Part 4 - John's final Paris update

JOHN'S PARIS - FOURTH ,  MY BIRTHDAY. OUT OF THE MARAIS,

Because it was my birthday, I was indulged and given treats. Also because there is more to Paris than the area I have been telling you about, and because some of my treats were also outside the area, we will have to hop on a couple of Metro trains to move across town. Probably by now you will be thinking I can find no fault with this city, and that it is as Mary Poppins would say "perfect in every way." ... WRONG!!!!

Metro travel USED to be the ideal way to move around the city, fast, efficient, and peaceful, .... Not now. The number of buskers, beggars, and ear bashes in general has reached epidemic proportions, it's much like aural graffiti. Now it seems impossible to go more than a couple of stations without some moron wanting to inflict on you, as Arthur Dailey in "The Minder" T.V, series used to say "G.B.H. (Grievous bodily harm) of the ear 'ole!" I don't know how any Parisian after a hard day can put up with it. Anyway to my birthday and getting out and about. 

In the morning we went with the children to the Carnavalet so they could have a look around. Then another slap up lunch as a treat for birthday boy at L'Ardoise. This time it was basically steak and onions with salad (yeah right!). After lunch it was time to get on to the Metro to go out to a rather disreputable outer suburb to get my photo taken under the street sign put up to honour the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Django is a particular guitar god of mine as he is to just about anyone who has picked up a guitar or who likes guitar music. Django is famous for bringing gypsy jazz to Paris and putting the city on the map as a jazz centre.

When we got there photos were taken and we got straight back on the metro. This was for a couple of reasons. Firstly there was nothing else to see but a street sign. The nice little garden square I imagined would be there to honour him looked like it was just a car park for a sports centre! Secondly, we all felt so threatened just being in that area, it was good to get away from the place. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent at "The Salon Du Chocolate" (The Chocolate Room.) This was a big chocolate exhibition involving the big chocolate companies, smaller chocolate makers, and individual chocolatiers (artisan chocolate makers if you like). The highlights were: all that chocolate! A fashion show with dresses made of chocolate! (See photos) and a life style sculpture of King Louis and Mary Antionette also made out of chocolate. I adopted this as my unofficial birthday cake!

After this it was time to catch the metro back from the exhibition centre which was near the end of the metro line back to the hotel, just long enough for the freebie chocolate and Bailey's Cream to slide down before going out for a birthday dinner in my favourite bar (The Acrobatic Cow) in my favourite district (The Marais) in one of my favourite city's in the world. What a great way to end my stay in Paris. Also having "Happy Birthday" sung to me in French topped it off quite nicely!

P.S. I almost forgot to show you Picasso's painting of me on my birthday. I think its rather good!