Mais non!! Désespoir (despair)!

Mark loses his licence!!……

…. surely this doesn’t mean that poor “Bruce” will be at the hands of Bev now  !!……..

A great day turns sour very quickly for Bev and Mark in Paris today!….

Our Saturday began well with a visit to the amazing Le Marche’ aux Puces (Flea Market) in Saint-Ouen! This is not like the name suggests. It is primarily an antique market with “flea” (cheap stuff) only surrounding its periphery. Not just any old antiques here! The most elaborate, quircky, “over-the-top”, expensive & crazy pieces you will ever find!. Apparently Madonna has been spotted buying-up here, enough said! This is a must on any visit to Paris & not widely advertised….Seeing is believing!!

Our next destination was to be Montmarte, not far away by Metro. Apparently everyone had a similar idea & the metro was packed to over flowing!! We have never seen so many people in a train….! You couldn’t move an inch, glad we aren’t claustrophobic…….Now we think this was the “scene of the crime”!!!?!…. A couple of stations later was our stop and  we, almost literally, fell out of the carriage. Excited to explore Montmarte but starving, we decide to buy lunch………Alas,  mais non!!   Ou est Mark’s Wallet ??!!! Panic sets in as we search our bags and Mark’s pockets for his wallet!! you guessed it!!? The professional Pick-Pockets have been at it !! Hard to believe they undid his trousers back pocket button & stole his wallet without his awareness.!!. In shock, we retraced our steps back to the Metro station – knowing it was futile & then high-tailed it back to the camping site to cancel the cards! Credit Cards, Cash (reasonable amount) and Mark’s Licence all stolen.

When reading about our destination this morning, it said that Pick-Pockets are rife in the area, so we did an evaluation of what to carry, and where to carry it. The wallet only contained two cards, a licence (ID) and some cash – but it is a salutary lesson that nothing is sacred.

Between Bev’s bag in Brighton and Mark’s wallet in Paris – we have had some good training and need to be extra careful!!.

But yesterday was great!!!

Bev was given for her 50th,  a set of cards with 50  self-guided walking adventures in Paris. This holiday we have the time to utilise them! We chose the 5th Arrondissement card on the left bank. An old saying goes: “La Rive Gauche pense, et la Rive Droite depense” or “the Left Bank Thinks and the Right Bank Spends”. So we pass through the “street of schools” and the “Sorbonne” – Paris’ oldest university dating back to 1254!

Another walk we enjoyed was through one of the oldest streets (neolithic era) and has been a market street for centuries.

We eventually succumbed to the aroma of crepes in a cosy little cafe for a late lunch. Delicious chicken panini, crepe de pomme (apple) & coffee for just 6 Euro each.