(Stupid) American In Paris

Well, today was my first full day here... I had fallen asleep rather early last night and was up by about 7:00am (that's 1:00am to you in the Eastern time zone), and after emailing and blogging, I got out of here at about 10:30.

It was quite a beautiful day for most of the day... big clouds rolled in at around noon, but nothing rain-related; it was a rather blustery day as well.

After stopping around the corner for an orange, I headed immediately for Boulevard Saint-Michel so as to get to the Seine in the vicinity of Cathédral Notre-Dame de Paris (note the de Paris part! Heh!). I didn't spend as much time as I thought I would there as it was — as you might expect — loaded with tourists. What was surprising to me was that there was a mass going on at the same time! I took a few photos there — one was of a couple of girls (sisters, I'm guessing) who were taking each other's photo with the enormous expanse of the church interior behind them.



I left the church and walked a bit along the west bank of la Seine... looking for a good shot of the cathedral from that angle, but didn't find much of interest. There is a beautiful section behind the Cathédral with trees and benches... very photogenic, but a garbage truck was on duty. Along the river were gobs of newstand/souvenir booths which I resisted for the time being. I was wishing I spoke French... I would have loved to engage some of the vendors in conversation — either about their art or what they were selling.

I walked along the river in the direction of Tour Eiffel, grabbing a few shots here and there. There was a sax player on the opposite side of the river, his music reverberating under one of the bridges and seeming to hang in the air. This was near the Palais Royal Musée du Louvre, which I passed by today, instead walking through Jardin des Tuileries. It was here that I snapped my first picture of Tour Eiffel that I decided at the moment would be called "The Tower For The Trees"...



I took a few more panoramic shots in le jardin before heading back to the streets. I glimpsed Arc de Triomphe from near Champs-Élysée, but walked across the river in the direction of Eiffel... it was after visiting Eiffel that I got lost. Not a bad thing, really, as I discovered some interesting areas of the city. As for getting lost, I had a map with me and somehow misread where I was. Also, there are a few incidents where a rue and a boulevard share the same name. That could have been my problem. As I said, getting lost wasn't such a bad thing, it's just that I had just bought a bag of groceries and had to carry it around the entire time!

Speaking of the groceries, I decided to avoid the difficulty of ordering food at a restaurant (and I refuse to eat at McDonalds -- yet!), so I figured the easiest thing would be to select groceries for a couple of days, take it to the cashier, say, "Bonjour!" and "Merci!" then be on my way. Well, the best laid plans... I was told (in French, of course) that I needed to weigh the bananas (she spoke little english but was able to get that out). After I went back to do that, and after paying for the food, she asked me more questions... I had no clue. She was pointing to bags on the wall. I had no clue. Finally, the cashier next to her noticed we were having a problem and asked my cashier if I spoke english, then explained to me that I had a choice of two sized bags for purchase. (I was told that there is a campaign to reduce the number of discarded bags.) While I didn't have to purchase a bag, it was a good thing as the bag had a more substantial handle, which made carrying the bag FOR TWO HOURS a little easier.

NOTE: I have been having trouble posting via Blogger, so my posts are likely going to be a bit delayed... I have a whole 'nother day to write about but my problems with Blogger have messed up my timeliness with posting.

Paris

                                          Paree! by phi

I have arrived in Paris! The flight from Detroit went very well... there was a crying child only a few seats in front of me that I was afraid would never stop; but he did.

I sat next to a woman returning to France after ten days in the states with her son and several others. She is from Brittany (a three-hour train ride from Paris) and had many more miles of travelling ahead of her as she was to leave for Spain within a few hours of returning home.

Paris skies were grey as we landed at Charles DeGaulle airport (CDG), and after making a quick call to my host, Callixte (say kah-LEEKST), I found where to buy my train ticket for the city. There were a couple of delays along the way; I also managed to fall asleep on the train, waking myself up with my own noise!

Callixte was at the station as planned (he'd heard of the delays) and we headed back to his place, a very short walk from Port Royal station. After getting acquainted with his computer and taking care of emails, I went out for a walk in what was very quickly dimming light. Soon, a light rain began to fall sporadically as I walked up Boulevard du Montparnasse to Boulevard Saint-Michel, then around Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) via Rue de Vaugirard and Rue d'Assas, where I passed an elderly man walking with his hands clasped behind his back, clasping a rosary. I wished I'd had enough light for a photograph.

I walked a bit more, then decided to head back to the apartment as the rain began falling a little heavier. Callixte arrived home shortly afterwards and we went for dinner, eventually ending up at Café Royale (if memory serves); I can't recall what I ordered by name, but it was some kind of fish casserole (cod, I think) with a salad. I had a fine French beer — Heineken — to drink. Hah! Upon returning to the apartment, I pretty much passed out while Callixte chatted online. I didn't hear him go to bed but he said that he went fairly early. Methinks my presence is cramping his style a bit as my bed (a futon) is in the same room as the computer. I am going out now... it is after 9am and the days only get shorter!