese, far better and far cheaper than the night before.

Off to see La Defense du Temps, a special  clock in the Clock Quarter; disappointingly it was being worked on and hence not showing the correct time.

Back to the hotel to pick up the bags, then through the Metro in the rush hour and onto the RER to the airport.  Terminal 3 at Charles de Gaulle airport is not nice having very few amenities, no good food, no reasonable bars, and an extremely bad announcement system which is impossible to understand with all the echoes.

We started the day a little later than normal after an excellent breakfast in the Radisson. 

Out on the metro, changed onto the line which takes us into the Latin zone.  First stop was a visit on the Pantheon.  This is where the great people of France are entombed.  We visited the tombs of Voltaire, the Curies and Victor Hugo and a few other famous authors.  At 11.00 we took the tour on to the roof.  This allowed us to take pictures from a height inside the building, and to take pictures of Paris from just below the dome of the Pantheon. 

Next it was of to see the Notre Dame cathedral, stopping on the way for a coffee.  In front of the cathedral was a Fête du Pain; just what we needed.  We bought an Artisan Pain to go with the remains of yesterday’s Camembert. Trekked around the inside of the Notre Dame, looking at the Rose windows.

Orsay was next on the agenda.  This building is an old railway station converted into an art gallery. Some very fine clocks adorn it. The building is definitely worth looking at, as are some of the pictures.  Large collections of Monet, Manet, Mondrian.  As usual in a Paris museum you were allowed to take photographs.

The evening was spent visiting the erotic museum.  This contained examples of erotica from many ancient cultures.  Afterwards we had a rather poor meal at a Creole restaurant nearby.

Today the sun shone on us, at least to start with.  Visited the Louvre first.  Here we visited the rooms of Napoleon the third, objects d’art, sculpture and various modern sculpture. 

We felt we had to see the Mona Lisa, but it was probably the low point of the trip.  Pictures will appear on the website in due course.

Walked along Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe, stopping on the way for a coffee. (Off the Champs Elysee where we could afford one.)

Caught the metro to La Defense to see the the huge office block built as an arch.  This area is the business district with many new office buildings.  It is a continuation of the Champs Elysee, a whole straight road from the Louvre, the Obelisque, Arc de Triomphe and La Defense.  (Except the latter is slightly slewed - which must be intentional, but don’t know why.)

Here we ate lunch, some camembert and bread, on the steps of La Defense.  We walked back from the Arch, through the business district, over the Seine and caught the Metro to the hotel from Pont de Neuilly.  Stopping only for a pint of lager at an Irish pub. Almost a reasonable price of 4 Euros from the seemingly bilingual barman.

Managed to catch Rosemary in the doors of the metro.  I was holding them open for her, she was not quite quick enough and they slammed shut on her.  Not quite the same as British underground doors.  These French ones really slam shut hard (or so I am told).

Now it was on home to the hotel, and back out for supper at a local restaurant where we ate a couple of courses.

First day of our long weekend in Paris.  Up at a reasonable time to try and get a good seat on the Easyjet to Paris.  Despite checking in a few minutes after the opening time, we still seemed to be in the boarding queue B.  Where were all those others who were loading before us.

Flight was uneventful, with this table cloth of white below us all the way. 

At CdeG we moved on to the RER for the 30 minute trip to Gare de Nord.  Here we caught the metro to the nearest stop for out hotel (Porte de St-Cloud).  Trying to buy a ticket was daunting.  It was lunch time, so all the ticket offices were closed.  So had to use a machine. At least they could be trained to speak English. Bought a ticket for the week, reasonable price, but later looking at the ticket we now realise it expires on Sunday.

At Porte de St-Cloud took the wrong exit, walked around the whole traffic island the wrong way, eventually found the road to the hotel.  Yes it was only two minutes from the Metro.  My route was 20 minutes.  Efficient check in by the Radisson staff.

Quickly back out to purchase a drink by the Metro.  How expensive Paris is.  Fifteen Euros for two beers.

On to the Metro.  We had decided to view the area of Montmartre.  Took the number 9 to Miromesnil.  Changed to the 13 and rode to Place de Clichy.  Here we walked and saw the Moulin Rouge, Moulin de la Galette, Moulin Radet, Chateau Des Brouillards, Basilique du Sacre-Coeur.

On the way back, (6ish) stopped for a drink in another bar for a couple of beers.  This reaffirmed the belief that Paris beer was expensive. (17.50 for two).  Lovely district by the Metro Pigalle with masses of sex shops, lap/pole dancing clubs and X rated films.  Almost persuaded Rosemary to visit the Museum of Erotica, but alas one exhibit in the window put her totally off the idea. This was a chair with a slit in the seat and a rotating paddle with the paddles protruding through the seat.

Near by we found a French restaurant where we had supper.  Both of us started with terrine starters.  Rosemary with a meat version, while I ate a fish terrine.  Main course was Cassoulet for me, and Tartiflette.  Far too much to eat.  Then back home on the metro. I managed to spay a Scittish woman sitting next to us with lemon from my lemon segment.

My impressions of France. 

How can they run a country where most things close for lunch.  Shutting all the ticket offices for lunch.  I got the general impression that travel was free at lunch.  Gates left wide open.

The graffiti on the buildings next to the rail lines makes the British version look rather tame.

Mobile phones run below ground.  How come we are so backward on London Transport.

Off very late today, arrived in St Peter Port for lunch.  Had an excellent and large club sandwich in a pub.

 Walked to St Sampson, rather deary place.  St Peter Port is definitely going up market, while St Sampson is going down.

 Tonight we have booked a table at Crabby Jacks for a final meal and drink.  Hopefully there will be some dancing.  Tomorrow up early to bus over to the airport for the flight back to Southampton.

Diverted by puss wanting a saucer of milk.  Walked from our hotel to St Pierre Park Hotel in the centre of the island for their three courses Tennerfest meal at £10.  Very good value, and very well presented, but spoilt by somewhat erratic service and waitresses whose first language obviously wasn’t English, Patois or French.  Coffee being served 10 minutes before the desert course was one example.

After lunch walked back to Vazon Bay via Cobo.  En route we passed by the Guernsey telephone museum.  As usual it was closed at this time or year.  As we were leaning over the gate, admiring a submarine cable with repeater, one of the volunteers who works there was entering and invited us in to view the exhibits.  We had visited before in 1993, and were very pleased and impressed by the amount of work which had been done to enhance the displays in the interim period.  We must of spent a good hour there, and had a very good explanation of the workings of the museum by the volunteer.  Ex-BT, he had worked in the Guernsey Telecoms industry since the 1960s.

Walked about 8 miles.

Today was another late start; we were off to catch the 12.15 ferry to Herm. Unluckily for Rosemary, who had vetoed my recommended bus as far too late to catch the ferry; we arrived in St Peter Port with ample shopping time. A quick walk up the steps to Pollet Street, a few minutes in Jessops, and Steve was away with a 10-20mm Sigma lens. Back to quay and a cappuccino coffee for Rosemary. The day was sunny with some nice photogenic cumulus clouds, though a little chilly with the Northerly wind. Ferry to Herm, walk to shell beach for a fairly mediocre shell collection (but with a partial ormer), tide was high. We ate a picnic on the beach, provided by Messers Marks and Spencers, and a gentle walk back around the South end of the island. We were entertained by the antics of one of Her Majesty’s destroyers who seemed to be practicing turns and manoeuvres in the sea between Herm and Sark. Good view of the Barclay brothers castle. They apparently ship their staff in from Guernsey by helicopter, and send it out for bottles of olives when their supply falls short. Back at the harbour we caught the 4.35 ferry back to the Guernsey as the sun was setting. Some opportunities to use the new lens for some cloudscapes. Back in the flat a couple of G&Ts, and then supper of Cajun-ed left over chicken with salad.

Late start, caught the bus into town with the intention of catching the ferry to Herm.  Alas, the winter timetable had kicked in a day early and the ferry we wanted did not exist.  The recommended day to visit is Wednesday, so we will attempt again tomorrow.

The Victoria Tower was open to visitors again, so picked up the key from the Guernsey museum.  Climbed the spiral stone steps and wooden stairs to the balcony and looked out over the island.  Good views to the north and east. 

After returning the key to the museum, we ate our sandwich and smoothie lunch in Candie Gardens, pretending it was warm & sunny.

Took a bus over to the Coach House Galleries where we viewed the paintings and ceramics and bought one piece for a Christmas present.  Walked down to the coast road for a bus back to the flat.

Tonight supper in the hotel, and a quiet and most boring set of people I have seen. I saw one and a half bottles of wine served between 4 tables; we had the one bottle. Didn’t start of well when I ordered a dry sherry for Rosemary, and was presented with a Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

The food we were served was all from the Tennerfest menu, but was by no means anywhere as good as the food from the Auberge.  All in all was rather a disappointment.

Not very promising weather today, low cloud and very poor visibility, though some aircraft were landing and taking off.  We caught the bus to the top of the road which leads down to Petit Bot Bay.  When we reached the bay, we found a group of women were congregating for their Monday walk, dressed in shorts and tee shirts and talking of stripping off when the heat burnt through.  They invited Steve to join tem, but he chickened out.

We set off in the opposite direction  to the walking party and we went towards St Peter’s Port.  We walked along the cliff path in the cloud, the warm mists constantly swirling up the cliffs from the sea made the walk into a stroll through a Turkish bath.

Eventually made it to The Auberge restaurant on the Jerbourg road for luncheon.  Normally, there’s a fabulous view, but not today - even Castle Cornet eventually succumbs to the fog. But we were undaunted and started with a quick refreshing pint of lager while we ordered our meals.  I am afraid we went the whole hog and went for three courses with wine and coffee, though to keep costs down we chose from the tennerfest menu.  As we waited at our table, we sampled a snackrell of bread dipped into olive oil with tomato pesto, served cutely in a quirky plate.

Rosemary started with Crispy Aromatic Duck with a salad of salted cucumber plus honey roasted figs, baby spinach and spice plum and vanilla dressing, followed by fresh linguini with sautéed mushrooms, braised fennel, parsley and toasted pinenuts.  Steve chose the slow roasted cherry tomatoes in balsamic with basil, feta and olives, crispy parmesan, followed by grilled black bream, chorizo and coriander couscous salad, marinated carrot and courgette in lemon oil and tomato pesto.   Yummy.

The red wine we had to accompany the meal was, amazingly, from Telavi in Georgia. It is not often we see wines from Georgia.  Actually it was a good wine, and a lot better than what we had drunk when we visited that country.

The sweet course dishes were absolute works of art.  I took a picture of our sweets, and will publish them with this blog entry.  I ate, at the recommendation of the Latvian waitress, small, deep-fried doughnuts with a cappuccino flavoured mousse (served in an espresso cup), and a raspberry coulis dip (in shot glass).  Rosemary ate a spiced apple and pear crumble with special custard.  They sound over-ingrediented, but were again excellent.

After coffees and sweeties we caught the bus back to the flat, and vegged out for the rest of the day.

The clocks have changed, so the miserable dark winter days have started.  I think this is the worst day of the whole year.  Out for a local walk, and paper buying.  Surprised to find no papers in the shops.  Appears to be fog on the island, so no flights in and out.  Walked around the Bay, admiring the sea and birds.  Flat cooked tarragon chicken for supper.

Off to Guernsey on holiday.  Left home at 6.00 am to catch the 8.20 from Southampton.  Uneventful flight, arrived, picked up our luggage and saw the number 7 bus we wanted leave promptly at its allotted 9.02 time.  So instead, we caught the 7A into town, and caught another 7A to Vazon Bay.

After dumping the luggage at La Grande Mare (our time-share since 1985!!), back into St Peter Port for a Tennerfest menu meal at one of our favourite’s, Da Nello’s.    R started with the bruschetta of grilled vegetables while I had raw tuna marinated in tomatoes, herbs and chilli flakes.  Good choices.  However, there were serious problems with ordering the main course.  I wanted the pork steak, and I believe R wanted the risotto.  R knew I was going to order the pork, so ordered the pork for herself; my rule is never to have the same as others on the table, so ordered the risotto.  We ended up eating what the other wanted.  R’s pork steak was lovely and juicy, the pork retaining a very slight pink colour.  The risotto was so very superior to any risotto I had in Italy on my last holiday.  We finished off with coffee and sweets.

Did a bit of shopping while we were in town, the market place is still being modernised and will be a long time before it is completely open.  The road on the north side had been pedestrianized, some old shops have re-opened.  Shockingly, a New Look and HMV have taken residence in the market hall.  Looked through HMV, but decided to support local trade and bought some DVDs, and CDs from No 19 -  a The Who compilation, Artic Monkies and a White Stripes album.  The DVDs were Oceans 12, Trainspotting and Outland.  The sales assistant said she couldn’t sell me the DVDs unless I could prove I was over 18. Ho, ho, ho.

To Safeways where R disgusted over lack of local produce and standard of vegetables and then back to the hotel to check in.  R sought out the local feline resident who has greeted us the past two years; he dutifully appeared but regarded our lack of milk as indecent and left.  Chilled out for the rest of the evening watching Oceans 12 on the laptop a good plot.