Yesterday already seems like a blur. I woke up early, but fell back asleep until 9:20 a.m. Normally, anywhere on vacation, I wake up around 7:00 a.m., if not earlier. Obviously, the bed in this apartment is way too comfortable!
I did walk over to Notre Dame intending to take a tour of the Towers, but they weren’t being offered. Thus, I began picture taking in earnest. My lunch plans were to go to Bistro des Augustins, which used to have incredible salads. I found it, only to discover that burgers are now offered on the menu and the salad selection is small. My disappointment caused me to walk a few doors down to a funky little restaurant called Quai 21 (or something or other). They ended up being packed during lunch. I ordered a salad with camembert, comte and warm chevre on toast. The French KNOW how to compose a salad that’s fresh, flavorful, filling and not mainly overdressed greens! I had a glass of house red wine to accompany it, of course. The rain began in the midst of my lunch. Although the apartment provided two umbrellas, as well as the one I’d brought from San Francisco, I was stuck in the rain without an umbrella! For quite some time, I dilly dallyed in bookstores and lingered in BHV. I wanted to wander over to Jardin du Luxembourg to take pictures of the Medici Fountain, but couldn’t seen them turning out that well in the rain. When the rain finally let up, I found a great little absinthe shop near Place des Vosges; picked up a few more absinthe spoons. I took some pictures at Place des Vosges, then a few more inside Musee Carnavalet. I love Musee Carnavalet, although most people don’t seem to visit it. It’s free, too! I walked back to the apartment via rue de Turenne, which is lined with mostly men’s clothing stores. Too bad there’s no deserving young man in my life at the moment ’cause I’d love to buy a gorgeous shirt or two for someone special! Back at the apartment, my feet were killing me; that required a little rest.
By 7:00 p.m., I’d hit the streets again. I wanted to have a drink at a cute place called Pharmacie, but they informed me that they were a restaurant only, which apparently means you can’t sit at the bar for a drink. I decided to search rue Amelot for Le Pop-In. Some woman had described that place as one of the most fun and friendly places she’d ever been to, but with some of the worst dancing she’d ever witnessed. Alas, I couldn’t seem to find the place. When I got back to the apt. much later, I looked it up again on the internet. I had been looking at the right place, but there was no sign & they didn’t appear to be open, for whatever reason. I thought a little jaunt to Montmartre might be nice for some photos. Surprisingly, it wasn’t very crowded for a Friday night. Years ago, the place was packed on the weekend. Part of it might have the weather however. I took a few photos, then had a quintessential French dinner of soupe a l’oignan, steak au poivre avec frites, mousse au chocolat and un verre du vin rouge. That was the extent of my evening.
This morning I was up earlier than yesterday and took a trek to Pere LaChaise Cemetery. I’ve only visited Pere LaChaise once on my initial trip to Paris, more than 20 years ago. Once again, things have changed. One can no longer kiss the tombstone of Oscar Wilde; the plexiglass and the little fence won’t allow it! People no longer party at Jim Morrison’s tombstone, either, as it’s also blocked off from the general public. It made me glad for having seen them long ago when I could actually get close to the tombstones.
My lunch today was over at Le Marche des Enfants Rouges. I ate Italian again, so shoot me! It’s difficult for me to pass up a good arancino, plus some pasta al tartufo and a Peroni!
Now the big question is whether to trek over to Jardin du Luxembourg, try to find the Lady of the Miraculous Medal (though the Metro connection doesn’t seem very easy) or go back up to Montmartre when it’s daylight to take photos of the picturesque neighborhood. I’ll have to decide within the next hour.
