Day 9: Baron Samedi Revisited
[Looking up:] 
[and down:] 
[Gare Montparnasse:] 
I couldn't have asked for a nicer day! Warm, but not too so, sunny but with enough clouds for some relief. Just perfect. I hope tomorrow's trip to Mont St. Michel is as beautiful, if so, I'll have postcard perfect pics! Speaking of postcards, Mon Deux! After spending almost a euro each to buy them it cost about .70 each to send them! That's about $60 for the lot! Anyway, money well spent even if the euro is threatening to overtake the dollar. Sigh. And, on that note, I've been asked to check with the front desk regarding the rest of my stay. (Switching over to the Paris "Extension" part of my package obviously requires flashing another coupon/voucher. I had a glass of Gewurtzterminer white wine with my 3PM dinner at Bistro Linois with my Poulet Formier, boy did that go to my head, what a lightweight I am. Today's walk about was going to b e light, I've a new blister (ow!) that I didn't want to aggravate. Instead, I Metro'd over to Notre Dame and hoofed if up to the Louvre's 7/24 post office. I guess they mean pick-up is 7/24, not postage sales. Grr. Okay from there, I walked, first to the opera house, then to the Pantheon, then to St. Augustine's... Then to Champ de Elysees, up the length of it to the Arc de Triumphe, and of course, had to climb that. (no elevator). More tiny spiral staircases. Not much of a line for this attraction, no surprise there! The view was, of course, stunning. This monument is really a star attraction (haha) when you look at how the streets radiate out from it. Lots of pics from here. Metro'd back on the 6 line, gave some Brits help using the Metro and got off at, Pique? Just before the Beau-Grenelle market, which was just starting to close down. Much like the farmer's market back home. I bought some granny smiths, some croissants, and some other sweets for tomorrow's marathon tour to Mt St Michel. Buying things in shops is one thing, but the speed at which the market merchants spoke was intimidating! i managed okay though. Whew. That's about it for today. Speaking of "today" forget that ramble about "Jour". Tomorrow's Rambledujour will be better, I promise! (4:30PM -- Back at the hotel)
Follow-up: I've had more than enough sun today, so spent the late afternoon in the hotel salon and had a pint. Ended up talking to some folks from the Etats-Uni (united states), one of which is a former computer support boss at a chip design company who is, himself, taking a year off as well. Talk about similarities! How comical! Anyway, I returned to my room to find a message waiting from the friendly fellow at the front desk. Thinking it's something to do with the extension of my reservation I head down to the front desk (accidentally locking myself out in the process, oops). When I get there, he shyly asks if I'd like to join him for a drink at 6:30PM. Eep! I didn't expect that, but wasn't completely surprised either. Well, tomorrow starts very early for me and he already knows that (I mentioned it to him when we were dealing with my stay extension earlier) so just a drink, okay. Besides, I'll be here all week, maybe he... oh whatever, what happens happens. I just hope he's not setting me up to be mugged, robbed or worse! Just a drink. JUST a drink. Eep! (6PM - my room again). More... soon?
"Jean" was a perfect gentleman. He very politely escalated the offer of a drink, in a very subtle and non-pushy kinda way. Honestly, I was more interested in conversation and company than anything else. Time pressures would have made anything else rather awkward. (He was on break, I needed sleep for tomorrow. Excuse, excuse, excuse. Besides, he's older and also in a 20 year relationship... and while charming, just way too short. Whatever. Serious attack of Jopsy-but. Had a very nice drink, lovely conversation and my first encounter with a real honest to god local. He helped me with some pronunciation (I can't even spell right, what makes me think I can pronounce anything right?) So, all in all, thank you "Jean" for making it clear that there is hope for me after all! At least in being desirable, now if I can do something about this anxiety! SIGH!!! (9PM -- My room)
{ Anyway, I asked for more sunshine, now I have it. 8PM and it's still bright as blazes! I need to get to sleep! }
Having found a line of waiting cabs outside the hotel at 6AM the last time I
needed to get to the Louvre for the tour bus last week, I planned for the
same today. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and when I got to the front
curb, there wasn't a cab in sight. None. Zilch. Panic! Would one arrive?
I had allowed much less time for the taxi this time, as last time left me
strolling about before dawn for 45 minutes. Did I have time to try the
metro? It's at least 2 transfers to my stop... and several blocks to the
nearest metro station. I zoomed inside to have someone ring up a cab...
then calmed down and went back outside again, just in time to flag down one
passing by. Whew. Anyway, I arrive, check-in, board and get an open seat,
second row from the front on the upper deck of the bus. Having learned that
long bus rides without company can be tedious (see the trip to the Loire
Valley) I immediately began jumping into a few conversations around me.
Looking for the "fun people" I hit pay-dirt this time, everyone, even some
of the non-English speaking folks, were friendly and interactive! I sat
next to Beth 
(the redhead in the photos), behind her was her mom Jeanne a
retired 1st grade teacher and a fabulous story-teller! Behind me was Beth's
sister Jane, also from San Diego! (Formerly a flight attendant) Each were
charming and fun to talk with, which was good as each way the trip was
around 5 hours. For variety I struck up conversation with a
?Japanese?-American couple named Bill and Jo, from Stanford. He was wearing
a "Cardinals" ball cap, which I thought was the AZ football team, not the
college team. (oops) Anyway, had lunch and dinner seated with them, trading
stories and jokes, while at our destination, the fellow across the aisle
from me on the bus asked if I'd seen his daughter around (it was easy to
lose folks on this tour), I hadn't. He had that mixed enthusiasm of a proud
dad who's treating his daughter to a month in Paris (mainly to see her
boyfriend) and a dad who knows that in about 24 hours, said boyfriend is
going to propose to said daughter in front of Notre Dame! (How romantic!)
I think he was holding up pretty well all things considered. :)
As for Mont St. Michel? Wow! I don't trust my control of the language to
properly convey in words the impact the place had on me. It's as if a
volcano erupted an entire monastery and town up right off the coast. It
seems to defy gravity with its incredible steepness and reminds you of how
massive the place is all at once. The cloister up on top was straight out of
my imagination (it is exactly what I had envisioned as The Abbot's Garden in
DM). The scriptorium (directly below), may have been the one used in "The
Name of the Rose", in fact I think a lot of this place was used for that
movie. 
I loved the human hamster wheel they used to winch supplies up the side of the abbey.
The touristy shops were cute and could very well
have inspired the Harry Potter "Diagon Alley" set. Bought
a Buerre-Sucre Crepe from that area. (one has added an
inch to my belly I'm sure. Talk about fattening!) Anyway,
the whole long trip was very worthwhile, I even bought
a little book thingie, for more history and diagrams of
the place. Now I wanna design a fortress/abbey/castle
thingie! I think I will at that. So there.
[ There was another high-tide island nearby Mt. Saint Michel, the tide was low so tourists from a different group hiked out there barefoot.]
[We stopped in Coen, the capital of Normandy on the ride back for dinner at some big ol war museum/monument. Snapped a pic of a ?Sopwith Camel? for Dad the airplane fanatic]
[Chatted more with Bill and Jo. Bill, a rather perceptive retired pharmacist mentioned that France has some of the foremost HIV research in the world, which I thought was rather cool, and I hope I never have to depend upon it!]
Later on the return trip, I hopped off as the bus went by the Eiffel Tower
(Notice by the pic of the tower that it must be after 10PM because it's
fully dark). Walked back to the hotel from there, and was drenched in
that short number of blocks. Sigh! :)
Odds & Ends: a message on the phone. Is it "Jean"? Eep! I head
downstairs to call mom (late) for Mother's Day, then I checked DM from the
lobby Internet computer. (my France Telecom card is half used now) I
created a hotmail account (jopsterdude@hotmail.com) to send email to my new
roommate, oh, and I checked my cellphone voice-mail for the first time this
trip. Uncle Bill wants a call back re: travel to Chelsea's wedding.
Remember that. (yeah right!) I get back to the room, (I saw Jean while
downstairs, so knew he was still on duty. I find the message is normal
hotel stuff and head down to clear it up and get my laptop from the safety
deposit box. Jean helped me with both transactions, and since he said he
didn't want his peers to know he was fraternizing with the guests, I just
warmly shook his hand after getting my laptop, said "Thanks for
everything!" (implying last night's drink) and Bonsoir/Au Revoir! Message
received loud and clear. (Nicely so) The desk worker right next to him is
none the wiser. Have a nice vacation Jean! (the night before he'd
mentioned he was taking a few days off and I knew I'd be gone before he
got back.)
Up and at'm at 9AM, after a quick breakfast. (Tried uploading the full
photo card to the laptop and they wouldn't talk. The not so full card
dumped just fine. Argh!) Metro'd up to Montmartre again, and just
wandered, hoping for a map or directions to "Place de Tertre" where the
infamous and so far elusive Musee Dali (Espace Montmartre) resides. Walked
from Sacre Coeur to Pigalle (apt name). I just missed the Moulin Rouge, (I
was next to it, but turned the wrong way.) Found several maps, and finally
one with mention of Dali and a location. I RETURNED to the Sacre Coeur,
back up the several long street-stairs I had already climbed that morning on
my way there in the first place. 
Finally, I found the place. I'd been
right next to it three times now. Grumph! Still, quite worth the effort!
That man is so delightfully insane. In brief, because I could fill this
journal on this exhibit: there were some awesome bronzes, including
fluidity of time, Alice in Wonderland and some more abstract once. Several
image "series", Alice again, Don Quixote, a set of nearly disturbing
priapetic scenes of the more earthy side and goatish-nature of humankind.
There were a few other storyline sets. The special collections room had
many of his limited prints for sale, around 10k Euros on average! Yow!
There were some smaller reproductions of his bronzes (price on request, who
knows what the ball-park would be for those!) All the while, a recording
of Dali rattling on in Spanish and/or French was playing. On the way out is
a very humor set of photos of Dali with his mustachio in a myriad of crazy
configurations, ie: up his nose, tied in a bow-tie, shoved through holes in a
slice of swiss cheese (What brings out the bull in you?) With little
flowers on the ends (how do you celebrate mother's day?) Up like two
sentries guarding the pupils of his eyes... there were about 30, each with
an interview style question/answer to match. Just way too much fun! I
bought a generic "Best of Dali" picture book and regretted it, carrying it
about for the rest of the day! Took some pics outside as I left (no photos
allowed inside dammit!) 
and stomped downhill to just peek at the Moulin
Rouge before heading to the Louvre. En route, someone asked me (in very poor
French) where the Sacre Coeur was. I laughed politely and gave her
directions in English, much to her relief. Knowing how many stairs were
involved I sincerely wished her and her kid and the stroller the best of
luck getting there. Less than a minute later it was -POURING down. The
hardest rain I'd yet seen in Paris. Luckily I found a big awning to hide
under during the worst of it, even so, it was blowing sideways and changing
direction often. This was, what, my second or third time to get rained on
today? By far not the last either! The rain stopped, I went and looked at
the big tacky windmill, whoopee. I hopped on the metro again to the Louvre!
I get out, hike over to the entry pyramid (the glass one) and see the "no
line" isn't due to rain... it's due to it being TUESDAY! Closed! AURGH! I
run back to the metro and ponder. The idea of rain reduced lines puts me in
mind to finally try the Eiffel Tower! I arrive moments later, and have
apparently Metro'd away from the worst of the rain. (it was about to catch
up) I waded into the crowed and went up. First stop is level 2 (of 3) and
I snap a few pics before getting into the lift line for the top platform.
The storm hit pretty hard while waiting in line, more horizontally blowing
rain, screaming kids and a cute pair of Pakistani? men in line behind me...
annoyingly bumping into me keeping my pickpocketparanoia in its highest
setting. Fortunately, they didn't seem interested in stealing anything,
they were just bumpy people. Side note: All the myriad warnings about
pickpocketers in all the different languages each had the word "pickpocket".
Oh how proud that we Americans/English are responsible for introducing that
word to the world. Feh! End of side note.
Because I don't know if the top level is enclosed or not, I begin focusing
on a swell or bubble of clear weather in the local area. Let me tell you,
it was like flipping a switch, clouds boiled away as we ascended and it was
clear and sunny when I stepped out up top. 
I've still got the gift! (heh!)
Many many pics up here. Neat cloud formations and I hung out up there for a
while, why rush? I had my iPod and couldn't hear the screaming school kids
around me. Got a few pics of some of the "Bon Homme" on the tower, just for
the hell of it. Let me tell you, that is one tall tower. Looking down from
the 3rd level is like looking out of the window of an airplane, it is WAY up
there. 
So, I crammed into the lift down to the 2nd level again and at the last second was joined by a gaggle of the ?1st? graders. The lift was packed, but, as they were all so short, I had a terrific view in all directions. :) I strolled all over the 2nd level, took some more pics and then took the stairs down to the first level. I think I read all the history/trivia bits they've sprinkled around the tower, pretty interesting stuff. One of the displays has a girder showing the various levels of paint, kind of like the cross section of a tree, each ring being another layer of paint (every 7 years?). Another display showed how much the thing sways in the wind and due to the sun causing the metal to expand with heat. (the top can move about 5 inches of movement for each of the two factors) When I leaned against the wall up top, I could actually feel it wiggling a bit. Not at all unsettling considering how much you get bounced around in the Metro. :)
So, I see dark clouds moving in again and decide I want to stay dry. I find the elevator down. The lifts from ground to level 1 and 2 are double deckers, I didn't like the crowd waiting for the lift down so I climbed up a little spiral staircase to the waiting area for the upper part of the lift, which arrived shortly after. (and was packed). Everyone on the lift looked kind of surprised to be stopped just to let just me on board. I just smiled like I owned the place and rode down with them. :)
I, narrowly, made it back to the hotel, dry, but quite wind blown, it's storming desperately out there again. So, I've checked email, (sort of), just had dinner and think I may watch one of the movies I brought with me this evening. (Pitch Black?) My feet need a rest, I feel I've gone further vertically than horizontally today (did I mention that I didn't take the lift out of the "Abbess" metro stop at Montmartre? Boy was that a mistake I climbed essentially, from the river level to Sacre Coeur and only moved about two short streets sideways! Hooh! What a climb! Nice murals on the staircase though. I don't feel so guilty about the Nutella Crepe I had across from Les Deus Magots after the failed attempt at the Louvre. I was going to have lunch in the Latin Quarter at L.D.M. today, but 1: I wasn't hungry enough for lunch and 2: The place as it is now just seems too polished, too commercial and too happy to have been the place I would imagine Sartre frequenting. Fame has been good to the place, but it is just not right some how. Besides, my first serious encounter with Sartre/Existentialism made me so depressed I was nearly suicidal! Self preservation kicked in in time fortunately, and I pulled out of that dismal spiral in time. so why would I want to eat there anyway? Hmf. Some thoughts just don't improve life, but need to be there if only to compare others to it to their advantage. Whatever that means. BTW. I played some Barrack last night before bed, much easier with the external mouse than the track-pad. I need to tell Bedo I've been scoring 100%x4 on several levels now that I've found out how, she'll roll her eyes, of course, and then go and try it herself! Ha! (providing of course, she hasn't already done this herself).
So, on the morrow, the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay and/or The Palace Tokyo Musee of Modern Art, (not sure if that one is even open). Only 3 full days left of Paris! :( (6:30PM -- Hotel Salon)
P.S. Checked room rates when getting my laptop, I'm paying half per night than their posted rate. Heh! :) Tres Bien! :)
[The Louvre]
+ 
[Napoleon's Apartments]
Did the rest today. Yep, I think I've seen just about all of it. I know I missed a few alcoves (not many) and maybe one of the short double halls. Art D'Islam was closed off, I was bummed about that. I swear, those Dutch/Flemish painters liked working big. Marie de Medici seemed to be rather favored as a subject to paint, she was all over the place. I probably got carried away with taking pics, particularly of the male nudes, but hey, it's ART! Right? (Heh). Got an early start today and had breakfast at a cafe near the Louvre (facing the golden Joan D'Arc) Chocolate Crepes and an espresso, that certainly got me moving. Brought the iPod with me too. Nothing like some music to make life a little more surreal. Very helpful with those renaissance painters. Very amusingly I ran into Bill and Jo (from the Mont St. Michel tour) several times today. Bill kept jumping in front of my camera waving his hands. What a comic! :)
Saw Mona, and as predicted, I was unimpressed. There were a few Rembrants, not many, mostly self-portraits. Saw many familiar paintings, but not as many as I had expected/hoped to. I snapped up some Venice landscapes and whatever caught my eye for more than a few moments. Even saw "Hermaphrodite". I suppose every age has it's sexual fantasies. While wandering, I got to thinking on a more fantasy/metaphysical level: if reality is affected by concentrated thought, where is the best place to "siphon/draw-off" this thought essence? The catacombs with their 6 million long empty skulls formerly containing full lifetimes of hopes, dreams, fears and memories? The Louvre, filled with works that have been seen, studied, coveted many thousands of thought-hours longer than it took to create them? What about Mont St. Michel which took 400 (600?) years to compete, existing both as a place of concentrated worship and as a seat of political power? Maybe the Eiffel tower with it's 80 millionish visitors over the last 113 years. I have no idea. So many places with such concentrated human presence. If I figure it out, maybe it'll make for an amusing short story.
I finally called it quits on the Louvre, having been unable to find any areas on the map I had not yet tromped. I planned to go to Musee D'Orsay next, but my legs were tired so I opted for an early dinner along Champ de Elysees. Chez Clement was the random spot I chose and I went for moderately pricey fare. The four flavors of Salmon and a bottle of Normandy Apple Cider (sweet) called "Badon" I think. Three of the Salmons (paste, roasted and smoked) were very good, the 4th I did not care for, kind of an uncooked salmon meatloaf-like glop. I'm used to a higher grade of salmon. Ah well. Afterward hopped the 6 line at the Arc D'Triumph south, figuring I could use what's left of the museum pass to get me into the sewer museum before it closed for the day. The 6 line stopped between stations for about 15 minutes, then backed up, stayed there another 5 minutes and then resumed service. No idea what that was all about, couldn't parse the announcements.
By this time, I'm sure the "Egouts de Paris" is closed for the day. So, I just returned to the hotel. It's well past 5pm now anyway. Of course the weather is now "Tres bien", maybe a bit too warm honestly. Only slightly. It's the humidity I'm sure. I had the hotel do my laundry today as well, I wonder how much that'll cost me. [ 78 Euros, yow! ] If it's under 50 euro s, I'll be happy (I'm busy dammit! ;)
I could really go for a nap right now, actually, maybe time for another coffee, of course I still have an unopened 1.5 litr bottle of "U.S. Cola Lite" in my room. (the only one I bought)
Checkpoint: Still not in the least homesick. I do feel I'm about caught up with what I was most interested in doing/seeing in Paris, and am nearly ready to move on. Venice will be a new adventure. One without a metro. Ah well. Hope I can find a good wedding present for Chelsea in Murano. Odd, the bottle of cider didn't phase me. One pint of Heinekin (draft) and I feel woozy. Goodness! (My handwriting is probably showing this!) Tomorrow: Egouts de Paris (the sewer tour) Musee D'Orsay and ... finding where I need to be on Saturday to get to Venice. (6PM -- The Hotel Salon)
Okay 2 museum passes were were insufficient. Bought a third at the Charles-Michels Metro stop, (The closest to the hotel by far) Rode to the Ecole Militaire stop (not far) and paid Napoleon's remains a visit. I have never seen anything so pompous in my life! (not even HTTP://www.melaniegriffith.com comes close!) It was just daunting! The 7 layers of sarcophagi make the outer shell massive in size. Surrounding it are marble sculptures depicting the rule of "Caesar" Napoleon in several aspects of neigh-divine radiance. Ever on the lookout for historic inclusion/acknowledgment of (not so) platonic affections, I found a few here and snapped them. Heh. ;) I should have snapped the guard out front too, what a cutie! :) From there I walked to the Eiffel Tower and from there to Egouts de Paris, which was closed today darnit.
[Walking along the Seine]
I suppose if I knew the word for Thursday I would have known that
from the Musee Pass Book. Oh well. I did see Rue Cler on the way,
a tres cool pedestrian-only street full of local oriented shops.
So, I followed the Seine up the to the Musee D'Orsay and have been
tromping through here since. (I'm giving the feet a rest at the
moment). 
Got some good pics both for the tour pages and for the
rendering morgue for later. Nice view of Sacre Coeur through one
of the clock faces. I suppose I could get some lunch, I'm starting
to get nibbly, as I'm done here now it's a matter of finding some
other scene to hit to round out the day. Ah to eat or wait... the
eternal dilemma.
[Musee D'Orsay]
[The Art Neauvo Exhibit]
[Model of the Opera House]
[The Main Hall]
More on the D'Orsay, I think I'm more impressed with the building than the contents, sadly. I've never been much for the impressionists, oddly considering my knack and fondness for ASCII art. Even the more Art Neauvo decor/furniture was kind of a let down. Maybe I'm just grumpy today. My back has been really bugging me. Too much strolling and a strange bed will do that I suppose. I'm looking forward to continuing yoga when I get back, maybe visiting the old chiropractor, just once, for a good thoroughly crack-pop. Maybe I'll go to the Cafe Le Flora(?) even though I kind poo-poo'd the idea earlier (it's the twin to Les Deus Magots) (3PM -- Musee D'Orsay)
Found a few more areas and snuck into the Mondrian exhibit (it was a pay-separately area, and they waved me in when I couldn't find my museum pass, shame on me!) I've decided I quite like some of his middle work, where it's partly representational-partly lines and boxes. More interesting and methodical and 'clean' than Picasso, which seems so messy/organic. Anyway, I also saw some architecture exhibits mainly of the Paris Opera House. My God what a building! You can see how the "Phantom" could evade people nearly forever in there, it's massive and like swiss cheese in the below levels. Got some pics, mainly for mom & dad, the opera buffs in the family.
Okay! I'm totally walked out. Covered a fair distance today! Walked form
Musee D'Orsay along the Seine, looking at the bookseller's wares. Saw some
neat stuff but couldn't find the seller! How odd. So I cut over to St.
Germain Boulevard about where I thought Cafe Fiori(?) would be, and
apparently just missed it, so I kept going, up and past Notre Dame and the
National Assembly Building (not in that order, in fact the Nat Ass. Bldg was
passed just after leaving Musee D'Orsay) So, after getting to the end of
St. Germain, I started looking for a metro stop. I was equidistant from 3,
one across the Seine, one back the way I came (which emphasized how far away
the other two were) and one south of me past the Institute D'Arabia which I
saw in the museum pass booklet. So I went. Even though by now I'm hot,
tired and hungry. What a peculiar building! The south face is an aluminum
mosaic, with motorized aperatures to open and close the many
octagonal/circular openings in the mosaic/lattice-work. 9 stories high and
about twice as wide. I go in, the security is tighter than an airport! I
follow the signs to the main exhibit and end up LOCKED outside in an atrium
on the second floor! The doors behind me won't open, the main exhibit seems
to be closed for renovation and I'm trapped out there with some guy who
followed the same signs. We shrug, smile and then search for a way out, er,
in, er, something. We ended up banging on the window over the entry
security guards who unhelpfully waved us over to a door we knew to be
locked. No language barrier here, the glass blocked all sound! They got
tired of us not "getting" their instructions and sent someone up to free us.
My fellow prisoner/hostage/captive explained the situation to them. I think
they left it like that on purpose. What a confusing building. The 7th
floor had another exhibit, continued on the 6th floor, but only accessible
from the 7th. You've got to take the elevators to get just about anywhere
else, the stairs, of which there are many, just don't put you in areas where
you can get anywhere else. The -1 floor had a neat display on the new
library of Alexandria, but you can't get to the restrooms on the -2 floor
from there without returning to the 0 floor to take the elevator. (how
silly). I didn't get to the buttons fast enough and someone hit 8 instead
of -2, so I hit 9 to hit the cafe/restrooms on the top floor rather than
ride all the way up and back. The cafe had just closed, but the terrace was
still open. Got some sweet pics of La Defense and Notre Dame and an okay
one of Sacre Coeur from up there. [[the pic of Sacre Coeur was less than okay.
Zap]]
The whole building is glass it seems. Girders, floors and glass. With some hangings and the already mentioned aluminum lattice-work. Many atriums perforated it as well. As I said, a most peculiar building. Back on the 0 floor, I perused the book/gift shop. Many interesting bits of Babylon, Lebanese, Arabic, Egyptian and the like down there. Not geared for western customers at all! It seemed clearly focused on transplanted natives of the various middle eastern nations! (and some neighbors) A Yaohan/Mitsuwa (without foodstuffs) of sorts. Fascinating place. I combed it for a good long while, almost picked up a book on calligraphy for me and maybe a tablecloth for Bedo, or something. I decided that the chances of finding a good gift, and knowing it was a good gift was a total shot in the dark. An Arabic kid's book would patronize... anything more adult would require too much effort for her and I wouldn't be able to pick anything appropriate anyway. Sigh. And a table cloth? What kind of gift is that. ;)
Okay fine. I left, getting nothing. The hike uphill to the metro (uphill? But Paris is flat!?), reminded me of San Francisco a bit. Hopped on, transfered, noticed a gaunt fellow diagonally across from me and ignored him, (I had my iPod on, as I have for just about the whole day. I'm unconsciously tapping my heal in time with the tune, and I look over and he's tapping too. Uh oh. I stop. (He has no headphones). The train stops, he hops out. I wouldn't have given it any thought had I not seen him exit the train car in front of mine at the very next stop. Curious. I'm not even going to speculate beyond "something" was up with that. I'm so naive at times. Anyway, it is now after 6PM, and having all good intentions to have dinner at either Cafe Flora or Les Duex Magots dashed when I saw no free tables, I caved in and returned to the hotel. I'm beat. My legs are just as achy as my back. I feel old, dammit! So dinner here and something stationary tonight. Tomorrow... Star Wars!
Language Notes: Samedi = SATURDAY, not SUNDAY. Oops. Cost of living: Food is cheaper here than home. Dunno about utilities but water has got to be cheap the way people squander it. Movies: If I'm lucky I might find Star Wars in "VO" Version Original, aka, subtitled in French rather than dubbed. (VF would be dubbed I believe) Travel Notes: No idea where Gare Bercy (where I hop the train to Venice) is I'll have to ask tomorrow. Health Notes: Aside from exhaustion, I've been good otherwise, I hope that continues! [ Talk about tempting fate, I was sick the next day ] Weather Notes: not a cloud in the sky today. Not one. Got something on my sunglasses, and it was so dry I couldn't fog them with my breath to clean it off. Just like AZ. Yuck. Heh. :) Mixed Drinks: What has Sauza, Cointreau and orange juice?
I forgot to mention that I suspect my laundry bill is going to be on the high end of my expectations... the laundry arrived with jeans in dry-cleaning bags and shirts and socks and stuff all wrapped and inside neat boxes. They all look so perfect I don't want to wear them! So, maybe 60 Euros? [ nope, it was 78] We'll see. (7:30PM -- My room with my feet up)
(Later) Of course by including a "health" note on the previous page, I had already suspected something was up. I'm now in what I'll only refer to as "stage 3" food-allergy reaction state. A very unpleasant state at that. Even if I (mercifully) skipped stage 1 and 2 on the way there. At this point, no more caffeine, alcohol, starchy foods, spicy foods or, well, pretty much anything really, and absolutely no dairy or meat. I wonder if it was last night's salmon glop stuff. :( ARGH. May as well stick to clear liquids at this rate. :( Glad I planned an easy day for tomorrow and I'd better be travel worthy on SAMEDI! (10PM - My room)
Okay, considering how I was last night, I put the "do not disturb" sign out and called it a night. The hotel was nice but insistent about tidying the room. A note under the door, followed later with a phone call. "Sleeping-in" involved getting up at 9AM. I just goofed around, mostly watched TV: MTV, BBC and CNN) so I got cleaned up and out at 1PM and asked where Gare Bercy was. Made sure I could get there by Metro. There's one transfer but 3 long flights of stairs. Ugh. I'm still down and that won't be fun. Maybe I'll cab it over instead (for 45 euro s or so I'm sure). So, Bercy found, I figured I'd peek in the Cinema I thought I saw on Champ de Elysees. Took the 14 line to the 1 to the George V stop. Presto! It's -Right There- with a glorious "Star Wars V.O." showing in about 50 minutes! Yahoo!(tm) I'm in line to be seated right now. The caffeine withdrawal headache is nagging at me but I'm jazzed enough to ignore that for now. More after, it's hard to write in this line. (3:20PM -- The Paris Lido Cinema)
We were let into the lobby, the mob was packed in tight, as this is obviously a beyond capacity situation. I just got my seat which is my favorite 7th row center. To make things better tha gal in front of me is short! Three minutes to go! It's far cooler and pleasant in the theater, the 20+ minutes in the lobby, standing, was way too hot and crowded. Considering the lack of planning put into seeing this movie, I'm not complaining though! Okay, lights fading must be 3:50PM!
Hm. It's now 25 minutes later... Nothing but previews and commercials, sheesh! Terrible ones too! Okay NOW it's starting, YAY!!!
So, as expected, the acting was "enh", the lines, particularly C3P0's were almost painful, but what a visual feast! Very fun to watch all in all! The only bits I missed were when some alien critter was speaking in their native tongue, as the subtitles for everything were in French. Ah well. I'm back near the Hotel, got some bread and a brownie (tempting fate with that). I'm on a bench overlooking the tennis courts, getting sprinkled on just barely. Feels good, the headache and worse yet, a fever hit me during the latter part of the movie. Sun poisoning? Something I ate? A flu? I dunno, but it SUCKS. Eep! It's raining harder now! Heading for cover!!! (7:30PM behind the hotel in the park) [ Note: the ink on this page is all splotchy from where raindrops hit it. Cool! ]
After a 12 hour "nap" (I didn't even get undressed, just passed out on the bed fully dressed, I woke up at 3AM but figured getting undressed would risk waking me up enough to prevent sleeping again). I got up, packed, dawdled, showered, checked out at noon and went by metro to Gare Bercy. The stairs were harsh with all that luggage, but the fever is gone now and I feel mostly better. Still have intermittent pangs but they seem to be coming less frequently. I had crammed the middle sized bag into my big bag and hoped for the best. I had trouble getting the big bag through the metro turnstile at first... but that was solved with a bit of angling and a good kick. I climbed the hill from the metro to Gare Bercy and when I enter the station there's the ticket guy and a couple talking to him and me. By the time they finish (no less than 15 long minutes later) there's quite a line of grumpy people behind me.
Wordplay seg-way: Another American/English worldly word: "Strike" I heard it in the conversation while I was waiting and chuckled/sighed in mild embarrassment for being from a country that popularized "the strike". So, proud of expecting to take just a moment at the ticket window I step up to the counter, and get the English version of the conversation featuring prominently the words "Strike", "Italy" and, sigh, "Not Today". Ah well. blast. I checked into a nearby hotel, called ahead to say I'm going to be a day late, and then kicked back to relax. So, now it's 3PM, I'm going to try to find lunch/dinner. I don't even known what my chances are of making to Venice tomorrow! (3pm - my room in a hotel on the Southeast side of Paris.)
I've watched "Phantom Menace" in French from my room, packed, checked out, left my big bag at the front desk for pickup later. Contemplated the prospect of going out to the airport to check on flights to Venice, knowing that if I did, I'd either bring the big back and not get a flight or I'd get a flight but not have time to return to the hotel and get the big bag. (Quite the pessimist, ain't I?) I wandered over to the station, talked to the same nice fellow, who seemed more positive about my chances of getting there now. Whew. He kind reminds me of that Dan Futterman actor (the son in the US version of "The Birdcage"). Anyway, I then wandered about in the drizzle trying to find some place to eat that would be "Safe" but gave up. I'm in the hotel bar at the moment, there's a bird flying about in here. So, I have 6 hours to kill and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend the whole time writing in this journal. My tum is still kinda angry, and the feet would not mind another off day, I'm running low on movie rations however, having watched "Moulin Rouge" last night. (I spotted a lot of landmarks in their Paris mock-up. Love that film.) I suppose I'll start in on the Italian phrase book. (1PM the hotel lobby/bar)
Found a sandwich and chomped it down outside the Bercy metro stop. Some Brits came out looking completely lost, talking to themselves obviously familiar with Paris just not this particular area. Pointing they mention that Gare de Lyon(?) is that way, but where was Gare Bercy? I pointed. In French they said "Merci!" and I finally swallowed the bite I was chewing and said "No problem! Had trouble finding it earlier myself!" They laughed, embarrassed to have been though I didn't understand them previously. Nice gals, probably in their late 30's.
Finished lunch and took the 6 line all the way back to the Eiffel Tower, transfered and hopped out at D'Alma, the entrance to 'Egouts de Paris' which, as noted earlier, is closed on Thurs (and Friday). Very curious attraction! Gave a much better feel for the history of Paris than nearly everything else I'd seen so far. Didn't take any pics though. The dredgers and siphon balls were rather clever! Much of the walk-through was on grates over fast moving waste water. The 'Fragrance' indicated it was mostly street run-off... mostly. Lots of Parisian dogs helped make it a little more rank... but it wasn't unbearable. What I found quite disturbing was actually standing ON the grates. Wide squares, designed to be lifted and moved as needed. They didn't feel "safe" and there as an awful lot of waste water down below. Quite unsettling scenarios passed through my mind. I stayed to the sides mostly. Even so, it was still a really cool exhibit, which I would have missed entirely had it not been for the railway strike!
I'm back at the hotel now, killing the last few hours before boarding the train. I thought I'd try uploading yesterday's pics of the Bercy Sports Palace and Gardens, and check to make sure the whack my bag got exiting the metro didn't damage the laptop. NOW it won't upload from this card, dammit, I rebooted the mac and it cam up in OS9.2 mode instead of the usual OS-X. Yuck. I hate traditional Mac-OS stuff.. Some cosmic force is laughing at me, I can feel it. Did some disk check/repair stuff, found the correct control panel to force it to boot OS-X again and it seems to be behaving again. I'll try the photo upload again on the train, providing that goes as planned this time. (5PM -- the hotel lobby)
Okay, I've found the "secret handshake" needed to upload the photos (all of them), and lest I forget it: Turn the camera ON, in normal capture mode, wait for the warm-up to complete (very slow with a full card). Connect the cable to the computer, and then to the camera. WAIT for them to say "Hi!", which apparently takes a lot longer with these bigger cards when they're full). Then switch the camera to Transfer Mode and pray. I've emptied both the 128MB cards now. Whew. I was worried about that. I've an hour and 15 minutes to go for the train and have been here at the station for 45 minutes already, and only just now (by chatting up a nice couple now headed for Roma) got a spot on a bench to sit on while I wait. They (The couple) asked if the railway covered my hotel bill last night... I hadn't thought about it. If Hotel Chiara (in Venice) charges me for tonight, then I may make an issue out of it, or let it slide if not. It wasn't that much really, just $140ish. The station is clearing out more as the 2nd train boards. (mine is the 3rd of 4 tonight). I've got a sunbeam on my back and could easily nap, but I don't want to jinx sleeping tonight on the train. More later... (7PM Gare de Bercy)
Random thoughts on board the train:
1: My "vitals" bag, laptop, camera, translation guide, Venice Tour-guide book, iPod, misc cables, Journal, trip itinerary pouch, extra laptop batteries, 2 Pellegrinos, 1 Toblerone, 1 bag peanut M&M's, my allergy meds, the 20 CD/DVD holder, and whatever else I've forgotten... well... it's starting to put a dent in my shoulder! Gads! I am glad I shoved the middle bag in the big bag, much more manageable, though for the trip home I'll need to pack more defensively again, especially with the perfumes I picked up earlier this trip.
2: I HATE CABLES! Aurgh! I'm so tired of untangling, plugging, catching them on corners of things etc. And, NO, leaving them all at home doesn't solve anything, so hush! ;)
3: Oh, the new language puns are haunting me. This time it's "Coeur" as in "Sacre Coeur") meaning Sacred Heart. Is this related to "Courage?" I suspect so. And I've got that... trying to write in my journal on this bumpy train. The sun just set, I'm still enjoying the view of the Maxfield Parish style country-side as we wiz by. (9:30PM -- en route to Venice)