Paris dans la Pluie/Paris Je T'aime

Apparently those early years of French immersion did some good, as I have been able to speak in French a fair bit (by choice, not necessity) while in Paris.

Our first morning here it poured but after sorting out our hostel situation, we trekked out in the rain to Pere Lachaise cemetary where we visited Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde's graves. We waited out the rest of the rain in Galleries Lafeyette though no actual shopping took place. Once the rain stopped, we walked along the Champs Elysees toward L'arc de Triomph, and I ran into one of the girls from my train car. We continued along to the Trocadero and finally I had my first view of the Eiffel Tower. I like. A lot. We walked down by the tower and along the Champs de Mars over the Military School and on to get an up close view of the gold dome of les Invalides. After returning to the area of the hostel, I did a quick google search to find the nearest synagogue so I could hear eicha, as it was erev tisha b'av. I found a Chabad close by and so went there around sundown. Had to wait quite a while, but eventually they started, and I was glad I went.

Our second day we woke up and again it was raining, but we still went off to see Chateaux Versailles. Fortunately the rain stopped eventually. Versailles is a BIG castle. After the castle we went back into town and went to see the Catacombs where again I ran into the same girl from the train. Small city, apparently. I couldn't believe the magnitude of bones the lined the ossuary in the catacombs. Crazy. The rest of the afternoon we walked through the Jardin the Luxembourg (I'd definitely like to spend more time there another time.. awesome park), St Sulpice (think rose line from the Davinci Code), and saw Notre Dame Cathedral. We made our way back to the hostel walking along the Seine and saw some of the "seine on the beach" stuff (they brought in sand, set up beach volleyball, etc). I ran into an observant Jewish guy back at the hostel who was reading Eicha commentary, so I joined in while the girls went out in search of dinner. After the fast ended (really late here!), I went out with some people from the hostel to hang out and drink on the steps of Sacre Coeur. Great view of the city and a lot of fun.

Day 3 I was on my own as both of the girls had done the major museums before but I had not. I started with the musee d'orsay and fell in love with all of the impressionism... lilies, ballerinas.. beautiful suff. I walked by St Clotilde church on my way to the Rodin museum where my usual rule of "I don't like statues" was temporary broken as I viewed Rodin's "The Thinker" and "The Kiss". Remarkable piece. I walked on by the Grand Palais and Petit Palais as well as saw the Obelisk. The museum pass I had included a lot of things so I decided I would go back to the Arc de Triumph and climb it. Neat view! I continued on the Jardin de Tuilliries outside the Louvre and then on into the Louvre itself. After seeing the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, I saw out the 2 Vermeer pieces and did a bit more wandering before decided I simply had enough and needed to get out of there. I returned to the hostel for a bit, said goodbye to girls (they would be leaving the next morning for Switzerland/Belgium) and made plans with people from the hostel to go see the Eiffel tower that night. As magnificent as it was during the day, I was way more impressed at night.. especially on the hour when the whole thing glimmers (yes.. I know.. sparkly things.. of course I liked it!). After the climb up, we hung out on the champs de mars with some beer and cookies and listened to the music being played. Very chill night.

My last day here now and I set out for day 2 of my 2-day museum pass. I walked by Place des Vosges on my way to the Picasso Museum (felt different than the one in Barcelona). Next it was the Centre Pampidou with its modern art (a whole room of inflatable furniture... I will never "get" modern art). Funky building though. I wandered through Rue des Rosiers (Jewish area) and had a delicious boureka for lunch. I spent a bit of time in the Shoah museum and was impressed by the huge wall of Righteous Among the Nations posted outside the museum. I stopped by some more sights included on my pass, including the St Chapelle church and the Conciergerie. Even though it was totally out of my way, I walked back toward the Louvre to see the Orangerie museum.. which houses 2 oval rooms of Monet's waterlillies. Absolutely worth the walk. I then took the metro to the Montmartre area and saw the outside of the Moulin Rouge, the cafe from Amelie, a bunch of sketching artists and the inside of Sacre Coeur. I hung out on the hill outside to have a snack and rest my aching feet. My call it an early night tonight, as tomorrow I am off early to Amsterdam.

Despite the weird weather, I think Paris is wonderful and wouldn't mind coming back at some point when there are more Parisiennes than tourists lining the streets....