A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life. -Thomas Jefferson

Today I walk to 16 places I found in the book Secret Paris. A self-guided tour of oddities some historic some architectural and so on. It was a Sunday so the small oddball museums were closed, one closed forever. A couple of spots ended up behind locked doors. Oh well ,it's an old book Logged over 6 miles. Here's a few examples. 

1st stop, Cathedrale Saint Alexandre Nevsky, from 1861, built with funds from the Czar himself. 

From the 1930s  artwork for a bank.

Ever wonder where the headless bodies of King Louie and Marie ended up. This is the place they were thrown into a mass grave with 900 Swiss soldiers who were guarding the palace. Chapelle expiatoire, Neoclassical chapel dedicated to King Louis XVI & Queen Marie Antoinette . Was built over the grave sites many years later. 

This secret was billed as one of the prettiest Metro stations in Paris. Had to pay 2.5 Euros to see this one, but at least the ticket took me the last mile back to my hotel.

Moore picshere

"Paris is always a good idea" -Audrey Hepburn

 

Yes it is. Made a friend yesterday, Michael the Plasterer, a Brit on his way to a Lenny Kravitz concert. We agreed to have beers in Paris. On the train to Paris he was in first and I was stuck in a fold down seat in a crowded coach. Anyway a friendly fella he mentioned he wanted to go to the Daytona 500 next year. So naturally I gave him an invite to Ocala. 

It was a beautiful day for my short walk to my hotel, about a mile. A sunny day about 60 degrees, everyone was out and about. My happy meter was running high when I got to Parc Monceau and then it went even higher. The Parisians weren't going to waste this day indoors. Enjoy the pics. 

File this under you never know what you see next. Commemorating the Battles of Narvik. Love me some history. Unfortunately it keeps repeating itself in the worst way. 

“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday was a travel day. There were six stages, what could go wrong.? First walk one mile to the main road, second catch my Bolt ride service to the train station, third  a train, 4th get on a bus, 5th get on a train and the 6th and final, ride a ferry to France. At the appointed time of 6:30 a.m. Bolt canceled their service, Uber couldn't find a driver. Three taxi companies couldn't find anyone to come and get me, I was 3 mi from the train station. Desperate times call for desperate measures so out goes the thumb 👍. Within 5 minutes a Good Samaritan picks me up and takes me to the train station. An angel disguised as a painter on his way to work. So I did make the ferry and today I'm in France. Stay tuned.

 

“A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted,” Winston Churchill

Had a plan and it worked. Arrived in London at 6 am. Two rides on the Tube, a train and a bus got me to Westerham. Went to church and then walked two miles to my cheap hotel. Fortunately they let me check in early. I had been awake for about 26 hours. 

This morning I woke up to a beautiful spring day. No need to rush so by the time I left it was a nice 59 degrees. Perfect! My inner smile was huge. Today was the day I finally got to visit Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill's home of 40 years. It was a 4 mile walk through farmlands and woods, a gentle climb.  It was amazing the number of ringneck pheasants I saw today. Easily over a hundred, the fields were full of them. So it was a highly enjoyable day touring the house and grounds and a nice cake and coffee and walking back, completing the eight mile round trip.More pic's