Day 0: The Departure (Outre?)

I'm More worried about having left something behind than anything else. Luggage, apt word, it takes an 'age' to 'lug' it anywhere. So, as my penmanship will attest, I'm working on one small hour's worth of sleep. The only way to deal with jet lag, massive sleep deprivation and tucking in "a little early" for whatever destination time zone would dictate. Hope the cheapie radio shack lamp timer doesn't burn down the house. Hope I can sleep on the plane. Hope the laptop isn't stolen/crushed/dropped/whatever. Hope, hope, hope, yawn... Should start boarding in 15 minutes or so. Must stay awake or the clowns will eat my hyena. (May 3, 11:30AM)

Washington Dulles Airport 8:10PM. We landed 45 minutes early! This is an oft made pun but "Dullest" would be apt! Dinner was a slim choice between Grease and sugar... I opted (for) a Big MacBeth and chicken parts. All the better to make French food shine in comparison. Boarding begins soon.

My traditional travel trama began early. After watching "Chocolat" dubbed in French, subtitled in English, my tum utterly freaked out. Was it MacBeth's? Bad United-Air chicken? Turbulence? Whatever it was came with hot flashes and nausea as well, not common symptoms. Hopefully it'll not persist. Let me just get one other complaint off my chest while the bile is high: the 4 flight movies offered include "Legally Blond" & "Bridget Jone's Diary" both I would have watched if one of the 20% of functioning movie screens was free. Ah well, one fully charged G4 battery lasted all the way through the movie, and I have a better screen & some practice with French to boot. Bon soir! C'est qu que? Et Soleil... [G'night! What? The Sun ... is up?] As usual my ear will outpace my tongue in this. (approaching Charles du Galle. I'm guessing it's 9AM here, maybe 2AM at home. Who cares?!)


Kell eh luh pree (poor?) ... How much?
Parley Onglay .. Speak English?
Passay voo pre doo ... do you go near ...

The cover of this journal has such a fantastic leather smell. I find myself drawn to write in it, just to have it under my nose.

Airport Cab & Hotel:

I wish I had my camera handy! The airport was a trip! Funky people movers that change angle, I nearly fell over, then going up hill I nearly got bowled over (literally) by someone's luggage suddenly able to use its wheels again. THEN there was the passport stamping to baggage claim tangle (SEE DOODLE) At A, we got stamped then up the nearest people mover across this open area where three of them crossed each other to the upper ring. The baggage claim itself... the whole place is this worm ridden doughnut! I checked to see if any of the tour shuttles were around, I just missed one, if it ran today. The next would be in 3 hours, so I went looking for an 'ATM' for Euros and a cab driver helped me find one. They actually lounge about the "Arrives" area stalking dumb Americans like me. Weary & lazy, I let him rip me off for 65 Euros, flat rate to my hotel. Told him he'd better point out some sites for that rate, he did, even drove around some for better views. Saw the new stadium, (what's with this doughnut theme?) Sacre Coeur up on Montmartre, The Arc de Triumph, some of the embassies, the "parlement" building, a tower I think he said was "Chartres" We took the "Periph Fluide" the periphery freeway" for half the trip. Drivers here would make me nuts! No one signals and the tiny lanes seem to have 2 or three axles in them all at once, quite often. Of course, saw the 'Iron Lady' herself but my hotel is just 3 blocks up the Siege from it anyway.



Check-in was mostly painless. Every time I think I've got the basics, Merci, Oui, Voulez vou parley Englaz, etc, I freeze up. Sigh. Odd how much the same thing happens with me back home too. (2:30PM Novatel Tour Eiffel. 5:30AM back home! Long night!)

Last Entry of the Day Let myself sleep through the afternoon and evening. Had a snack bar that I brought with me, watched TV for a bit, I swear my comprehension is improving already. It's 2:30AM now, here, and oddly that "feels" right, even though back home it's 5:30PM. We'll see how bad the jet lag is tomorrow. On French TV: I saw the same talk show host on 3 different channels concurrently, he must be their "Oprah", heh. The Disney channel has this thing with cute French art teachers. The hotel has a Japanese channel & some middle eastern channel, as well as Spanish & a few English. Tomorrow is election day, fears are that the conservative right will take the day. Thus ends Day 1, curious to think (donc) that yesterday was only 20 hours long and today was only 19. The rest of the tour party arrives tomorrow AM. Bon Soir!

Paris in May, so far is just like San Diego's winter at it's harshest: Chilly, damp and drizzly. I packed for warmer than this, but will manage fine, I'm sure. Apparently, I'm not to meet up with the tour group until tomorrow evening so I'll probably check the laptop in at the front desk and wander about today. Maybe buy a wind-breaker to accommodate my overly thin blood. I WILL find & maybe even use the hotel gym & pool. I must say I do feel embarrassingly alien here, a bit lost even, though more in a fun & challenging way. Part of it derives, perhaps from a small confusion about how to open my hotel door yesterday. I'm usually the first to figure out unfamiliar contraptions... (ie: I helped someone else with the euro-dispenser at the airport yesterday) Not being able to open my door was for 2 reasons: 1, I was exhausted from travel & 2, the door handle and frame clearly appeared to be "pull" types, Zoot Allorz! (10AM, Novatel Lobby, past breakfast in the salon)

Exploration

Good thing I came alone, by the end of today's 6 hour and, I'm guessing, 24 mile long walk my feet wanted to put me in the Cemetarie Marie! { Sensory Interrupt: Heinikin(?) draft is far superior to bottled. Ahhh... } I was rained on three times, none serious. Saw quite a number of interesting sites, and people too. This may be absurd but the French seem to have a distinct blink, particularly the elderly. It's as if they're resting, just a moment, from the effort of viewing so much art both natural and artifice. {Sensory Interrupt again: I swear I'm listening to the sound track to Amelie. The chicken sandwich I just ate came with sliced eggs on it. How many other species can we consume thus? Fish? Salmon & roe? What else? Very tastey, and philosophical all at once.} Rather than inflict a hand drawn map on my poor tolerant journal, I'll mark my tour guide map... may I point out that it stayed in my room today? How useless!

This is impossible. Let's just list the numerous sites seen: "Ecole Militaire" -- a wonderful little palace surrounded by mildly ornate, but tedious barracks, I assume. Very large parade grounds, as is fitting.

"Gare Montparnasse" Dark, ugly, modern skyscraper, must be taller than the Eiffel Tower. A better landmark to be sure. [[As it turned out, The Eiffel tower is considerably taller.]]

"Cimetiere du Montparnasse" I thought it was Marie... might have been, my map doesn't cover the area south of there.

"Observatoire de Paris:"

"Jardin Marco Polo:" Very nice, fathers and sons playing ping-pong. A few joggers & some nice, if risque, statues. Exactly the kind of thing that would be defaced overnight in the US, sadly.

"Jardin du Luxembourg:" Now -HERE_ is a park! Apparently all Parisians not currently voting choose this spot for running, group calesthentics or a variety of other exercises. Note that this is Sunday (Samedi?) and here is the first time today that I've heard church bells. (I see now that it was the bells of St. Sulpice to the north I heard). Shame I didn't have a map on me or I might have ventured further and visited Notre-Dame de Paris. As it was, I "officially" turned back at the Jardin du Luxembourg... (the return trip was to take more than twice the time of the outbound walk took).

I ended up on St. Germain Bold and from there got myself utterly lost. Tour Eiffel was being very elusive. Apparently, I was also quite close to the Musee D'Orsay too. Other than many monuments, that I wouldn't be able to recite, that was it for landmarks. Bus stops & billboards run a small number of ads, so see them often. My favorite (photo coming soon, I promise) is one of a woman with head tilted back being kissed by a tres sexy fellow... a fellow whose skin is cross-section Kiwi-Green! Some Kiwi drink is the product. Why do green men turn me on so? Freud? Answer me that! (5PM -- Novatel Hotel Salon)

Addendum to previous entry (okay fatigue & 2 beers cause more pen-o's) Glad I made it back when I did, it started raining most unpleasantly shortly afterwards!)

An incomplete thought regarding the church bells, in reading up on Paris/French history, I saw brief mention to the throwing out of much of the organized religion along with the Monarchy. Certainly seems true. I saw maybe one local neighborhood church today, and it looked all but abandoned at that. What a wondrous place! Joi de Vivre indeed! Just imagine how life must be without being checked for your neglect in insuring your place in the afterlife, but instead encouraged to live now, today, not as if today was your last, but one of a finite number. For all the absurdity I used to think the French guilty of, there is a practicality to it that I find difficult to argue. {Sensory Interrupt: My hand is quite unused to this much writing!} (5:15 -- Novatel Salon)

Second Addendum: I neglected to mention perhaps the funniest part of my long perambulation! About a mile from journey's end I was stopped by 3 Asian (Japanese I think) women: "Excuse me sir, can you tell me where the metro station is?" Knowing that there was no chance of guiding them to the last one I saw, there were too many turns and street names I ignored for that. I resorted to the truth: "I'm lost too! Sorry! Good luck!" We bowed and parted ways. I couldn't help but wonder, is it my bleached blonde hair? The white tennis shoes? (Parisians wear bright blue it seems). Am I to tan? (HAHA!) Or were these women unable to speak French as well and just asked in English anyway, hoping I understood. Oh well. So much for blending in. By the way: NOTHING is open on Sunday morning. Little more is open in the afternoon. Godless, but honoring the sabbath, how doubly un-American! HA! (6:30PM, my room)

No formal tour activities planned for today, just a first "get together" tonight at 5PM. As the weather forecast predicts that the weather will improve dramatically tomorrow I feel no shame in staying dry & in/near the hotel today. Not a habit I intend to develop. Breakfast was tasty, even if buffet-style at the Brasserie Pont Mirabel. I seem to have made an impression on the front desk clerk, an older fellow, who on each of the 3 times I've talked with him as he remembered my name and particulars. Considering this is no small hotel, I'm impressed. Gradually, I'm becoming more comfortable saying "Bonjour", "Merci" "Oo eh la vay say", "Au revois" "Salut!". I'm still wanting to say "Prego", "Scuzi" & "Grazi" and will have trained myself not to just in time for Venizia, I'm certain. Some things are confusing, ie: "C'est bien" (that's fine) sounds Spanish. I have a horrid case of second language overlap... There are enough Germans around that I'm getting all confused. Part of my brain thinks the French I'm learning is an extension of my long forgotten Deutsch-speak. "Ya" is still trumping "Oui". Okay, okay, all this language focus will put me to sleep when I read this later. I've finally started taking some pics, though the light and weather will undoubtedly sap them of all color. So far just the view from my window. I find the miniature Statue of Libertie on the bridge over the Seine below my window almost comical. Amusingly, the statue is current... since now the flame of the torch is all gode plated, rather than a glass paned "Lighthouse" light as it was however many years ago. Last night I came across a delishously wicked perspection on Lady Liberty, which given my recent thoughts on French attitudes seems far far too apt. (See Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" Time for postcard duty. Au Revoir! (10AM Back in my room)

An Early Dinner

The weather improved somewhat, and like a moth I was drawn out into the city. Yesterday's sojourn has left my feet quite tender, almost blistered, I fear. Ah well, even so, I'm certain I tromped 5 or 6 miles today, all much closer to the hotel, mainly the Beau-Grenelle shopping district. Brasseries, Bangalarie(?), Groceries, antiquities. One shop front was one huge vending machine serving up your typical convenience shop fare. Another was like an ATM, but was a DVD rental library. Fairly current releases there, though not much variety. Snapped a few pics of lady Libertie, the hotel, the Iron Lady and the Kiwi-Man advert. I will end up going to the movies here, though I'll probably keep it to slapstick/action/more visual than talkie for obvious reasons. I must admit to a fair degree of frustration here, in that "L'Echine et Diablo" (?) is plastered on cinema marquis all over... it is obviously "The Devil's Backbone" the Spanish psychological/supernatural thriller... in Spanish, subtitled in French I'm certain. I rather wanted to see that in the U.S. but it left the theaters so quickly I missed it! {The sun is out!!! if only briefly I can see shadows outside! Yay!} On that interruption, let me add that navigating amidst 6-7 story tall buildings on narrow streets WITHOUT benefit of the sun for directional assistance is FRUSTRATING!! Even just 4 "blocks" from the hotel it is too easy to get turned around and lost. Learning street names is essential for navigation.

More on today's outing: I had not just one but two all French exchanges, one to buy postcards, the other to pick up patisseries "Specialitie de Maison" and "Citron" & "Cressont et Chocolat". Talk about positive encouragement! Speak French, get chocolate! (4PM -- Salon La Seine)

Sequestered Again

Bloody hell! Not to whine about my own self inflicted injury, but yesterday's walk has resulted in a truly painful & poorly placed blister, dammit! NO more walking today. Enough on that. I've just met up with the rest of the tour group, tomorrow we set out for a quick "around the city" bus ride, with stops at Notre Dame & Versailles. Got a much nicer map (one for streets, one for metro) from our guide I am now convinced that my "walk" covered a full quarter of Paris! Okay, I exaggerate. A little only, honest. The rest of the tour group includes 4 delightfully feisty New Yorkers entering their golden years, and 2 guys nearing 30, if that. Not sure where they're from but they're doing the "see all of Europe as fast as possible"-thing. Brutal! I've signed up for 2 optional tour legs both 7AM to late night affairs. One into the Loire Valley to see 3 chateaux: Chambord, Cheverny & Chenonceau. [Blois not Cheverny, I guess] The other tour goes out to Mont Saint Michel, from which I'm certain the cover art for Ursula K. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earth Sea" must have been derived. More on each in due corse.

Semantic Interlude: "Tour Eiffel" Why is tour a tower in French and a journey in English? Was a "Tour of Duty" originally to some Tower and back? Is one derived from the other? If so, which? (6PM -- My Room)

You know, I'd completely forgotten that "longer days of summer" are even longer further north. Sure, the sun never sets in Alaska, but that just seems unconnected. AND it sure doesn't feel like summer here... even if it's still broad daylight and closing in on 9PM. I wonder how little sunlight Paris gets in winter! Heliotropic beasts such as I would surely wither and die here. (8:50PM My room)

Perhaps it's jet lag, perhaps my sleep schedule is just "off" as usual. I woke up at 5am. Me. I mean seriously, what is this? Anyway, I ran into Jo(sephine) & Betty at breakfast. Jo's one of the aforementioned feisty Brooklyners. She must be all of 4'1" I feel as if I'm twice as tall as she. She didn't spot me until after when I waved. She hasn't seen me standing up yet, I'm expecting some fun out of that.

Knowing full well that I won't be using it today, I've checked "Puck" (My G4 Powerbook) into the hotel safety deposit boxes. Shame it can't recharge in there. Today it's: Camera, Shades (it is finally a nice and sunny day), map & Euros. I might bring the postcards... hmmm.... nah. I have 30 minutes to kill before the tour departs, I think I hear the next chapter of "American Gods" calling to me. Salut! (Saloo!) (8:15AM My room, after breakfast) {See pics from window}

Recovery

2 savory & much needed beers and a sit in the bar with the couple from Houston (didn't catch their names) [Lois & Carl]. Fun day didn't talk with Jo & Betty, (Jo only did a slight double take at our height difference. At one very clustered moment in Versailles she joked about riding on my shoulders, heh!) Meet Debbie (from Jersey), Noreen (San Clemente CA) and their mom Joyce & dad Jim (Miami I think) had lunch with them, promised to email Debbie with a link to the photos online later. Very fun folks. Katharine was our tour guide, whose accent seemed odd, but she said she's native French, (though not Parisian). I might join Jo & Betty for dinner if they haven't already tried to find me and missed. (I was in the bar/salon talking and downloading pics longer than expected.) Darren and his boyfriend live in Michigan... one works for Ralph Lauren. Chatted with them a bit today, they seem like really sweet down to earthy kinda guys. What? The tour? Oh! Okay, like first impressive site was this big ol'tour bus navigating the crazy Paris traffic along twisty narrow streets. THAT was impressive! Claude Cloud, our driver, (I swear it was on his badge!) Did an amazing job. The bus was sometimes only 4 inches away from a variety of obstacles. We drove through the Latin Quarter, the Govt District, the opera district. Past The Ritz, past Les Deux Magots. (J.P. Sartre's hangout) stopped at Notre Dame and Versailles (see numerous photos) and basically did all manner of hyper touristy stuff. This one lady in our group... egads... white and gold sports wear, jewelry, a big tote bag with a gold Eiffel Tower on it and that classic overwhelmed/bored Ugly American Tourist Expression. Talk about your 3000 watt "I'm a tourist" beacon! Thought I was going to get pickpocketted just standing nearby! Heh!


[The bus tour around Paris]


We also stopped at a 'parfume' museum, I didn't expect it to be much, it was brief but more interesting than I had expected! They showed a variety of distilling processes (some scents can't survive heat) The ylang-ylang flower takes up to 5 months to extract! Perfumes are typically made from 30 to 1000 different 'essences'. A fellow called "the nose" mixes and matches the scents, sitting at a perfume organ (surrounded by 100-1000 tiny bottles of specific essences). Apparently these people are almost as rare as those sisters of color blind men that end up with an extra color sense. The life of a "Nose" (or super nose) seems monkish! No spicy foods, no alcohol, no smoking, years of intensive training and study. Seems the job stays in the family too. Oh, they're paid amazingly well, and only work 3 hours a day. Sign me up! ;) What an odd profession! The 'Factory-direct' gift shop was fun... I even sprang a few Euros there.


[Notre Dame]


I won't journal much from Versailles, or Notre Dame, most of it is fairly textbook/tour-guide boilerplate stuff. I must note that the saint holding his head (St. Denis) is claimed to have been beheaded, then picked up his head and carried it from Montmartre to some place where he finally dropped it. A church was built at that spot. (Not Sacre Coeur). Lovely tale. Got a great spooky shot of Joan de Arc too. That's Joyce and Noreen with me in the shot behind Notre Dame. I can safely say I now know my Louis XIV, XV and XVI better than ever. The sun King built Versailles, died at 72, his great grandson rose to power then but was only 5 (at coronation), mom & a certain bishop/cardinal were regent until he turned 13. (3 musketeers anyone?) Louis the 16th Married Marie Antoinette and of course went down with her. L17 died shortly after being christened and L18, well, I missed that part. Oops.


[Versailles]


The vanity and jealousy of L14 and most notably the number of nearly number of nearly pornographic statues, coupled with his extreme devoutness to God, makes me wonder if there was something going on between King & Clergy of a more scandalous nature! Well, one can hope.


[The Versailles Gardens]


The weather today has been superb, couldn't ask for better. Sadly, tomorrow is going to be a bit odd, as it is a major holiday and most things will be closed. (End of WWII day). Thursday, I'm off to the Loire Valley. Well, one thing at a time. Perhaps Montmartre tomorrow. (7:30PM, my room)

Just got back from market. "Monoprix" down the Rue (road) for some inroomsnacks, as the boulangerie are closed for the day (and tomorrow). Now, I am NOT a fresh produce kinda guy, I think I might have bought a banana last year. But these 2 pears caught my eye, so, what the heck, into the basket they went. I wasn't prepared for this. The first bite was just amazing, texture so smooth and creamy it was like an apple sauce truffle in a thin skin of butter. The flavor! Sheesh! Sweet, but not too so. No tartness at all and just indescribable pearness. If Faust had religion... I'd say I'd just eaten one of the higher choir of pear angles! It's partner is sitting next to me wafting its fragrant hymn up at me... {slurp} this is going to get messy... more later on the rest of the booty. (9PM)

[The Seine River Boat Tour]


Most normal things are closed & the touristy things are just packed today. Even so, Jo, Betty & I went on a Seine River boat tour, It was so warm & sunny, that I retreated into the shade after, to do postcards and read a bit. Amusingly enough, Jo & Betty ran into me at dinner just now. Good folk, fun to talk with!

Daily Whine: Feet are fine. Stomach is fine. Whacked my knee on the durned tour boat, and OW nice bruise. (NO, I'm not that clumsy, just too tall to fit into their very poorly designed seats, coupled with the boat moving as I was sitting down. Sigh!) The boat departed from the base of the Eiffel Tower, which I've been avoiding so far. Vendors of tourist crap were everywhere ugh! When I do get around to "doing the tower" I'll have my room key, camera & 20 euro s on me... and nothing else of value. Talk about a pickpocketers paradise!

Let's see, more on the Monoprix grocery excursion. "Diet" Coke doesn't seem to exist here. Apparently, "Diet" is charged with bad stigma. You might find "light" but they were out of stock. I got "U.S. Cola Light" 1.5 liter. Also got 2 chocolate bars and some tasty "La Trappe Trappistenbeir 'Blond'" in a 3 pack. Strong stuff! I, naturally, was highly amused to find one of the chocolate bars (Lindt 99% cacao) to be wholly unsweetened!! OOPS! The other (Guandua(?)) was more like chocolate tar, heavenly! I finished reading "American Gods" today, which may result in yet more entries in this here journal, we'll see as I look for things to do in the quiet moments. For now, thought it's 8:30PM and I have an early and long day tomorrow, so shower & bed are a must soon. Before that, I must say that Betty suggested I do a 1 day London trip via the Chunnel/Eurostar... May 16 might be a good day for that... perhaps I'll catch Star Wars II too... After all I first saw the original Star Wars in London back in '79. More on that as the story develops! Bon Soir! (8:30PM - My room)

That's "Loire" as in "El-war". It is, well, GREEN, and sadly due to the heavily overcast skies, pretty but not otherwise remarkable. The towns are quaint, the river placid, traffic, well, pretty much like the city but faster with fewer buildings. Felt like I was rubbing shoulders with the passengers of other busses, we were that close.

Chateau 1: Bloise (BL-wah). Great facade, cool grand stairway, tres bloody history. The Roi either lived to 70 or so, or were poisoned young in life. The town around it was heavily bombed and has all been rebuilt, but aside from all the TV antennae, seems to match fairly well. I got back to the bus a few moments early, and panicked a little... it wasn't there! I backtracked, wondering if it was going to meet us closer... nadda. It's now 3 min PAST the rendezvous time, and I'm a little concerned, until I see our empty bus heading towards our meeting spot. Turns out my clock was just a bit fast (10 minutes) Doh!



Chateau 2: Chenonceau (Shenausaw) Part Castle, part bridge. Very nifty design, the kitchens are over the river, all the better to load/unload supply boats and toss garbage! The lower level of the nifty arches is tiled with black and white squares. The black is tougher, the white is like limestone and is wearing away rapidly. The floor is insanely uneven as a result! The upper level was closed, darn-it! The most interesting bit in the history of this place was how it was too small for the royal court, so was typically occupied by either the queen or one of the king's mistresses! Apparently it was quite the hot property, much bickering and ousting ensued!



Chateau 3: Chambord (Sham-boar) Wow! I mean WOW! The grounds (fully fenced in and having only 6 gates) is LARGER than Paris! The spires and chimneys and terraces and roofly gewgaws are overwhelming! While at the same time well balanced so as to make it hard to pick a few that could/should be removed to improve the whole. The guide said that it may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci (which can't I spell that? I've only had 1 beer!) Very different layout, the keep is a 4 leaf clover, with a central staircase that has to be seen to be appreciated! (A double helix) Chambord and Versailles were built around the same time (Chambord first). Louis XIV (the sun king) was more interested in Versailles though, so, to this day Chambord is not just unfinished, but something of an albatross, handed off to a favored liegeman/military general, occupied briefly and abandoned time and time again. Of course, the intent was to build something that would stun visiting dignitaries, but they used the then equivalent of plastic: limestone. The place looks like it's dissolving! Quickly! So much for Disneyland of the 1500's!

[Looking up the spiral staircase:]

I doubt that any of today's photos will be good, no sun all day. Just clouds and haze and lots of it. I kept wondering: it's May. Late Spring. Each of these Chateaux were cold, drafty affairs, just imagine them in winter! Did I mention they were dark too? No wonder they were poisoning each other!

So, on the 2 hour bus ride back to Paris I was reading my Rick Steve's 'Paris' (thanks Keith!) planning tomorrow's outing when, in reference to Napoleon's Tomb/The War Museum it mentioned: Length of our tour (of the war museum): women 2 hours, men 3 hours, republican men -ALL DAY-! I laughed and laughed. It's so true. (sorry dad! ;)


[This company certainly didn't make sure their brand was internationally friendly. :)]

Forgotten Thought: This morning started early I was up at 5am. Taxied it over to the Louvre to catch the tour bus, and, while waiting around, I noticed there were quite a number of young very well dressed types milling by. Tail end of last night's clubbing apparently. Made for a most entertaining wait for the bus.

So, I'm in the hotel Salon, which WAS quiet until a small group of, oh, 15 ungodly loud drunken Americans came in. So easy to see why we can be unpopular. I can only hope that non-Americans don't bother listening to us. Shudder.

In the news: $ = Euro. Sigh. So much for having the upper hand with the exchange rate. Okay, I can't handle this banal noise. Time for Bed. (11PM - Hotel Salon)

I have a confession to make: today is my first hop on the metro. Not sure why I was putting it off, but the rain this morning was unappealing, so I opted for dryer travel than foot. I also knew that I'd be on foot all day as well, anyway. I had heard good things about the (M), and was still very much impressed. Only two snags, 1: I started out at the Eiffel Tower stop and choked on using my ticket at the turnstile. Apparently, one must extract the ticket from the machine before passing through. Two quick embarassments holding up the queue and I then I was through. The other, far more minor, was having to double back one stop to pick up my transfer. Otherwise, I was very fortunate and I innately picked the right platforms, the right side of the tracks, the right exits each time. Even when I just guessed without reading the maps! Today's first destination was the Musee de Moderne Art/The George Pompedoo(?) building. On my way to my first transfer I saw the Denfort-Rochereau stop, and remembered the catacombs were near there. (I had put them off because neither of my guide books showed it on the map.) So, I hopped off the metro, gawked at the local area map on the wall, found the catacombs, but had no idea which of the 5 or so metro stops in the middle of the map was mine. Some Deutchlanders beside me were having the same problem. I figured it out and pointed it out for them, we all climbed the steps together and presto! The entrance was facing us across the street. Very odd attraction allinall. It's easy to get dizzy on the stairway going down, round and round the spiral. Then you stoop/hike at least one or two blocks underground. Drip, drip, crunch, crunch, and then you're there. Yowsa! Skulls look kinda small without skin and hair on them. Looking at the twisty turney passage walls you'd think all we leave behind are skulls and femurs, but behind the rather artistically packed heads & legs, you can see the myriad of other bones. 6 million dead down there. Cleared from church cemeteries to make more room for the living. I can't imagine the scope of that project, digging up grave after grave, carting the bones, respectfully of course, this is a crypt, not a dumping ground. It goes on and on down there. 5 feet high on each side of the passage, and usually 5 feet back, sometimes much further. Each segment has a headstone-like marker saying what church they were dug up from. No other form of identification though. Then, a seriously claustrophobic spiral staircase back up. More German's here, joking around, those above me calling back to those behind me, as we climbed. Must have been Bavarian German, I could follow their conversation rather easily. After the climb, you get bag-searched to deter skull-stealers, and let you out on some random back street. If/when I learn French I'm doing this again so I can read all the many quotations and inscriptions that line the walls.

Okay, so I know roughly where I am, somewhere near the Luxembourg Jardins, and north of those is Saint Germain/St. Michel and the isle with Notre Dame. Further north (and west) would be the Louvre, and north and east would be the George Pompedoo Musee, my next stop. I've decided the best way to find a metro stop is to follow the dominant traffic, you'll see one in about 2 streets from anywhere it seems. I found one, (St. Jacques?) and took the #4 to Les Halles, got my bearings and tromped to the museum. The museum pass is a must! The lines are horrid otherwise! This building is a trip! Ugly from further off, as you approach you have to respect the direct, functional and elegantly laid out architecture. I didn't see the whole exhibit and may go back again soon for more. I've decided I rather like Kandinsky (aesthetically) Mondrian (for his theory) and Pollock (for style) and Delaunay (dunno why, just do). Loved the Rube-goldberg contraption films, and they provided a nice excuse to rest the legs a break.

There was a very disturbing large room dedicated to deconstructionism, I suppose. Photos of men painting statues of angels using the blood and feathers of dead birds. Some man filmed himself cutting himself and using his own blood (and later other bodily fluids, eww) to cover a canvas. I I think he may have burned himself as well. I only glanced at that screen once in a while. Where does one draw the line? Can a snuff film be art? Apparently this self-torment counts. I suppose as long as the artist continues suffering it can be considered art. Who am I to judge? ME that's who! Didn't like it, it felt gimicky and desperate. [After viewing the rest of the museum] I think to myself on the way out, someday I'd like to have something of mine shown here. Could this be it? The elusive life-goal surfacing at last? Will I throw myself into this pursuit and ultimately succeed or fail in the attempt? Hmm, probably just another whim. Oh well. Off to the Louvre, on foot.

Using the museum pass at the correct door (Richelieu) gets me past about 400 waiting tourists, whew. Straight off to the Sully wing for old Greek and Egyptian works. Didn't get there early enough to see Mona (nearby). She's not really a priority though. I need to find some Dali! I did see the Venus de Milo, which, compared to the amazing statues of men and women in stunningly complex folds of stone cloth, well, she just doesn't stand out much, on her own. Single white female, sans arms. The decor of the Louvre itself is sometimes so much that it shadows the items on display! What an astounding place. So nice to see money, time and effort building a temple to the past creations of humans, instead of yet another tired old Christian monument. Makes me wonder how long before their alllovingbutinsanelyjealous deity smites the place. Heh.

Well, I slept a little late today, but I'm still wiped out, maybe a little TV and some some early sleep (9PM - The Hotel Salon)

Here I am at the Anvers Metro station. [...] Scratch that, you never wait long for the Metro. I'm now several blocks past Les Deux Magots, they looked annoyingly busy so I kept going after leaving the Metro. It's uncanny how quickly I'm learning the layout of this city! I just guessed at the right stop, and voila, there it was across the street! (Les Deux Magots, that is) It's been raining since I left Montmartre, but strangely, it's rather pleasant, not enough to soak, just enough to keep my overshirt speckled. Montmartre was a nice climb, I wore the new shoes for it, they feel properly broken in now. The final climb up to Sacre Coeur was familiar from "Amelie", and I snapped a few pics. Inside, who do I run into lighting candles, but Jo and Betty again! I quietly said "Hi!" and said I might meet them by the exit, then strolled about the cathedral, lit a candle for Grandmom Crane and any of my other grandparents that might be interested in the gesture. I sat and listened to the sermon in progress for a bit. What French I know lead me to belive the topic was "Le Sonne Prodigal" a parable I never did really "Get". The altar came complete with singing penguins and the acoustics in there were just fabulous. I had to wonder if other faiths go in for such blatant awe-inspiring gimmicks. I've half a mind to use the "High-Mass" format for some artistic visual/audio thing. Boiled down to 3-5 minutes, of course, for American attention spans can handle little more. Heh. I wonder back in the time of kings if church attendance was one of their forms of entertainment. Music, storytelling, group participation, a little snack and wine... sounds like a party to me! I forget who said "if you can fake sincerity, you've got it made!" I'm of the impression that if you can sell anticipation, you're better off! That's, in a way, what the church is doing, no? They don't even have to deliver! After all, No one asks for a refund after death! What a perfect scam. ;) [[Okay, so I was in a mood that day. Organized religion brings out the sass in me, what can I say. :)]]




Frankly, I can't believe how much I've been writing. Earlier in life my mind was racing off in too many directions at once to hope to get a coherent thought down on paper completely. Is my hand faster? Or has my brain slowed down? What a scary thought! (Oif! Hand Cramp! Owie!) Hm. Okay. I've said it, time to chase that thought a moment. "Owie" vs. "Oui". Is this some perverse remnant of Marquis de Sade? American's say "Ow!"... the French hear "Yes!"? Too odd! And while we're on wordplay: "Bonjour". Jour is day, isn't it? Perhaps "Jour" is matched up to the English "tour". Whatever, to close the thought, "bonjour" sounds like a more active concept than "good day". "Bonsoir" means "good evning" and a "soiree" "an evening party?" Hm. I've lived in a loose 24-hour culture too long, the idea of cultural rituals tied to specific times of the day so firmly that just mentioning the time of day implies the activities that accompany it seems like a stretch.

note to self: Learn the French Numbers! I'm tired of seizing up when folks quote prices at me! Sigh! To close, I never did se Joe & betty again. I hope they have a good trip home! (3:30PM - some random cafe on St. Germain du Prez)

P.S. I must find some place to mail my 31 postcards. At this rate I'm surprised my poor hand hasn't fallen off! I note also that using up this journal quickly, (there's that "jour" again!) At some point perhaps I'll have to write smaller and use both sides of each page, (annoying binding makes that awkward. Maybe I'll flip the book over at the end instead.) Okay, NOW I'm done with this entry!

Met some American's named Jeff, Alan and Debbie in the salon this evening, remember them, I may run into them in Venice as we'll all be there at the same time.

... continued in Paris Part II ...