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Friday, July 25
Being tired from the frantic museum trips and all the walking, we decided to take it easy. We had a very nice lunch at Le Framboisy, a small cafe two blocks from St. Paul on rue de Charlemagne.
During lunch, we got a display of street drama. We assume that someone was moving into a flat on an upper floor of the building across the street from the cafe. Five trucks showed up (one with appliances), one which had a telescoping power lift. They completely blocked the intersection for almost an hour, standing around waiting for something. The guy in charge (you could tell by the clipboard and cell phone) kept waiving his arms around and talking on his cell phone, giving the occasional "Gallic shrug". Then suddenly, they all left. How French!
We did some shopping at the local supermarket, Monoprix. This interesting when all the products are labelled in French and very few of the employees speak English (or don't admit to it). Then home for some rest (eating a good lunch and watching street drama tires us out).
We then walked to Pont Neuf (new bridge, although it's the oldest bridge in Paris; the first bridge without buildings on it) on the tip of Ile de la Cite to catch a boat tour on the Seine. On the way, we walked along the Right Bank and saw Paris Plages; they bring in sand every summer and dump it along the promenade on the banks of the Seine, creating a beach. There are cafes selling food and drinks, tables for sitting and watching, playground areas for the kids, and sun bathing areas. Families were in great abundance. And we were exposed to French girls in bikinis; disgusting!
We decided on the Vedettes du Pont Neuf based on location and price. The tour took about an hour and went from just East of Ile San Louis to just West of the Eiffel Tower. There was narration from a tour guide in French and English, but her accent was pretty thick and hard to understand. We saw many of the sites we had already walked by, including Notre Dame.
Wednesday, July 23
The Musee D'Orsay picks up where the Louvre leaves off; they exhibit French art from the nineteenth century (actually to 1914). This is the largest collection of impressionist art in the world (Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissaro, Sisley; Van Gough, etc.). The building is an old railway terminal that was slated for teardown in the '70s. It was renovated into a large museum and exhibits from around Paris were collected in this one place. And it is impressive. If you like impressionist art, this is the place to be. We got there on the #69 bus, which was a pleasure for sore feet. After lunch we decided to treat ourselves to a taxi home.
We had dinner at Au Bouquet St Paul, a very nice restaurant on the corner of Rue St. Paul and Rue St. Antoine. This was our second meal here and we will surely return. We also discovered that this place has a Wi-Fi (pronounced wee-fee) signal for customers to use.Paris has a system of public bicycle rentals called Velib (you might call it "city bike"). There are racks of bikes all over the city. You take one (after inserting a card in the rack) and drop it off at any other site. The first twenty minutes are free. You see people riding these bikes all around; they may be slower than motor scooters but they sure are quieter and there's no problem with parking.
Tuesday, July 22Paris is a happening place. Going out early, you can observe the city waking up. It's vibrant and everyone is hustling; great energy. People are sitting at sidewalk cafes having their morning coffee; at lunch time, those same cafes are jammed when the weather is nice (and it has been every day so far); in late afternoon and early evening, they are back again for after-work socializing. In the evenings, the streets are crowded with people walking around enjoying themselves; restaurants are packed until late at night. The people-watching is fabulous.When we visit large cities, we usually walk everywhere; not just for the exercise but for the experience of getting a feel for the city. We've done this extensively in London, Rome, and New York. But this time, it's more difficult; we guess our age is starting to show. Also, Bill is dealing with a heel injury, so we'll need to cut down on the walking and check out the public transportation.The #69 bus runs from the Bastille to the Eiffel Tower and goes past just about everything. The trip took us longer than expected because we had to learn the system and buy a book of tickets. The tickets are good for the Metro and the bus system, but this morning we decided the bus would be best.
We took the bus to the Eiffel Tower. By the time we got there, the lines were such that the wait would be about an hour and a half. With a wait like this, viewing it from below was just fine with us. Our daughter-in-law and grandchildren visited it in December and didn't see lines like this. There is an excellent restaurant at the top; dinner is 200 Euros per person and a reservation is required three months in advance. Maybe next time. We walked to the Musee du Quai Branly. This is a modern museum exhibiting art and artifacts of primitive cultures from Oceana, Asia, Africa and the Americas. It's very extensive and you could spend days inside the place. Very impressive.In walking to our next museum, we strolled down the Rue du Cler. This is a market street, with many vendors of produce, meats and food in general. It also has many cafes. We had an excellent (if overpriced) lunch and observed the people passing by.After lunch, we walked to the Musee Rodin. It's located in a large eighteenth century house (in which Rodin once lived and worked) that has been converted to the museum. Inside are a number of his smaller creations and studies for the larger ones. These include Eve, The Kiss, and The Hand of God. The gardens outside the house are extensive, beautiful and very relaxing, filled with paths, sculptured shrubs and roses. There we saw the full size Thinker and The Burghers of Calais, amoung many others.
We then started the long walk toward home. Our feet and backs were pretty tired but we had concert tickets, so off we went. We walked to the Left Bank and sat in a cafe for refreshments, then took the short walk to Sainte-Chapell for a concert of Pachabel's Canon, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and a few selections from Mozart. This was an excellent concert in a beautiful place, the sounds echoing off the surrounding stained glass windows (and a pigeon that entertained us by flying around during the performance).Then it was a relatively short walk down the Isle de la Citie and Ile St. Louis back to Rue St. Paul, where we had dinner at L'Enoteca, a good Italian restaurant just a block from our studio.
Monday, July 21.For museum junkies, the Louvre is where the action is; the world's largest museum. You just can't see it all in one trip.The building is huge. At one time, it was the palace of the kings (built by Louis IV). The British built some spectacular houses but they had nothing on the French nobility when it came to opulent excess; however the Revolution stopped that and started a new chain of excess. The revolutionaries took it over and made it into a public museum, a rarity at that time. Napoleon looted Europe and the Middle East to supplement the king's treasures. The addition of American architect I.M. Pei's glass pyramid was controversial (Parisians are said to hate it), but it washes the entry area with light and Claire thinks it's pretty cool.
We arrived early to avoid the lines (yeah, right). The Museum Pass helped out so at least we got in faster then the "great unwashed"; security is very tight, including soldiers in camo with automatic weapons. Once inside, we (and 100,000 of our best friends) viewed as many works of art and bits of history as we could manage, given the crowds.
We did the ancient Greek statuary, then Roman. Venus de Milo is a big hit, as is Winged Victory. We also saw the Renaisance sculpture (Michaelangelo, etc.) and paintings. Mona Lisa is in a big room with many other period paintings. Nobody looked at the other paintings so several thousand people jockied for position. Bill, being taller than average, got a good look (albeit from a distance); Claire needed a pogo stick. We left after about three hours, possibly to return on a less crowded day or in the evening, which we understand affords a more peaceful experience.In the basement of the adjoining building, we hit a food court and got burgers. We recommend you do not buy American food in Paris.We strolled through the Jarden Des Tuleries, a VERY large garden or park. At one time there was a palace here, connected to the Louvre but it burned down and the park was created, with fountains, trees, statuary, benches and cafes.At the far side of the park, we entered Musee De L'Orangerie. Here we found many examples of late 19th and early 20th century paintings, including Monet'sWater Lilies and works by Utrillo, Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse and Picasso, plus others. What a contrast to the Louvre, in terms of being much quieter and more relaxed. Seeing the Water Lilies installed as intended is a lovely experience and provided a relaxing contrast to the frantic crush of every Japanese tourist in Paris snapping themselves and each other in front of all the "famous" pieces in the Louvre. We then walked back to our apartment, going through the Jarden Des Tuleries again, stopping for a Tarte Tatin (upside down apple tart) and coffee/tea, and strolling through a carnival that reminded us of the Atlantic City Boardwalk (no ocean but the Seine is nearby). Another day with miles of walking and sore feet, but we saw lots of good stuff.
Sunday, July 20
Today we started our Paris experience. We decided to follow a tour from Rick Steve's book, what he calls Historic Paris. This encompases the Ile de la Citie (Island of the City) and part of the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). First we had to get a museum pass. This lets us into most of the museums for free and also lets us jump to the front of the queue. We got passes which give us museum entry for four consecutive days, starting today.
We started at the Archaelogical Crypt. Since the Romans first settled on this island two thousand years ago, accumulated dirt and debris have raised the ground level over thirty feet, burying a lot of the ruins from that time plus lots of midieval ruins. This museum put a roof over the digs (some of which are still being discovered) and it gives a great example of what has happened over the centuries.
While Italy and Britain have many beautiful cathedrals, when it comes to Gothic style France is the leader. And of all the cathedrals in France, Notre Dame is a must see. The soaring, vaulted ceilings and flying butresses are breathtaking. You can picture Quasimodo in the tower ringing the bells. This is a Sunday and mass was going on, so there were places we weren't allowed to go; and the crowds were overwhelming. Admission is free so we will return in a few days. 
The Deportation Memorial is a small monument on the tip of the island from which the Nazis sent captives (Jews and dissidents) off to the camps. You enterdown a narrow passage, heading down, and you get the feeling of doom. "Despair ye who enter here"! There are 200,000 lighted crystals embedded in apassage wall, one for each of those who were sent away never to return. Walking along the Seine on the Left Bank on a nice day is a joy. The quay is lined with booksellers in small stalls (also posters, etc.); a quintessentialParis feeling. Off the Quay, streets are mostly narrow, with buildings crowded against each other, with the occasional wide boulevard and small parks. There is no shortage of cafes and shops; it's definitely not the Left Bank of Hemingway and friends.
Shakespeare and Company Bookstore was founded by Sylvia Beach and was home to the literary crowd in the 1930s; she published Ulysses when nobody else would. (If you ever visit Newport, Oregon, stay at the Sylvia Beach Hotel for a unique experience). This bookstore is piled high and low with stacks and stacks of books, many very old; they're just everywhere so you can barely walk through. "Funky" would be a good description.
The Left Bank is home to what was once the Latin Quarter but it's better called the Greek Quarter today. We ate lunch at a Gyros cafe.
The Cluny Museum is a display of medieval France, with artifacts from all facets of that period. It deserves a lot more time than we could give it.
Then it was on to Sainte-Chapelle. What Notre Dame is to soaring ceilings, Sainte-Chappelle is to stained glass. The ceilings are high (not as high as Notre Dame) and the windows go all the way to the top. Notre Dame took over 200 years to build; Sainte Chapelle took five. This is magnificance.
The Conciergerie was the home of kings, first build by Hugh Capet, the founder of modern France and the dynasty that ruled until the 1789 revolution. While not as impressive as many later palaces, it is still a fine example of gothic architecure. The revolutionaries took it over and used it as a jail and court during the reign of terror. Marie Antoinette spent her last days here, as they let you know quite vividly.
We also saw along the way, a number of other impressive sites. These include St. Severin church, Boulevard St. Michel (arts area), Place St. Andre-des-Arts (cafes), Place St. Michel (fountain), the Palais de Justice (courts), the oldest Metro stop in the system (art deco), and Place Dauphine.
This was a long day and we have very tired feet. It will be dinner and early to bed tonight. Tomorrow is the Louvre.
Saturday, July 19
We got off to a late start, so wandered around some more, then had lunch at a great little place on the corner of rue St. Paul and Rue Saint Antione. While walking around, we checked out, but did not explore, Place de Voges and Hotel Sully. We than did a walking tour around the Ile St. Louis (which is mostly shops) and had some great ice cream at Berthiollon's. On the way, we saw the gardens at Hotel de Sens. Paris is a big city with lots of noise and traffic. The cars whiz by at a high speed (Paris drivers are known for their aggressiveness) and the scooters are loud and obnoxious. The number of scooters is amazing. With gas prices so high and parking spaces at a premium, it seems like they make a lot of sense. People-watching is lots of fun. Our section of town, the Marais, is great for that. Every English language bookstore we see has an OBAMA sticker in the window; he is so popular here that if the French could vote, he'd win in a landslide.
Paris is expensive. Of course large cities tend to be so. The last time we were in Europe, the Euro was at $0.96. If it were that today, most prices would be OK to high. But at $1.60 they are VERY high.
The debit card we've been using all along that has almost melted from overuse bit the dust today. I tried to get some cash and it was rejected. I called Schwab and was told that a $200 charge was attempted in Florida and they shut the card down. Fortunately, we have a debit card on another account, so a disaster was avoided.
Being tired from the frantic museum trips and all the walking, we decided to take it easy. We had a very nice lunch at Le Framboisy, a small cafe two blocks from St. Paul on rue de Charlemagne.
We then walked to Pont Neuf (new bridge, although it's the oldest bridge in Paris; the first bridge without buildings on it) on the tip of Ile de la Cite to catch a boat tour on the Seine. On the way, we walked along the Right Bank and saw Paris Plages; they bring in sand every summer and dump it along the promenade on the banks of the Seine, creating a beach. There are cafes selling food and drinks, tables for sitting and watching, playground areas for the kids, and sun bathing areas. Families were in great abundance. And we were exposed to French girls in bikinis; disgusting!
