We returned to a much colder and rainier Paris than the one we left. We wanted to see what Paris looked like dressed for Christmas so we headed for the Champs-Elysees. The streets were buzzing with activity and the usual assortment of characters posing for pictures. Only a few had Christmas window displays and lights up. We wanted to see Paris at night so spent the late afternoon doing little shopping and then warming up at the least expensive, yet heated, place to get a hot beverage - Starbucks! At sundown we joined many people brave enough to cross the street and stop in the middle island trying to get a picture of the Arc de Triomphe on the first day all the trees lining the Champs-Elysees were lit up.
Then we took a scenic bus ride that was supposed to go from one end of the city to the other past many famous sights. It was fun to see all the people bundled up yet still seated in the outdoor cafe tables. The city look glamorous lit up at night but the pictures I took don't do it justice as the glass reflected the bus interior - classy right? About two thirds through our trip, the bus stopped and all passengers were required to disembark. The others looked surprised too and if there was an explanation, we didn't catch enough of it to understand. As luck would have it, we found a nice restaurant for dinner just steps away. When we returned to camp that night we realized we had made a rookie mistake and had run out of lpg gas for heating and cooking. It was too late at night to go get some, so we settled in under all our warm blankets and were cosy enough that night.
The next day we had a cold breakfast and went in search of LPG and the "check engine" light in the camper came back on! Sigh. Several calls revealed that there was no way to get the van looked at until Monday. We stayed at camp perusing our Fiat manual and warranty, doing laundry and shopping that day. We learned that night that the protests in Paris had been very bad that day, in fact, they were throwing paving stones and making barricades right where we had been the previous day! Link to article on the protests that day
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| Oldest object in the Louvre - 9,000 years old |
After consideration, we decided to try to visit the Louvre Sunday, knowing we might find ourselves in the middle of more protests. We wanted to see the very oldest objects the Louvre had on display and had a wonderful time just roaming. There was a woman who sang haunting melodies in several locations near middle eastern exhibits. She was being filmed but it wasn't a schedule event. She wasn't overly obtrusive and the acoustics were fantastic making her performance a beautiful and unexpected treat.
The following day was devoted to visiting a fiat dealership. The verdict was that we needed to take it back to England for repair. They said they had reset it, but the problem would recur and though safe to drive, we shouldn't drive over 80 kilometers an hour. Sigh. Without going into all the details, we took steps to get the van to the dealership in Portsmouth, England where we had bought it. They said they'd need to keep it for a week (which exceeded our time in Europe). So we got ourselves to Bristol where we packed up and delivered the van to a business there which would take care of it for us through the winter.
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