Paris - October 17, 2008
20081017 – Paris: Got up at 7:00 (set the alarm). It’s really dark at 7:00 here. Didn’t get light until near 8:00. Did computer stuff, showered, dressed, went down to the cellar for breakfast.
Some stuff:
* We’re convinced the weather got better yesterday at Versailles after Robin meowed a Jewish prayer.
* Also at Versailles, when walking through the gardens, I called out: “Oh, piss boy.”
* In Paris, they have faucets at gutter level and run them full blast for a long time to flush out the gutters. They also wash the light posts.
* Lots of Smart cars around here. And people part literally touching the car in front/back of them. Don’t know how they get in or out.
* What I get in the morning at breakfast is café au lait, which is strong coffee and hot milk as compared to café crème, which seems to be weaker to me with too much milk.
After breakfast, we headed across the Seine, up Ils St. Louis onto Ile de Cite, around Notre Dame, and to the Palace of Justice to get into line for Saint Chapelle. We were there right before it opened. Not many people in line at 9:30, so we really had it almost to ourselves. No way that pictures or descriptions can give one the feel of the place. It’s just something you have to experience firsthand.
Lots of pictures later we headed back to the Right Bank and along to near Hotel de Ville where we bought an all-day pass for the Bateaubus (a water taxi that does a route from Eiffel Tower on one end and the Jardin de Plantes (beyond Ile St. Louis) on the other. We took the boat to near the Louvre, walked through the Tuilleries, and went up Champ Elyses all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. Wall to wall people all along the way up the street. Lots of fast food, sidewalk cafes, brand-name stores, etc. Have to do it once.
At the arch, we headed toward Rue Faubourg/Saint-Honare and walked down it to where we could turn to the Madeleine. I had lunch at Fouchon right behind. Nice smoked salmon and an espresso. Then toward Galeries Lafayette (too much of a zoo with crowds to go in) and to the Opera. Then back toward the Louvre to the river and got on the Bateaubus again. It headed down river to the Eiffel Tower and then turned back upriver. We stayed aboard all the way to Jardin de Plantes.
This park is an old botanical garden. We walked along paths lined with flowers that Robin knew. Very lovely. Beautiful old buildings (Museum of Natural History), greenhouses (under renovation). We retraced our steps back to the river and the boat/bus. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 5:30.
We downloaded pictures, dressed, and met Sharon to take the Metro to Jean (8 Rue Saint-Lazare), a one-star Michelin restaurant. Excellent dinner. I had baby squid, but even the pictures don’t really show what it was like. Veal with sweetbreads was my main course. The veal is really baby beef (not milk-fed) and it was prepared two different ways and presented on two different plates.. As Sandy said, it is serious food with lots of ingredients and sauces. Sandy and I both had a cheese course. Mine was so big Robin and Sandy helped me finish it. Only Sharon had dessert.
Metro home. It’s now midnight. Hope to get some sleep. Didn’t do well last night. Could not get onto the paid Internet. Payment kept crashing. Ah, well.
Some stuff:
* We’re convinced the weather got better yesterday at Versailles after Robin meowed a Jewish prayer.
* Also at Versailles, when walking through the gardens, I called out: “Oh, piss boy.”
* In Paris, they have faucets at gutter level and run them full blast for a long time to flush out the gutters. They also wash the light posts.
* Lots of Smart cars around here. And people part literally touching the car in front/back of them. Don’t know how they get in or out.
* What I get in the morning at breakfast is café au lait, which is strong coffee and hot milk as compared to café crème, which seems to be weaker to me with too much milk.
After breakfast, we headed across the Seine, up Ils St. Louis onto Ile de Cite, around Notre Dame, and to the Palace of Justice to get into line for Saint Chapelle. We were there right before it opened. Not many people in line at 9:30, so we really had it almost to ourselves. No way that pictures or descriptions can give one the feel of the place. It’s just something you have to experience firsthand.
Lots of pictures later we headed back to the Right Bank and along to near Hotel de Ville where we bought an all-day pass for the Bateaubus (a water taxi that does a route from Eiffel Tower on one end and the Jardin de Plantes (beyond Ile St. Louis) on the other. We took the boat to near the Louvre, walked through the Tuilleries, and went up Champ Elyses all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. Wall to wall people all along the way up the street. Lots of fast food, sidewalk cafes, brand-name stores, etc. Have to do it once.
At the arch, we headed toward Rue Faubourg/Saint-Honare and walked down it to where we could turn to the Madeleine. I had lunch at Fouchon right behind. Nice smoked salmon and an espresso. Then toward Galeries Lafayette (too much of a zoo with crowds to go in) and to the Opera. Then back toward the Louvre to the river and got on the Bateaubus again. It headed down river to the Eiffel Tower and then turned back upriver. We stayed aboard all the way to Jardin de Plantes.
This park is an old botanical garden. We walked along paths lined with flowers that Robin knew. Very lovely. Beautiful old buildings (Museum of Natural History), greenhouses (under renovation). We retraced our steps back to the river and the boat/bus. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 5:30.
We downloaded pictures, dressed, and met Sharon to take the Metro to Jean (8 Rue Saint-Lazare), a one-star Michelin restaurant. Excellent dinner. I had baby squid, but even the pictures don’t really show what it was like. Veal with sweetbreads was my main course. The veal is really baby beef (not milk-fed) and it was prepared two different ways and presented on two different plates.. As Sandy said, it is serious food with lots of ingredients and sauces. Sandy and I both had a cheese course. Mine was so big Robin and Sandy helped me finish it. Only Sharon had dessert.
Metro home. It’s now midnight. Hope to get some sleep. Didn’t do well last night. Could not get onto the paid Internet. Payment kept crashing. Ah, well.
posted by Bud Hirsch at 4:20 PM
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