Bonjour, As I write this post we are making our way from Paris to London on the Eurostar. Saying au revior to Paris was not easy. We rose before dawn and I played Edith Piaf singing La Vie En Rose, my way of saying say goodbye.
Yes I got a “leetle” misty. It has been a glorious four days. My fears that Paris would be overrated were completely unfounded. Now I understand. My only regret is that on my first visit I am a Madame rather than a Mademoiselle as my mother and aunt were on their first visits in the 1950s. I should have started exploring Paris years ago. We saw a lot but we left a little for next time too.
Besides Montmarthe, we both fell in love with the Rodin Museum and the Pere Lechaise Cemetery. It was really all good though.
We had lunch sitting on a bridge overlooking the river Seine. The Catacombs were not to be. The wait was hours and we began to run out of those too quickly. We enjoyed another lunch, this time crepes, in Marais, the oldest part of Paris before viewing the Edvard Munch exhibit at the Pompidou (modern art) Museum.
Later after dark we made our way in a misty rain to the famous Buddha Bar, right off the Place de la Concorde, the ritzy part of town. It can only be described as amazing to finally see the big Buddha after looking at it for so many years on the covers of all my Buddha Bar cds!For the record, French people do not hate Americans. Most speak a little English but you won’t find that out unless you try French first. They are embarrassed to try, just like us, so until they hear our tortured version of their beautiful language, they hesitate. Most everyone is kind but they are also aloof. As a rule they don’t smile but that does not mean anything. (side note: we’re rolling through the French country side now). Two common sights in Paris were:
- People walking with baguettes!
- Women in black tights or patterned stockings and black boots. These are paired with short skirts or black shorts.
On our last night we had French onion soup and I finally had crème brulee. It was the best I ever had but then again maybe it was the atmosphere. See you in London.