Shopping and Museums

Wednesday we navigated the sales in Galleries Lafayette, the biggest department store I have ever seen. It is like Macy’s times five. There are 7 floors. Towering over the 6^th floor is a an enormous stained-glass dome. It is just beautiful! We learned to master the metro today. At first we were a little nervous after hearing horror stories about the pick-pocketers taking advantage of tourists. It was so easy and smooth. Madeline likened the Metro to a ride at Disneyland: very fast ! If you are not paying attention when it takes off it can knock you off your feet. Fortunately the metro led us directly into the Galleries Lafayette, right into the junior department. Talk about good luck!! Madeline was the shopper today, spending money that she earned over the months prior to our trip. In the junior department they have men’s and women’s mixed together. So in the Lee department they will men and women’s clothing together and it is the same in the Diesel all the other departments. Unfortunately there was nothing uniquely” French” in the stores. I think the French want to dress like Americans so pretty much everything you see there you see in America. Still, it was fun and exciting to be shopping in France. After a four hour marathon we were exhausted and headed back to the apartment with three, full shopping bags full of clothes, accessories, and shoes.

After a long nap we walked over to the Museum of European Photography. It was free tonight and only a few blocks from our apartment. The museum has five floors filled with a variety of photography mediums. By far, the most interesting exhibition was of an artist named George Matton. When you enter the room you first see a large photograph, usually about 6 feet by 4 feet. Next to the photo is a small box with an actual miniature version of the photo. Every minute detail is reproduced in the box; or is it? The cliché of “you really have to see it to believe it” is true here. You can check out the link, http://www.mep-fr.org/us/expo_1.htm, but it does not really do the exhibit justice.

More later.