After a big night, the majority of Paris just never woke up!
We had slowly worked out in the days prior that very little was likely to be open on New Years Day. No museums, no local shops, and only a few restaurants. With that in mind, we decided to spend some time enjoying the architecture and streetscapes around the Latin Quarter, including the Sorbonne. So strange to see a usually bustling area so empty even by late morning.
We wandered through Luxembourg Gardens – a little oasis in the middle of the city. Like Hyde Park in London, it was great to see so many runners and walkers enjoying the fresh air.
We decided that the Champs Elysees had to be open for shopping so headed over. Somehow, Public Holiday trading hasn’t hit Paris and everything was closed – quite bizarre coming from Brisbane. Particularly odd was how poorly advertised the trading hours were – we’d looked in shop windows and online in days prior, and assumed that no word meant ‘normal trading’. Silliest thing was that there were an amazing number of people around… if it was Queen St Mall the shops would have been enjoying a bumper day!
At the bottom of the Champs Elysees it looked like the circus was coming to town with a giant street parade. No evidence of why, but everyone seemed to be having a great time!
Our ‘quiet’ day also gave us a chance to catch up on a few spots we hadn’t had a chance to visit – the very pretty Alexandre III bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background was a must.
On the off-chance, we headed to the Mouffetard markets – again, no luck, but the streets were lovely to see all the same. It’s given us plenty to go back for!
Final stop for the day was at the Shakespeare & Co bookshop. We could spend hours and thousands of euros in this beauiful little shop that is acknowledged as a ‘must visit’ in the Latin Quarter.
Tonight we’re off to Munich on the overnight train. Here’s hoping for a more smooth ride than the train to the mountains of North Vietnam last year!
Love M & theBunch xx
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