Paris - Day 2

June 5, 2009

Yesterday's blog just got posted because we just figured out how to connect to the internet at our "house".

Today was great. We slept until 10:00 - which is sort of an embarrassment - but today we both felt great, no jet leg whatsoever. After a leisurely breakfast with the Manns we were off on the metro by ourselves. Our first stop was the Louvre and, before entering, we had our first weird experience--the kind of thing they warn you about.

As we walked toward an entrance, a woman approached us, looked down on the bricks and picked up a "gold" wedding ring and asked me in broken English if it was mine. She was then all pleasant saying, "I'm divorced. I can't use this. You take it.". Of course, she then asked for money for a coffee or a coke and was persistent until Ken gave her a couple of euros. Fortunately, that was it, no pickpocketing. Of course, she had had the ring in her hand and conveniently dropped it on the ground.
I kept the ring for a souvenir of stupid-Americanism.

We did the obligatory visits to the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo, had a quick bite to eat and left for museums more to our interests. It was worth it, however, to see the pyramid entry and get a feel for the incredible vastness of the Louvre. We had a lovely walk through the Tuleries gardens to the Orangerie museum which we both really loved. It's small but powerful. Upstairs they are two very large oval rooms, each with four of the huge curved water lily Monet paintings that he painted when he was losing his sight late in his life. Then downstairs is a small but excellent collection of other impressionist artists and some really good examples of Picasso's work that I had never seen before.

We then headed to get the metro at the Place de la Concorde and were blocked by police in front of the hotel where the metro entrance we used yesterday exists. We walked to the other entrance and then found that part of the metro was also closed off. We were able to get to the line that we needed, but suspect that Obama is staying at that hotel tonight. (Maybe not, but that's a fun story.)

By this metro ride I must have been starting to look tired and old as a young woman gave me her seat! That hurt! (Although it felt good to sit, I confess.) We arrived at Notre Dame as a vespers service was starting, so got to hear the organ which was cool, walked around taking pictures inside and out, and getting yelled at (very quietly) for taking a picture in a forbidden area. Oops - I really didn't realize I was in the wrong place even though I was right next to the "no photos" sign. Maybe the woman on the metro was right to give her seat to a dodo!

Susan and Dick met us in front of Notre Dame and we walked to Ile St. Louis for dinner - had white asparagus with hollandaise for the appetizer (entree here). Hope it's not the last chance this trip. We ended the evening with ice cream and a bus ride back to Pantin. A great day--though the feet do hurt!

Tomorrow we'll see the real gardens that Monet painted in Giverny.

Interesting to people watch. Lots of cultural diversity - lots of Muslims as well as Blacks and Asians. People have been remarkably friendly and not at all critical of my poor French. Lots of field trips in evidence at the museums - and those kids look just the same as ours, just looking at different works of art!