So, I go to the sight seeing thing, then I go back down that wrong street and end up at a different metro than I would have otherwise to get to the next thing on my list. No problem. I just plug the "from" metro in and then the "to" metro and I have a new route outlined. It only takes a few seconds and I don't have to think about it. Those of you familiar with the metro in Montreal or the T in Boston may ask what the big deal is and I will tell you -- there are 14 lines here. FOURTEEN! Plus it seems as if every other station has more than 1 line in it. My app is helping me not to have to think about it too much.
They are all pretty like this!
Another thing that's great to have bought before hand was the metro pass. My pass covers 6 zones so I can go to Versailles and can be used as much as possible over 5 days. I paid 51.20 euros for it and it really pays for itself with just the peace of mind in not having to figure if you need to buy another block of tickets, an individual ticket or to suddenly not have enough money on a ticket and not have the correct change to add more, etc. Plus there are no limits to where I go. I can get out of the metro planning to go somewhere, find that it's closed another 2 days and turn back around to go somewhere else and not think about the fare that just got wasted.
I didn't waste a fare today but the Conciergerie is closed until the 17th and, dammit, I knew it and forgot to write it down, but it's all good. I was able to spend time at Sainte-Chappelle. A really pretty place with stained glass windows.
Notre-Dame was next and as chilly as it was I was bummed to see that metro St-Michel is closer to it than metro Cite which I had to pass to get to Notre-Dame. Of course my poor, tired feet would have argued that the rest of me could deal with the cold because they weren't going to have an extra walk up and down metro stairs just to avoid some bit of chill in the air. Either way, I got there and it's definitely a beautiful building. I won't even comment on the extravagance of churches in general.
An early acceptance of gay rights? Yes, yes, I'm going to hell. I've already come to terms with that.
Musee des Arts Decoratives - or Museum of Gosh, those people sure knew opulance. So much detail. Not even simple detail - it was difficult, over the top detail in furniture decorations, knick knacks, lights. And the armoires...oh, sigh, just sigh. I've had it for armoires since I was a kid. My grandparents had one in the room us kids used at their house and I loved that thing. My Aunt Nelda has it now and I sure as heck better get it when she passes. Nelda had it redone and it's really something now.
I didn't like some (most) of the stuff from the 1950's to now - especially compared to the pieces from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was tacky, the new stuff. Made me embarrassed to be living among people who have created such shit. There was once piece I really liked. My favorite is from the 1950's.
Doesn't this make you want to become a writer and go on safari? I must have seen something similar in an old time movie because I can see Hemingway sitting here writing about a great hunt. It folds up for easy carrying. I WANT THIS. GET IT FOR ME NOW!!!! Whine, whine, whine.
Musee du Luxembourg - they don't allow cameras so you are out of luck picturewise. They have a fantastic display of the works by Cezanne though and I did buy postcards of some of the ones I liked. He's not a favorite, but I do like his work.
Dinner at Hard Rock. If you are in Paris and feeling a bit like you need to go home but your return plane ticket isn't until next week, pop into the Hard Rock. The menu is the same as the one in the US and the servers to the Americans speak great English. Not that I need to go home. I'm finding it difficult not to be able to have a conversation with anyone. It's ok, though because now I have Greta at the Hard Rock when I need a fix.
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