Revisiting Paris

Train to Paris

Lou and Riccardo took me to Joigny this morning, driving me around its old town before dropping me off at the railway station.  It had been a somewhat sudden meet-up but very enjoyable.

I took the 1109 train to Paris Bercy station where I’d have a two night (one full day) stay.  A minimum stay of one night in Paris was necessary to make my 1105 departure fro Charles de Gaulle airport on my last day.

The EUR26(!) train ride took about 1h15 on a limited stop service whereas at other times (hourly frequency) it may take another 30 mins more with multiple stops.  From Paris Bercy, I took the metro to Le Peletier.

Budget hotel in Paris

I had booked myself into a private room with bathroom at Jeff Hotel which was cheap by Parisian standard.   The reviews had been mainly bad with a sprinkling of good ones.  One of the complaints was that they didn’t let people check-in earlier than the official time.  With that in mind, I had a Thai Beef Salad for lunch in a mainland-Chinese operated restaurant nearby and killed some time till about 15 mins before the official check-in time of 1430.

The hotel turned out just fine for its price.  What do you expect for EUR60 per night private room with ensuite, in the middle of Paris.  The room wasn’t dirty but poorly finished and broken bits hadn’t been replaced.  It detracts from the appearance and people who don’t have realistic expectations tend to get put off.  The Algerian staff were friendly and I spoke to them in Arabic.

Sacre Coeur

On this short stay, I thought I’d revisit the various sights that make this city so spectacular.  I did some of them this afternoon and saved some for tomorrow.

Soon after checking-in at the hotel, I walked to Sacre Coeur Basilica, completed in 1914, sitting on the highest point of Paris which is Montmartre.  Its simple elegant white limestone exterior is in keeping in the generally stark interior except for the stunning mosaic dome over the high altar.

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Opera Shopping District

Next, I walked to one of the shopping districts, where Galeries Lafayette was located.  Apart from the free toilets, it also had a free rooftop for an OK view of Paris.  The view from the Eiffel Tower or the Sacre Coeur’s dome would have been better but with dull weather, it’s not the right day to pay for it.

I should have known that with Christmas around the corner, Galeries Lafayette would have dressed up its store for the holidays.  And it did it with such style with a gigantic Christmas tree in its already gorgeous atrium.

Many of the staff working at the store are mainland Chinese, obviously recruited pre-pandemic when Chinese tourism was booking.

I stumbled across Uniqlo while doing a reconnaissance for the Roissybus to Charles de Gaulle airport.  Unfortunately, there was nothing there I wanted.

Last but not least, I went to Decathlon where I bought a few cheap items.  I just couldn’t believe how cheap their prices are but then when I look on their Malaysian website, it’s even cheaper there.  But in some cases, they didn’t have stock for the some products or colours in Malaysia.

The self check-out process at Decathlon was impressive. The screen instructed me to place my items one-by-one into the box underneath but as I was about to, it had already detected all my items. The RFID sensors must be quite strong. I dumped all my items in to free my hands for my payment and was out in a jiffy.

Walking back to my area, I had a simple dinner of kebab.  It was delicious but not very healthy served with chips, ketchup and mayo.  I made it back to my room around 2030 after about 5h on my feet.