WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7
In my last entry I left us in cold, windy Paris with our luggage safely stowed away at Ville Saint Martin Hotel. We took the Metro to the Louvre station. I will never forget coming up the stairs and my jaw dropping. We were surrounded by the Louvre - and the awe I felt was almost surreal. We didn't go in the museum since we had only a few hours to soak in the city, but we walked in silence, dazzled by the historic beauty of a place I've heard about all my life.
The sky was mostly clear, but the sun was wimpy and the sky seemed faded as if it were huddled up to protect itself from the cold wind. I had on my light green windbreaker and felt like I was in a sea of black clothing and outerwear. It was as if my jacket were shouting, "I'M NOT FROM HERE! HAVE YOU NOTICED?"
We looked down the stree through one arch and could see the Arc de Trioph down the way. History surrounded us. I asked Woody to pinch me and told him that my expectations for Paris were already surpassed.
We walked to a boulangerie and ate a pizza-type thing with chicken and black olives. One of the olives had a pit, and of course I bit down hard on it. Thankfully no teeth broke! The hot chocolate there was a dream and my pizza and Woody's sandwich were perfect. We braced ourselves for the wind and cold (barely above freezing with about 20mph winds) and walked, crossing the Seine, to the Orsay Museum.
The Orsay is in an the old Orleans train station. They have amazing art, statues, and architecture everywhere you turn. The clock on the north was was ornate and huge. We went to the top floor (5th - looking down on the whole station) to see the Impressionists. We both loved it. Van Gogh's Siesta was a favorite of mine. We saw lots of Van Gogh, Sisler, Monet, Manet, Renoir. I liked Manet's La Lecture and Water Lilies. We also say Fantin-Latour, Caillebotte (I liked his), and Pisarro. Whistler's Mother was really gigantic. I wonder why I have that painting so engraved in my mind. We looked for a long time and probably only saw 20% of the displayed art.
We went on the Metro to Notre Dame - free entry! Dark, mammoth. One confessional was active - behind glass. So much stained glass that the huge, beautiful, circular stained glass art high up in the sanctuary are almost overlooked. It was probably 10 stories high inside! The organ was playing. It felt a bit oppressive and dead - devoid of hope, I thought.
From there we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. It was so cold and we were so tired that we took a look at it and said to ourselves, "Been there, done that, let's go!" The tower itself was almost disappointing - looked like an exaggerated Erector Set or Leggo project. I had opted for seeing the Eiffel Tower over the Arc de Triomph with our last hour of daylight. Wish I'd chosen the Arc. But, we both were VERY happy that we got to see and experience so much of Paris in so little time.
We headed back to the hotel instead of paying a mint for a meal in the center of Paris. The restaurants around our hotel looked crummy and the cheapest meal in them would have been 20 Euros! We had some delicious leftover lunch and added a double cheese baguette and drinks to sup in our room.
All but one person we spoke with today spoke fluent English. Every single person we talked to was very kind and friendly.
We slept pretty well.
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