I spoke too soon. After another Bob march (that's what the trippers call these long walking hauls), Julie and I now have blisters. We clocked 5 miles of walking to the D'Orsay. This did not include the return trip through the metro. Our feet are TIRED! But, we'll take baths tonight, soak away our blues, and be ready for another day because we've only got 2 left!
The weather? It's got to be 90; I've been sweating since 11:15 - it's HOT! We didn't get to go to the Catacombs - it opens during the last 2 weeks of June. (It didn't say that in the travel guide.)
We did see Jim Morrison's grave at the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery. I was glad to see that there wasn't a lot of grafitti like I had seen on the web. Our little group numbered 9 and we picked up 2 other Americans wandering around. Took us a little time to find Jim but we managed. I've never been to a cemetery that was so old. Many, many masoleum type buildings but much smaller than what I've seen in the movies. The cemetery reminded me of the New Orleans cemetery where the voodoo witch is buried. (Her name escapes me right now.)
After the cemetery, we walked through the Luxembourg gardens - basically a park with wonderful statues in it and a palace at the end. We split from the group with Nancy and Cindy with us and headed to the D'Orsay on our own. We stopped at a grocery store and picked up "to go" pasta, mozzarella & tomato salads and drinks and ate in a little park on the way.
That's where we made our mistake. We should have rested a little longer. Instead, Julie and I developed blisters on the way. Sigh.
The D'Orsay is a beautifully renovated old train station. Statues are arranged on the first floor with he Impressionist paintings on the 5th. It is definitely one of the highlights of my trip - Renoir, Manet, Monet and Van Gogh. So wonderful up close and a thousand times better in person.
Julie and I decided to head back. She assured me that her feet could make it because we were on a pilgrimage to the knitting store La Droguerie. We located it with little problem and HOLY COW!!! It's one of the best organized and beautiful stores of its type that I've ever been in. Julie's been such a good sport about these two stores - first the quilt store (where she bought fabric) and then the knitting/bead store (where she bought yarn and bracelet fixings) - I told her it made me happy she bought stuff because then it wasn't a wasted trip.... ha ha, another convert!
How do you know if a woman is a Parisian?
* skin tone, olive
* skinny, size 1 or 2
* shoes, extremely pointy or very sporty
* wearing dark clothes with one item of bright color
* muliple layers, dresses over jeans
* large rings
* gold jewelry
* multi-colored hair
Michelle's top 5 European trip elements:
* Giverny
* Eating dinner on the steps of Sacre Couer
* watching a woman take off her shoe after she got the stiletto heel stuck in a cobblestone
* the Grand Place in Brussels
* the Museum at Bastogne, WWII memorial
* Blogging
* Notre Dame
Tomorrow, we got o St. Chappelle which is supposed to have fabulous stained glass windows, the Louvre, and a Sein River cruise (with dinner.) Julie and I are going to the Eiffel Tower afterwards for night time pictures of the tower. Then Saturday, its off to Versailles and then.... HOME (on Sunday)!
Au Revoir, Michelle
2 comments:
I forgot to mention that I loved, loved, loved the knitting store. It was so well organized. The beads were stacked in jars almost from floor to ceiling in one room and the yarn in another. It was sparkly and colorful and felt very happy.
My Fraise Chantilly Frappachino was amazing. I hope they have them back in the states.
You still have really great stuff to see. Lots more walking, I think. You have seen so much in the time that you've been there. You'll probably sleep the entire trip home.
Dresses over jeans, I would image that would look strange. Say, are those Puma slipper/shoes sling backs? Do they come in green, pink, and blue? I think I saw them on the puma website. They must look better in person =8-O.
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