Free Man in Paris

Today has been even warmer than yesterday and just as enjoyable.

We chose a different boulangerie for our breakfast pastries and once again ate them out on the balcony. Whilst enjoying the view across the rooftops to the dome of the Sacré Coeur I was startled to notice a figure standing, stock still, atop a chimney, gazing down at the city! At first I couldn't believe my eyes (bear in mind that we were 7 floors up and he was even higher) and pointed it out to Spokes who noted that it looked like an Antony Gormley sculpture, which it did, except the head was moving! I briefly wondered if it might be an angel escaped from Wim Wenders' 'Wings of Desire' (one of Spokes' favourite films) but decided that was unlikely..! It looked like a man meditating or in contemplation and I thought he had a book in his hands but I couldn't be sure. I was a little afraid in case he might jump or fall but he seemed very centred and calm. He stayed there for ages, barely moving, and I took a few photos of him which revealed that he was either writing or sketching in a notebook. Eventually, someone else came out on the roof and talked to him and they both went inside. Very mysterious...

Breakfast eaten and anxieties about the man on the roof calmed, our first port of call was the Jardin du Luxembourg which was bustling with locals and tourists enjoying the sun. A high spot of our visit was watching several games of boules taking place. Spokes became quite engrossed and pointed out the different styles of play being employed and the temperaments and idiosyncrasies of the various players. I took a particular shine to this very twinkly gentleman who seemed to be having the time of his life playing with his friends and enjoying the sun - unfettered and alive as the song says. I especially loved the magnet on a string which he used to pick his boules up with as he wasn't able to bend down to the ground.

Our next visit of the day was a promise to my mother who lived in Paris for several months as a young thing and whose favourite building is the church of Sainte Chapelle, a 13th century gothic masterpiece with the most incredible stained glass windows, very close to Notre Dame but less well known. We had to queue a while but it was worth it and we both thought of Ma Booknerd as we looked around and wished she could've come with us.

After a baguette-based picnic we set off for the Grand Palais to visit a truly sensational photographic exhibition - a Robert Mapplethorpe retrospective which we were both very keen to see and both loved! The show included 250 photographs from his earliest Polaroids through portraiture, still lives and sections on body sculpture, body geometry and erotica all of which was great to see "in the flesh" (and there was a lot of flesh to be seen!). I can only dream of creating portraits as beautiful as he created but it doesn't hurt to have something to aspire to!

There was plenty of food for thought at the exhibition but we also required food for our stomachs so we headed 'home' to Montmartre and managed to locate an actual vegetarian café, Au Grain de Folie, which was quite an experience! We both agreed that the food was nothing special in British terms but it was good to have some vegetables, grains and pulses to counterbalance all the pastries we've been eating!

Afterwards, we continued climbing the hill and reached the Sacré Coeur which looked particularly beautiful lit up at night. The area was abuzz with activity and the views across the city were breathtaking - a great way to end the day!