My Camino family have all kept in touch since we said our goodbyes in Santiago back in October. Marcus and Sandra have birthdays a day apart in May, giving the perfect excuse to meet up; Marcus kindly invited us to stay at his home in Paris.
I caught the Eurostar from London on 3rd of May and skipped under the channel to Paris, where I met up with the gang at a restaurant opposite the Gare du Nord station.
After some food and a brief catch up we did a little sight seeing. First stopping at the Sacre Coeur Basilica. A beautiful church perched on a hill overlooking Paris. I ascended the narrow spiral staircase with almost 300 steps to the roof, to get the panoramic views of the city.
I descended more spiral steps to have a look inside the Church. It reminded me of the reason why pilgrims dislike steps! From here I met back up with the gang at Place du Tertre, to have a drink and watch the world go by.
We then walked down more steps into Pigalle to see the infamous Moulin Rouge theatre. We hopped onto the metro to La Defense, where Marcus lives so we could drop off our bags, before heading back out for dinner.
Marcus used to work in this business area and has lived here for over 20 years. It is a complete contrast to the historic city centre, entering this modern high rise office district.
We passed some sculptures and got up close to the grand arch that is in direct line of sight to the Arc de Triomphe.
Once our gear was dropped off and a quick freshen up, we hit the metro back into Paris to a restaurant called ‘Le Train Bleu’. A grand place built in 1900 as the buffet lounge for the station at the Gare de Lyon.
The splendour and artwork were a real treat and it all seemed very posh; I felt a little out of place, but it was enjoyable none the less. We celebrated with fine food and drink singing happy birthday to Marcus’ and Sandra’s embarrassment.
The next day Dirk and I took a walk along the Bois de Boulogne into Paris. The sun was out as we crossed through this picturesque park with it’s lakes containing huge carp.
We caught up with life after the Camino and joked about our journey and adventures back in September. It felt like old times walking together again.
Soon we were on the Champs Elysees heading towards the Arc de Triomphe. We arrived at the chaos that is the roundabout that encircles the monument. There seems to be no rules for the traffic and resembles more of a destruction derby!
To get to arch you take an under path below the road. The queue to the top was too long so we decided to have a walk around the outside before continuing on for some lunch.
After calling into a small pizzeria we made our way to the river Seine, not far from the Eiffel Tower. From here we walked along the banks of the river in the direction of Notre Dame.
Passing the Concorde plaza, the Louvre and many more museums with eloquent architecture. We overtook countless statues as cruise boats overtook us on the Seine.
Our destination was the Tour St. Jacques. The Paris start point for the Camino de Santiago. This was once a church, but during the revolution it was demolished except for the tower, that was used to make musket balls.
The rest of the Camino family joined us for a drink, then we walked part of the Chemin St. Jacque (the Camino), following the familiar scallop shells. We arrived at the Notre Dame.
I was a school boy the last time I was here, and I would have liked to have gone inside. However due to the fire that devastated cathedral, causing the roof to collapse a few years ago, it was closed for reconstruction.
We jumped on the metro to the Eiffel Tower and had a walk round before walking up to the Palais de Chaillot. We stopped for some Crepes then moved on to the Arc de Triomphe, to climb to the top and see the Sunset through the Grand Arch.
By now it was late, so we returned home, concluding our time in Paris. We were all feeling tired now, and looking at my watch I had walked 25km; a typical day on the Camino!
I had a great time catching up with my dear friends, reminiscing on our adventures across Spain and exploring the city of Paris together. We all agreed will we meet up again for someone else’s birthday!
More pictures can be found here https://youtu.be/okQSJMV4xnI
Stu's Camino 