On the second day of our Honeymoon, I left my wife

Yes, it’s true – but just for the morning!

Jet lag caught up with Marthese today and she wasn’t up for getting out of bed. I was the opposite, restless and stir crazy, so (at her insistence!) I ventured by Metro to the neighbouring 12th to visit The Museum of the Cinema. Bizarrely they were closed until midday despite an advertised 10am opening time, so I spent a bit of time exploring the area.

I’m starting to get a sense of how distinct each Parisian district is – the 12th has the huge Parc de Bercy and I wandered through community gardens and a huge public space, popping into a cute old church and admiring the old well preserved homes opposite ugly 80s apartment blocks.

The Museum of the Cinema (it seems to have many names) is in a Frank Gehry designed building, and focuses on pre-WWII cinema, which was curious as some of the most significant French cinematic movements took place in the 60s and 70s. The museum focused on the French and international technologies of early cinema, and featured some cool old projection technologies as well as some of the films that played at the time.

While I was not supposed to take photos, I couldn’t resist sneaking a few mobile shots of these awesome cinematic artefacts:

The head of Bates’ mother from Psycho

Attempted selfie while listening to audio guide with the robot costume from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis

Rushing home to my abandoned bride, I found her in much livened spirits, and we set off to the centre of Paris. We walked down the Rue De Montorguiel, one of the few pedestrian streets we’ve found in Paris so far, and snacked on delicious Croissants and Pain au Chocolats to keep us going for the next bit.

Some of Marthese’s lovely work colleagues gave us a voucher for a wine tasting course at Ochateau and it was a real treat. We tried three wines from three distinct regions of France, learning the difference between them all and some of the strict government regulations around what wines can be made where. The sommelier was knowledgeable and friendly, but the accompanying cheese plate was a revelation. CHEESE!

Since we were so close to the Louvre, we thought we’d do a little lap around it before heading home. Before we knew it we were standing within the grounds of the tremendous palace, awestruck at the scale and elegance of the building. We headed towards the huge garden/park area out the front, and relaxed by a fountain, enjoying the sun and incredible surroundings.