Paris - October 19, 2008
20081019 – Paris: I had a good night’s sleep. Well, I took a pill and slept from about 12:30 to about 8:00. Ahhhh.
Stuff:
* The name of the boat/taxi is Batobus, as I am sure you discovered from looking at the pictures.
* We’re up to 1.7 GB of photo storage on my iPod. And we’re up to 2,700 pictures between us on my iPhoto.
I went to the cellar for breakfast around 9:00. We met Sandy and Sharon at their place at 10:30. We walked through the Marais. Our first stop was the Picasso Museum, but we found it was closed until late October. Next we went to the Cognacq-Jay Museum. It’s the result of a private collection by the folks whose names grace the museum and it’s in an old building. It’s mostly 18th Century French painting. Nice.
Next we headed to a place for brunch, a novel idea in France. Well, this was even more strange for here. It was “all you can eat” buffet with about every cold and hot dish one could think of. It’s the Bar du Marche des Blancs Manteaux on Rue Vielle du Temple. Fresh fruit, salmon, pate, cold meats, cous cous, frittatas, eggs, hot meats, etc.
We waddled away to one of the neatest museums we’ve ever seen: Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature. Now one would think that a museum devoted to hunting (the chase) would be a yawn. It was very innovative as the pictures will show. It’s recently been modernized and the way things are displayed is quite unique and well done. We met one of the board members there who was with his grandson and who filled us in on the museum. Really terrific. Gotta see place.
Sandy and Sharon left us to go home to work. Robin and I walked over to the Musee Carnavalet (City of Paris museum) which includes a collection that depicts the history of Paris. Again, this is a must see. Terrific building and unique collection. See the pix for an idea. Old Paris signs, a collection that included the bedrooms of some famous people, rooms with brocade wallpaper, rooms of different Louis reigns, lovely gardens, miniatures of parts of the city, of specific buildings, etc.
From this museum, we walked a few blocks to the Saint-Paul Metro station that is near us. We took the Metro to a transfer station to get on an RER train. Well, while this morning was quiet with almost no one on the streets as we went from museum to museum, we were at the opposite end of the spectrum going on the subway and train. Hordes of people. Train cars jammed more than rush hour. Very long tunnel with moving sidewalk to transfer from the Metro to the RER station. Then, two stops later, we were at Luxembourg Gardens.
Emerging onto the street, we were in the middle of a huge, I mean huge, student demonstration march. Reminded me of ten years ago when we were here. We ran into the marchers again and again when we went home. Before going into the gardens, Robin bought some roasted chestnuts. They were quite delicious. I don’t remember if I have ever had them before.
The National Police were at the gates and had anyone who had any badges or stickers from the protest remove them before entering. We spent some time in the garden wandering around in a full circle. Saw the palace which now houses the Senate of France, the Fountain of the Medicis. Lots of people sunning, resting, walking.
We left by the gate we had entered. The protest parade was still passing by. We weeded through the marchers and went to the Pantheon (also the area of the university). After looking around at the building, we headed toward Saint-Germain, but detoured since the marchers were there filling the whole street. So we walked some side streets over the Ile St. Louis and up to Pont Sully and back to the hotel.
At 7:20, Sandy and Sharon came over and we walked back across Pont Sully and up the main street of Ile St. Louis to Le Fin Gourmet for our 7:30 reservation. Very nice, small restaurant. I had courgette stuffed with crab followed by scallops and frog legs followed by a mille feuille with lemon and basil custard in it. Robin had a nice green salad and some mushroom ravioli.
Got back at the hotel around 10:00. Gotta rest up for our ginormous eating day tomorrow at 1:00. I think we’re in shape, though.
Stuff:
* The name of the boat/taxi is Batobus, as I am sure you discovered from looking at the pictures.
* We’re up to 1.7 GB of photo storage on my iPod. And we’re up to 2,700 pictures between us on my iPhoto.
I went to the cellar for breakfast around 9:00. We met Sandy and Sharon at their place at 10:30. We walked through the Marais. Our first stop was the Picasso Museum, but we found it was closed until late October. Next we went to the Cognacq-Jay Museum. It’s the result of a private collection by the folks whose names grace the museum and it’s in an old building. It’s mostly 18th Century French painting. Nice.
Next we headed to a place for brunch, a novel idea in France. Well, this was even more strange for here. It was “all you can eat” buffet with about every cold and hot dish one could think of. It’s the Bar du Marche des Blancs Manteaux on Rue Vielle du Temple. Fresh fruit, salmon, pate, cold meats, cous cous, frittatas, eggs, hot meats, etc.
We waddled away to one of the neatest museums we’ve ever seen: Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature. Now one would think that a museum devoted to hunting (the chase) would be a yawn. It was very innovative as the pictures will show. It’s recently been modernized and the way things are displayed is quite unique and well done. We met one of the board members there who was with his grandson and who filled us in on the museum. Really terrific. Gotta see place.
Sandy and Sharon left us to go home to work. Robin and I walked over to the Musee Carnavalet (City of Paris museum) which includes a collection that depicts the history of Paris. Again, this is a must see. Terrific building and unique collection. See the pix for an idea. Old Paris signs, a collection that included the bedrooms of some famous people, rooms with brocade wallpaper, rooms of different Louis reigns, lovely gardens, miniatures of parts of the city, of specific buildings, etc.
From this museum, we walked a few blocks to the Saint-Paul Metro station that is near us. We took the Metro to a transfer station to get on an RER train. Well, while this morning was quiet with almost no one on the streets as we went from museum to museum, we were at the opposite end of the spectrum going on the subway and train. Hordes of people. Train cars jammed more than rush hour. Very long tunnel with moving sidewalk to transfer from the Metro to the RER station. Then, two stops later, we were at Luxembourg Gardens.
Emerging onto the street, we were in the middle of a huge, I mean huge, student demonstration march. Reminded me of ten years ago when we were here. We ran into the marchers again and again when we went home. Before going into the gardens, Robin bought some roasted chestnuts. They were quite delicious. I don’t remember if I have ever had them before.
The National Police were at the gates and had anyone who had any badges or stickers from the protest remove them before entering. We spent some time in the garden wandering around in a full circle. Saw the palace which now houses the Senate of France, the Fountain of the Medicis. Lots of people sunning, resting, walking.
We left by the gate we had entered. The protest parade was still passing by. We weeded through the marchers and went to the Pantheon (also the area of the university). After looking around at the building, we headed toward Saint-Germain, but detoured since the marchers were there filling the whole street. So we walked some side streets over the Ile St. Louis and up to Pont Sully and back to the hotel.
At 7:20, Sandy and Sharon came over and we walked back across Pont Sully and up the main street of Ile St. Louis to Le Fin Gourmet for our 7:30 reservation. Very nice, small restaurant. I had courgette stuffed with crab followed by scallops and frog legs followed by a mille feuille with lemon and basil custard in it. Robin had a nice green salad and some mushroom ravioli.
Got back at the hotel around 10:00. Gotta rest up for our ginormous eating day tomorrow at 1:00. I think we’re in shape, though.
posted by Bud Hirsch at 3:18 PM
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