The weather last Sunday was perfect, so we went for a stroll along the river.
But first, we called into the Gare de Lyon, to check where our train to Lyon would be leaving from, and what would the best way for us to get ourselves to the station. It's a busy place!
The station restaurant is called Le Train Bleu and looks out across the original platforms in the main hall.
Even though I just knew I'd meet Hercule Poirot inside, $8.90 AUD for a coffee was outlandish. So we kept walking.
The town hall, Hotel de Ville looked resplendent in the sunshine with flags fluttering.
Just past the Hotel de Ville we chose the water level road. It is closed to cars every Sunday but is usually a high traffic route to by-pass several congested intersections along the upper quay. The Mayor of Paris proposes to close many of these water level roads to cars and reclaim them for the people, as part of the city's sustainability plan to reduce the number of cars in the city. The people will get to vote on which roads they want permanently closed and made family-friendly.
We happened across a troupe of inline skaters who were performing in front of the spontaneous cafes that operate from barges on the river and are allowed to park here on Sundays when this is a recreation area. Obviously, this type of activity is the long term plan.
So we enjoyed a beer in the dappled sunshine and watched the performances and the passing parade of cyclists, skaters, skateboarders, scooters, joggers and walkers.
There were five in the troupe - two young men dressed as waiters, one much older man dressed as a dandy with a cane, one as a lady with a fan and this sailor. They had typical French music on their little sound system and a long line of blue plastic cups at equal intervals, on the road way. The skill was to skate around the cups in various ways and at various speeds.
Watch this!
Good, eh?
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