Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Mon premier jour en Paris

9/4/11  Before getting off the plane the lady sitting next to me opened a conversation, mostly in English.  She’s French, but had lived in LA for 8 years.  We made a plan to meet up on Thursday at 10:30 at my hotel.  That is something to look forward to!  So maybe I did make a friend on the plane. 

Customs was so easy, took less than 5 minutes, no lines, look at the passport, ok, move on.  My baggage made it on the same plane.  I managed, with a little help from pleasant helpful people, to call the shuttle service, which showed up after a little longer wait than the 10 minutes I was told.  So far, so good.  The  drive from the airport showed a large sprawling, 21st century city, with ugly square buildings, graffiti, etc.  But we did get to the older part of the city, where the shuttle driver seemed lost.  After much going in circles, he finally started dropping us off at our hotels.  Mine, the Pavillon Louvre Rivoli, sounds very grand but it is my first disappointment.  It is very small, my room is tiny and a little shabby.  No air conditioning, which means open windows letting in all the street sounds and rain.  And it did rain in 3 bursts today.  Which is truly no big deal.  I had a full day of walking and seeing and eating and trying to speak French.  (And this was after really no sleep on the plane, but I’m trying to get on the local time.)
What did I do my first day in Paris?  First, I was too early for hotel check-in, so I left my large bag at the hotel and explored my neighborhood.  There is a huge statue of Moliere at the end of rue Moliere and the Comedie Francaise is around the corner.  A little plaza – Plaza Colette – is right there with a statue and fountain and several little restaurants.  (Here's where I'm trying to insert a photo of the statue of Moliere, but I haven't figured out how.)  I had lunch at Bistrot Café Royale, my first meal in France, escargots and a salad.  All the sidewalk seating is facing the street, so we can people watch while eating.  Loved the escargots by the way, dipped my baguette in the olive oil concoction, mmm so good and garlicky.  After going back to the hotel to check in, I went out to explore on foot a little further.  The Palace and the Louvre are within a few blocks of my hotel, but I didn’t go into the Louvre today.  I went on across the Pont Royale and into the Sixth Arrondissement – la Rive Gauche.  I ended up walking huge amounts of the Rive Gauche.  Just when I was getting too tired & discouraged, I heard music.  There in front of L’Eglise St. Germain des Pres  was a jazz band.  And across the street was Les Deux Magots, famous restaurant & haunt of Hemingway et al.  I was very tired & thirsty, so I stopped there, got a bottle of water, people watched, listened to the music, and refreshed myself.  And watched the rain fall.  By the time I finished my bottle of Pellegrino and felt better, the rain had stopped.  So again I went out exploring, and found les jardins Luxembourg.  Another little gift.  Tennis courts where a tournament was in progress.  Gardens where fruit trees (apples & pears) were espaliered in interesting fashion (I took pictures).  Men playing boules (I think it’s called).  I sat and people watched again, but was so very tired. I almost fell asleep on the bench, but I needed to pee too.  I imagined people finding this old woman passed out on a bench in the park, covered in pee. That image inspired me to go to the public restroom in the park – cost of 40 centimes.  Then, since I was so tired, I walked back towards the river, crossed the Pont des Artes which is covered with locks!  (Another picture)  I had an omelette at the Café Marly which is attached to the Louvre.  Back at my room, I was so discouraged, I wanted to get on the next plane & go home.  Everything about Paris seemed flat, plain, boring, disappointing, not worth the effort & expense.  I needed to sleep.  So I did. 
All those pictures I took, I have to learn how to share them - liven up my story.  Who out there can tell me how to load photos from my computer to the blog???  Help! 
Bon soir.


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