You're so vain

And that is officially it for the work leg of the trip. I have bid bon voyage to our Olympics team and checked out of the hotel near the Arc Triomphe to take up residence in a small apartment with Teneille in the Latin Quarter on the other side of the city.

The farewell party the night before was on a permanently moored restaurant-bar-boat thing on the Seine about 4km from the hotel. Did I mention in the previous post how bloody hot it was? It bears mentioning again because it was a suffocating 38C. The sun doesn't go down in Paris before 9:30pm so that was 3.5 hours on this boat in the heat. You'd think being closer to the water would help but no. The company was good, the drinks were good, the food options were limited.

Great sunset view from our party on the Seine... pity about the insufferable heat.

How did we get to this auspicious waterside venue, I hear you ask. Well, Paris is a city of many modes of transport. There are buses, and the metro, and taxis, and Ubers, and walking, and Lime bikes. A few of us felt like we hadn't really taken our lives into our own hands so far on this trip, so we took a Lime.

Before I go any further, anyone who is reading this next paragraph must promise not to tell my mother about the Lime bikes. Good? Ok. So, Lime bikes in Paris are nuts. Grab a bike, scan it with your phone and go. They are electric, so a little push on the pedals and it zips off. No helmets. Just hit the insanity of Parisian drivers on an unusually fast bicycle without head protection. I rode around the Arc de Triomphe on my Lime, guys. Three times. The Arc de frigging Triomphe. The busiest roundabout in the world that has no lanes and it is every man, car, bus and Lime for himself. Obviously, I survived. No-one tell mum.

Lime squad activate!

The boat people kicked us out at 1am because they wanted to close so we retired to Frank's for one last drink at the old local before we all jetted our separate ways in the morning. Frank kicked us out at 2am because he wanted to close. Frank is a cranky bugger too, can I just say? He was easily frustrated with people who took too long to order, and God forbid you move a chair or table. The shake of the head and scowl. Mon dieu!

Teneille had crashed at my hotel to enjoy the aircon so we arose the next morning, had breakfast and checked out before hailing a cab to our new abode.

The apartment is a small studio-like space with a kitchen/bedroom/dining area all in one. It has a small balcony overlooking the street and some Paris rooftops where we plan to sip wine and eat cheese in the coming days. The heat is not great and the portable aircon unit isn't doing much but it does feel nice and cool when you stand over it. The forecast is mid-high 20s for the rest of our time here so we are hopefully that won't be an issue.

An old building near Pont des Arts that looked cool and probably is full of history and shit.

After a quick nap (by me), we decided to go for a wander to Notre Dame. We started heading in that general direction before coming across Pont Neuf where we placed our padlock seven years go. The padlocks, as expected, are long gone and the Pont Neuf fencing has been replaced with Perspex sheets much like Pont des Arts (the original padlock bridge) many years ago. I've no idea where the current 'padlock spot' is but I'm sure one must exist. Love finds a way after all.

We continued past the Palace of Justice towards Notre Dame before arriving at the cathedral. It was five years in April since the fire which destroyed large parts of the wooden structures at the back of building and it has still yet to fully reopen. Restoration works are expected to be finished by December but, for now, the site remains fenced off and a temporary grandstand has been built nearby to sit and observe the cathedral for a while. You can't even access Point Zero, the spot in front of the cathedral from which the distances to all other locations in France are measured. I was devastated when the fire happened five years ago. So much history lost in the flames, but the cathedral has survived worse. I suppose in 200 years the great fire of 2019 will be just another chapter in its storied history.

The Palace of Justice... I love The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

We sat in the cathedral grandstand for a while to people watch. Tourist groups came and went and individuals grabbed their selfies. Including one particularly vapid creature who spent a solid five minutes striking selfie poses with her hair this way, then that way. With a smile, then a pout. With her arms out, then looking back over her shoulder. We finally thought she was done but, clearly unhappy with her own work, she approached some poor tourist and asked him to take a photo. The poor bastard didn't know what he was agreeing to. He took her picture, which she checked, then asked him to try again. Obviously, today's post is named for her and the Carly Simon classic.

Almost ready to reopen five-and-a-half years later.

Speaking of pretentious people full of their own self-importance, what about this for the name of the hotel across the road from Notre Dame? Hotel Dieu AKA Hotel God. Honestly.

A hotel with a God complex.

After selfie girl let released her prey, we began our stroll back towards home. We stopped at a brasserie thing on to eat food along the way. Teneille ate an olive (not a fan, her face was hilarious and yes, I have video) and our waitress tried to be polite but made a face when I asked her how my French was. Dinner entertainment was provided by the men from the hotel across the road who dug up one of three massive potted trees on the footpath and then, nonchalantly, carried it inside and up the stairs. Err... ok then.

The restaurant we ate at... not sure why Teneille chose it.

A quick supermarket stop to get some essential, like wine, and we are back home relaxing. Teneille is dealing with jetlag and I am dealing the aftermath of my insane work schedule. Hopefully a good night sleep will have us both back to normal.

Au revoir.