April 23, 2000

More rain today, and Geralynn was worried about food, since it is Easter Sunday, but the trusty bakery was open, and also the grocery store, so we won’t starve.

Don worked on his pictures after breakfast, while G did the laundry. On past visits to Paris we have had a very difficult time finding a Laundromat, so we wanted to take advantage of the nice one nearby. It was easy to use, and the trip was uneventful, except when I put my money in the slot to activate the dryer. Coins are paid into a central control panel, but I mistakenly selected the wrong dryer. I tried to explain to the fellow who was loading his laundry into the dryer I had paid for, and he looked at me with a strange expression, then felt my fleece jacket. I realized he thought I wanted to add my laundry to his in the dryer, and needless to say he was a bit reluctant. I finally got it across that I had my put money in his number 4 and I really wanted to pay for number 6, so he put some money in mine for me and all was well.

The rain kept coming down so hard we decided to go ahead and buy an umbrella. Since every bakery, butcher shop and boutique shop we could see was open, despite

the fact that it was Easter Sunday, we innocently figured the department store would also be open. We hiked down Boulevard Voltaire to buy our umbrella.

of course we were not dressed appropriately, so we got drenched. The rain was pouring in buckets. Of We thought we knew right where to find the department store, but of course we missed it and wandered around in the rain for an additional 15 minutes, arguing about just exactly where that darn store was. We finally found it, and of course it was closed. So then we hiked back home in the rain. By the time we got there we were both drenched. We took off our soaked clothing and put on our rain suits. I am always embarrassed to wear mine because the jacket is bright slicker yellow with big black letters—USA—on the back. Oh well, better dry than discreet.

Off we went to the train station to make our reservations to Bordeaux. Everything is all set for our trip on Wednesday.

Then we walked around near the train station for a bit, looking for a cyber café. We have been looking around during our travels, but have not seen one. After our experiences in the cities of Norway and New Zealand we expected an au courant city like Paris to have one on every corner. We wandered in the rain along several streets, through a sidewalk art show, up and down likely looking alleys, but never found one.

We hopped the metro to Ile de la Cite and worked our way through the Marais neighborhood enjoying the typical French neighborhood full of old pre-Revolutionary buildings. Marais means the same as Myrah—swamp (well, marsh to those of us who have no sacks or rags, but rather bags and cloths). This area used to be a swamp until King Louis decided to build a palace here and make it the trendy area.

We made or way along cobbled streets to the Picasso museum and stood in line with the crowds, since our 3 day pass had expired. The museum has a good display, and it was interesting to see the progression of Picasso’s style from traditional to far out. There was also an interesting photography display, showing how the far-out stuff was modeled and composed. I decided that I am not a fan of Picasso’s later works, but I do like his earlier things.

After leaving the museum we strolled through the picturesque neighborhood, visiting the Place de Voges park, meandering through the bird market full of parakeets, finches and canaries for sale, enjoying the flower market and then on to Notre Dame. The weather had cleared up a bit. Notre Dame Cathedral square was so packed with people waiting to get in, there was not an inch of space. We walked around the four sides, to enjoy the architecture (flying buttresses) and the many beautiful views of the cathedral, but decided to return early the next day to go in. From Notre Dame we walked home to our apartment, stopping for dinner in our little bistro.

April 24, 2000

We continued our breakfast routine, enjoying our quiche du jour and fresh baguette with apricot jam. Then we headed out to Notre Dame once more. We got there early, about 9am, and the square was almost empty, so Don took some photos and we went inside to see the beautiful altar and huge stained glass windows.

Next we went to Montmartre and Sacre Couer. It is always fun to stroll through the quaint neighborhoods of Montmartre, along the cobbled streets (watch out for doggy piles), past flower gardens and little pocket parks lined with cafes, and street artists. The big square near the top of the hill used to be filled with artists painting the scenes, but now has been taken over by an open air restaurant, with sketch artists rimming the square. Around the corner, and we came upon the beautiful panorama of the city, which can be seen from the plaza in front of the church. We enjoyed the view while we listened to harp music played by a street artist.

This church is very beautiful, with many stained glass windows and a beautiful altar. We followed the line down underneath into the crypt, and back out to the pretty view again.

We strolled back down the hill, wandering through the little neighborhood streets, and what did we find, when we least expected it?! We found a cyber café right in the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre. We ducked in and sent a quick note to friends and family, attaching our Word file with this journal, and some pictures. We really were unprepared for finding a cyber café, so we just did the quick approach. In the next few days we will send real copy for anyone who couldn’t download the word version. We attached a photo album too.



As we continued through the neighborhoods, we stopped at a little café and drank our tiny cup of strong French coffee as we sat on the sidewalk watching the tourists emerge from the metro station.

After coffee we took the metro to the Tour d’Eiffel and made our way down the grand stairway, through thousands of street vendors, to take some photos. Then we hopped on the metro and home for lunch. We picked up a roasted chicken for late lunch, which we took home and enjoyed with some delicious oranges, and ice cream for dessert.


In the afternoon Don worked on his pictures and G took a nap and read. When it got dark we went out and got Don’s gourmet Paris meal of Big Maque, frites and Coca-Cola. G passed as she was still full from lunch. Then we caught the Metro back to the Tour d’Eiffel. It was all lit up, just like we saw on New Year’s Eve, and looked very beautiful.

We walked along the Seine to the Bateaux Mouches, where we bought a ticket and boarded one of the many boats that chug up and down the river showing the tourists the Parisian sights. We were joined by a mob of pushy, noisy Italians, but since the boat was only about ½ full, it wasn’t bad. The sights were beautiful at night—all lit up. The tour commentary was presented in French, English, Spanish and Italian. The boat ride lasted over an hour and we enjoyed seeing all of the sights along the Seine from that perspective.

After the boat ride we caught the metro home and skipped up the 6 flights of stairs (our stair-climbing muscles finally stopped aching) and hit the sack.

April 25

Today is sweep day, time to visit all of the things we wanted to visit, but couldn’t get to earlier. Several of the museums are closed on Tuesday, so we will not get to finish the Louvre
this trip. We plan to visit the Pompidou center, Marmottan (more impressionist paintings), and maybe the Carnavalet museum. Also, we will stop off at the bank and tourist center.

After our regular breakfast and coffee we set off by Metro to the Museum of Modern Art. This museum is a big waste of time. The museum is in very bad shape, in fact we thought it was an abandoned building when we walked up to it. The work displayed there is mostly video, similar to some of the exhibits at the SF MOMA. There were very few paintings to see—that section was closed. We only spent a short time there, then headed out to find the Monet Impressionist Museum, called Marmottan.

To get to Marmottan we took the Metro to the La Muette exit and when we came out we turned left and walked through a small park to 2 Rue Louis Boilly. This museum is a private museum which houses a private collection of artwork and furniture. Most of the art work is Monet, and also Bertholde Morissot. This is a very good display, and not as well known as other museums, so there are not so many people. A large selection of water lily and Giverny paintings are included in the collection. I always have thought these are the prettiest of his works. In addition, several of Monet’s sketch books and personal items are displayed at the museum, along with many donations from Michael Monet.


From the Marmottan museum we strolled down the Rue de Passy, a very nice shopping street. We stopped at a little sidewalk café for lunch and a drink, and then took the Metro to the Champs Elysees to go to the bank and post office.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Carnavalet Museum, which includes paintings and full rooms of period furniture and decorations. French history through the revolution and on to modern times is displayed in this museum. Don got drowsy and ready for his nap about half way through, so we finished quickly and went home for a short nap.


We went out to dinner with the Accardos. We went to a restaurant called the Manufacture. The building used to be a cigar manufacturing company. We had an excellent dinner and it was so much fun to see Valerie and her husband Jean Michel, and also Claire and her husband Jerome. Laurence and Franc could not join us. Valerie and Claire have become beautiful women, and they seem very happy with their husbands, their children and their lives.