On my second day in Paris, Thursday, OJ had classes. She left to go have her meetings and learn things in French. So I got up leisurely (I really like the leisurely compared the early on trips sometimes), got my stuff together and headed out to explore the city on my own. Armed with my map, my Metro pass, and OJ's Paris walking trip cards (thanks to Jaws) I was ready. The weather was overcast, but not drizzly or windy. Nice, crisp fall weather. I got lucky with that, it was supposed to rain.
I went to the Ile de la Cite. I saw Notre Dame Cathedral, which thankfully was free. You know, the one from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I kept wondering where they would actually hide and live, but as I was cheap and had a lot more to see, I didn't pay to actually go up the towers. And after seeing a lot of cathedrals I am starting to feel like when you have seen one, you've seen them all. But the choir music inside was very lovely. It drowned out the tourist murmer, so really, I am going to give it best ambiance.
Then I wandered around the outside of Notre Dame, saw the bridges, the river, and wandered from the big island to the smaller island, Ile Saint-Louis. Here according to the card is there the best ice cream in Paris is sold. Berthillon is world-famous. I don't know if it is the 'best' ice cream I have ever had, but it was really good. I got chocolate with candied oranges, and raspberry. (Note: This was the first time I had to order for myself and I did it entirely in french. Well french and hand gestures, but whatever.) It was delicious in it's sugar cone.
I then enjoyed the ice cream as I walked more around the island and back to the Ile de la Cite, getting more views of Notre Dame. And while I did manage to not get ice cream all over my face... I did get a tiny bit on my scarf. Well, it's an improvement.
Then I wandered to the north bank, stopped in a boulangerie to get a baguette sandwich, which I ate while I watched the tourists waddle by. Then back on my way, minor incident with a loose storm drain and a wet foot, then I saw some of the French administration buildings, which had a line around the block. It was worse than the DMV by USC. Which of course brought to mind my Dad's favorite joke.
By then I had seen a lot of bridges, a lot of cafes, a lot of street vendors, heard a lot of french, and had walked quite a long distance. Then I got back on the tube and got off at Franklin Roosevelt (not joking, sounds really funny in the Metro announcer's voice) and walked down the Champs-Elysees to meet OJ. We actually met up without a hitch and without calling each other. (This just again proves that we don't have to rely on modern technology to communicate. Yay!) Then we walked all the way up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc du Triomphe.
Europe is stamped by WWII in ways that I can't describe. It is now woven into the very fiber of the people. And this was one of the moments when it's impact hit me the most, and I don't know why.
On to lighter notes, then we walked all the way back down the Champs-Elysees, got on to the Metro and went the Bastille to try to see La Boheme at the Opera Bastille. It is possible to get 25 Euro tickets for students to these performances. Unfortunately this option is open for both students and seniors, and there were about 30 senior citizens already lined up to get tickets. They had been there for several hours, and while disappointing, we really didn't have the time to stand in a line.
So Plan B, we went to the new Library and walked around, saw a movie (which I don't know if I would recommend or not, but it was one of the few movies that was not solely in French, and I feel did a lot better in France than it did in the US) The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Then we went to a very nice Thai-Vietnamese restaurant and went home.
It was a lovely day exploring many many areas of the city. Tomorrow would be big... Versailles.
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