Sunday

SUNDAY
Its fathers day, I didn’t get a chance to do anything for it. TMT
And I did. Dad, the card is in the mail! ACT

It is 10 pm and still quite light out.

This morning we got out of the atelier before 11 am. We got home tonight before 10 pm too. This is the first night so far that we have managed to get back before midnight

Today we thought we would go to visit the Sacre Couer and Momatre. The hill was tough, even first thing in the morning. It was over 90 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) before we left the apartment, and although it isn’t nearly as bad as the humid heat wave we left in NY, it is still hot and drains the energy out of us. Also it is packed with tourists, (imagine that, tourists in Paris!) and the various venders who prey on them. Several times we are forced to put on our finest NYC stare and snarl to ward them off. It sees that one of the current ploys involves weaving several pieces of string around the wrist of the tourist. I am not sure why, or what is it supposed to do, but I declined to buy any string.

After Sacre Couer, we headed for the Tuilieries thinking it would be the ideal spot for a picnic. It is Sunday, so much of Paris is closed, and it seems only spots catering to tourists are open. We finally found sandwiches and had a nice lunch in the garden. While we had been careful to sit in the shade, we were still hot so we ducked into the carasel, or underground mall in the Louvre to cool off and have a coffee. I saw a French man over 50 throw a fit because he couldn’t smoke inside after he paid for lunch for his family. The area we had a coffee reminded us of the food courts that are prevalent in the malls of America. Really kind of awful, and very loud.

After finding the bathroom, really rather difficult, the Louvre needs some help with their signs, we decided to try to find a quiet place to rest in the shade and perhaps have a kip(nap to you non-Anglophiles.) We came upon a group of people lying in the shade and soon joined them. However, just as we had really settled in for a rest, a quiet, gently polite, but firm park worker came along to eject us and the other sleeping shade seekers. Walking on through the Tuilleries, we past the Place du la Concorde and found a nice lawn just off the Champs Elysee where we quickly resumed our naps. Upon waking, we realized we were in front of the president’s residence, and that we lived in back of it. So that explains all the gendarmes! We strolled up the Champs Eylesse to the Public Drugstore, a kind of high end boutique/bookstore right by the Arc de Triomphe. I remembered it from my London days as a good place for snails and inexpensive bistro food.

No more, it is now tres chic, and did not seem to be serving food, only drinks and ice cream. We decided upon a restaurant, but mixed up the name of the Rue we were searching for, got lost and walked miles out of our way. We did eventually find the restaurant, and it was rather fabulous, but far more than we hoped for in terms of money and ambiance. We were too tired to cope with it, and felt underdressed and underwashed, We left it. We ended up at a pizzeria right down the street. Yes, gentle readers, you have read correctly, we had pizza in Paris. It is hard to top NYC for pizza so we won’t be too critical. We will say, that it was much better then sushi in Rome, it was also exactly what we needed. Simple, easy, and lots of carbs. We had a great mozzarella di buffala and tomato salad as well.

At a table near us sat an elegant elderly couple. His hair was long, down to his shoulders,(men seem to either wear their hair much longer here then in the states, or almost shaved) while his feminine companion had hers tied causally and perfectly into a knot at the back. They both had distinctively French profiles, and were busy discussing something long after we had finished our meal. He was dressed simply, a blue shirt, large and untucked, but she was wearing what could easily have been a Channel Suit. It was yellow and white, and she wore a large brooch and earrings. The earrings and brooch did not match, but the whole effect was striking! At the end of their meal, but not their conversation, the waitress brought over a huge clear dish filled with penny candy. Though his cane was clearly visable, the man’s face lit up like a child’s upon receiving this prize. Quickly he became dismayed because he could not find his favorite bon-bon, the waitress soon came to his rescue with several choice items from the other bowls and order was restored.

Tomorrow is the Louvre all day. No other plans, just a huge museum full of beauty. From the mona lisa to the raft of the medusa.

My legs are like rubber and my feet shredded. We both have gotten a lot of sun and are a bit red and burnt. We are dehydrated and exhausted every night when we get back to the atelier but it is a great city and a wonderful time. Its been almost 5 days since we arrived and I think we can begin to slow down to Paris speed soon. Our pidgin French is passable in restaurants but pretty much useless elsewhere.

The sun is setting at 10:45 and we are going to bed with the sun.