Paris Postcards

You cannot really see it in that picture but I am holding my Windsor Castle umbrella above me and there is a rainbow behind me.  That photo was taken near the beginning of what was probably our favorite evening in Paris.  We started at  the Musee D'Orsay to see the Impressionists and visit Whistler's Mom.  I think that even more than the art itself, what I love about the museums in Paris are the spaces themselves.  They have such intricate details and every time I would walk into a room I would catch my breath at the volume and overall impact. Paris does the vista better than any city i have been in to this point in my life.  The views are unending, long expanses with a monument placed at a crossroads followed by another expanse.  I cannot help but contrast that with our tendency to tear down anything with some age to it and put up a mini mall.  

After the museum, we walked across the Seine on a pedestrian bridge, which is where the photo with the umbrella was taken.  It started to rain very hard again after that and we huddled with a group of people in the walkway tunnel until the rain let up.  When we crossed over the Seine  we landed in the Jardin des Tuileries, near the carousel,  and we stopped at a little cafe for a cappucino and some frittes.

Stopping off at a little cafe anytime you want to have a cappucino, or a bowl of onion soup, or a crepe is the real charm of Paris. Lloyd was on a quest for the perfect fritte, I am not sure he found it, but I know we enjoyed many moments giving our feet a rest sipping a frothy cappucino at cafes throughout the city. I did my best to order in French and the waiters all seemed to be gracious and patient about it. The cafes are one of the things about this city I love the most, the sheer number of them means there is always one nearby. I love the menus out front with the specials of the day written on a chalkboard. There is no sense of urgency about needing to eat and run, people linger and talk and drink wine and smoke cigarettes. I think Paris is the only place I have found myself somewhat craving a cigarette since I quit ten years ago. The cafes make me imagine what it would be like to live inthis city. To find a little neighborhood and have my favorite cafe  to go and sit and perhaps be like Hemingway and capture my thoughts on paper. One cafe we went to for dinner had this marvelous potato tartin that melted in my mouth. It was so delicous I tried to recreate it the other night at home. Mine was not quite the same but it was good enough to take me back to that cafe.

The Jardin  Des Tuileries end at the Place De La Concorde with its' imposing obelisque.  I stopped off at the bathroom at the entrance to the gardens, which I only share because it is the first pay restrooms I have ever been to.  There was a cashier at the door and for .40 euro you could use them.  Lloyd refused to pay to pee on principal.  The Champs Elysees begins on the other side of the PDLC, with gardens and parks on either side for a long stretch.  We strolled its' length, it would rain for a little while and then stop.  We had out trusty Windsor Castle umbrella, and the trees blocked most of the rain so it was quite pleasant.  Along the way we made up stories about our dog JoJo, deciding that he is decidedly Parisienne and we made up a whole character for him of how we would behave on this walk.  Silly, yes, but it made us laugh.

The commercial section of the Champs Elysees starts at Franklin Roosevelt drive.  We strolled along, window shopping and talking.  A few Muslim women approached us asking for money.  I don't now why, but it surprised me that this is the cultural group that we saw doing this.  After a while we stopped at a cafe and got dinner, I enjoyed just sitting and watching people go by, listening to all of the languages.  The waiters at the cafe we stopped at were some of the hardest working I have seen, they had a restaurant with an outdoor section in one area, and then a tented cafe a little way up the sidewalk.  The waiters run back and forth weaving between the pedestrians carrying food and drink.  We tipped our waiter well on top of the included gratuity.  

After dinner we continued along the Champs Elysees.  We arrived at the Arc De Triomphe as the sun was setting and stood in awe with the rest of the tourists and took pictures.  There was a real sense of fun and wonder.  You could tell people were just amazed to be standing there, that was how I felt too.   After all of that walking we decided to take a cab.  We went to the taxi stand and were lucky enough to get the nicest cab driver ever.  He pointed out landmarks and told us about places to go tourists often miss as he drove us to the Eiffel Tower.  We arrived at the Eiffel Tower just  in time to see it lit up with the light show they do every night on the hour.  Some of the French I have heard do not care for it, but it was pretty spectacular to see.  We got out of our cab and walked back to our hotel from there.  If I walked like this every day I could eat all the bread and brie I want.