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| Aire de Reims, stop for lunch |
We woke up to a warm, sunny Easter Friday as we prepared to leave Metz for the last time. After a healthy breakfast of cheese and cereal with yogurt I walked over to the German Gate to take one last photo of it and our small building across the street. The street cleaners that usually are out and about were absent and there was little traffic around as we said our goodbyes to Metz and headed out to the bus station, 15 minutes away. Our Ouibus was on time and we had a four hour journey ahead of us on the A4 highway, passing through Reims, following the Marne River towards Paris and our next stop for the next four days. Traffic around the Paris Periphery or ring road was very heavy and we were over an hour late arriving at the Bercy bus station. We called our host Tom and told him we would be delayed, stalled on the world's largest parking lot!
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| Metro Bercy, Paris |
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| 12 Rue de Chabrol, Paris |
Our B&B was not far from the Gare de l'Est so we walked the short distant to 12 Rue de Chabrol and met Tom who showed us about and gave us the keys. Our tiny studio apartment was on the sixth floor (no elevator!), up 121 steps, in an old building much in need of upgrading, but typical of the thousands of similar establishments throughout the city. We had plans to meet up with Doug Pincock and his wife Marilyn at a small cafe for a drink and supper. Afterwards we headed up the street to Le Vieux Belleville, a delightful crowded bar filled with artists and Minelle, a short plump lady singing old-time ballads and traditional songs of bygone Paris and playing the accordion. It is considered a legendary cafe-restaurant of working-class Paris though I think more tourists than locals frequent this spot. On the way we had passed what legend purports to be the birthplace of Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow beloved by all Parisians, 72 Rue Belleville. As the evening settled we had our first glimpse of the distant Eiffel Tower and the city laid out before us. Tomorrow we were planning to get up early and head into the 7th Rondissement to visit the famous Museum d'Orsay. Heart be still!
gws
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| Parc de Belleville, distant view of Eiffel Tower |
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| birthplace of French singer Edith Piaf, rue de Belleville 72 |
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| Rick, Marilyn and Marie, Le Vieux Belleville |
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| singing French bar style, Le Temps du Muguet |
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| Rick, Marie Marilyn and me, Le Vieux Belleville |
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| Jourdain Metro |
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| our tiny studio! |
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| 6 flights of stairs! |
